Availability And Use Of Library Resources In Training Libraries By Students
Availability And Use Of Library Resources In Training Libraries By Students
Abstract
This study carried out on availability and use of library resources in training libraries by students, using department of library and information science training library as a case study.
The objective of this research work is to find out the extent of availability and use of library resources by students of library and information science.
The sample population is 100 which is represented 5% of the total population under study. Questionnaire and interview schedule were used as data collection instruments. The method of statistical analysis is the simple frequency table which used tables and percentages to represent the findings of the data collected.
The findings show that the available resources are not adequate to meet the demands of the student and there is need to introduce user education to improve use of these resources.
In conclusion, it has become clear from this research that the available resources in the library has a significant role to play in the attainment of an individual educational objectives.
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
The term, “use of library” is DEFINED AS PERSUING THE STOCK (BROWSING), ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE FROM LIBRARY STAFF, ACTUALLY FINDING INFORMATION OF VALUE, TAKING OUT a book in the library, studying one’s own material in the library, coming into the library and so on. But using library resources is not restricted in the above listed actives, rather it is likely to be a combination of any or all of these and perhaps several others.
However, using library means the holding of library borrower’s cards and using or not using them. It also includes library attendance.
Historically, the use of the collections of the library was restricted to the library building and it otherwise guarantee deposited by the users involved. Besides, as the number of books increased from a few hundred to a few thousands. The book chests gave way to book closets and then to small library rooms. Later on the medieval era, the book was simply for safekeeping because few copies were available.
The role of the training library could be described as that of acquiring materials, processing them and making them available for use rather than preservation. As the library attached to an academic department, it is of necessity educational in purpose. It constitutes an indispensable intellectual store/repository in an academic community and form the never centred around which academic work revolves.
The factor of availability is often talked about than recognised. Ease of use and ready accessibility, as countless studies have found, are the two major factors in determing which information is used. Information being the life wire of any society whether complex, industrial or simple, can be retrieved from the wealth of resources housed in the library.
The essential logical problem of making library books physically available when needed by the library users is central to librarianship. Intellectual access to recorded information has quite properly been a major preoccupation of librarians. Its importance has been reflected in the effort devoted to the design and creation of bibliographies, catalogues, classification scheme and other devices that help establish the existence of individual documents and their relevance to specific enquires. However, intellectual access needs to be accomplished by physical access if the documents are to be used. The essential logical of making books available to library users has received far less attention in the literature of librarianship that has the discussions of intellectual access.
Unfortunately, current library practice has paid little attention to the definition of “availability” let alone “use”. Also the number of books acquired tends to have little relevance in the objective assessment of readers requirement. The effective regulation of not borrowing out books is quiet understood, in the departmental library presently, not many copies of materials are acquired, and they are not loaned out to users, though the materials may be lent for photocopying. In photocopying the books, the students have to submit their ID and, school fees receipts or mobile telephone sets.
Unfortunately no survey has been made prior to the present study. This present study therefore is to carry out an investigation on the “Availability and use of library resources in training library by students’. This is with a view to determining the extent to which the resources in the library are able to meet the needs and at the same time find out how the students make use of the resources.
Resources in the library can be both books and non-book materials. The users are mostly students in the library and information science department, the use of library depends on the services provided by the students.
It should be appreciated that the use and non-use of training library resources make a very important difference to a person’s attainment of his / her ultimate educational objectives. If then a library primary objective is to encourage optimal use of the service which it provide and it is true the successful use breed more intensive use.
1.2 Statement of Problems
Libraries of all kinds provide information services of various to various kinds of people. They are social service institutions that tailor their services to a particular constituency. Hence an academic library is established to cater for teaching and research needs of lecturers, students and information needs of non-academic staff.
Library use can easily be transferable into recognizable benefit? This is a problem that will concern library practitioners, library educators and library users. It will be of interest to provide a useful insight to know if there are things the students can gain or benefit from using the library. Does the use of library improve student’s academic performance?
1.3 Objective of Study
The objective of this work is to investigate the types, quality and quantity of available resources in the training library. The research intends to examine t he following
- To find out the level of available resources in the training library by students.
- The frequency of use of the library material by the students.
- To find out reasons, if any why students do not use the training library.
- To check the recency of the library materials.
- To find out the information resources available for library science students.
- To find out if the available materials meets the needs of the students.
- To determine whether the library offer them services.
- To find out whether the library science students are satisfied with the services provided for them.
1.4 Research Questions
- What are the information resources available for library science students?
- How do library science students obtain resources required for their commitment
- Do library students get satisfied with the resources provided?
- What are the problems associated with satisfying the needs of library science students?
- How would the identified problem be solved?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
- H0: library science students are not satisfied with the services provided for them
H1: library science students are satisfied with the services provided for them - H0: there are no significant reasons why students do not use the training library
H2: there are significant reasons why students do not use the training library
1.6 Scope of the Study
The research work is on availability and use of library resources in training library by students of library and information science department of federal polytechnic Nekede Owerri.
1.7 Significance of the Study
This work is on availability and use of library resources in training library by students. This is to extend the frontier of human knowledge and in other to solve human problem encountered in training libraries when making resources available to students. It is an addition to the literature in library and information science. It will also guide future researchers and consultants who would replicate this work to improve on it.
Federal Polytechnic and the Department of Library / Information Science: Historical Brief
Imo state Edict-No. 16 of April 1976 established the Federal Polytechnic Nekede Owerri. Among other things, the edict empowered the polytechnic to erect, provide equipment and maintain a library.
In response to this, a chief librarian was appointed on March 1978. By the time the polytechnic open on the 5th of December 1978, a clerk typist and a messenger had been appointed to assist the chief librarian. By the time the polytechnic was till operating at a temporary site at the government technical college Owerri. It was exactly on this date that the library started operating with an initial collection of 300 volumes including serial titles, newspapers, periodicals etc. which were organized and consulted by users in a separate segment of the library.
The polytechnic move to its permanent site in Nekede in November 1980, with the library occupying one room in the engineering block with a separate partition for serials in January 1983, the library moved to the classroom complex where it occupied more rooms.
Today, the polytechnic purpose built a befitting academic library which occupies a two storey building was constructed under the regime of the former rector Dr. C. I. Osuoji and was completed.
The polytechnic new college library was commissioned on Saturday May 19, 2001. By Prof. A. B. Borishade and opened to the members of the polytechnic Nekede (staff and students) in January 2002.
Historical Brief of the Departmental of Library and Information Science
The department of library and information science, college of technology now federal polytechnic, Nekede (hereafter referred to as Nekede Library school) is the older of the two library schools in a critically complex occupation as the most efficient way to transmit t he tricks and concept of the work to beginners. This association partly accounts for the establishment of library schools in different places. However, while educators and institutions in other parts of Nigeria were literally re-inventing the wheel by concentrating on University-based library school.
From Ikpa-Iroh’s (2006) account, this library school was established in 1979 at the then college of technology Nekede at the outskirt of Owerri, the capital of Imo state. However the first set of students was admitted in the year 1980 / 1981 academic session. In the same academic session, Okpa-Iroha (1980/81), unarguably the father of polytechnic based library education in Nigeria made a formal application for polytechnic in the country to offer library science at National Diploma and Higher National Diploma levels. The details of his submission to the national Board for Technical Education (NBTE) titled: A case for running of library and information science programmes in the polytechnic system of Education in Nigeria.
The uniqueness of the Nekede library school was captured by Ngoha (1984) who described it fittingly as the first one to be established outside the aegis of a university. It is therefore an undesirable historical fact that while the lending lights in Nigeria library practice and education were engrossed in a heated debate about the issue of library leaders education and the superiority of the programmes of existing library school, the authorities of the college of technology in Imo state provided the resources, facilities and personnel required to put the suitability and practicability of a non-university-based library school to test. This singular decision, which has radically attend the course of library education in Nigeria for the better is not worthy and commendable.
As focused trailblazers, the promoters of the Nekede library school were conscious of the scepticism that trailed their new experiment in polytechnic based library education. Elder Okpa-Iroha, ably supported by his faculty colleagues and management of college of Technology, Nekede design a further two years Higher National Diploma (HND) in library science. Graduates of the National Diploma (ND) are eligible to enrol into the H N D programmes after a mandatory 12 months interlude of internship in libraries or allied information institutions. This maiden ND and HND programmes in library science were accredited in the 1985/86 academic session following successful defences of the proposal before the NBTE and other relevant authorities.
The opportunities for the acquisition of library education in Imo State was widened further in 1990/2000 academic session. When the Nekede library school introduced a 1 year pre-national diploma in library and information science.
1.8 Definition of Operational Terms
Availability:
The quality or condition of being available, capability of being used being at hand, being ready. The availability of library materials by student. Making the library resources available for students
Use:
To put into action or service, utilize use ones knowledge, the way using ones time a poor use of a material. How library resources can b used.
Library:
This is a collection of books, a room or building where a collection of books; periodicals, manuscript and other materials, is kept. A classified group of objects collected and arranged for users to study.
Resources:
The actual and potential wealth of country natural resources. Any supply that will meet a needs stock or reserve upon which to draw when necessary a possibility of aid on assistances.
Library Science:
Artefacts of communication (Oduagwu, 2002)
Students:
People who are studying at a school, college and university. (Hornby, 2000)
1.8 Organization of the Study
This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows
- Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study.
- Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.
- Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.
- Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.
- Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study
Chapter Five
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
5.1 Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to appraise the availability and uses of library resources in training libraries by student.
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of library resources in training libraries.
5.2 Summary
This study was conducted to compare graduate students Internet use and library use. It was based on the assumption that graduate students used the Internet more than the library. The findings of the study indicate that students do not bypass the library in satisfying their information needs. They use both the library and the Internet, although the Internet is used more than the library and it is also the most preferred source of information. Students also make use of sources such as the media, lecture notes and interaction with their lecturers and experts in their research areas. Most library services are well patronized, while most Internet services are much underutilized. It is difficult to generalize the results of this study since it was the first of its kind in a Ghanaian university. Furthermore, no study was found that examined all of the parameters addressed in this study. There has been enormous advancement in technology since this study was conduct, especially in the area of access to the Internet.
5.3 Conclusion
The Library has the responsibility for selecting, acquiring and organizing relevant information materials that will effectively assist learning, teaching, research and recreational activities of the University. A University is as good as its Library; no wonder, then that the Library is always referred to as the “nerve centre”, the “pivot”, the “heart”, or the “core” of the academic life of a university. All academic/non-academic activities revolve around the resources that are stocked and exploited by the University community for all academic and administrative endeavours within the academia. Students’ academic work, faculty research and other activities in the university will suffer if library resources are not fully exploited, similarly the library will be said to have failed if the university community are not able to access and use available resources in carrying out its functions. Satisfying users’ needs in the academic libraries should be academic objective of libraries and librarians. Hence librarians must strive to bring information sources to their user community no matter the cost, in order to provide and sustain quality library and information services to their users because availability, access and use of information resources are the core of 21st century library services. However, there is need for library and information professionals to develop a good and better understanding of the content and usage of electronic resources in their custody to enhance their capacity in helping their users to locate and retrieve online information for teaching and research purposes so as to reduce the frustrations of users.
5.4 Recommendations
Librarians should explore all available means, including lobbying, asserting their rights where necessary, request for gifts, donations and all wholesome means to ensure constant funding of their libraries cum availability of current information resources, and factor in modern ICT facilities and innovative approaches into their library services to further improve access and use of their products and services.
Librarians should embrace the services of agency and groups whose objectives aims and functions can help to further improve the availability of information sources. Such bodies include: Education Trust fund for library intervention, Open Society Initiative for West Africa(OSIWA),Information Network for Availability of Scientific Publication(INASP),Book Aid international, Endowment, Alumni, Associations and Group of library Users, Macarthur foundation. Apart from providing the funds, these 8sources and many more ensure sustainability of the services.
User education programs should be revolutionized, modern ICT equipment’s should be factor in, as well as practical instructions to ensure adequate understanding of library activities by users.
Library personnel should be made aware of the concepts and principles of modern marketing of library products and services. This can be performed through the holding of workshops, seminars, short-term courses, and other related programs on the subject.
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