CYBERSECURITY GOVERNANCE, DIGITAL RESILIENCE AND CONTINUITY OF ELECTRONIC LIBRARY SERVICES IN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN SOUTHSOUTH NIGERIA: DEVELOPING AN INSTITUTIONAL CYBER-RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK

The rapid digitization of university library services has increased institutional dependence on electronic journals, databases, e-books, repositories and cloud-based platforms, while simultaneously exposing these services to growing cybersecurity risks. This study examines cybersecurity governance, digital resilience and continuity of electronic library services in university libraries in South-South Nigeria, with specific purpose of developing and validating a context-specific institutional cyber-resilience framework. A mixed-methods research design was adopted across 10 universities comprising six Federal, two State and two Private institutions. Data was obtained from 161 valid respondents, representing an 80.5% response rate and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple regression and expert validation. Findings revealed moderate levels of cybersecurity governance (x̄ = 3.18), human capacity (x̄ = 3.05), technology and infrastructure (x̄ = 3.27), response and recovery capacity (x̄ = 2.91), digital resilience (x̄ = 3.12) and continuity of electronic library services (x̄ = 3.24). Significant positive relationships exist among study variables, with digital resilience strongly associated with service continuity (r = .81, p < .01). The regression model had 68% of the variance in digital resilience, with response and recovery capacity making the strongest contribution (β = .34), followed by technology and infrastructure (β = .29), cybersecurity governance (β = .23) and human capacity (β = .19). Digital resilience significantly predicted continuity of electronic library services (β = .81, R² = .66, p < .001). Expert validation produced an overall mean of 4.48, confirming the framework's relevance and applicability. The study contributes an institutionally grounded cyberresilience framework that integrates governance, human capacity, technology, response, recovery to strengthen sustainable electronic library services and inform university management, TETFund and regulatory policy