ATTITUDE OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATES TOWARDS KNOWLEDGE SHARING:A CASE STUDY OF DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY,ABRAKA,NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the attitude of Library and Information Science undergraduates towards knowledge sharing in Delta State University,Abraka. Four specific objectives were raised in this study, such as undergraduates' belief and knowledge sharing, undergraduates' emotion and knowledge sharing,undergraduates' behaviour and knowledge sharing and the types of knowledge shared among undergraduates. A sample of 205 respondents was sampled from a population of 443undergraduates. To address these specific objectives, relevant literature were reviewed,and in addition,responses were elicited from 205 respondents,with the aid of self-structured open-ended questions.Data generated were analysed using a descriptive statistical tool such as mean,simple percentage, and frequency counts. The findings of the study revealed that: undergraduates' belief affects their attitude towards knowledge sharing among their coursemates. Undergraduates'emotion affects their attitude towards their willingness to share knowledge among their coursemates. Undergraduates' behaviour also affects their attitude towards knowledge sharing. It was equally revealed in the study that different types of knowledge were shared among the undergraduates under this study such as exam time table, knowledge acquired from lecture,lecture time table,lecture note,research project,hand-out, knowledge on students' conduct during exams,etc.It was concluded that knowledge is an invaluable asset in every academic institution, or a major stock in trade and without which teaching, learning and research activities of students and staff cannot be actualized It was recommended among other things that: university management should include discussion on knowledge sharing for fresh students during orientation programmes organised for newly admitted students to create enough awareness on the students and lay a solid foundation from the very beginning of their academic career. Management should assess the factors affecting knowledge sharing and find a solution to it.