Volume 3 No 2 (77 - 156) ISSN: 1596 - 9487

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I OF L:IBRARY &. •. . 1 II\IFORMATION ~ . I . f !iCIEI\ICE'

NUMBER 2

," Editorial Assistants Journal of Library and Information Science Y. Zaid ('Irs.) Library, . Yaba, Lagos. ISSN 1596-9487 © 2003 NLA, Lagos Chapter F.A. Fijabi Mission Statement Yaba College of Technology Library, Lagos Journal of Library and Information Science Y"ba, Lagos. aims to be a world class professional and scholarship journal. U. Anyaogu (Mrs.) Nig. Inst. of Advanced Legal Studies Library, Vision Statement University of Lagos Campus, * To serve as a vehicle for the dissemination of Akoka, Yaba, Lagos. research results. * To provide a credible platform for scholarly Editorial Advisers communication .. *Prof. A. O. Aina Dept. Of Library & Information Studies * To promote intellectual discourse among University of Botswana, library, information, and other professionals Private Bag 0022 in a multi disciplinary context. Gaborone, Botswana. * To uphold the principles of professional excellence: originality, creativity and integrity. *Prof. A. A. Alemna Balm Library University of Ghana Editor-In-Chief P.O. Box 24, Lagos, Ghana. Charles O. Omekwu (Ph.D) Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies *Dr. S. Olajire Olanlokun University of Lagos Campus, Akoka, Lagos. University of Lagos Library e-mail: [email protected] Akoka, Yaba, Lagos.

Editorial Board *Gboyega, Banjo Dr. Ibidapo Oketunji - Member Muson Centre, Lagos. National Library of Nigeria, Ijora, Lagos. *Mrs. Oluremi Jegede Lagos. Mrs. H. S. Egberongbe - Member University of Lagos Library, Website Address: The International Network for the Availability of University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. Scientific Publication has agreed to host LAJLIS at the African Journal Online Website: http://www.ajol.info Mr. I. O. Ajibola - Member National Library of Nigeria, Sabo, Lagos.

Mrs. H.O.J. Akinade - Member College of Medicine Library, Idi-Araba, Lagos.

Mr. Toyin Dina - Member Centre for Management Dev., Lagos - Member Designed and Printed by Mrs. N. B. Yusuf - Business Manager IKOFA COMMERCIAL PRESS LIMITED 18,Mutairu Street, Pedro-Road, National Library of Nigeria, P.O. Box 459, Shomolu Lagos. Ijora, Lagos. *0802 346 0077 use and non-use of library material collections and A Su rvey of the Extent of Utilization services among clientele; the efficiency with which of Services of University of Lagos information in libraries are stored, retrieved and Library utilized. These are according to him closely related to the role of libraries as social, educational, or Professional Practice informational institutions that is, to the nature and impact of libraries on their communities - whether the community is a University, industry, government agency, School, municipality, or some other entity.

User studies are often designed to identify and to analyze how various persons or groups use libraries. Busha (1980) further stated that, the significance and value of knowing the communication needs and practices of library users Egberongbe, H.S. (Mrs.) are being increasingly recognized as librarians find themselves in keen competition for financial Okiki, Chris O. resources. This financial resources can be used to IIIII~------expand information services and resources particularly new media of communication and Egberongbe Halima S.(Mrs.) Principal Librarian, innovations such as the electronic digital computer. Head, Readers' Services Dept., Univeristy of Lagos Library, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria. [email protected] Taylor (1968) stated that the librarian must become a modern generalist concerned and Okiki, Christopher O. Automation Unit, University of Lagos Library, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria. [email protected] knowledgeable about print sound and image about automation and computer technology and about IZEJI formal and informal communication systems. Needs, Users, Utilization, Library services. Busha (1980) sums up the above assertions that user studies are often investigated as attempts to understand, justify, explain, or expand library This paper is a result of an investigation on the usage and consequently, to gain more knowledge needs and extent to which library clientele utilize about the process of communication insofar as library services and facilities being provided by the libraries and their clientele are concerned. university of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Research employed the use of several copies of a questionnaire and interview methods on 225 The University of Lagos library moved to its present Respondents to gather necessary data for the permanent premises in Akoka - Yaba, Lagos, in study. The survey method covered a period of September, 1965. 2004/2005 academic session of the studied. It was estimated at the time that it could take It was discovered that the use of library is largely well over ten years before embarking on further influenced by the users' familiarity with the library expansion. This was because the building and and its resources. The study revealed that facilities facilities were considered very adequate and the provided by the library under investigation were rate of growth was expected to be at a moderate not sufficient for the library clientele. The pace. Researchers therefore recommend that adequate Within five years, the need for expansion in terms funding be made available to the library to ensure of accommodation, services and facilities arose. the provision of its essential duties. This was as a result of the unexpected rapid growth of the University population in the following areas: INTRODUCTION (i) Student intake of four hundred (400) in Issues relating to library effectives are among 1965/66 rose to 4,416 in 1975 those usually raised by librarians and attempt to ensure proper utilization of its resources. Busha ( (ii) Staff development - 200 in 1965/66 rose to 1980) considered factors relating to library 725 in 1975/76. effectives as those that include choice and This in turn led to an increase in stock and demand suitability of library materials; the nature of library for more sophisticated services and facilities in the collections in relation to needs of clientele, the University library. As the library got larger, it

94 A Survey of the Extent of Utilization of Services of ... Lagos Journal of Library and Information Science Egberongbe, H. S. (Mrs). & Okiki, Chris O. Vol. 3, No.2, 2006 many of the users. It also became paramount on (b) stay longer in the library the library itself to identify clearly the needs of its (c) reach library materials more easily clientele and to cater effectively for them. By the 2002/2003 academic session the student intake had (d) increase their rate of use risen to 43,000.00 while staff intake was estimated IFidon (1985) in Oyesiku and Oduwole (2004) list to 2000 plus. The library collection by the same five major objectives of the University library as: period had also increased to 330,000 volumes with a journal subscription of 450 titles. (a) provision of materials in support of learning and teaching. It also became necessary to have a feed-back data on patron behaviour on services and facilities so as (b) provision of materials to meet the requirements to have adequate information on the nature and of faculty specialists and postgraduate students activities of the library clientele. Although many who are doing research. libraries keep statistics as a means of measuring and assessing their activities, insufficient knowledge (c) provision of materials to assist the library user about how to use these statistics makes them in his own personal self development. inadequate tools for effective planning. Bearing in (d) cooperation with other University libraries, with mind, therefore, the need for the library to examine a view to developing a network of academic its goals constantly in order to be at alert to the library resources which are at the disposal of ever rapid changes that are taking place around it all students and teaching faculties and finally. in the University became necessary that a scientific method of measurement of activities, services (e) meeting the specialized information needs of facilities, attitudes and behaviour should be used the regions within which the Universities are for evaluating the present situation and for making situated. an adequate forecast of the future. Downs (1983) emphasized the importance of the With the foregoing in mind, the study set out to library in any educational set up. According to him: assess the needs of the users of the University of "No well informed person would question Lagos Library system and to determine the extent that the library should occupy a central to which the library is meeting these needs in place in an educational institution. For providing facilities and service that are used by scholars and students in the humanities and them. social sciences, libraries serve as basic resources " ." REVIEW OF LITERATURE Academic libraries ideally should be living organs Previous studies on academic library use revealed that are fully responsive to the needs of the patrons. various characteristics of library habits of students. Olanlokun (1983) has reminded librarians that; Olanlokun (1982) in a study of the use of academic library found out that students used the library for "libraries need continuous feed back from class work, research, discussion, leisure and other their users lest they loose touch with the purposes. While Wire (1995) in a survey of an realities of their existence". undergraduate library noted significant changes in This view corroborated Taylor (1968) research, who library use patterns that have implications for the conducted a series of unstructured and informal redesigning of academic library services interviews with help desk staff to unearth the social Olanlokun (1982) tried to see the relationship dynamics of users searching skill. between accessibility and the use made of academic As a result, Taylor (1968) noted that 'reference library by undergraduates at the institution. He librarians' have developed. looked at two specific areas in the library. These are: \\ ... rather sophisticated methods of interrogating users. These methods are 1. Reserved Book Service, and difficult to describe, indeed some believe 2. Reference Service they are indescribable ... [Because] we are dealing here, of course, with a very subtle He concluded from the analysis of the data gathered problem - how one person tries to find out that more accessibility encouraged the students to: what another person wants to know, when (a) visit the library more often the latter cannot describe the need 95 A Survey of the Extent of Utilization of Services of. .. Lagos Journal of Library and Information Science Egberongbe, H. S. (Mrs). & Okiki, Chris O. Vol.3, No.2, 2006

precisely. .. The negotiation of reference Research forms basis of the usage of libraries by questions is one of the most complex acts just to mention a few have been asserted. of human communication. In this act, one According to Wells (1999) the effectiveness of person tries to describe for another person libraries have often been measured by the volumes not something he knows, but rather of library materials available to clients. From this something he doesn't know'. expression, Well's (1999) position has to do with library usage of undergraduate students and their Taylor (1968) subsequently developed what can only academic performance. The emphasis has always be described as a heavily cognitive model to account been on provision of good library services as this is for the 'sophisticated methods' devised by reference more important to the library users than mere librarian to negotiate reference questions. The physical library building. Hence, this study is model suggests that help desk staff exploit Five designed to examine the needs and extent to which distinct 'Filters' to articulate and translate user needs library users utilize library service and facilities into descriptions that 'fit' the library catalogue and provided by the University of Lagos library. permit the identification of users' solutions to the problem situation. OBJECTIVES OFTHE STUDY: As Garfinkel (1996) puts it, 1. To Find out the areas of library user' needs, and "The principal formal analytic devices the extent to which Library is meeting them. currently in hand, of paying careful attention 2. To find out what the library users think of the to the use, the design, and administration library services and facilities. of generic representational theorizing - models, for example, get a job done that 3. To find the level of mutual co-operation and with the same technical skills in understanding between library staff and users. administering them lose the very 4. To examine whether the library is phenomena that they profess ... immortal communicating sufficiently with the users ordinary society evidently, just in any actual regarding availability of various library facilities case ... is only discoverable. It is not and services. imaginable. It cannot be imagined but is only actually found out, and just in any RESEARCH METHOLOGY aCtualcase. The way its done is everything it can consist of and imagined descriptions A survey was carried out using the questionnaire cannot capture this deteit". and interview method. The research First consulted secondary literature to Find out what had been An alternate approach might instead be adopted written on library service, facilities and user that replaces a concern with the development of satisfaction information was also directly gathered formal analytic models of practical action with a from lecturers and students who used the University concern to produce real-world; real-time library during the 2004/2005 academic session. Two descriptions of the lived work of collaboration to identify and explicate the subtle methods that staff hundred and twenty five (225) copies of and library users in this case - exploit to get the questionnaire were randomly distributed to lecturers and students. search done and locate information of relevance. Crabtree (2000). SAMPLlNG This assertion confirms that the library user is A total of approximately 225 copies of a regarded as evaluator to determine whether the library is playing its role satisfactorily or not. In questionnaires were distributed randomly to library providing quality services and users satisfaction users out of which 216 questionnaire were returned. academic libraries distinguish their services through The questionnaire was personally administered by friendly, helpful and knowledgeable advice and the the researchers on the library users who were best technological resources available. Millson- physically present in the library at the time of study. Martula and Menon (1995) maintained that one of The survey was conducted over a period of one the expectations is incorporated into the academic session i.e. 2004/2005. The response rate development of programs and services. . of (96%) was achieved.

96 A Survey ofthe Extent of Utilization of Services of ... Lagos Journal of Library and Information Science Egberongbe, H. S. (Mrs). & Okiki, Chris O. Vol. 3, No.2, 2006

Table I: Status of Respondents From the above table, respondents were given option to indicate as many that applied. The table STATUS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE shows that all library facilities posted are used Academic Staff 38 17 though in varying degrees: (44%) and (26%) Administrative Staff 28 13 respondents used books and journals. While reference materials, Newspapers, magazine, Postgraduate 64 30 Indexes and Abstracting have (7%); (9%); and (4%) Undergraduate 86 40 respectively. The result showed that lack of Total 216 100 awareness of existing facilities as shown in table II might have resulted to this. The Analysis, show that undergraduate and Postgraduate Students with 86 (40%) and 64 (30%) Table IV: Ranked distribution of adequacy of were the main respondents, while Academic and facilities and services available at the library. Administrative Staff with 17% and 13% form the RESPONSES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE other degree of respondents. Adequate Enough 46 22 Table II: Frequency of Utilization of Library Adequate 61 28 Inadequate RESPONSES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE 89 41 Indifference Manual Catalogue 397 25 20 9 OPAC 262 16 Total 216 100 Internet Search 54 3 The table above shows that 89 (41 %) respondents Reference Query 140 9 indicate that the library facilities and services Photocopy Services 480 30 rendered are inadequate; 61 (28%) and 46(22%) Lending System 15 2 rated facilities and services "adequate" and "adequate enough" respectively while 20 (9%) were Library Orientation Manual 249 15 "indifferent". This may be the reason why they make less use of the library. Total 1597 100

Table V: Level of Communication through From the above table, one would observe that the library guide and instruction number of responses is far higher than the population of the respondents. This is so because RESPONSES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE the respondents were given choices of responding Sufficient Enough 49 23 to as many options as possible. Sufficient 72 33 The response presented shows that photocopy Insufficient 90 42 services (30%) Manual Catalogue (25%) Online No Comment 5 2 Public access catalogue and library orientation Total 216 100 manual with (16%) and (15%) respectively are frequently used. However, reference query (9%) From the above table it is clear that the level of and lending system (2%) were lowly utilized. This communication is insufficient. The implication is may lead to lack of awareness of library services. that users of library careless of relevant information Table III: Ranking or Distribution of Library that will help them in accessing library resources. Facilities CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS RESPONSES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE Book Consultation 573 44 The study reveals that the use of library is largely Journal Consultation 341 26 influenced most by the users' familiarity with the E-Resource 132 10 library and its resources. It was discovered that the facilities provided by University of Lagos library Reference Materials 97 7 is not sutfident for the users' needs when compared Newspapers & Magazines 111 9 with other first generation Universities. For Indexes and Abstracting 46 4 example; The Kenneth Dike library of the University Total 1300 100 of Ibadan library and The Hezekiah Oluwasammi

97 !\ Survey orthe Lxtent of Utilization of Services of ... Lagos Journal of Library and Infom1ation Science Egbcrongbc, II. S. (Mrs). & Okiki, Chris O. Vol. 3, No.2, 2006 who are about three times bigger in terms of REFERENCES building. Andaleeb, S. and Simmonds, P. (1998). The low rating of Library guide manual could be Explaining user satisfaction with academic traced to the fact that the mandatory use of library libraries: Strategic implications College and guide was introduced towards the tail end of 2003/ Research Libraries, 59(2), 156-167. 04 academic session. It was discovered that many Burns, R. B.(1978). Library use as a performance users find it difficult to remember what was shown measure its background and rationale "Journal to them during the orientation programmes to the of Academic Librarianships" p.4, 4-11. extent that majority of the respondents were not aware of the lending system in the library. BushaCharles H. and Stephen Harter (1980). Research methods in Liberianship. Techniques Adequate funding for ensuring good stocking of and Interpretation. New York Academic Press. informational materials as well as recruitment of well trained staff is imperative to effective service Crabtree, A., O'Brien, J., Nichols, D., delivery. Also, assertiveness an instruction and Rouncefield, M., and Twidale, M. (2000). knowledge on how to use library resources will help "Ethno-methodologically informed ethnography to increase library usage and enable users to and information systems design ", Journal of effectively use library resource for their academic the American Society for Information pp. 666- works. 670.

The year 2006 has however ushered in a new down Downs, R. B. (1990). The enduring book Library in the life of the University of University of Lagos Journal special report NO.21 p.14. library. The establishment of a virtual reference library-tl e UniversitiesConnect library donated by Ifidon, S.E. 1985a. Collection Development in the MTN Foundation is a real step in the right Nigerian University Libraries. In: Aspects of direction of what can be termed as academic African Librarianship: A Collection of Writings. reengineering of the library. London: Mansell: 31-49.

The library with a state-of-the-art furnishing and Millson-Martula, C. and Menon, V. (1995). equipped with one hundred and twenty computer Customer expectations: Concepts and reality systems. to provide electronic services such as e- for academic library services. journals, e-books, e-references, inter library Olanlokun, S. O. (1983). Attitudes of faculty and leading, bibliographic searches etc. this is achieved students on Library Service 10(2). Lagos through access to databases such as Oxford Librarian p.116-129. Journals online, scienceDirect library Online, EBSCOhost online database, online digital library Onwueggbuzie, A. J. & Jiao, Q. G. (1997). etc. Academic library usage: A comparison of native and non-native English- speaking students. The project no doubt is bound to enrich the University Australian Library Journal, 46(3),258-269. of Lagos Library through the emerging trends in libraries in the wake of current technological Oyesiku & Oduwole (2004), Use of an academic advancement. library: A survey on the Olabisi Onabajo University Libraries. Lagos Journal of Library & In conclusion, it is important to note that the quality Information Science, VOI.2.(2) p.96-97. of the library's resources is a key variable when researching into library usage. This is so because Taylor, R.S. (1968). "Question-negotiation and academic library users patronize libraries frequently information seeking in libraries", College & to find solutions to their academic quest, hence it is Research Libraries, vel, 29 (3), pp. 178-90. imperative that University of Lagos library should Wells, J. (1995). The influence of library usage have the right kind of resources to meet their users' an undergraduate academic success. needs. Australian Academic and Research Libraries, 26(2), 121-128.

98 Lago§ Journal of Library &. Information !icience VOLUME 3, NO 2, 2006

. ' CONTENTS ,.~ ,

1. Editorial IH;; •••...• !, Abstracts & Keywords , 77.' Legal Information Resources in Cyberspace: Opportunities and Challenges for Developing Countries Anyaogu U/ocha (Mrs.)

The Effects of Bibliotherapy on Prisoners: A Case Study of Prison, Lagos Nigeria. Owoeye Jide

94. A Survey of the Extent of Utilization of Services of University of Lagos Library Egberongbe Halima S. (Mrs) Okki Christopher O.

99. A Comparative Analysis of ASCON and CMD Libraries Ogungbo W. o. IyoroA. o.

107. Cataloguing-in-Publication (CIP) Programme in the National Library of Nigeria: The Journey so far Akidi Juliana Obiageri (Mrs.)

, ,121.' Book Donations and Law Libraries: " . Development, Dependence, or Pauperization? Hussaini Alii

.131 Computerisation ofYaba College of Technology Library: An Experience Adebowale T. 0 Fijabi F. A. YakubuE. D.

137. Long-term Access and Preservation of Digital Materials in Libraries and Archives Strategies and Challenges Ajuwon G. A. (Mrs.)

;l47. Interface Model for Infomiation Utilization in Research Institutions John-Okeke Rita (Mrs.)

153. The Challenges of Academic Libraries in Providing Consumer Health Information On HIV/AIDS to Undergraduate Students in Nigeria. Ezeani Chinwe Ph.D