Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
The continuous advancement of children in sizes and knowledge, influences their curiosity and need for information which in turn precedes their information seeking patterns. The Children’s section in public libraries saddled with the responsibilities of meeting the information needs of children ensures that there are adequate information resources available for children. This study was carried out in Kwara State Library, Nigeria, with the aim of identifying the information seeking patterns and needs of children in Kwara State Library. To achieve this aim, four objectives were formulated. Which are; to identify the sources of information available to children in Kwara state library; to investigate the information need of children in Kwara state library, to identify the information seeking patterns of children in Kwara state library, and to identify the challenges faced by children in the library. The targeted population for the study were children from age 2-18 years. One hundred (100) questionnaires were designed and distributed to the children in Kwara state library, Nigeria. A total of ninety-one (91) questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed using SPSS statistical package. The findings of the study show that the children’s sections of Kwara state library has varieties of information resources for children; story books, cartoon and artworks, textbooks, comic magazine, pictorial books, cartoon books, and educational toys. The study also found that the dominant information need of the children is related more to education than to recreation. The study found that the major challenges faced by children in the Kwara state library are; difficulty of librarians in understanding children’s information needs, and inability of the children in using library catalogues. The study recommended training sessions for the Kwara State library staff to train them on best approaches of rendering library services to children. The study also recommended a training session for the children on how to use library catalogues.