ABSTRACT

 This study investigated the effects of library instruction on the use of library by undergraduates ofacademic libraries in MOUAU. Five research questions were designed to determine the various ways ofeducating users in the use oflibrary resources, howfrequently library instruction was provided to undergraduates ofMOUAU, the effectiveness oflibrary instruction on the use ofMOUAU library by undergraduates, the challenges faced in the provision oflibrary instruction in MOUAU library and strategies to address the challenges faced in provision oflibrary instruction in MOUAU library. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population of the study isl1,807 consisting of 11, 800 undergraduate students ofMichael Okpara University ofAgriculture, Umudike and 7 professional library staff. The sample size is 387. Yaro Yamani’s (1969) statisticalformula was used to derive the sample size and a Effect ofLibrary Instruction on use ofLibrary, Questionnaire (ELIULG), was usedfor data collection. Descriptive statistical methods such asfrequencies and mean, were used to analyse the data. Findings from the study revealed that MOUAU library employs mainly manual ways ofproviding library instructions to users while ICT related programmes were not used to provide library instruction to undergraduate students. Also, the study has revealed that classroom teaching, library orientation, library guide, are the major library instruction programmes that are frequently provided while, guided library tour, oneon-one mentoring, library Blog, library website, and text messaging were not frequently provided. It has been also revealed that library instruction helps users to identify books on the shelves in their study area, it equally help users to easily access and retrieve information in the library, among others. On the other hand, the study revealed that library instruction is challenged by thefollowingfactors: Inadequate classroomfor library instruction, shortage of staff (librarians) to instruct library users, among others are the factors affecting library instruction in MOUAU. Based on the findings, it was recommended that MOUAU library should adopt other methods of library instruction especially those that are ICT driven, librarians should be regular and consistent to instruct the library users using all available methods, among others.