Impact of Automation of Academic Libraries
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the Study
The general objective of this study is to investigate how library automation and electronic information resources’ use affect librarian’s performance in schoolsin Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:
- identify the level of library automation in schools in Nigeria;
- investigate the level of availability of electronic information resources in schools in Nigeria;
- ascertain the frequency of use of electronic information resources available in schoolsin Nigeria;
- determine the librarian’s performance of school libraries in Nigeria;
- determine the impact of library automation on student’s performance in schools in Nigeria;
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Libraries, as association, by and large formalize material preparing and user administrations into two separate partitions inside the authoritative structure, regularly known as Technical Services and Users Services. Conceivably, Technical Services library trusts that the securing and recording are their exclusive parts inside the framework, and that subsequent client use of the prepared resources are not their concern. Accordingly, of this partition of capacities, assessment of one capacity won’t really uncover significant data about different capacities inside the library. An assessment of the preparing of materials could uncover much about the impactiveness of the procedure yet nothing at all about regardless of whether the index made it simpler for clients to discover required data.
There have been a few arrangements of librarians performance measures distributed over the most recent four decades. None of them has increased all-inclusive acknowledgment like performance studies, measuring library performance and library performance marker. Most library info and yield can be tallied effortlessly and this makes their estimation alluring to library chiefs. Arrangements of performance measures made in the 1980s and mid 1990s were for the most part made out of information and yield measures. In many libraries, the measures were utilized just to give a few information to subsidizing organizations, and the same number of library administrators get a kick out of the chance to incorporate correlations with associate libraries in their yearly reports, utilizing straightforward measures that were likewise utilized by comparable libraries made that announcing simple. What could be said of numerous early endeavors at gathering measures of library performance is that (a) the pointer utilized depended on the impression of the supplier, not of the client, (b) that the measures were amazing, e.g. what number of books are looked at, and (c) that regularly the information went no place, or, best case scenario wound up in yearly reports.
One of the principle elements of the library is to help individuals discover data; sort out it, recover and keep up the framework which permits access to fit or show individuals how to utilize the data in our environment. With these data assets in the library, it can work past the working hours of their obligations inferable from the way that they can work anyplace whenever to take care of their clients. Library automation and electronic assets utilize will enlarge the information and operational base of libraries since they won’t be restricted to what they have inside their own library. Library automation and electronic assets guarantee cost adequacy when obtaining library materials, the library will know the materials that are of high utilize and most asked for by clients. Library may not know every one of the responses to all clients’ need however they know how to discover the solution for their clients, even in private colleges in , Nigeria. Private colleges are establishments claimed by people, gatherings and religious or religion situated in Nigeria.
The primary real endeavor at a combined rundown was the general arrangement of performance measures for open libraries of the Public Libraries Association (PLA), (De Prospo, Altman, and Beasley, 2003). The work of the PLA majorly affected the more extensive agreeableness of performance measures in libraries, in spite of the fact that in handy terms the information gathering strategies sketched out in the 2003 production were not generally received. In the meantime, a few experts were attempting to understand the idea of library “adequacy” and were starting to recognize viability with the accomplishment of properly focused on administration situated objectives and destinations (ISO, 2008). The most huge commitment of early endeavors to assess library performance was that they changed the by and large acknowledged comprehension of library viability from a distraction with impactively evaluated asset based sources of info (spending plans, gathering size, staff levels) to administration yields (accumulation utilize, client fulfillment, reaction times) despite the fact that there was little concurrence on what were the most imperative components to gauge, nor how intangibles ought to be measured for revealing purposes (Moore, 2003)
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter discusses the research methodology and analysis of data for this study.
Research Design
Survey research design was adopted for this study. This is to establish the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. In this study, the independent variables are library automation (acquisition, cataloguing, circulation, reference and serials) and electronic information resources’ use while the dependent variable is librarian’s performance in schoolsin Nigeria. The rationale for adopting this design was based on the fact that it focuses on description of events, recording, analysing and interpreting data relating to conditions existing in the study.
Population
The target population for this study were libraries in schoolsin Nigeria. There were twenty-two (22) schoolsestablished between 1999 and 2014 in Nigeria, (National school Commission, 2015). Also, there were 349 librarians in schoolsin the of Nigeria. From the statistics of the school libraries of each school there were a total of 349 librarians in the 22 schoolsin Nigeria (see Table 3.1)
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Introduction
This chapter presents the data analysis, result and discussion of the findings gathered from the librarians in schoolsin , Nigeria. To get wider views and findings on the main problems of the study, 349 copies of questionnaire were administered to library personnel in 22 schoolsin , out of which 317 copies were returned and 272 were adequately filled. The result presented in this chapter was based on 272 copies of questionnaire that were accurately filled and returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
This chapter presents the summary, conclusion and recommendations of the study. The findings of this research significantly summarize the precise contributions of this study to knowledge as well as the suggestions for further studies.
Summary
This study was aimed at finding out if library automation and electronic information resource use were correlates of librarians’ performance in schools in , Nigeria. Specifically, the study aimed to identify level of library automation in private schools, ascertain frequency of electronic resources use, identify factors that determine librarians performance, determine the impact of electronic information resources use on librarians’ performance, ascertain joint impactof library automation and electronic information resources’ use on librarians’ performance, and identify challenges of library automation and electronic information resources use. In line with these objectives, five research questions and three hypotheses were formulated.
Conclusion
Library automation had positive and significant impacton librarians’ performance in private schools. The use of electronic information resources had negative impacton librarians’ performance. The study revealed that library automation and electronic information resources use are determinant factors of librarians’ performance in schoolsin , Nigeria.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study the following recommendations are made:
- Having discovered the importance of library automation on librarians’ performance, and the result of the finding revealed that acquisition service 90 (33.1%) was partially automated there is need for school library management and librarians to ensure that the acquisition service should be fully automated due to the fact that it will help the library to manage fund given to them properly.
- There is also need for school libraries to know that availability of other electronic informationresources was also important and that availability is not enough if they are not impactively used, therefore, some of the challenges identified in this study like internet fluctuation, lack of frequent subscription, computer system problem, power supply should be critically given attention.
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