ENTREPRENEURIAL PROSPECTS AND INTEREST IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UYO

Background: There are diverse entrepreneurial prospects in library and information science which motivate students to pursue entrepreneurship. These opportunities, if harnessed by the students, can lead to a source of income rather than joining the queue of the unemployed. Despite these entrepreneurial prospects, evidence suggests that students rarely venture into entrepreneurship as a career path in Nigeria. Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised 306 students of the Department of Library and Information Science at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The sample size comprised 173 students, which was determined through the use of Taro Yamane's formula for sample size determination. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire validated by experts in library and information science, management, and evaluation. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach’s Alpha Statistics at .80 coefficient. The mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while multiple regression analyses were used to test the null hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The data collected for this study were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results revealed that publishing services and abstracting services significantly influence students’ interest in the University of Uyo. Conclusion: The study concluded that publishing and abstracting services have a significant impact on the interest of students in entrepreneurship at the University of Uyo. Recommendations: It was recommended, among others, that the Library and Information Science course should be structured by the Department to practically expose students to abstracting services and how to convert them into an entrepreneurial endeavour, which will lead to independence and spark their interest.