Challenges and Strategies of User Education Programmes for the Utilisation of Electronic Resources by Undergraduate Students in Universities in Benue State

The study focused on the challenges of running user education programme by academic librarians in universities in Benue state was aimed at assessing the factors that militate against the effective running of the programme in the universities. Two (2) objectives guided the study. The objectives are to find out the challenges of running a user education programme by academic librarians in universities in Benue State as well as the strategies employed to overcome the mitigating factors. The study adopted a survey research design. The study was carried out in Benue State. The population of the study was 3522. The sample for this study was 359 respondents. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled "User Education Programme Assessment Questionnaire (UEPAQ)" developed by the researcher from the literature reviewed. The data collected was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Mean was used to answer the research questions. The study found that academic librarians faced seventeen (17) challenges in running user education programmes in Universities in Benue State. Analysis of data from the study further showed that eleven (11) strategies could be adopted to mitigate the challenges faced by academic librarians in running user education programmes in Universities in Benue State. Recommendations Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made, Adequate funding should be provided to enable user educators (academic librarians) acquire the necessary equipment for teaching user education. Academic librarians should adopt the identified strategies for mitigating the challenges faced in running user education programmes in order to ensure the smooth running of the programme in universities.