Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
2019
Document Type
Article
Abstract
A special library is established to provide information resources and services which are of direct relevance to the interest and activities of the parent institution. Information services delivery in special libraries assists in providing, storing, retrieving and disseminating information to the clientele of such libraries. However, poor information service delivery appears to be rampant in special libraries especially in Nigeria nowadays. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of information resources availability and staff quality on information service delivery in libraries of French-based institutions in Lagos and Oyo States, Nigeria. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, six (6) research questions were raised, and two (2) null hypotheses formulated. The research design adopted for the study was descriptive survey design of the correlational type. Data was collected from four (4) librarians, eleven (11) library staff, and five hundred and twenty-seven (527) library users at French-based institutions in Lagos and Oyo States through questionnaire. Data analysis was done in an SPSS output format based on simple frequency count and percentages to answer the research questions 1-6 while Pearsons’ Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the null hypothesis 1 and 2. The findings of this study revealed that the main services available in libraries of French-based institutions are Current Awareness Services, Reference Services, Bibliographic Services, Audio-visual Services, and Shelf-labeling. The quality of the library staff manifest in their communication skills, information resources selection skills, ICT skills especially the use of search engines to locate and retrieve web-based information resources, and knowledge from trainings and education. Findings reveal that the main challenges of information service delivery by libraries of the French-based institutions include: Lack of Internet facilities (mean=3.26); Lack of ICT devices and tools (mean=3.13); Epileptic power supply (mean=2.95); among others. Adequate information resources coupled with quality staff were available for services delivery in the libraries while ICT devices coupled with lack of Internet facilities and epileptic power supply tend to limit the performance of library staff in terms of services delivery. It is therefore recommended among others that management of the libraries of French-based institutions should strive to make Internet facilities, ICT devices, and alternative power supply available for modern day services delivery.