ARTICULATION OF AN INFORMATION POLICY FOR A CAMPUS

ARTICULATION OF AN INFORMATION POLICY FOR A CAMPUS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Academic libraries are libraries established in institutions of higher learning. Uwaifo (2010) defines academic library as those libraries established and maintained by higher/tertiary institutions of learning such as universities, polytechnics, colleges of educations, school of nursing, school of health technologies, petroleum training institutes etc.   Aina (2004) stated that, academic institutions are categorised mainly into two namely; university and non-university institutions such as, colleges of education, polytechnics, school of nursing, and others, other than secondary schools. Libraries in these institutions perform functions directly related to the mission of each institution they serve. Libraries of these institutions according to Dara (2005) are established to be the source of the procurement and supply of textbooks, journals, and adequate current valuable information to promote academic excellence. The central function of an academic library is to support the teaching, learning and research programmes of the institution by acquiring adequate print and non-print information resources and audio-visual materials, and make them available for use by students, faculty members and researchers in general. These libraries are established in their various institutions in order to support all academic work, and achieve the objectives of academic libraries which are to provide adequate information resources for teaching, learning and researches for all users. This is in agreement with Omeje (2005) who noted that academic libraries worldwide may differ in size and sophistication, but they have one common objective: to provide information resources to facilitate teaching, learning, research and community services embarked upon by the parent institution. Academic libraries, according to Boakye (1994), are charged with the responsibility of providing adequate information materials to satisfy the needs of well defined specialized users, who are lecturers, researchers, administrators, or students of a particular academic institution. These materials to be provided should be varied enough, to meet the functions of teaching, research and development, publication and community services particularly, of the lecturers and students, and library users in general.