CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – – – i
Approval Page – – – – – – – – – ii
Certification – – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgements – – – – – – – – v
Table of Contents – – – – – – – – – vi
List of Tables – – – – – – – – – vii
Abstract – – – – – – – – – – viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION – – – – – 1
Background
of the Study – – – – – – – 1
Statement
of the Problem – – – – – – 9
Purpose
of the Study – – – – – – – 11
Research
Questions – – – – – – – 11
Significance
of the Study – – – – – – – 12
Scope
of the Study – – – – – – – 13
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE – – – 14
Conceptual Framework – – – – – – – 14
Nature
of Reference Services – – – – – 15
Reference
Services Rendered to Library Users – – 23
Assessment
of Reference Services – – – – – – 25
Users
Satisfaction – – – – – – – – 28
Problems
Associated with Reference Services in …- – – 30
Strategies
for Enhancing Reference Services in …- – – – 33
Review of Empirical Studies- – – – – – – 40
Summary
of Literature Review – – – – – – 43
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD – – – – 46
Research
Design – – – – – – – – 46
Area
of the Study – – – – – – – – 46
Population
of the Study – – – – – – – 47
Sample
and Sampling Technique – – – – – 47
Instrument
for Data Collection – – – – – – 47
Validation
of the Instrument – – – – – – 48
Method
of Data Collection – – – – – – 48
Method
of Data Analysis – – – – – – 48
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTION AND
ANALYSIS OF DATA – 50
CHAPTER FIVE:
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS- – – – – 57
Discussion
of Findings – – – – – – – 57
Implication
of the Study – – – – – – – 61
Recommendation
of the Study – – – – – 62
Suggestions
for Further Studies – – – – – 62
Limitation
of the Study – – – – – – – 63
Conclusion
– – – – – – – – – 63
REFERENCES – – – – – – – – – 65
APPENDICES – – – – – – – – – 78
Appendix A: Assessment of Federal University Libraries Reference
Services to
Undergraduate Students Questionnaire
(AFULRISQ) – – – – – – – 78
Appendix B: Distribution of Respondents and Sample – 85
Appendix C: Interview Schedule for
University Liberians in Federal
University Libraries – – – – – – 86
LIST OF TABLES
Tables Page
- Mean of Reference Services
Rendered to the Undergraduate
Students
in the Federal University Libraries in South Eastern
Nigeria
– – – – – – – – – 50
- Mean of the Available
Resource in Reference Sections of these
Libraries – – – – – – – – – 51
- Mean of Use of Reference
Service by the Undergraduate Students
in these
Libraries – – – – – – – – 52
- Mean of Extent of
Satisfaction of the Undergraduate Student with
Reference and Information
Services – – – – – 53
- Mean of Problems Encountered
by the Undergraduate Students
While Using Reference
Materials – – – – – 54
- Mean of Strategies for
Overcoming the Identified Problems – 55
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to assess reference and
information services rendered to the undergraduate students in federal
university libraries in Enugu and Anambra stateS
of Nigeria.
This is with aim of ascertaining the reference and information services offered
to undergraduate students in these university libraries, to identify the
available resources in the reference sections in these libraries, to find out
the extent to which the undergraduate students make use of reference and information sources in these
libraries, to find out the extent to which the undergraduate students are
satisfied with services offered in these libraries, to determine the problem
encountered by using the reference collections in these libraries and to
suggest possible ways of solving the identified problems. Based on the
objective, six research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey design
was adopted in carrying out the work. Sampling technique was used. A total
number of one thousand, four hundred and sixty one (1461) respondents were used
for the study. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire and oral
interview. One thousand four hundred and sixty one (1461) copies of the
questionnaire were distributed to the undergraduate students of the two
university libraries with 95% return rate. Frequency table and mean were used
for the data analysis. The results obtained from the findings revealed that
reference services are rendered to undergraduate students in the two university
libraries, that reference resources are available in the reference sections of the
university libraries, that the undergraduate students make use of the reference
services offered to them in the libraries under study. The finding also revealed
that greater number of the undergraduate students are satisfied with the
reference services offered in these libraries. However, the findings revealed
that erratic power supply and lack of money constitute major problems to
reference services in these libraries. Based on the findings, it was
recommended that the administration of the libraries under study should make
available stand-by generator to avoid disruption of power supply and that management
should release more funds to enable libraries acquire more materials.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The
library is regarded as the nucleus of any academic institution including
universities. University libraries are established as a knowledge/information
nerve centre otherwise called the “heart” of the university. The university is
a service organization with the primary objective of providing the
bibliographic resources required in fulfillment of the university’s mission.
The university’s mission according to the National Policy on Education (2004)
is to make optimum contributions to national development of high level manpower
within the context of the needs of the nation. For any university to cope with
the task of teaching, learning and research effectively, the university requires
the total support of functional libraries.
University
libraries also referred to as academic libraries help their parent institutions
achieve their aim by performing the following functions:
- Provision of materials for
undergraduate instruction, term papers, projects as well as supplementary
reading;
- provision of materials in support of
faculties, external and collaborative researches;
- provision of information resources
for postgraduate research;
- provision of expensive standard works
especially in the professional disciplines;
- Provision of materials for personal
development (Igwebuike, 2003).
The university reference and
information services department according to Sturges (2002) is agency or
department responsible for providing processed or published information on
specific topics to an organization’s internal users, its customers or the
public. However, Matthew (2001) asserts that to be successful in today’s fast
changing and highly competitive world, it is vital to use information
technology effectively, having understood the role it plays, tremendous
benefits it offers and how to make the best use of its system.
The entire human and material
resources in a library are put in place at considerable expense for the overall
purpose of providing effective services to the library users. On its part the
library has a responsibility to ensure that its resources and services are
used. This matter is so fundamental that one can define a library in terms of
use. Indeed the modern library anticipates the expectation of its users and
positively provides resources and services to fulfill them (Edoka 2000).
According to Boulanger (1990) the traditional user groups of the academic
library are the faculty, staff and students of the college or university.
The undergraduate or the university
students pursuing their first degree have diverse needs such as information for
writing their term papers, doing their assignments and even how to use the
catalogue to get what they need from the libraries. Some of these are reference
service needs which could best be provided by the reference librarian using
reference sources. The undergraduate students gain entrance to the university
without the skills for making effective use of the library and its resources.
Aguolu and Aguolu (2002) posit that although in the university setting
development of library literacy applies to both undergraduates and the
postgraduates, it is primarily directed at the former. The library contains a
vast array of information and often times the resources is not accessible to
the undergraduate, students, especially the new intakes due to their lack of
information skills. Hence Popoola (2001) posits that information availability
does not mean accessibility and utilization. For the undergraduate students to undergo
meaningful university education, they need to learn how to exploit the
resources of the library especially reference sources.
Reference and information services
are among the most important of these services, as they bring together the user
and the resources in the library. Reference service is the personal assistance
given by the librarian to individuals in search of information. In effect,
reference service involves providing answers to questions asked by the library
users. A reader has an information need. He comes to the library and poses the
question. The librarian strives to provide an answer to the question from the
information resources in his library and sometimes in another library. The
essence of library service is the maximization of information resources in the
library.
Encyclopedia Britanica (2003) states
that the origin of formalized reference services can be found in American
academic and public libraries and dated from the last quarter of the 19th
century. It further noted that organized reference services appear to have been
a uniquely American contribution to world librarianship. Reference services are
aimed at teaching users the use of the standard reference sources and providing
general answers to users’ queries. In the words of Osinulu and Balogun (2003)
reference services are established primarily to facilitate the use of the
library and its resources. Supporting this view Kumar (1998) highlights that in
order to convert potential users into habitual users it is essential to establish
a desired kind of contact between the user and the document. According to Kumar
this (establishment of right contact between a user and document) assumes the
existence of documents as well as users. In the same vein Ranganathan (1961)
argues that the right contact between the right reader and the right book at
the right time in the right personal way. Ranganathan further states that
reference service is the establishment of contact between reader and book by
personal services. Here personal service to each user to help him to find his
requirement is emphasized. Galvin (1987) and Ugwuanyi (1997) in their different
studies succinctly defined reference services as the personal assistance given
to the users finding special information whether direct or indirect. Ifidon
(1997) gave a broader definition of reference service as the springboard to the
library and librarianship, wherein one is involved with all aspects of
information, both theoretical and practical.
Reference and information services
extend beyond the provision of answers to questions. The users are to develop
skills which will enable them get all types of reference and informa
