Librarians

Google Tools at the Disposal of Librarians and skills for the Enhancement of Library Services: A Conceptual Review (Published)

In recent time, there has been the emergence of cloud computing, the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer which allows numerous clients to use the same platform at the same time without any interference from any point online. The king of this practice is the Google cloud computing that paved way for the creation of the famous online Google workspace that houses many Google tools.  This paper holistically takes a look at this Google Workplace and the surrounding Tools. The paper analytically discussed the various tools such as Gmail, Chat, Meet, Calendar, Drive for storage; Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms and Google Scholar among others and where and how they can be applied and utilized by librarians and libraries towards enhancing their services to their heterogeneous users in a digital ecosystem as well as the skills librarians need to acquire for optimal utilization of the Google Workplace and the surrounding products.  At the end of it all, the paper drew its conclusion and suggested among other things that Librarians with the support of library management should be trained on how to manage and utilize to the fullest various Google Tools and that all university library websites should be Google connect as to have all staff create a Gmail account with which they can access all Google products and the library should as well create corporate Gmail account and link with which all staff should be mandated to utilize Google Scholar tool to enhance the university visibility online and quick staff identity verification.

Keywords: Gmail, Google tools, Google workplace, Google+, Information and Communication Technology, Librarians, Library, Library Services

Awareness and Use of Open Access (OA) Initiatives in Ensuring Free Access to Information Among Librarians in Academic Libraries in Nigeria (Published)

This study was carried out to investigate the Awareness and Use of Open Access Initiatives in Ensuring Free Access to Information in Academic Libraries in Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. Five research objectives and five research questions were formulated to guide the study. The population of this study comprised librarians in academic libraries in South-South, Nigeria. Data for the study was collected using a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher and was administered online using Google forms. 62 forms were filled and submitted from the professional platforms. The study used frequency counts and percentages to analyze the data. The findings revealed that librarians in academic libraries in South-South, Nigeria understand OA initiatives to be free availability of online information resources and promotion of free access to scholarly literature. Findings also revealed that Institutional repository, Open access publishing, open access journals and Directory of Open Access Journals are the initiatives that librarians are mostly aware of. The study also found that the OA initiatives mostly utilized by Librarians included open access journals, Institutional repository and DOAJ. Further findings also showed that most librarians felt that the relevance of OA initiatives included: It enables researchers’ access relevant materials, wider accessibility, Information is unrestricted, increased author visibility and Information is available 24/7. Lack of awareness, lack of relevant policies and technophobia were the major challenges of OA initiatives. This implies that librarians are mostly aware of OA initiatives and also utilize them. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that efforts should be made by librarians in keeping aware of OA initiatives and utilize them properly for access to information.

Keywords: Academic Libraries, Librarians, Open Access, Utilization, initiatives

Influence of the Implementation of Nigerian University Commission Library Parameters on Accreditation Readiness for Academic Programmes in Federal Universities of South-East, Nigeria (Published)

The study investigated the influence of the implementation of Nigerian University Commission library parameters on accreditation readiness for academic programmes in Federal Universities of South-East, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised 161 academic librarians in the five federal universities located in the South-East zone of Nigeria. These are; University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Michael Okpara University, Umudike, Federal University of Technology, Owerri and Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo. The census sampling technique was adopted for the study since the total number of academic librarians in the five universities was within a manageable size. The sampling method was considered appropriate because it allows statistical enumeration and participation of all members of the population in the study. Data was collected using questionnaire and analysed using regression analysis. Findings show that libraries are under staffed in most universities in the South East of Nigeria and the libraries had information resources to a great extent, but still needed to widen their services given the growing student population and new courses offered. The study therefore concluded that it is imperative for university administrators through the governing councils to employ more library staff in all cadres (professionals and para-professionals) as well as support staff. Also, the academic library environment should be made more conducive to attract clienteles to the library at all times and maintenance of furniture and equipment at libraries should be standardized, while upgrade and expansion services should also be done systematically.

Keywords: Federal Universities, Librarians, Libraries, Nigerian University Commission (NUC), accreditation readiness, electronic resources, library environment, library staffing

Role of Libraries as Sources for Information by Farmers in Ogbomoso Oyo State Nigeria (Published)

The study investigated the role of libraries as sources of information for farmers in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 150 respondents, of whom 142 (95%) responded and were valid for the analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data using a percentage table. Findings showed that 54.3% of the respondents use library resources as their information sources, while 45.7% do not use library resources. This implied that there was little disparity between those farmers who use libraries and those who do not use libraries as their information sources. Further, negative attitudes by farmers toward the use of libraries, inadequate agricultural information resources in the libraries to meet farmer needs, a low level of ICT skill by farmers to access agricultural information resources in their comfort zones, inadequate time to visit libraries and the long distance of library locations were major problems militating against the farmers use of library resources. While proper information repackaging, adequate education on the use of ICT tools should be given to farmers toward the use of library as their information sources, every library should equip their library with resources on agricultural information, a specialist agricultural librarian should be encouraged by the libraries to meet the needs of farmers; libraries should also encourage mobile services in order to bring library services closer to farmers; and farmers should also be encouraged to find time to visit the library so as to get the latest information on new agricultural innovation documents.

Keywords: Farmers, Information, Librarians, Library Resources, Role

Librarianship in The Era of Digital Divide: Review of Literature (Published)

Librarianship is an evolving discipline having its feet in partially every profession. It is the foundation upon which all other professions in the world over built their structure of existence.  It is no longer news that the application of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has revolutionized the practice of librarianship. This paper therefore, examined the place of librarians in the digital divide. Furthermore, the assumption that those who have knowledge of ICTs are adequately equipped with functional information than those who do not was also examined. Who librarians are and their responsibilities, effects of digital divide on librarianship practice, factors contributory to the digital divide and the challenges confronting the practice in the digital divide were highlighted. The paper concluded that training and re-training of librarians in the form of capacity building is inevitable if librarians will occupy their space in the digital era.

Keywords: Digital Divide, Information & Communication Technologies, Librarians, Nigeria, librarianship, university libraries

Preparedness of Nigerian University Libraries and Librarians for Service Delivery in Post Covid 19 (Published)

The study adopted a descriptive survey design which sought information on the preparedness of academic libraries in Nigerian universities for post COVID-19 pandemic library service delivery. The study was conducted in Anambra State of Nigeria. The population for the study comprised of all the 10 academic librarians in the libraries in the 3 campuses of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Anambra State. There was no sampling because of their small size. The instrument for data collection was a self-developed questionnaire entitled COVID-19 Pandemic Preparedness Questionnaire (CPPQ). Data collected were analysed using mean. The major findings of the study included that all categories: ensuring access to soap and warm water, ensuring they have a supply of hand sanitizers, keeping surfaces clean were some of the measures libraries adopted to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic; staff were advised to work from home, online services were adopted, zoom trainings was always there to ensure the staff safety from the virus: among the problems were inadequate fund, power failure and poor internet services. Based on the findings, the study recommends among others that academic libraries should provide free Wi-Fi around the library and prepare the library’s physical surroundings for people to study in groups of two, three, and more, without necessarily entering the library, government should provide more funding for academic libraries to meet with contemporary best global practices in their library as the library reopens amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19, Librarians, Preparedness. Post pandemic, university libraries

Feminization and Image of Librarianship in Academic Environment: The Nigerian Perspective (Published)

The objective of the study is to examine the effect of feminization of librarianship on the professional image of the profession in Nigeria.Descriptive survey research design was used for the study. Questionnaire was used as the instrument of data collection. Due to the COVID-19 that was ravaging the globe at the time of the study, the questionnaire was administered online via an online survey service, www.surveycrest.com. The data generated were analyzed using SPSS Version 21 and presented in Tables.It was found that Nigerian women librarians are adequately prepared for leadership positions in librarianship, though lack of creativity, low level of confidence, and inability to coordinate accounted for low level of women librarians in leadership positions in librarianship. The finding also revealed that feminization of librarianship in Nigeria determined the low image of the profession. Also, the study showed that continuous feminization of librarianship may consequently decrease the image of librarianship. The study is novel as it investigated how feminization affects the professional image of librarianship in Nigeria. Librarians from only few selected public university libraries in South-west, Nigeria were used for the study. This could limit the generalization of the opinions gathered by the study. Perceiving librarianship as ‘women’s profession’ may erode the image and prestige the profession once had when the field was dominated by men. Feminizing librarianship may reduce the image of the profession

Keywords: Academic Libraries, Gender, Librarians, feminization, image of librarianship, librarianship

Motivational Factors and Job Performance of Academic Librarians in University Libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria (Published)

Librarians’ performance is getting tasking and duties assigned must be completed at the expected time, through an effective and efficient manner. Librarians’ performance seems to be low in the libraries located in Ogun State, Nigeria where they work. Motivational factors stimulate individuals to put in their best to see to the completion of an assigned duty/task. Literature has not being fully established on how motivational factors influence job performance of librarians in Ogun State, Nigeria. It is on this premise that this study aimed to find out the influence of motivational factors on job performance of librarians in university libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria.Survey research design was used in this research. The population of the study was 201 librarians from the nine university libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria. Total enumeration technique was employed. A validated self-constructed structured questionnaire was used for data collection. A response rate of 61% was achieved. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive.The findings revealed descriptively that librarians’ job performance was moderate at an overall mean score of 2.80 on a five point Likert scale with quantity of work output being the least score of 2.69. The extent to which librarians were motivated had an overall mean score of 2.00 which showed a low extent of motivation on a five Likert type scale. The most prevalent motivational factor is compensation (Mean = 2.07) while recognition of librarians was  X=1.87, which indicates that librarians in these institutions were not recognized.The study concluded that motivational factors in these university libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria were low, therefore recommending that there should be an increase in the extent of motivation management of the library. Also, there be encouragement to improve performance of librarians in the libraries by the management of the libraries and the institution at large

Keywords: Job Performance, Librarians, Motivational Factors, job performance of librarians, university libraries

Appraisal of Librarians’ Skills and Awareness on Online Cataloguing and Classification Tools in University Libraries in Nasarawa State (Published)

This study appraised librarians’ skills and awareness on cataloguing and classification tools in three university libraries in Nasarawa state. Descriptive survey design was used to determine the level of librarians’ awareness on online cataloguing and classification tools, determine online cataloguing and classification skills possessed by librarians and to find out the challenges encountered by librarians while carrying out online cataloguing and classification. The population of the study comprised of 18 librarians in three university libraries under study. Close ended structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics expressed in frequency counts, percentages and mean scores. The findings of the study revealed that majority of the respondents were aware of majority of online cataloguing and classification tools such as online computer library centre bibliographic formats and standards, AACR2 /RDA, LC name authority and cutter san born table. The respondents possessed online cataloguing and classification skills such as information literacy skills, data mining skills, advanced search technique, use of KOHA and library databases. The challenges encountered by librarians while cataloguing and classifying library resources online among others include high cost of hardware and software maintenance, erratic power supply and irregular subscription. The study amongst other things recommends that librarians should be trained and re-trained on online cataloguing and classification through local and international workshops, seminars and conferences. There should be improved funding of ICT facilities and librarians should be counseled in the area overcoming computer phobia.

Citation:Dalhatu U. Jibril, Godwin Amidu, and  Sani Suleiman Adamu  (2021) Appraisal of Librarians’ Skills and Awareness on Online Cataloguing and Classification Tools in University Libraries in Nasarawa State, International Journal of Library and Information Science Studies, Vol.7, No.4, pp.49-60

 

 

Keywords: Librarians, online cataloguing and classification skills, university libraries

Demographic Factors as Predictors of Career Commitment of Librarians in Universities in South-west, Nigeria (Published)

The study investigated demographic factors as predictors of career commitment of librarians in Universities in South-west, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (i) determine career commitment traits among librarians in the universities in South-west, Nigeria; and (ii) examine demographic factors of librarians in universities in South-west, Nigeria. Survey research design of correlational type was adopted for the study. Total enumeration technique was used to cover a study population of 295 librarians working in the universities in Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo States, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used for data collection. Two research questions were presented for the study, and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance.The findings of the study revealed that positive significant relationship existed between academic qualification and career commitment (r = .195**, p(.004) < .05), job status and career commitment (r = .591**, p(.000) < .05), years of professional experience and career commitment (r = .575**, p(.000) < .05).  Also, the findings revealed that gender and marital status could not significantly predict career commitment of librarians. The study concluded that that gender and marital status had no significant relationship with the career commitment of librarians in the universities in South-west, Nigeria. Hence both gender exhibit a moderate level of commitment to their career irrespective of their gender or marital status because they are professionals.  Based on this finding, it becomes necessary to treat all librarians equally as there is no rationale for discrimination based on gender in policy issues that can assist them in their profession.

Keywords: Career Commitment, Demographic Factors, Librarians, Universities