ATTITUDE OF ACADEMIC STAFF TOWARDS THE USE OF LIBRARY MATERIALS IN NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY, KEFFI

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ATTITUDE OF ACADEMIC STAFF TOWARDS THE USE OF LIBRARY MATERIALS IN NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY, KEFFI

ABSTRACT

This research work was designed to examine the attitude of academic staff towards the use of library materials in Nasarawa State University, Keffi. The specific objectives of the study is to find out the level of availability of library materials in the university, and determine the extent of use of the materials by staff. It is also to find out the factors that impede staff use of the library and make recommendations for improvement of library use. The study shows that there are many library resources such as books, journals, bulletin, transactions and proceedings, research monographs, research reports, technical bulletin, price lists, data sheets, dissertations, indexes/abstracts, biographies, gazetteers, dictionaries, and encyclopedias amongst others, in the Nasarawa State University, Keffi and that academic staff use the library mainly for consultation of books and reference materials. They also use it for research purpose and borrowing of books. A number of recommendations were put forward for improvement of library use but the most prominent suggestion was that more up to date and relevant information sources should be acquired for the library, more professional staff should be recruited to help increase the quality of service delivery and that the library should be properly funded.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       Introduction

The main purpose of the University Library is to support the objectives of the University, which is to promote teaching, learning and research. The university library is meant to serve the undergraduates, post-graduates, lecturers and other members of the university community. The quality of a university is measured largely by the quality of its library because of its unique role in the university system. There can never be the existence of a university without a library since the university is meant to teach and carry out research. For the teaching staff and research fellows, the university library is supposed to provide information resources and services of sufficient quality and diversity.

The university library is supposed to provide a variety of services. It is also supposed to “serve” all the areas of knowledge taught in the university. Consequently, university libraries are sometimes decentralized with a main library co-ordinating departmental and faculty libraries. This is the situation in Nasarawa State University, Keffi Library where departmental libraries are co-ordinated by the main library. For a university library such as the Nasarawa State University, Keffi Library to perform its several functions, its collection must not only include books but other materials such as general and specialized reference collections, made up of journals, newspapers, manuscripts, historical maps, government publications, clippings, letters, thesis and audio-visual materials.

Utilization of library resources simply means using of library resources. A person or thing that uses something somewhere or someplace to achieve his or her purposes is a utiliser or user. In the same context, one can state that those who make use of the library materials for their benefits are library users or utilisers. Also, those who enter the library and find such library materials useful are library users. Whittaker (1993) also defined a user as “a person who uses one or more of library services at least once a year. Hence, people who go either to the public, private, special school or academic libraries for some genuine reasons, requiring the attention of the library staff, are known as the library users or utilisers. Library users in the universities can be divided up administratively into external and internal users. The internal users consist of undergraduates, post-graduates, lecturers, research fellows and other members of the tertiary institutions, while the external users are those who are not members of the institution, but are also served by the libraries but under certain specific official arrangement.

Users of academic libraries are mostly made up of subject readers who concentrate their use of library materials on subject fields, they are working in or are studying. Students belong to these subgroups of subjects readers. Subject specialists or academic staff are also part of these subgroups, with the students obviously forming a high proportion of the users of academic libraries.

1.1       Background to the Study

The Library has the responsibility for selecting, acquiring and organizing books, periodicals, documents, newspapers, maps, digital databases, audio-visual materials and other 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/nonacademic activities revolve around the resources that are stocked and exploited by the University community for all academic and administrative endeavours within the academia. A library is of good quality if it has a good collection and provides effective services for finding the collection it offers. Without any reservation the “library” is a challenging and exciting place, if its resources are properly organized and made accessible to users.

A university library is a part of a university organization which aims at the advancement of the functions of its parent body. The major objectives and functions of these libraries are to help her parent organization to fulfill her primary objectives which are teaching, learning, research documentations and publishing. Therefore, their primary goals are to meet the information needs of the staffs and students of the institutional community they are attached to first, then their host community, state, nation and the larger global community. Kumar (2016) asserts that a university is supposed to perform the following functions: Teaching, Research, Publications, and Conservation of knowledge and ideas and Extension services. The information materials of academic libraries are acquired to support academic programme offered in the institution.

Due to the emphasis on research and documentation, academic libraries concentrate on the development of material on current information. This accounts for why they have large consignments of journals, books and other current materials. As such, they are as varied and distinctive as the institutions which they serve. That is to say that an academic library reflects the development of the colleges and universities of which they are part. As integral parts of the institution that they serve, these libraries often design their collection and services to meet the instructional programme of the particular institution. It houses various resources that cover all courses being offered in the institution The University library exists in component. That is, it is made up of several divisions, departments and units that function inter-related to achieve its primary objectives. There is no universal system of grouping the departments and units in the library, as every library is based on the realities of its environment, management style and library system may decide to organize her library in such a way and manner that enable it render efficient service to its users. Thus, various tasks and operations in the ‘library, the grouping of similar activities form the basis for departmentalization of the library. The technical service department is the most important department in the library. It is the heart of the entire library system and it is regarded as the fundamental process in the library management. Effective library services depend on the outcome of the activities in this department (Ishola, 2014). Ifidon (2014) opined that technical services form the backbone of all library processes, and ensures a systematic organization of all library materials for effective use.

A building filled with books is not necessarily a library unless the books have been organized for access and made available for use. The cataloguing unit’s functions are to organize the total library resources with suitable bibliographic controls to facilitate access to the resources by clientele. The traditional means for accomplishing this goal are descriptive cataloguing, subject cataloguing and classification. This assignment requires effective records prepared with a reasonable economy, (Nwalor 2013).

The materials in library, therefore, lead to a change in the way the library offers services to its clientele. Change is a natural phenomenon in growth and envelopment. Human beings are known to respond differently to changing situations thus, reflecting in their attitudes towards the object of change fear of change is similarly a natural human reaction every human being develops control over familiar situations and in most cases, feels comfortable with the familiar than the unfamiliar.  

1.2       Statement of the Problem

The use of library materials cuts across all professions in any society. Awareness of the need for the use of libraries materials has become very popular. In the library, a computerized cataloguing system enable the use of centrally produce bibliographic records other such services offered to users in library include e-mails, online database/electronic journal access co-nontechnology and OPAC.

The role of the information providers to understand, the need of the users their attitudes towards seeking their needs only then can users optimize the benefits that such services tend to offers.

However, not much is known about the attitudes of librarians in Nasarawa State University towards the materials in the institutions library, it therefore becomes imperative to take closer look at those attitudes, which have an effect on how students make use of the facilities and will in turn affect the overall success of the library’s facilities and programme.

It has been observed that most Nigerian students do not make use of the library material provided in the library. This may be as a result of lack of orientation on library usage. It is against this backdrop that this research work intends to study attitude of librarian towards the use of library catalogue in Nasarawa State University Keffi.

1.3       Research Questions

1. Do librarians use the library materials in identifying and retrieve information materials the library?
2. How is the awareness and use of the library materials by librarians in the study area?
3. What is the attitude of librarians toward information retrieval?
4. What are users frustrations in their bid to use the library materials
5. What are the possible solutions towards the use of library materials in University Libraries?

1.4       Research Objectives

The main objective of this study is to examine the attitude of librarians towards the use of library materials in University Libraries in Nasarawa State.

The specific objectives are as follows:

1. To find out if the librarians use the library materials in identifying and retrieve information materials the library.
2. To ascertain awareness and use of the library materials by librarians in the study area.
3. To find out the attitude of librarians toward information retrieval.
4. To find out users frustrations in their bid to use the library materials.
5. To proffer possible solutions towards the use of library materials.

1.5       Significance of the Study

It is of no doubt that every research work must have something new to contribute to the knowledge and people that will benefit from the outcome of the research findings. Therefore, this research work will be of great benefit to students, researchers, lecturers and non-teaching staff that do make use of the library’s information resources and it will also serve as an instrument for updating the library users on the use of library catalogue.

The Implication of study to LIS professionals and University Libraries cannot be overemphasized has it will help Library and information professionals and University library managers plan on how to adequately manage their library open catalogues toward maximum utilization by users.

Also the various information delivery methods through which information can be delivered will be exposed, thereby enabling university librarians to know the specific ones they can demand for. The study will also add to the existing literature in the field of librarianship especially in the area of utilization of University Library resources.

1.6       Scope and Limitation of the Study

The work is limited to Nasarawa State University, Keffi. The content consists of reference books/sources definition, information services, types of reference materials in both digital and traditional, role of reference librarians, as well as attitude of librarians towards library materials in university libraries.

This study has some certain limitations. They include

Some of the respondents especially the lecturers were afraid to give sincere information about the state of the library for fear that the leadership will be upset. Some of the lecturers felt that it is an exercise in futility, that is, nothing will come out of it. However, most lecturers on the assurance of the researcher that any information given will be treated highly confidential, but were still insincere. This insincere information was a serious limitation to the study.

1.7       Definition of Terms

Below are the operational meaning of the major terms and variable used in the study.

Library: Library is a collection of sources, resources and services and the structure in which it is housed. The term “Library” has itself occurred a secondary meaning “a collection of useful material for common use”.

Resources: Library materials such as printed and non-printed materials available both physical and online for the use of patrons in the school libraries.

Electronic Library: The library deemed to be one in which the core-processor of library become basically electronic in nature which is likely to happen in through the wide spread incorporation and use of computers and the various facilities that they are able to make available.

Attitude: The feeling of the student towards the use of library resources in their school.

Academic Performance: Academic performance is the achievement outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person has accomplish specific goal.

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