COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES ( A CASE STUDY OF BABCOCK UNIVERSITY AND LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY)

ABSTRACT

The study examines the comparative study of public university libraries and private university libraries, a case study of Babcock university and Lagos state university, Nigeria. 

The research design employed is a survey design. The population is therefore 104 and consist of all the librarians in Babcock and Lasu. There was no sampling technique because the total number of the librarians in Babcock and Lasu was enumeratedly used.  the sample size was 104 respondents.  Qualitative methods were used for the data analysis. This method involves the use of descriptive statistics techniques such as frequencies and simple percentages. The frequencies are evaluated while the simple percentages are calculated and interpreted accordingly. 

The findings of the study are: There is a positive and significant relationship between products and services available in Babcock and Lagos State Universities libraries. Frequency of utilization of school library products and services among the students of Babcock and Lagos State Universities Library are highly positive.

The study concluded that comparative study of public university libraries and private university libraries in Babcock university and Lagos state university. Nigeria are highly commendable and positive. The study suggested that; More ICT equipment should be deployed to the academic libraries in higher institution to encourage digital preservation; Training and retraining of librarians should be done from time to time to inculcate positive attitude and interest towards digital preservation; Efforts should be enhanced by the institution authorities towards digital preservation so as to meet the yearnings and aspiration of the users and researchers; Other accessory facilities should be provided in the academic library to aid the process of digital preservation.

 CHAPTER ONE

1.0.      Introduction

This study was about the comparative study of public university libraries and private university libraries in Babcock and Lagos State University in South West part of Nigeria. The chapter presented the background of the study, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research questions, and the significance of the study.

1.1. Background of the Study

All governments and many international and private agencies invest in higher education, however, although there is widespread commitment in principle to such investment, in Africa, development of library and information services is generally perceived to be inadequate and inputs into library development have been typically small scale, piecemeal and lacking in co-ordination. At the same time university libraries have remained central to the management of scholarly communication and for centuries they have been repository of the written record and a powerful symbol of human intellectual achievement. Although traditionally libraries have been the most important of the university facilities in supporting advanced scholarship, today, perhaps as never before fundamental questions are being raised concerning their nature and purpose as institutions.

Universities are established primarily to support and cater for teaching, learning and research activities of parent institution. University students visit the libraries in order to retrieve accurate, adequate, relevant and current information in electronic resources form for effective and efficient teaching, learning and research work. Library users include undergraduates, postgraduates’ information professionals, staff and other researchers from outside the University community who intend to use the library. The undergraduates are expected to read further after class instructions to collect relevant information for class assignments, seminars, term papers, dissertations, thesis and projects. This information could be retrieved from the electronic resources in the library.

The undergraduates of university library need information to satisfy their social and psychological needs to promote and enhance their academic pursuit during their course of study in the university. The purpose of the university libraries is to provide adequate and relevant information resources both in print and non-print formats. The print information resources like journals, textbooks, magazines, newspapers and reference materials and non-print like CD-ROM, audio-visual materials, micro-films, micro fiches, databases and e-resources are to support class assignments, project work, term papers and seminar presentation by providing relevant information and services provision for effective and efficient achievement of academic excellence. 

The importance of the School libraries to learning cannot be overemphasized. According to (Morrone, 2013) meaningful learning in the information age requires thinking differently about meaningful engagement of students. They opined that Innovation in the curricula, including experimentation with technologies and learning spaces, would be more effective when driven by faculty and student needs, served by integrated support structures. The central library, though very significant, is no longer sufficient to serve the needs and interests of all the Schools/faculties in each University. According to (Ijirigho, 2009), the information explosion induced by Information and Communication technologies poses the challenge of satisfying user expectations. Attempts to satisfy the needs of the users require locating library resources and products to the schools. School libraries perform several functions.

According to (The Portland State University, 2014), the services rendered by School libraries are classified into three main groups. They are: Requesting & Borrowing of Materials: including activities like opening an account/ renew; check out and Return; departmental delivery; distant users (home delivery); authorized borrowers (proxy request form); inter- library loans and article delivery; offsite collection request and suggest a purchase. The second category of services rendered by the school library includes teaching and classroom support. It also involves course reserves request form; persistent links to library content; open educational resources; streaming films & music DVDS for classroom screening; workshops & tours; instruction request; library instruction services; contact your subject librarian.

In Africa, it has been observed that the university library has become just one among the several sources of information available to the academic community. In a recent study, Rosenberg (1997) has observed that since mid 1980s, in Africa the relative value of local university libraries has declined to a near total loss of faith in their own existence, which has led to their marginalization from the teaching, learning and research process in the university.

Libraries assist research process by collecting, preserving and making available an array of information resources relevant to their research community. Libraries are very significant to the Universities in various senses.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Increasingly, academics and in particular senior faculty members in Nigeria Universities have adopted strategies to obtain information, other than using the university library. These include: personal contacts in the first world to obtain reports and journal articles, writing for reprints, travel outside the country and development of personal libraries, the purchase of key texts and subscription to journals. For undergraduates there is increasing dependence on lecture notes and handouts as well as purchase of textbooks, methods that are felt to be in the end more reliable than depending on the university library. At the same time there is widely held opinion that the library remains highly cost-effective in providing information service to the university community especially in Africa. Although the senior academics are able to survive without library provision, for junior academics and students who have no network of research contacts life is obviously difficult. This apathy towards university libraries in Nigeria has been partly attributed to the alienation and deteriorating quality of library services in the country resulting from poor funding. This is true especially of public universities. Teaching methods, which do not support independent study by students and which devalue the role of libraries as well as poor management practices on the part of librarians have also been blamed for the poor state of affairs. The overall impact of deteriorating university libraries is poor teaching and research in the universities themselves and if the trend continues unchecked the quality of university education in Nigeria will be in jeopardy. To remedy this situation it is imperative that the policies, attitudes and practices that surround university libraries in Nigeria are examined and a decision be made on what needs to be done. This was the focus of this study. It aimed at investigating the comparison between Private and Public Universities Libraries.

1.3. Objectives of the Study

The specific objectives of the study are:

1. To know the extent of the products and services available in Babcock and Lagos State Universities libraries.
2. To understand the extent is the frequency of utilization of school library products and services among the students of Babcock and Lagos State Universities Library.

1.4 Research Questions

Based on the following objectives of the study, the following research questions were postulated;

1. What is the extent of the products and services available in Babcock and Lagos State Universities libraries?
2. To what extent is the frequency of utilization of school library products and services among the students of Babcock and Lagos State Universities Library?

1.5. Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were tested in their null form

Ho: There is no extent of the products and services available in Babcock and Lagos State Universities libraries.

Ho: There is no extent in the frequency of utilization of school library products and services among the students of Babcock and Lagos State Universities Library.

1.6. Significance of Study

The study when carried out is expected to bring about the following improvement on the part of undergraduate students, the university library and its services;

1. Enhance awareness of reference sources in the university library among students
2. Improve the awareness of other library information sources and services among the undergraduates.
3. Enhance adequate and judicious utilization of reference sources among undergraduates
4. It will bring about improvement in the research gestures of undergraduates.
5. It will make undergraduates to be more familiar with the use of reference sources.

1.7. Scope

This study is on comparative study of public university libraries and private university libraries in Babcock University and Lagos State University in Ogun and Lagos State respectively.

1.8. Definition of terms

Library: is a collection of sources of information and similar resources, made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing.

University: is an institution of higher education and research which awards academic degrees in various academic disciplines.

1.9. Chapterization

The research understudy shall encompass 5 chapters, which are as follows;

Chapter one shall comprise the introduction and body of the topic; Chapter two entails the literature review, empirical framework, conceptual framework and theoretical framework; Chapter three consists of the research methodology and design, research instrument, sample and sampling size; Chapter four entails data presentation and analysis, while Chapter five shall be the concluding part, which includes the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendation.