Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Learning disabilities is a generic term that refers to different groups of difficulties manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities. .This is a descriptive survey that is aimed at ascertaining the level of awareness of learning disabilities among academic librarians who by position serve heterogeneous clientele. The study was guided by one research question based on the objective of the study. The sample population of this study was 50 academic librarians randomly selected from five federal universities in Southeast, Nigeria while the major instrument used in collecting data for this study was a 20-item test like questionnaire constructed by the researcher to test the basic awareness of learning disability among these academic librarians. The data collected were statistically analyzed on percentile basis and analyses were done on the basis of Level of awareness of learning disabilities and scores achieved in test items by the academic librarians. The outcome of the study shows that the academic librarians had a moderate knowledge about learning disability. To this end it was recommended among others that orientation programmes and workshops need to be conducted so that they can diagnose the problem of students who form bulk of their patrons and intervene accordingly as well as addressing the challenge of lack of awareness among the general public as well as educators and library management.