TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – i
Approval Page – – – – – – – ii
Certification Page – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgments – – – – – – v
Table of contents – – – – – – – vi
List of Tables – – – – – – – – viii
Abstract – – – – – – – – ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study – – – – 1
Statement of the Problem – – – – – 5
Purpose of the Study – – – – – 5
Research Questions – – – – – – 6
Significance of Study – – – – – – 6
Scope of the Study – – – – – 7
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Conceptual framework – – – – – 8
Information sources in public libraries – – – 22
Methods of information service delivery in public libraries – 24
Problems of information service delivery in public libraries – 29
Strategies for effective delivery of information by public libraries – 34
Review Empirical studies – – – – – 44
Summary of literature review. – – – — 47
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS
Research Design – – – – – 50
Area of the Study – – – – – 50
Population – – – – – – – 51
Sample and Sampling Technique – – – – 51
Instrument for Data Collection – – – – 52
Validation of the Instrument – – – – — 53
Method of Data Collection – – – – 54
Method of Data Analysis – – – – – 54
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF DATA – — 55
Types of Information Resources – – – – 56
Methods of Information Service Delivery – – — 57
Appropriateness of Information Service Delivery – – 60
Problems of Information Service Delivery – – – 61
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Discussion of Findings – – – – 64
Implications of Study – – — – — 68
Recommendations – – – – – – 70
Limitations – – – – – – — 70
Suggestions for Further Research – – – – 71
Conclusion – – – – – — 71
REFERENCES – – – – – — 73
APPENDICES – – – – – – – 77
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: library staff response on the types of information sources available in Benue state library Board (BSLB) – – – 55
Table 2: library staff responses on the types of information services offered in Benue State library board (BSLB) – – – 56
Table 3.1: Percentage responses of library staff on the methods of information service delivery in Benue state library board (BLSB)- 57
Table 3.2: Observation checklist of methods of information service delivery in Benue state library Board.- – – – – 58
Table 4.1: Mean response of Users on the Appropriateness of. Information service in Benue state library Board (BSLB). – – 59
Table 4.2: Mean responses of users on the appropriateness of information service delivery in Benue state library board. – – 60
Table
5: Mean
response of the library staff on the problems encountered in providing Information Services in Benue State
Library Board. – – 61
Table 6: Mean responses of the library staff on the strategies for effective service delivery in Benue state library Board (BSLB) – 72
ABSTRACT
This research work was
designed to examine information service delivery in Benue State library Board
with the view to determine the types of information sources available, the
types of information services offered; the appropriateness of information
service delivery media; the problems of providing appropriate information
service delivery to users and the strategies for effective service delivery. Six
research questions guided this study. A descriptive survey research design was
used with stratified random sampling technique to guide the study. The population
of the study was 53,636 made up of library users and library staff. Out of
this, 514 were sampled. 489 consisted of library users and 25 comprised of the
entire library staff under study. Of the 489 copies of questionnaire
distributed to library staff 341 were filled and returned, representing 70%
response rate. While the 25 questionnaires administered to staff, 17 were filled
and returned representing 68% response rate. Observation checklist on
information service delivery was also used for data collection. Statistical
tools used for the analysis were frequency counts and mean score. The major
findings revealed that there are numerous and different types of information resources
available in the board, that there are few information services offered, that
there are few information service deliveries, that both information services
and information service delivery are not appropriate. And that lack of funds,
inadequate staff, lack of facilities (eg. ICT, internet etc), lack of current
textbooks/lack of information sources, lack of demand for information services by
users, lack of professionals and lack of policy on information service
provision are problems responsible for the few appropriate information services
and delivery in Benue State library board. It was based on these findings that,
it was recommended that information resources in Benue State library board
should be constantly updated, that information services need assessment must be
a regular feature before services are rendered, that information service
delivery must be appropriate to users, that Public library must be positioned
like those of special and academic libraries in the provision of adequate and
experienced professionals who would provide qualitative library and information
services in diverse areas of interest to users, that working conditions of
staff in public libraries must be made to be similar to their colleagues in the
universities or research institutes. Above all, government should change it’s
funding policy towards the public libraries.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
A public library is an information center
established by public funds whose services are open to all in the society
irrespective of who they are without discrimination. Quite so, the public
library as issued in 1949, revised in 1972 and declared in 1994 in the UNESCO
public library manifesto in Edoka (2000) declares that the public library is
the local centre of information, making all kinds of knowledge and information
readily available to its users. The services of the public library are provided
on the basis of equality of access for all, regardless of age, race, sex,
religion, nationality, language or social status. Specific services and
materials must be provided for those users who cannot, for whatever reason, use
the regular services and materials for example, linguistic minorities, people
with disabilities or people in hospital or prison. IFLA (2000) in Ikpaahindi
(2008) highlighted that public libraries are to provide resources and services
in a variety of media to meet the needs of individuals and groups for
education, information and personal development including recreation and
leisure.
Educationally, support for formal
education has been a basic function of public libraries since their earliest
days. Information wise, they provide avenues to meet the informational needs of
people. The acquisition of reliable and relevant information is now recognized
to be vitally important and of great value (Ikpaahindi, 2008). With regards to
personal development, public libraries have played a very important role in
providing opportunity for personal development. They provide a range of ideas,
opinions and create experience not available anywhere else. Many people both
farmers and otherwise have testified how their lives have been changed by the
use of public libraries. This apparent responsibility has put considerable
strain on the traditional services of public libraries. The conventional
library services can no longer cope with the emerging demand for speedy
information by users. These users, as diverse as they are, sometimes require
specialized and indepth information as well as general ones in their usually
narrow areas of interest.
Information has been a strategic
resource that is very critical to all levels, sectors and endeavors of the society including every type
of development since immemorable time. It has played a leading role in the
development and modernization of human society. It is usually communicated with
the aim of eliciting a response. Where this is not so, communication is hardly
said to have taken place. Information abounds in various sources and needed by
people in various fields of human endeavor. For maximum exploitation,
information has to be managed from individual level right through group,
organization and institutions, the country, the region and finally
internationally and at global levels. At whatever level information is needed,
it is to address specific issues which include- problem solving,
decision-making, self improvement, enlightenment, national development,
international relationship and so on.
Information therefore can be any
relevant fact, data or idea or assemblage of data of useful purpose communicated with the
aim of addressing, influencing or eliciting response that is capable of
development (Edoka ,2000; Echezona ,2005).
For a developing nation such as Nigeria, that is characterized by problems or
poor state of affairs like mass poverty, poor condition of living, poor
infrastructure facilities, poor health care, economic under development,
primitive practice, customs and slow
laborious technologies, tension, suspicion and so on, the need for information
is apt and cannot be over emphasized. This is because, it is needed in order to
improve the environments in terms of, social, economic, cultural and political
wellbeing Eze(1999) of the people.
Bopp and Smith (1995) asserts that
whenever information and referral services are introduced in public libraries,
it proves to be extremely helpful and is invariably used extensively. Information service is the
provision of definite documents, answers or
information to users questions or information needs regardless of its
complexity. The delivery of such answers or information or documents through
bibliographies, indexes, abstracts or any other channel, media or form
appropriate to the user is known as information service delivery.
Information service delivery in
public libraries, therefore means their diversity because of the heterogeneous nature of the users and
their information needs and demands. The role of public libraries in this
communication link is to provide a place
or avenue through which a universe of these communication links appropriate in supplying
information to the different categories and levels of users in the society can
be met efficiently and effectively. Thus the effectiveness of an information
system in the provision of information that is current, relevant and timely for
development is the function of the information service delivery modes it
uses.
Given the developmental role public
libraries play in the society, it has become clear why it establishment was
early in Benue area. It is on record that the public libraries in Benue state dates back to the colonial era in 1952 when
the Benue area was under the northern regional
government. They were known as reading rooms. Benue
enjoyed the services of three of such reading rooms located at Makurdi, Gboko
and Otukpo. Overtime with independence and series of state creation, what is
known today and referred to as Benue State Library Board came into existence.
This was particularly with the creation of Benue State
in 1976 from the former Benue Plateau. With the creation of Benue State
and the important role libraries had been perceived to play in the development
of an area, a board was therefore established in 1982 by an edict. The board known
as Benue state library Board took off in April
1985 (Agena , 1987 as cited in Mkena,1995).
To achieve the purpose for which the
Board was established, the Board operates through Department s and
units/sections Viz.
- Readers’
services department
- Technical
services Department.
- Children
and extension services department.
- Administration
Department.
Furthermore,
the Board operates a central library at the state Headquarters in
Makurdi, with (11)
branch libraries scattered all over the
three senatorial zones in the state. They are zones tagged as A, B, and C.
Libraries in zone A include: Katsina-ala, Vandeikya, Kwande, Konshisha. Those
in zone B are Gboko, Gwer, Makurdi; And zone C are Otukpo, Ado, Oju, Ogbadibo, and Okpokwu. They are all
strategically located at the state capital, Makurdi and the local government
area headquarters.Presently, the Board has 99,800 stock made up of
mainly textbooks.
The main objective of the Board on
establishment was to
establish and maintain branches in the state local government areas Mkena (1985) as well as
provide ample journals and other research materials to help students and
researchers of higher institutions of learning and enlightenment of the people. The
major category of users in Benue state
library Board are primary school students,
secondary school students, university students and other tertiary
students in the state including civil servants (Mkena, 1995).
Statement of the Problem
INFORMATION SERVICE DELIVERY IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN BENUE STATE
