Of the 33 respondents surveyed, 25 (75.8%) were men and 8 (24.2%) were women. Twenty-eight (84.8%) respondents pursued master’s degrees: 19 (57.5%) studied Master of Arts in Theology and Mission and 9 (27.3%) studied Master of Theology. Only five (15.2%) respondents pursued doctoral level studies, that is, Doctor of Philosophy in Theology. It is evident from the findings that more responses were elicited from male respondents than from female respondents. Also, most of the respondents were master’s level students who studied Master of Arts in Theology and Mission.

The study revealed a very high level of awareness of the availability of e-resources among ACI students. That is, all 33 respondents were aware of the available e-resources and each of them was aware of more than one e-resource. Awareness of online dissertations or theses ranked the highest, while that of e-books ranked the lowest. The students also rated their levels of awareness as high. A list of the types of e-resources of which students were aware includes online dissertations or theses (30; 90.9%), e-journals (28; 84.8%), search engines (27; 81.8%), library catalogue (25; 75.8%), academic databases (25; 75.8%), website information (22; 66.7%), emails (16; 48.5%) and e-books (10; 30.3%). Borteye and Dadzie (2015) and Yang and Li (2015) also ascertained high awareness levels in the University of Ghana and the Texas A&M University, respectively. Conversely, Akussah et al.’s (2015:37) study in two Ghanaian academic libraries and Gakibayo et al.’s (2013:17) study in a Ugandan academic library found that awareness of e-resources was low.

With respect to how they became aware of available e-resources, 20 (60.6%) respondents said they became aware after attending orientation or training programmes organised by the Johannes Zimmermann Library staff. Besides, eight (24.2%) respondents indicated that they were notified by their colleagues or lecturers and five (15.2%) indicated having read the library guide or newsletters or flyers or posters. It can be inferred that although a total of 13 (39.4%) respondents became aware without attending library orientation or training programmes, the existence of annual library orientation (for new students) and informal library training programmes for students mainly accounted for the high level of awareness. Moreover, the respondents’ ability to list the types of e-resources of which they were aware means that they had ample knowledge of e-resources needed for research and learning.

The study found that like Deng’s (2010) finding revealed in an Australian higher education setting, e-resources were accessed either at a single location (campus) or at multiple locations (on-campus and off-campus). All the respondents accessed e-resources at the Johannes Zimmermann Library, while two-thirds accessed them at the ACI ICT Centre. On-campus access, which involved accessing e-resources at the Library and the ICT Centre, was more convenient and highly patronised. It is worth noting that off-campus access to ACI-subscribed e-resources was not provided by the ACI. Sixteen (48.5%) respondents accessed e-resources at the Library and the ICT Centre; 11 (33.3%) accessed them at the Library; 3 (9.1%) accessed them at the Library, the ICT Centre and at home; and another 3 (9.1%) accessed them at the Library, the ICT Centre and Internet cafes. The findings of Amankwah (2014) and Rassiya and Chinnasamy (2014:142), in research conducted at a Ghanaian public university and an Indian public university (academic) library; respectively, also revealed both on-campus and off-campus access. The availability of desktop computers with reliable Internet access, coupled with the provision of regular power supply, afforded the students convenient access to e-resources for their research and studies on campus. The very few respondents who accessed e-resources off-campus did so either at their homes or at Internet cafes outside the ACI, where most of the on-campus facilities were non-existent.

Again, the study established that the respondents used at least one of four electronic devices – desktops, laptops, iPads and/or tablets and mobile phones – for access, with most of them using their personal electronic devices (mainly laptops). This finding, corroborated by Amankwah’s (2014) study, is evidenced by these responses: 15 (45.5%) respondents said they used laptops only, 8 (24.2%) said they used iPads and/or tablets only and 4 (12.1%) mentioned they used laptops, iPads and/or tablets and mobile phones. The rest of the respondents said they used desktop computers only 3 (9.1%), desktop computers and laptops 2 (6.1%) and laptops and mobile phones 1 (3%). The use of multiple electronic devices provided students with alternative means of access. For instance, they could use the desktop computers at the ACI to aid access to e-resources for effective studies whenever they experienced power cuts at home or they had difficulty in accessing e-resources using their personal laptops and iPads and/or tablets.

As computer skills affect access to e-resources (Gakibayo et al. 2013:11), the study, further probing the level of computer skills that respondents had attained, revealed that 26 (78.8%) respondents had intermediate computer skills, 4 (12.1%) had basic computer skills and 3 (9.1%) had advanced computer skills. Similarly, Gakibayo et al.’s (2013:16) study discovered that most of the respondents had intermediate computer skills. This finding shows that the level of computer skills was adequate because all the respondents had acquired the minimum or basic skills needed to use electronic devices to improve access to e-resources. The finding agrees with the discovery of adequate computer skills by Okiki (2012:4) in a study undertaken at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, but contradicts with Ozoemelem’s (2009:8) study finding conducted in Delta State University (Nigeria). Their adequate computer competency saved students the time of having to rely on the institute’s library and ICT staff for assistance and, therefore, enhanced their research and learning activities.

The students accessed e-resources by searching the library catalogue, and through 16 academic databases and two search engines. The types of search engines used were Google and Yahoo! Search. As stated earlier, the library catalogue (Alice) is a customised library software. Thirteen of the 16 academic databases subscribed to by the ACI through CARLIGH, and three open access ones, were generally used. Besides, two-thirds (22 or 66.7%) of the respondents accessed search engines and academic databases, and one-third (11 or 33.3%) accessed academic databases and the library catalogue. The respondents mainly accessed (searched e-resources within) academic databases that have subjects offered in the ACI (such as religion, theology, culture and research methods) as some of their favourite subjects and, therefore, relate to ACI academic disciplines. The respondents accessed the following 10 scholarly databases without usernames and passwords: JSTOR, Project Muse, Emerald, BIOONE, Oxford University Press Online Journals, Taylor & Francis Online, Sage Research Methods, Credo Reference, Cambridge University Press and World Bank e-Library. The other three ACI-subscribed databases that students accessed with usernames and passwords included AGORA, EBSCOhost and SAGE Journals. In the case of the open access databases, the students used the following: Yale University Digitisation Project, Papers of Stephen D. Morad – Collection 689, and Open Access Theses and Dissertations.

Despite the adequate computer competency levels acquired, most of the respondents lacked adequate search skills because the annual informal training provided by the institute’s library staff was not adequate to equip students with skills to conduct searches within the search engines and academic databases. Twenty-five (75.8%) respondents stated that their search skill levels were low, while eight (24.2%) indicated that their search skill levels were high. Similar studies in Ghanaian (Kwafoa et al. 2014:13) and Pakistani (Tahir et al. 2010:133) universities have also established that majority of respondents lacked adequate skills to access e-resources. The high skill levels of a few of the respondents were as a result of adequate e-resources training they had received prior to enrolling at the institute. Of the 25 respondents, 21 attributed their low search skill levels to inadequate e-resources training they had attended at the Johannes Zimmermann Library, a situation that necessitates the provision of regular training. In Ghana, Amankwah (2014) and Kwafoa et al. (2014:13) also identified the lack of formal training. In contrast to TAM’s (Davis 1989:320) perception of ICTs as capable of being easily used, the low search skill levels hindered attempts by the students to retrieve some relevant and up-to-date e-resources to support research and learning. It is, therefore, imperative that students must be equipped with the needed skills to access e-resources. The acquisition of information literacy skills is essential for accessing e-resources (Okello-Obura 2010:104).

Searches were usually conducted independently, or with assistance from the library staff or colleagues. While almost a quarter (8 or 24.2%) of the respondents conducted searches themselves, almost half (16 or 48.5%) were assisted by the library staff, and slightly less than one-third (9 or 27.3%) were assisted by their colleagues. This finding shows that most of the respondents were unable to conduct searches independently. Again, this finding reinforces the earlier finding that most respondents have lacked adequate search skills.

Consistent with the findings of Amankwah (2014) and Kwafoa et al. (2014:7) in Ghana and Deng (2010:94) in Australia, the various e-resources were used mainly for academic purposes. All 33 students used them to enhance their research activities, that is, to aid in reviewing literature, and more than three-quarters (87.9%) used e-resources for completing assignments. Besides, every student used e-resources for not less than two purposes. Hence, the purposes of using e-resources were multi-dimensional (Rehman & Ramzy 2004, in Deng 2010:94). Notwithstanding the skills limitation of most students, the decision to still use e-resources was informed by their perceptions of e-resources as capable of serving many academic purposes. Eighteen (54.5%) respondents used e-resources to enable them to review literature, complete assignments and gain information on specific topics. Six (18.2%) indicated they used e-resources for literature review, completing assignments and supplementing study notes. In addition, five (15.2%) stated they used e-resources to aid in reviewing literature and completing assignments. Four (12.1%) also said they used e-resources to review literature and supplement their study notes. Table 1 depicts the frequency and percentage of responses to the purposes of using e-resources.

On the issue of the benefits derived, the study revealed that even though most students had inadequate search skills, they still used e-resources because of the PU to their studies. According to TAM, one is inspired to use ICTs when one anticipates there are benefits to be derived (Davis 1989:320). The students showed that they derived multiple benefits from using e-resources. Nineteen (57.6%) students were inspired to use e-resources because of the availability of search tools. Sixteen (48.5%) indicated that multiple users could access e-resources concurrently; 14 (42.4%) mentioned benefits relating to time saving; and 11 (33.3%) stated that compared to print sources, e-resources are less bulky – hence, accessing and using them helped save space. Moreover, 10 (30.3%) said that they could use e-resources at their own convenience, that is, they benefited from the easy-to-use feature of e-resources, while 8 (24.2%) stated that many support facilities were available to facilitate access. Table 2 illustrates the results obtained on the benefits that motivated students to use e-resources.

Regarding the problems encountered, a total of 83 responses were elicited from all 33 respondents, indicating that they were constrained by multiple problems in accessing e-resources. The researchers have grouped these problems under three categories identified by Okello-Obura (2010:102): access problems, literacy and search problems, and other problems (the last one adapted in this study as staff-related problems). Even though TAM perceives ICTs to be used without any hindrance (Davis 1989:320), the ICTs, skill sets and assistance the ACI provided were not adequate to ensure easy access. Also, some of the students resorted to off-campus access, thus aggravating their access problems. It can be deduced, therefore, that inability on the part of the students and inadequate institutional support were major factors that affected the students in accessing e-resources they used. Similarly, Kalusopa (2011:56), aiming to understand the factors influencing ICTs uptake and use in Botswana’s labour sector, critiqued the practicability of TAM’s PEOU construct on the grounds that using ICTs could be impeded by factors such as inability, time and institutional barriers.

While frequent power cuts outside the ACI and high cost of Internet use off-campus were cited, it came to light that slow Internet speed, lack of off-campus access to ACI-subscribed e-resources and inadequate networked computers were most common among the access problems. In the case of the literacy and search problems, the respondents lacked adequate knowledge and/or skills to formulate search strategies, to use advanced search options and to evaluate e-resources. The staff-related problems were unwillingness of some library staff to assist students to facilitate access and inability of some library staff to assist students with search and retrieval skills. The frequency and percentage of responses to the problems which constrained the use of e-resources are represented in Table 3.

The results have shown that postgraduate students were very much aware of ACI-subscribed e-resources, from which they derived multiple benefits, and which they used often for academic purposes. Thus, the extent of use of e-resources reflected the multiple benefits derived, as well as the level of awareness. Despite the students’ adequate computer competencies, and contrary to TAM’s PEOU construct, most of them lacked adequate skills for access because of inadequate training in the use of e-resources. Inability and inadequate institutional support were identified as the main factors that affected access to e-resources. Also, despite some attempts at providing various e-resources and needed facilities, the ACI lacked off-campus access to its subscribed e-resources. These phenomena have been aggravated by frequent interruptions in electricity supply at off-campus locations (homes and Internet cafes) and slow Internet speed, among other problems. However, the students continued to use e-resources because of the PU of e-resources to their studies.

To improve the provision of e-resources to support research and learning activities, the ACI needs to address the above-mentioned problems by paying attention to some recommendations. These include the following: firstly, the Johannes Zimmermann Library, on behalf of ACI, should identify training needs of its staff and provide them with regular or continuous training by sponsoring them to attend CARLIGH’s conferences, workshops and seminars to enhance their knowledge and skills regarding e-resources access and usage. The staff should, in turn, equip students with innovative methods and techniques of searching to easily formulate search strategies, use advanced search options, and evaluate and retrieve e-resources on a timely basis to meet their educational needs. This can be achieved through the provision of regular and mandatory information literacy training aimed at enabling students to acquire knowledge and skills needed to seek, locate, evaluate and use information effectively to fully meet their educational needs.

Secondly, the management of ACI should inculcate in the library staff the need to always provide personalised support to students in their search activities. The institute’s library staff should, therefore, be encouraged to provide custom search services. That is, students should be provided with forms to make search requests, and staff should be willing to assist them to conduct searches. Also, copies of flyers with self-help guides for accessing or searching within the library catalogue, academic databases and search engines should be made available at the ACI Library and ICT Centre, and on the ACI Library’s website. The willingness of library staff to assist students will not only inspire students to access e-resources but also enable them to spend less time in accessing and retrieving the e-resources they need and, thus, enhance their research and studies.

Thirdly, it is recommended for the librarian to present a proposal to the management of ACI requesting funds to be allocated for the provision of off-campus access to e-resources through a remote access system known as ‘EZproxy’. As ACI students are not resident on campus, the system will be beneficial in helping to meet the students’ research needs and enabling them to gain access to the library’s e-resource subscriptions at off-campus locations.

Fourthly, it is imperative to improve the Internet with the fastest speed possible to increase access to e-resources. While the use of full Internet bandwidth is perhaps the most effective method, using third-party software or the latest version of Internet Download Manager to increase download speed and removing garbage from the computer by downloading CCleaner software for free will ultimately have an effect on Internet speed.

To conclude, there is a need to increase the number of computers at the library. The librarian should either present a request to the management of ACI to provide funds for the procurement of additional state-of-the-art computers or write to donor agencies for support.