Information Search Strategies as Correlate of Information Resource Utilization in Academic Libraries (Published)
The study investigated the influence of knowledge of information search strategies on the use of library resources by undergraduate students in federal universities in South-South, zone, Nigeria. The sampled population comprised of 952 registered library users from 3 selected universities in the zone in 2017/2018 academic session. Survey research design method was employed using a structured questionnaire to collect data. Data collected was analysed using mean and standard deviation. The hypothesis was tested using simple linear regression. The regression model produced a regression coefficient of R = .405 which shows that there is a significant positive relationship between knowledge of information search strategies and utilization of library resources. The study equally revealed a relatively low knowledge of information search strategies by undergraduates in the universities investigated. It was recommended among others that libraries should intensify the teaching of information literacy skills, paying particular attention to information search strategies. More so, lecturers should give their students assignments and tasks that require them to do advanced literature search.
Keywords: Information resources, Library Resources, Nigeria, Undergraduates, Utilization, search strategies, south-south zone
Building Institutional Repository: Knowledge Management, Content, Understanding of Key Issues and the Librarians Role (Published)
Institutional Repositories (IRs) are increasingly becoming crucial library resources, and more use of digitized material is fundamental in building sustainable IRs. With a series of universities and research sites distributed throughout the continent, a lot of researchwhich requires preservation is obviously carried out in the institutions. However, a majority of the research generated from these institutions ends up in various libraries which are hardly accessed by learners. As such, many African scholars rely greatly on information from developed nations and reduce Africa to just a consumer of information, rather than a source, hence building an accessible IR allows the display of the works of scholars to the broader community and considerably assists in the advancement of an institution and its outreach. The successful establishment of an institutional repository needs careful arrangements and enthusiasm from the entire institutional community such as students, faculty members and academic staff. Critical decisions have to be made before making any designs and redesigns on IRs such as the funds, staff, technology, metadata, content, building operations and successful management and running of the IRs. This paper explores knowledge management in terms of software and the evolution of how knowledge is managed, the inclusion process of content through structured content organization and modular content publishing, issues of IRs in Nigerian Universities, and the roles of the librarian in building institutional repositories.
Keywords: Academic, Digital, Institution, Nigeria, librarian, repository
Information Retrieval tools and utilization of library resources by undergraduate students in Federal Universities in South-South Zone, Nigeria (Published)
The study investigated the influence of information retrieval tools on the utilization of library resources by undergraduate students in Federal Universities in South-South Zone, Nigeria. The population of the study comprised 952 registered library users from 3 selected universities in the zone during 2017/2018 academic session. Survey research design method was employed using a structured questionnaire to collect data. Data collected was analysis using mean and standard deviation. The hypothesis was tested using simple linear regression and multiple regression analysis respectively. The regression model produced a regression coefficient of R=.489 which revealed that there is a strong positive relationship between knowledge of information retrieval tools and utilization of library resource. The study equally revealed that knowledge of information retrieval tools is relatively low in the institutions studied. It was recommended that more attention should be paid to the teaching of the use of information retrieval tools in all library user education studies of the instructions.
Keywords: Library Resources, Nigeria, Undergraduates, Utilization, retrieval tools, south-south zone
The Electronic Library Services and Its Patronage among Undergraduates in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria (Published)
The role of Electronic Library Services in any academic institution, most especially in human life cannot be overemphasised in this 21st century as they are technological advancement which has increased the role of information as a result of social progress and vigorous development in science and technology. However, the new and emerging technology changed the traditional process of learning, teaching, research and the way education is managed. The pace of change brought by these new technologies has had a significant effect on the way people live, work and play in the world. The study seeks to determine what the use of these electronic library services in Osun State University will mean to the undergraduates in the faculty of Health Sciences in relation to their studies. The population of the study consists of all undergraduates in the faculty of Health Sciences of Osun State University, Osogbo. The faculty has a total number of 1369 undergraduates. A stratified random sampling technique was used in selecting 200 undergraduates in the aforementioned faculty. 144 total number of respondents was used for the study. Both sexes from the various departments were also included in the study. They were well analysed and used to prepare the tables.
Keywords: Electronic Library Services, Faculty of Health Sciences, Information, Nigeria, Osun State University
The Effect of Librarians’ Knowledge and Funding on Preservation and Conservation Practices in Public University Libraries in Nigeria (Published)
Librarians down the ages have been charged with the responsibility of managing information resources and the library users. One of the management practices in the library is preservation and conservation of library resources which is aimed at ensuring the longevity of the library resources. This is a critical concern at this period of dwindling budgetary allocation to public universities where subtle fund is release to the library for the purchase of resources and therefore little or no chance should be given to deterioration. This study therefore investigates some of the key preservation and conservation practices in public universities in Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 183 respondents. Questionnaire was used for data collection and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The finding revealed that the knowledge level shown by librarians towards the preservation and conservation of information materials was relatively high and the level of training for staff and funding of conservation and preservation practices in the selected university libraries has improved greatly when compared with previous studies of conservation and preservation. The study recommends that the library management should maintain and improve on the pace of funding and training of staff on preservation and conservation practices in public university in Nigeria.
Keywords: Conservation Practices, Funding, Librarians’ Knowledge, Nigeria, Preservation, Public University Libraries
Maintenance Culture in Academic Libraries of Universities in South West, Nigeria (Published)
This study explored maintenance culture in academic libraries of universities in south west, Nigeria by taking a cursory look at Lagos State University Library, Ekiti State University Library, Ado – Ekiti and Olusegun Oke Library of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso as case studies. Related literatures were reviewed on sub heading that concerns the subject matter. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Fifty (50) questionnaires were distributed to each of the university library sampled for the study making a total of One Hundred and Fifty questionnaires (150) in all. Out of this One – Hundred and Twenty Eight (128) were returned valid. Four point Lickert scale was used to elicit responses and data collected analysed using frequency count and percentages (%). The findings of the research work indicated some causes of deterioration of library materials in south west Nigeria which are characterized by high temperature and humidity, natural ageing, mutilation by users, insect activities among others. Some of the maintenance practices identified in the course of the work as being practiced were careful removal of documents from shelves, binding of torn books, fumigation, photocopying, digitization, mounting of securities to check delinquencies among others. It was revealed that there were lack of constant training and retraining for staff on preservation, no preservation policies, inadequate funding, lack of functional library equipments for preservation and conservation among others. Based on the findings, the study recommended the following: working policies should be formulated on maintenance, training should be organized, open communication should be established between library management and university community, equipment on preservation and conservation of library materials should be procured.
Keywords: Academic Libraries, Conservation, Deterioration, Maintenance, Maintenance Culture, Nigeria, Preservation, South-west, Universities
Level of Availability and Utilization of Information and Communication Technology Facilities by Students: A Case Study of Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri, Imo State Nigeria (Published)
This paper is an attempt to evaluate the availability and utilization of Information and Communication (ICT) facilities by students in Federal Polytechnic Library, and also challenges the academic library faces in the area of adoption and utilization of ICT in their service delivery. Questionnaire survey approach was adopted. Primary data were collected with the aid of a four point likert scale questionnaire. Questionnaires were administered to Students of the study area. The Population for the Students at Federal Polytechnic Nekede is 870 which was obtained from the Universities’ Information and Communication Technology block (ICT, 2017). The sample size is 290. The sampling technique used here is stratified simple random. To guarantee the reliability of the instrument, it was administered on ten(10)participants out of the envisaged population of the study. A test-retest reliability method of two weeks interval was conducted, response obtained were subjected to Pearson Product Moment Correlation method and a reliability co-efficient of 0.78 was obtained. To analyze data on the research questions of the study the researcher used descriptive statistical mean. The hypothesis was tested using the chi-square (x2) which is a statistical tool to test hypothesis about the relationship between means of groups. It was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that scanning machines, printer, CD-ROM, Computer, Flash Drives, Land Area Network (LAN) and Inverter were available but few. Also the majority of the students indicated that they use ICT to retrieve information (3.1), make research(3.1), disseminate information (3.0) chat with friends (3.1) and download files (3.0). Challenges such as unreliable telecommunication network (3.3) insecurity in the library (3.3) epileptic power supply (3.3) unreliable internet (3.0) and high cost of ICT hardware/software were identified as major challenges of availability and utilization of ICT in the school’s academic library. It was recommended however that these challenges be looked into both by the institution and government in order to address the challenges.
Keywords: Academic Library, Education, ICT, Information and Communication Technology, Nigeria, Students, Utilization
Availability and Utilization of Information Resources and Services in the Special Education Centre Libraries in South-East, Nigeria (Published)
The study focused on ascertaining the availability and utilization of information resources and services in the special education centre libraries in South-East, Nigeria. The study was prompted due to the problems encountered by physically challenged student in the use of normal library services. Six research questions were posed to guide the study, while two hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted survey research design, and used observational checklist and rating scale as data collection instruments. The sample size for the study was 430 comprising five special education staff and 425 special education pupils/students. Two-stage sampling simple random sampling was made. Cronbach Alpha technique was used to ascertain reliability coefficient of .85. Frequency count, standard deviation and mean score were used to address the research questions while the hypotheses were tested using t-test of difference. Results revealed that the number of available information resources for the blind and partially sighted is significantly less than expected in this context. That the number of available information resources for the deaf and hard of hearing is also significantly less than expected. The study also revealed that the available information services for the blind and partially sighted is significantly less than expected, the available information services for the deaf and hard of hearing is also significantly less than expected. The available information resources for the blind and partially sighted are not fully utilized, and the available information resources for the deaf and hard of hearing are not fully utilized. The study concluded that the provision of information resources and services is less than expected. Also the available information resources and services are not fully utilized by the physically challenged groups studied for any significant impact in learning. It `was recommended that, there should be provision of information resources, such as Braille resources; tactile or raised surface; sign language books; adaptive or electronic devices. Services like: on-sight support; guided tours; facilities, etc. Every such library should employ librarians who are clearly aware of the nature of work they do. Adequate funding for proper management of the special education centre libraries in Nigeria in such a way as to meet the present day educational demand for these classes of /pupils/students studied, among others. Suggestions for further studies were also made.
Keywords: Education, Information resources, Libraries, Nigeria, Students, Utilization
The Potentials of Electronic Libraries (E-Libraries) in Knowledge Management in Contemporary Libraries in Nigeria (Published)
This essay discusses e-library services and knowledge management and its application in the contemporary library. It is further broken down into the definitions and concepts of e-library and knowledge management, their respective roles in the libraries, role of the librarian, the inherent problems and challenges faced in using the e-library and some strategies and recommendations in which the problems can be tackled. Traditionally, libraries used to process, store, preserve and disseminate information and information sources through the traditional form of library use, but the application of computers and knowledge management has brought a change to the way librarians and the library operations are been carried out. Introduction of e-services and knowledge management in the library has made it very easy for the end user to access information, and also for the librarian to be able to source information to his users. With e-services in the library, one can easily have access to library resources without visiting the library.
Keywords: Contemporary Library, Electronic Library, Knowledge Management, Nigeria
Role of Academic Libraries in Accreditation of Courses and Teaching Programs: A Case of Afe Babalola University Library, Ado – Ekiti (Published)
This study focused on the role of academic libraries in accreditation of courses and teaching programs in Nigeria taking a cursory look at Afe Babalola University, Ado – Ekiti (ABUAD) Library. It is worthy of note that no educational institution can perform its tripartite functions of teaching, learning and research without well – equipped library and other facilities. This study therefore analyzed the invaluable contribution of Afe Babalola University, Ado – Ekiti (ABUAD) library in courses accreditation and teaching programmes. The findings indicated that in Afe Babalola University, decentralized library system has enhanced specialized collections that are rich and in-depth for providing access to information in print and electronic media. Also, the systematic organizations of the collections have enhanced accessibility by users. This in turns have enhanced full accreditation of most of the courses that are being offered. Furthermore, the library has assisted in equipping students with the necessary skills needed for effective learning, reading skills, information literacy skills and the provision of relevant up – to – date information materials. Access to collections has also been enhanced through long opening hours including weekends.
Keywords: Academic Libraries, Accreditation, Nigeria, teaching programs