INFLUENCE OF THE LIBRARY ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ILORIN METROPOLIS

ABSTRACT

        This study investigated into the Influence of the Uses of library on the academic performance of secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis.

        Two hundred respondents participated in the study. Four research hypotheses were generated for the study and t-test statistical method was used to analyses the data gathered with the questionnaire. The study showed that significant relationship existed between non-funding of university library and students performance.

        Also significant relationship existed between non-qualified staff and students’ performance, significant relationship existed between inadequate relevant resources and students’ performance and significant relationship exist between staff motivation and students performance. It was therefore recommended that qualified library staff must be well equipped with relevant equipment, the library should be well equipped while there should be opportunity for future development of the library.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS                                                          PAGE

TITLE PAGE                                                             i      

CERTIFICATION                                                       ii     

DEDICATION                                                           iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS                                          iv    

ABSTRACT                                                               vi    

TABLE OF CONTENTS                                             vii

LIST OF TABLES                                                      x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study                                                 1

Statement of the Problem                                        7

Purpose of the Study                                                       8

General Questions                                                   9

Research Questions                                                 9

Research Hypotheses                                               11   

Significance of the Study                                                 12

Delimitation and Scope of the Study                               12   

Definition of Terms (Operational Definitions)           13   

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Library Administration                                             14

Library Personnel Administration                            18

Manpower and Education                                        22

Personnel Problem in Academic Library                   27

Concept of Library Resource                                    31

Availability of Library Resources                              36

Summary of Review of Related Literature Review     38   

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD

Research Design                                                      40   

Population                                                               41   

Sample and Sampling Techniques                           41

Instrumentation                                                       42   

Validity of the Instrument                                        42   

Reliability of the Instrument                                    43

Administration of the Instrument                            43   

Data Analysis                                                           44

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results                                                                    45

Discussion of Findings                                            49   

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary                                                                         53   

Conclusion                                                              54

Implication of the Study                                          55

Recommendations                                                   55

Limitations of the Study                                          56

Suggestions for Further Study                                         56

REFERENCES                                                         57

APPENDIX                                                               59

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1:    t-test analysis comparing participants by Sex            45

Table 2:    t-test comparing participants by type of schools                46

Table 3:    t-test analysis comparing participants by discipline       47

Table 4:    t-test analysis on comparing participants by size             48

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

        Efficient services acquisition within an academic institution is linked with the academic development and activity of the institution. The effective use of resources depends on the library with committees and towards concerned with forward planning. Library development strategies are linked to institutional areas and this enables the librarian to create core collections, provide for new courses and options and support selected research areas within agreed budgetary limitation.

        This measure of supports alone carries with it elements of planned insufficiency for areas less in need of supports such as these in declining teaching areas on these adequately covered in other local institutions or through systems of inter library  cooperation. On the face, such a system appears sensible and operationally sounds, but experience suggests that a clear understanding of academic priorities and objectives has not always been a strong feature of academic institution planning.

        It is possible therefore to fund the library operating in something of a vacuum, on the one hand being deprived of the guidance crisping from effective forward planning but on the other hand having no luck of rather desperate subjective advice from individuals and department. In such content, a well planned strategy for provision of resources has been extremely difficult to achieve.

        It is also the case that the majority of academic institutions have to content with number of organizational and administrative features, which have considerable input on librarianship. There is first the multi-site problem, which invariably splits the stocks between a number of libraries and course difficulties over duplication and proper administration and exploitation of materials. Secondly academic institution in recent offer new commences. Many of which are multi-disciplinary in nature, and this makes it difficult for the library to create collections along classic subject lines.

        Ayandibu (2000) stressed that the multi-site academic institutions such as polytechnic create demand for multiple provision of resources. Means have to be found to curtail spending on duplicate materials and these have included critical appraisal of all requests for additional of inter-site current awareness services designed to keep the academic user (students, lecturers) informed of contents pages even though resources themselves may be located else where.

        Ogunmilade (1995) also stressed that on issue of major importance in recent times to the librarians in Nigerian higher institutions of learning has been and continue to be question of how to effectively manage the library resources particularly in a period of socio-economic stress. This issue had been so critical that it continue to re-echo at the periodic meeting of committee of librarians of schools of education, polytechnic and universities. Moreover, the issue has been attracting prominent attention at National Conference on Researches Management in Nigerian Institution of Learning.

        The unique place of library in Nigerian Education System cannot be over-emphasized. Library is simply described as a special designated building stocked with prints and non-prints which are readily made available to the library users such as teachers, students, researchers, and the public at large through convenient booking, cataloguing and delivery system. This also described by Odetoyinbo (1993) as material on instructional and self-development centre which operates as an integral part of school environment. Today there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of library users in Nigerian Institution of Learning.

        The increase in the number of library users can be attributed to a number of factors which include prohibitive cost of textbooks in the market, non availability of some periodicals and reference materials in the markets and the inevitable need for other library services such as photocopying, binding of books and research report word processing of materials on computers, viewing motion pictures, film strips on other audio-visual materials, studying teaching machines, audio-visual tape of disc recordings.

        Library resources depreciate quickly as they are being subjected to daily use by numerous users. Funds for new materials and equipment are glossily inadequate to meet the escalating prices of these materials, and such no library can afford to replace its collection every few years. It is therefore expedient to find effective ways of managing the library resources so that they will last through many years of use.

        In Nigeria institution of learning, students depend greatly on the library to pursue different kinds of activities which include finding materials for writing reports, book reviews, debates or research papers, seeking information, finding answers to questions that may arise from the teaching process or for personal curiosity, recreational reading browsing through current magazines newspapers and learning to use the library car catalogue, bibliographies, reference books and periodical.

        It is therefore no superfluous remark that if the library is to successfully accomplish its lofty goals of servicing as information centre, a teaching and learning laboratory and to stimulate reading interest, reading habit recreational reading, reading for pleasure, concerted effort must be geared towards effective management of the library resources.

Statement of the Problem