Al-Hikmah University Journal

The study examined librarians’ awareness and utilization of social networking tools (SNTS) for marketing library services in universities in Kwara State. The descriptive survey method guided the study. The study sought answers on librarians’ awareness of SNTs used for marketing library services; Types of SNTs used by librarians in marketing library services, and the challenges faced with the utilization of SNTs for marketing library services. The study population comprised 203 librarians in six selected universities in Kwara State while total enumeration was adopted. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from the respondents. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire was ensured. Data collected from the study were analyzed using frequency, percentages and mean. The findings of the study revealed that librarians are more aware of YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram than other SNTs used for marketing library resources. Also, the findings revealed Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Instagram as SNTs used by the majority of the librarians for marketing library services. The study further revealed bandwidth problems, low Awareness, low maintenance culture, lack of staff training, time-consuming, low commitment of library staff, and limited funds as the major challenges librarians encounter with the utilization of SNTs for marketing library services. It was concluded that using SNTs for marketing increases the library’s visibility to patrons, saves time and reduces the cost of marketing library services. The study recommended that universities and library management should organise focused training on using various types of SNTs for marketing library resources and carrying out other tasks.