AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA

DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

COURSE CODE: LIBS 802
COURSE TITLE: INFORMATION RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

BY

ADAJI AMEH RICHARD

P23EDLS8056

TOPIC
INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT THROUGH
INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

LECTURER:
PROFESSOR TIJJANI ABUBAKAR

December, 2024

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Abstract

The paper examined the place of information resources management through

the application of ICT for e- governance. Governance is a process of establishing
policies or laws and continuously monitoring their implementation in the public.
To make governance process cost effective, easy and convenient to the citizens,
information and communication technologies (ICTs) play a vital role.
Information resources are print and non-print materials that could be sourced
and accessed manually or electronically, while its management has to do with
the ability to know when and why information is needed, where to find it, how to
evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner. Using ICTs in
governance is referred to as e-governance. Its application therefore helps
citizens to participate not only in policy making but also in quality service
improvements and getting government services over networks. Challenges such
as constraint to infrastructure, human resources, digital divide and social
constraint were identified. It was therefore recommended that integrity,
transparency and accountability be ensured through the implementation of ICT,
network in every public institution, strengthening connectivity among all public
institutions, reducing hassle, cost, time, and corruption in public service
delivery, among others.

Keywords: Information Resource, Management, Information

Communication Technology application, e-governance, issues, prospects

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Introduction

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has evolved over the

years. In the 1970’s, computer was installed in various organizations for

rapid production of information and effective storage which subsequently

gave birth to the digital age (Alfonso and Foley, 2009). It provides an

integrated view of managing the entire lifecycle of information, that is,

from information generation to dissemination for maximizing overall

usefulness, speeding service delivery, and programme management.

Generally, information is the result of processing, manipulating and

organizing data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the person

receiving it. it is used by man in the context of its surroundings. Without

the correct identification, capture, organization, management, utilization

and archiving or storage of information, one would be hard pressed to

make any decision in business, personal, or government in order to

properly manage information, it is essential to understand the way in

which information will be used, by whom, and for what purpose.

Information resources management (IRM) covers a wide area of

management, organizational and information technology issues. It

recognizes information as a valuable entity which has a significant effect

on organization like people, machines and capital. IRM refers to print

and non-print materials that could be sourced and accessed manually or

electronically. They include books, periodicals, audio-visual, journals,

electronic books, et cetera materials which are provided for users.

Electronic governance or e-governance is the application of information

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technology for delivering government services, exchange of information

communication transactions, integration of various stand-alone systems

between government to citizen ([Link] 2019) Lindgren and

Janson (2013) categorized two types of e-services, private and public. The

New Public Management (N.P.M) paradigm of Public Sector Organization

recently converted into electronic governance. They stressed further that

Public Sector Organization requires digital era governance which is

synonymously known as e-governance. Since Public Organizations are

wide and complex, it requires organizational context, legal status,

decision-making, authority, routines, hierarchy, skills, efficiency and

innovations at work (Axelsson, Melin & Lindgren, 2013). The introduction

of e-governance in Nigeria through Information resources management

would modernize public administration and also reduce the level of

corruption in all sectors of the country thereby giving room for

accountable and transparent governance by installing ICTs in every

sector. Effective public administration requires facilitating customer-

centered, cost-effective and citizen’s friendly public services for

improving its governmental functions. Technology is the only

fundamental item for modernization and improvement in government

activities. Thus, e-governance enhances the capacity of public

administration through information resources management to satisfy

public values. Through these innovations, the government can open their

public services for twenty-four seven (24 x 7) by creating an alternative

delivery channel to give room for improving transparency and controlling

corruption in both private and public administration. Therefore, this

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paper seeks to determine the importance of ICT in implementing e-

governance through information resources management as well as the

challenges and opportunities, they present.

Definition of Terms

Information: Information is an abstract concept that refers to something which

has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to

the interpretation (perhaps formally) of that which may be sensed or

their abstractions. Any natural process that is not completely random and any

observable pattern in any medium can be said to convey some amount of

information. Whereas digital signals and other data use discrete signs to convey

information, other phenomena and artefacts such as analogue

signals, poems, pictures, music or other sounds, and currents convey

information in a more continuous form.

Communication: Communication is commonly defined as the transmission

of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements

about whether unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether

communication not only transmits meaning but also creates it.

Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve

practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also

mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both

tangible tools such as utensils or machines, and intangible ones such

as software. Technology plays a critical role in science, engineering,

and everyday life.

ICT: Information Communication Technology or information and

communications technology (or technologies), is

the infrastructure and components that enable modern computing. Among the

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goals of IC technologies, tools and systems is to improve the way humans

create, process and share data or information. Another is to help them improve

their abilities in numerous areas, including business; education; medicine; real-

world problem-solving; and even leisure activities related to sports, music, and

movies.

IRM: Information Resources Management

Information Resource Management (IRM): is a technique of managing

information as a shared organizational resource. IRM includes (1) identification

of information sources, (2) type and value of the information they provide, and

(3) ways of classification, valuation, processing, and storage of that information.

Electronic governance or e-governance is the application of information

technology for delivering government services, exchange of information,

communication transactions, integration of various stand-alone systems

between government-to-citizen (G2C), government-to-business (G2B),

government-to-government (G2G), government-to-employees (G2E) as well

as back-office processes and interactions within the entire governance

framework. Using e-governance, government services are made available to

citizens through IT.

Conceptualization

Information resources are all library materials which include books,

electronic books, grey literature (thesis and dissertations) statistical

reports, manuscripts, government publications, journals, audio-visuals,

DVDs, Blu-rays, console games, print and non-print material (Medway

Libraries and Archives, 2012). Information resources management on the

other hand is the ability to know when and why information is needed,

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where to find it and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an

ethical manner. Uzuegbu (2014) asserts that IRM is information

competency, the ability to access, evaluate, organize, and use information

from a variety of sources. It is a skill that cuts across computer literacy,

library literacy, media literacy, network literacy, digital literacy and visual

literacy. Information Resource Management (IRM) can be defined as a

programme of activities usually directed at making effective use of

information technology within an organization. IRM is the process of

managing information resources to accomplish organizational missions.

This process of information resource management.

E-governance (electronic government) is a system of governance which

enhances the

business processes and delivers public services to renovate relationships

among Government to citizen (G2C), Government to business (G2B),

Government to the employee (G2E) and various sectors of Government to

the government (G2G) through ICTs (Sarker, Wu, Liu and Ma, 2013). On

the other hand, Pathak and Singh (2007) believed that e-governance can

help not only in wiping out corruption but also in establishing a strong

relationship between government and citizens. Their study also found in

a similar but comparative perspective with Fiji and Ethiopia (nd) that

there was a positive significant relationship between e-governance and

the reduction of corruption. They suggested that e-governance initiatives

can make important contributions to improving public services. They

explained further that citizens’ e- readiness is resistance due to change,

the absence of opportunities for e-participation and e-consultation, and

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lack of awareness. Holliday (2002) in his study reported that e-

governance activity is highly diverse in East and Southeast Asia, dazzling

national strengths and weaknesses rather than regional capacity for

policy change. He stressed further that ICT is being used by the public

sector in Malaysia for improvement of the quality of governance,

especially in providing quality customer services and customer

satisfaction. E-governance (electronic government) is a system of

governance which enhances the business processes and delivers public

services to renovate the relationship between Government to citizen

(G2C), Government to business (G2B), Government to the employee

(G2E) and various sectors of Government to the government (G2G)

through ICTs (Sarker, Wu, Liu and Ma, 2013). On the other hand, Pathak

and Singh (2007) believed that e-governance can help not only in wiping

out corruption but also in establishing a strong relationship between

government and citizens. Their study also found in a similar but

comparative perspective with Fiji and Ethiopia (nd) that there was a

positive significant relationship between e-governance and the reduction

of corruption. They suggested that e-governance initiatives can make

important contributions to improving public services. They explained

further that citizens’ e-readiness is resistance due to change, the absence

of opportunities for e-participation and e-consultation, and lack of

awareness. Holliday (2002) in his study reported that e-governance

activity is highly diverse in East and Southeast Asia, dazzling national

strengths and weaknesses rather than regional capacity for policy

change. He stressed further that ICT is being used by the public sector in

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Malaysia for the improvement of quality of governance, especially in

providing quality customer services and customer satisfaction. Issues on

the application of ICTs for e-governance.

1. Constraints to Infrastructure: Infrastructure is an essential part of

big data. Big data platform requires a special server made by thousands

of nodes with multiple processors and disks connected by a high-speed

network to perform the rigorous analysis. According to Sarker et al.

(2013) some large internet companies are offering their services for big

data projects like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Yahoo throughout the

World. In the light of this, poor telecommunication infrastructure could

be a barrier for adoption of information resources management for e-

governance and quality electronic service delivery.

2. Constraints to human resources: Public administration of Nigeria

may still be inadequate or may suffer from a severe shortage of qualified,

trained and dedicated personnel, which may hinder efficient

implementation of e-governance. A limited number of quality human

resources and lack of good training are the key reasons for the smooth

development of e-governance in developing countries (Zaman, 2015).

3. Constraints to digital divide: Digital divide means a gap between

the information “rich” and information “poor” that is well-informed and

ill- informed persons with respect to ICT across the world. The digital

divide is created due to lack of infrastructure of power supply, access to

modern technology such as the internet, computer, and mobile phones in

developing countries. Other reasons of the digital divide are low literacy

rates, high poverty rates slow adoption of technology, the lack of

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initiative for infrastructural development, and high corruption (Sarker, et

al. 2019).

4. Cultural and social constraint: As observed by Bhuiyan (2011), the

attitude of a change agent is one of technology. Some other social and

cultural factors such as gender, poverty, level of education, class, age and

social exclusion can all directly hinder the adoption of ICT for improving

governance. The study stressed further that some people feel uneasy

about using computers and internet, while some senior officials at the top

in hierarchy of bureaucracies are feeling ICTs as threat for decentralizing

access to information onto the desks of all employees, so they usually

block adoption of ICTs. Prospects for e-governance The extant from

previous studies has proven that the concept of e-governance is a

powerful means of public service in the present era of technology. The

prospects will be discussed under the following subheadings. They

include:

i. Economic development: With the introduction of e-governance,

various information like import- export, registration of companies,

investment situation and others are available through the Internet. As a

result, time is saved, procrastination decreases, and economic dynamism

increases (Avijit, 2022).

ii. Reduction of inequality: With the use of e-governance tools,

everyone can gather information and empower themselves. In this

globalized world, knowledge is power, and means of e- governance

empower people by providing relevant information at minimal cost, effort

and time.

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iii. It enhances the right to express to the citizens: Using the means of e-

governance, anyone can share their views with the government on any

bill or act or decision taken by the government.

iv. E-services: As discussed in the body of the work, the main feature of e-

governance is the provision of services through the Internet. As a result,

it allows G2C, G2B, G2E, and G2G services.

v. Efficiency and effectiveness of government institutions: E-

governance allows government institutions to be more efficient and

effective by the use of IT tools such as live finger prints scanning and

verifications, electronic entry of reports and paperwork, the list not

exhausted.

vi. Feedback or query from citizens: It will enable the citizens sending

in feedback or query on any plans or programmes which are mostly

attracted to them from their home using ICT tools. So also, through the

online process people can easily upload and download forms, filing taxes,

doing financial transactions through e-banking services, getting jobs

through different online job portals (Avijit, 2022). In addition, all

universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, high schools, and

primary schools will have computerized connectivity.

Conclusion

The paper reveals that the utilization of ICT through IRM in e-

governance can play a significant role in controlling corruption, reducing

poverty and cost-effective services to citizens. It therefore discovered

from the extant literature reviewed that IRM and ICTs have the potential

to lead the better implementation of public e-services as a people–

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centric; accountable, and transparent management. Having realized the

full potential of ICTs, governments must develop coherent, effective

policies that can match technological development trends like:

i. A post-implementation review of the project is essential for

monitoring. Government should take a pioneering role in using ICT to

improve effectiveness and efficiency, especially in G2C and G2B

relationship with citizens and businesses by digitizing government

services through e- government programmes.

ii. Integrity, transparency and accountability should be ensured through

the implementation of ICT, network in every public institution,

strengthening connectivity among all public institutions, reducing hassle,

cost, time, and corruption in public service delivery.

iii. ICT literacy should be strengthened through improving ICT skills of

public officials maintaining integration and collaboration among various

agencies of government and external stakeholders, research and

academia enhancing quality ICT education at all levels and maintaining a

global standard for smooth implementation of ICT for e-governance.

iv. Environmental protection should be ensured during the planning of e-

governance through proper implementation of big data, eco- friendly

technology and promoting administrative resilience.

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