EFFECT OF COMPUTERISATION OF LIBRARY ON STUDENTS' ACADEMY PERFORMANCE
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.
2.1 CONCEPTUAL REVIEW
CONCEPT OF LIBRARY
Libraries are the knowledge and information foundation of any nation. A library collects, organizes and makes information resources accessible to all kinds of users regardless of their ages, background and interests. Islam (2004) defined library as a learned institution equipped with treasures of knowledge, maintained organized and managed by trained personnel to educate the children, men and women continuously and assist in their self improvement through an effective and prompt dissemination of information. There are different kinds of libraries and each performs different kinds of functions to meet the determined purpose and needs of the people they serve (Ode and Omokaro 2007). These libraries include the following: academic libraries, public libraries, special libraries, school libraries, and private libraries.
Uwaifo (2010) stated that academic libraries are the ones established and maintained by higher institutions of learning such as universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, schools of nursing, petroleum training institutes and schools of health technology. He also noted that the essence of establishing an academic library is to enable it support the curriculum of the tertiary institutions which established it. They are essential part of the learning community. He went further to state that the academic library is the information nerve centre of its parent body. Aina (2004) stated that the main purpose of academic library is to support the objectives of an academic environment in the areas of learning, teaching and research service. Jubb and Green (2007) observed that academic libraries have for centuries played critically important roles in supporting research in all subjects and 2 disciplines within their host universities and colleges. The following are the services provided by an academic library: Circulation of materials, shelf management, user education programmes, provision of information services, and operation of the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), exhibitions and displays, reader’s enquiry services, Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI), trainings and internet services, bibliographic services, Indexing services, abstracting services, access to electronic resources and document delivery services. The effectiveness and efficiency of services provided by an academic library are mainly determined by library users.
Aina (2004) recognizes this fact when he stated that the user is very critical in the practice of librarianship. No library can exist without the patrons. The entire human and material resources in a library are put in place at considerable expense for the overall purpose of providing effective services to the library users. On its part the library has a responsibility to ensure that its resources and services are used (Edoka, 2000). The user is regarded as the most logical source to determine whether the library is playing its role satisfactorily or not. The mission statement of any academic library should be the provision of excellent service to its users. In higher institution libraries there are various categories of library patrons. They are undergraduates, postgraduates, lecturers, researchers, external users from all walks of life and many professions.
TYPES OF LIBRARY
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Public libraries are libraries that provide unrestricted access to library resources and services free of charge to all residents of a given community district or geographical region. Reitz (2004) opines that public libraries are now acknowledged to be an indispensible part of community life, as promoters of literacy, providers of wide range of reading for all ages and as centres for community information services.
Hence Edom (2012) opines that public libraries are library institutions established by the government to enhance independent and continuing education of people particularly those living within this environment or locality. This is necessary as they offer their collection to all members of the community. Public libraries are often considered as an essential part of having an educated and literate population. It enlightens, uplifts and sustains the educational status of people in the society. The public library acquires, organizes and stores recorded knowledge for the purpose of giving information and knowledge to their users to enrich their personal lives. As the local gateway of knowledge, resources, which they acquire, are to provide access to lifelong learning, independent decision-making and cultural development of the individual and social group, which is guided towards the realization of national development. The assessment of any public library can better be judged by the satisfaction users derive from its services. Access to information is crucial in the information environment. It can be achieved through mobile technologies, access to research information, and best practices among public library staff will be achieved through establishment of public library repositions.
Precisely, public libraries are said to have existed between 28 & 39BC in ancient Rome. They are established with the main mission of providing access to materials and services to meet with the present and future needs of the community they serve. Ogbonyomi (2007) says that public library should provide for the intellectual, cultural, occupational and religious information needed of all Nigerian society irrespective of their race, culture and occupation in their society.
Gates (1976) defined a public library as “that authorized by law, supported from general public funds or special taxes voted for the purpose of administration, for the benefit of the citizens of the country, town, city or region which maintains it on the basis of equal access to all.”
SCHOOL LIBRARIES
A school library is an organized collection of books and other learning materials placed in a school for use by teachers and pupils. There are libraries located in primary schools, secondary schools and teachers training colleges (Imeremba ,2000). The author went on to say the first official move towards the development of school library services in Nigeria came in 1967 with the appointment of a UNESCO school library adviser in the person of H.V bonny. His duty was to advice the federal government on the setting of school library service. In order words, from 1964, a federal school library services were in operation sponsored by UNESCO, which provided the textbooks, while the federal government paid the personnel. As a result, school libraries were organized in a number of schools in Lagos. Shortly afterwards, a “centralized school library service” to serve all secondary schools and teachers training colleges in Lagos was set up. Aguolu and Aguolu (2002), noted that by school libraries, one is specifically referring those libraries established as integral part of primary and secondary schools, with the objective of providing the instructional materials to enrich the curriculum, to supplement textbooks and classrooms instruction and to give students unlimited opportunity for learning. A school library is an integral part of the school. An excellent educational program cannot be developed without the support of a well-stocked library. The value of books in the life of a child has thus been highlighted by the international federation of library associations committee on library work with children cited by Aguolu and Aguolu (2002), that books are essential in the life and development of a child. They are stimulus to his intelligence and imaginations, an incentive to independent thinking and a source of information and enjoinment. It is in childhood that the use of books should be learnt. Continuing, Aguolu and Aguolu (2002) noted that, effective library services rest upon its ability to maximize the satisfaction of its users need while maximizing the time spent on obtaining the requested information. Aina (2004) defined school library as libraries attached to the primary and secondary school to supplement teaching and learning of school children. School library caters for children who are eager to read and also for backward children who read with difficulty and who require visual aids and all kinds of incentives to study. It contains such materials as books, magazines, periodicals diagrams, newspapers, photographs etc.
Today many school libraries have transformed into school library resources centers, because of a variety of its collection, a school library is sometimes called a media resource center. According to Hall cited in Aina (2004) observed that the school library as a resource center is expected to provide the following: Information and faster their professional development; Learning laboratory that provides opportunities for pupils to develop information skills and commitment to informal decision making; Learning laboratory that links learning and resources for learning; Opportunities for pupils to become self-directed learners and develop a commitment to lifelong learning.
Popoola and Haliso (2009) pointed out that, the ultimate criteria for assessing the quality of a school library service is its capacity for meeting the user’s needs and that the value of service is the beneficial effects accruing from its users viewed by the funders. From these definitions, one thing is common, that is, it is located in the primary or secondary schools. The major aim is to support teaching and learning. The resources are such that will enable them develop reading skills. This is to say, for teaching and learning to effectively take place in schools, there should be a school library. The objectives of school libraries in educational development Imeremba (2002) identified the objectives of school libraries as first, to support the learning programs of the school. Secondly, to further the general intellectual development of the pupils and thirdly to help the pupils to develop skills in the use of books and libraries.
According to Adefarati (2002), the objectives of the school library are as follows:
1. To encourage the development of skills in reading
2. To promotes reading habits and literacy appreciation
3. To sort for subject information center and support the school curriculum
4. To inculcate intellectual development.
The fundamental role of the school library is educational, it should not be operated as a mere store house of books attached to a reading room, but as dynamic instrument of education. The objectives of school library according to Aina (2004) includes the following:
1. To help children and the young people to develop abilities and habits of purposefully using books and libraries in attaining the goals of living.
2. To carry out the purpose of sharing in the whole school program and of encouraging the effective use of books and libraries by providing audio visual services to individuals and library experience. 3. To serve as a symbol for truthful expression of man’s knowledge and experience. That is, it should help the children and young people to be creative, informed and knowledgeable.
4. To introduce children and young people to the wonderful world of imaginative literature, through storytelling, books, talks and reader’s guidance.
5. To serve as instructional laboratories for learning and to provide books and other materials of pressure and information.
According to Ezinwa in Ajebomogun and Salaam (2011), the objectives of the school libraries is to acquire, process and make available to pupils and students, a wide range of books and audiovisual materials to supplement and enrich the teaching, learning situation in schools. There are two types of school library that are available. They are the primary school library and secondary school library while the primary school library is a library that is set up in a nursery or primary school to cater for the teaching and learning needs of the pupils and their teachers, the secondary school library is a dedicated facility located in the secondary schools and administered by the school that provides at least the following; an organized, circulating collection of printed and/or audiovisual and/or computer-based resources or a combination thereof.
SERVICES PROVIDED BY LIBRARIES
Public libraries are making frantic efforts to provide services to its clientele. In other words, services expected to be provided by the public libraries have become a major concern of library and information science practitioners. No wonder Okiy (2004) opines that mobile library service was launched in order to extend library services to everyone in the state, irrespective of location. Other mobile services provided by the state library board include prison and hospital trolley services. These services provided by libraries have become the melting point of the present day librarianship and information science. IFLA (2001) opines that the services provided by the public library include community information services, recreational activities, reference services, loan services, storytelling, reading, career information, customer care, adult literacy education etc. To remain relevant and keep up with the many needs and expectations of their users, Public library must be proactive, vibrant, and abreast of the latest developments in information dissemination as they play a crucial role in the advancement of knowledge. According to Halsey (2006), library resources should not only include traditional print-on-paper media like books, journals, newspapers etc, but also audio visual materials like records, audio cassettes, projectors, art reproductions, maps, photographs, microfiches, and Electronic Information resources (EIR) like CD-ROM, computer software, online databases, internet, e books, e-journals and other media. Ifidon (2006), opines that services in a library could be said to be excellent and appreciative if only there books and other library resources available in that library.
The services provided by public libraries could be summarized as; mobile library services, information and referral services, outreach programmes, current awareness programmes, library services to children, Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI), internet services, photocopy services and book depot.
COMPUTERIZATION OF LIBRARY
The global information revolution of the 20th century made manual systems of delivering information services in the libraries especially academic and research libraries mundane, clumsy and inefficient, though the era of total electronic or paperless libraries is yet a mirage. (Aguolu and Aguolu, 2002).The bulkiness, growth rate of information and difficulties positioned by updating of manually based systems makes it difficult for effective services in modern time. (Ikem and Ajala 2000). Librarians and information professionals are then challenged to create "information systems for the collection, organization, dissemination and preservation of information and new knowledge regardless of format" (Gbaje 2007). This new age of information offers possibilities for the future with information delivered in different formats limited only by the boundaries of our imaginations.
Therefore, as there is seemingly no option to the integration of ICT in library services especially in the academic libraries, many libraries all over the world started making attempts to embrace ICT in their services. Carr (2006) informed that some issues have affected the ideology, operations and services of academic libraries. These include forces of competition, advent of information in electronic form and the changes in users' expectations. The use of information resources in electronic form and application of internet became a way of life in 1980s and 1990s respectively. Invariably the focus of academic libraries moved from statistics of users visiting the libraries to providing the desired services beating space and time. There has been documentation on universities in Africa and beyond on the use of ICT for library operations and services. The use of ICT in African university libraries could be traced to 1970s though successful implementation was achieved from 1980s and was consolidated in the 1990s (Chisenga, 2004). Adeniran, (1997) reported the use of ICT in libraries in Botswana, Chuena (2001) revealed its use in University of North South African. Slam and Islam (2007) elaborated on the use of ICT in Bangladesh library which was pioneered by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research Library and the Agricultural Information Centre. ICT facilities used in universities in West African Sub-region was compiled by A Samoah-Hassan (2002). A summary of their findings revealed that not only did university libraries in Africa embrace ICT pretty late, the pace of its development remains slow though some remarkable progress has been made since the late 1990s.
Academic libraries in Nigeria have been responding to the call of ICT (information and communication technology) by providing instruction in information literacy, described as "the ability to locate, manage, critically evaluate and use information for problem solving, research and decision making" (Orr, Appleton, and Wallin, 2001). In developing countries like Nigeria however, both IT and the use of the e-library are still at an embryonic stage. The limits of the tradition library and the increasing popularity of IT have caused the use of the e-library to grow rapidly. Although people need no longer go to a building for some kinds of information, they still need help to locate the information they want.
E-LIBRARY
An E-library or digital library refers to a library in which collections are stored in digital formats as opposed to print, microform, or other media and accessible by computers. Digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks. A digital library is a type of information retrieval system. The library has long been perceived as a building with walls and filled with books for reading. Issa (2003) notes that librarianship as a profession came into existence to preserve and make widely accessible the records of human experience. The emergence of Information Technology (IT) has recreated the face of librarianship. IT has permeated evenly into our daily activities. Okerulu (2003) states that IT has created limitless opportunities for open access to information. Larnikanra (2003) describes the history of the Internet which "grew out of the ARPANET, a computer network developed by the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) in the 1960s."
The term "e-library" refers to information accessed through the Internet. Unlike traditional libraries, e-libraries are not limited by location or time. Libraries have changed with the emergence and application of IT. They have assumed the role of educators, teaching users to find, evaluate, and use information both in the library and over electronic networks. As the use of e-library continues to soar, users are expected to develop information literacy skills. These skills, as Julien (2002) observes, will enable users to make efficient and effective use of information sources. Therefore, Information literacy is increasingly important (especially amongst students).
Etymologically, the term "e-library" is used synonymously with "digital library," "universal library", "future library," "virtual library," and "library without walls." It has been defined variously by different scholars and/or organizations, depending on their perception of the concept. Arms (2005) defines e-library as "managed collection of information, with association, services, where the information is stored in digital formats and accessible over a network." These two definitions recognize the need for the e-library to function over a network but the crucial part of the latter is that the information is managed. MacCall, Cleveland, and Gibson (1999) define e-library as collections of electronic knowledge resources developed and maintained in order to meet the totality of information needs for a given user population. Like the traditional library, the e-library is also targeted towards a particular group of users in term of its information dissemination.
Acting as a "quality guide," e-libraries "often follow certain guidelines for the selection of content in order to maintain a consistent collection of data" (Virtual Library 2007). They follow procedures to select the materials in their collections, to organize and make them available to users. Waters (1998) states that, "digital libraries are organizations that provide the resources, including the specialized staff, to select, structure, offer intellectual access to the Internet, distribute, preserve the integrity of, and ensure the persistence over time of collections of digital works so that they are readily and economically available for use by a defined community or set of communities." The Kentuckiana Digital library (2005) points out the academic significance of the e-library, recognizing the use of appropriate technology and defining it as "an organized collection of selected digital resources created to support scholarship, research and teaching." It states further that the use of appropriate technological standards by e-libraries will facilitate permanent access to the digital resources.
At the most basic level and central to the definitions is a collection of digital resources selected according to certain criteria and made accessible for retrieval over computer networks.
TYPES OF E-LIBRARIES AND RESOURCES
There are different types of e-libraries for the diverse information needs of the targeted group of users. Some are developed by groups or organizations, higher education institutions, research centers, national libraries, as well as public libraries. They include contents that are born digital and those that have been digitized (Digital Library, 2007). An e-library generally contains books, journals, opacs, webliographies (equivalent to a printed bibliography), letters, maps, dictionaries, encyclopedias, still and moving images, sound recordings, indexes, conference/seminar proceedings, theses/dissertations, abstracts and reviews, and handbooks. Traditional libraries have limited storage space, but e-libraries require very little physical space, which reduces the cost of maintaining an e-library.
ICT AND THE NEW LIBRARY
Libraries all over the world are beginning to be more interactive than passive. The coming of ICT into the library has completely changed the face of the library to more of a social networking centre. This is the only way you can attract young audience to use the library outside reading to pass examinations (Akinbulumo, 2008). A good number of public libraries in the developing countries now have restaurants, snacks shop and computer games for the young audience as well as the adults. The new innovation has shot up the number of young people that use the library or make the library their second home. This has also cut down on crime rates in some of the countries.
According to Onuoha (2008), the library at Loma Linda University in California has fully redesigned its reading spaces. They now have the quiet library reading area and the interactive areas. In the quiet reading areas you can hear a pin drop. The interactive reading areas are however different. They have the computer here for browsing. There is also a vending machine in that section. One can buy drinks and biscuits and take them in the interactive reading areas. This is so because the computer is interactive and when users go there they want to interact with others to ask for help on the system and other things. Some patrons actually spend all day working with computers. That is why the library makes provision for inter-personal interaction and something for the stomachs of those who want to spend time in the library.
Moreover, libraries are now going online in droves. According to Bertot(1998), approximately 72 percent of public libraries in the United States have some type of internet connection. Many patrons now go to those libraries solely for internet access. Therefore, in order to attract and retain such new patrons, libraries must provide a range of services that go along with internet access. The most important of these services is training. Ongoing support and training are essential. This training is necessary not only for patrons but also for staff. Due to increasing prevalence and popularity of information technologies, libraries must train both old and newly hired staff (Holland 1999).
LIBRARY AUTOMATION AND COMPUTERIZATION
Academic libraries in Nigeria are realizing the need to move from their isolated past into integrated systems and networked operations. As Khalid (2000) observes, "networked and integrated functions draw on the experiences of the evolution of libraries in developed countries." Academic libraries in Nigeria are trying their best to catch up with their counterparts in the developed world. University library automation in Nigeria, which started in the late 1980s, are at various stages of automation of library services. The Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Universities Commission (NUC), which supervises all the universities and disburses funds to all the federal universities in Nigeria, introduced projects aimed at computerizing university services across the country. They initiated Management Information Systems (MIS) and started the Nigerian Universities Network (NUNET) project. NUNET was aimed at developing a viable local and wide area network in each institution. This was followed by the National Virtual (Digital) Library Project. The mission was "to provide, in an equitable and cost effective manner, enhanced access to national and international library and information resources and for sharing locally-available resources with libraries all over the world using digital technology." The major objectives of the Virtual/Digital Library Project is:
• to improve the quality of teaching and research in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria through the provision of current books, journals and other library resources;
• to enhance access to academic libraries serving the education community in Nigeria to global library and information resources;
• to enhance scholarship, research, and lifelong learning through the establishment of permanent access to shared digital archival collections;
• to provide guidance for academic libraries on applying appropriate technologies used in the production of digital library resources; and
• to advance the use and usability of a globally-distributed network of library resources.
This project was designed to be carried out in five phases. The delivery of the Virtual Library was earmarked to be through the Internet, CD-ROM, and Wide Area Network (WAN). This laudable project has remained on paper for several years. Three years ago, the federal government came out with a policy on library automation in academic libraries. The policy provided for university libraries to be linked with other renowned academic libraries across the globe to provide unlimited access to print and electronic materials. So far this has also remained on paper.
CHALLENGES OF LIBRARY COMPUTERIZATION
Computerization, especially in the developing countries, is fraught with challenges. This is also the case with Nigerian Universities Libraries.
WAN/LAN
To a large extent, the existence of a University Wide Area Network (WAN) and a Local Area Network (LAN) within the library determines the success of computerization of library services. This is a major challenge to many universities in Nigeria. There is no reliable LAN in most universities. Where this exists, it is achieved through surface cabling which exposes the cables to the effects of fire, storm, vandalization etc.
Computer Literacy/Education
Many of the staff of school libraries are not computer literate. This is a great setback in computerization. Many of the staff are reluctant to jettison their old mindset which resists change. Many are conservative and traditional, and suffer computer phobia. Research results show that, although the use of electronic information increases job satisfaction, confidence, and the effectiveness of librarians in their work, lack of technical expertise can be very frustrating to the librarians (Edward, et al, 1995). There is also a lack of technical support. Only one librarian is formally trained to initiate, develop, implement, and maintain computerized applications in the entire university library system. Those who had been trained gain only limited, or no access, to the packages in which they had been trained. Inquisitive users with IT skills cause serious dissatisfaction to the library staff (Bii and Wanyama, 2001).
Poor State of Power Generation
Regular power generation remains a problem in Nigeria. Frequent power outages constitute a serious bottleneck to automation. The cost of running generating plants is prohibitive, hence a major set back to E-library acquisition.
Poor Maintenance and Update Culture
There is a poor maintenance culture in Nigeria. Universities, particularly the first generation, have very poor maintenance. The size and complexity of the task have almost completely eroded maintenance in Nigerian Universities. This erosion is manifested in the frequent computer and network breakdowns and/or failures. To handle the growth of the library database and ensure fast data entry, retrieval, and inquiry, there is need for regular and consistent upgrade of computer facilities.
Poor Funding of Library Services
Poor funding is a major challenge to libraries in Nigeria. Academic libraries in Nigeria derive their funds from the government. Although the federal budget provision has moved from 5% of the approved recurrent budget for library development to 10%, the budget of many academic libraries continues to dwindle. A high rate of inflation, low and unpredictable national income, the effects of global economic depression, and local currency devaluation continue to water down whatever budgetary provision is made for academic libraries in Nigeria. Many academic libraries in Nigeria have not initiated viable income-generating strategies to supplement government funding, hence, responsibility for slow upgrading of traditional libraries to digital libraries
Getting Used to ALICE
The lack of IT skills and the slow process of automation mean that the library staff will take a very long time to become very familiar with the ALICE package. If the library staff find it difficult to get comfortable, the situation is worse for library users, who depend so much on the library staff for orientation and user instruction. Unfortunately, the library orientation programme and the entire user education package do not fully address IT skills.
Education and Training
Most staff in academic libraries in Nigeria were trained in traditional librarianship. They are finding it difficult to cope with the requirements of the electronic age. Staff training and retraining have not been given a pride of place. Kashim Ibrahim Library has initiated computer literacy training for all staff, which has had a lukewarm reception. This attitude is a great deterrent to the computerization of library services.
From the foregoing discussion, we can see how libraries (especially digital one) can serve as a melting-pot for the divergent social, political, cultural and religious interests in the society. But in order to maintain this achievement, the library must continue to provide good services to the student, the researcher, the pleasure-seeker etc. At the same time, it must continue to embrace the large segment of the population it has often missed—those who are far-removed from the library premises, the shut-ins and the disadvantaged. Towards this end, traditional services should be neglected as the digital libraries, embraced.
Modern libraries with research tools and well trained and motivated teachers make up schools that produce high-quality graduates. The more good books one reads the more enlightened and exposed one becomes. The political leaders should stop lamenting over the nation’s ‘poor reading culture’ or habits, the waning ‘standards of education’, and the associated ‘dwindling literacy rate’ (Dike, 2009) and treat the problems facing the education sector with the seriousness and sensitivity they deserve. The federal government’s recent pact with ASUU is merely to bandage the problems in the sector because it requires a heavy investment to revamp the system. Therefore, without an enduring and effective policy intervention the nation’s education will continue to drift to the edge of impossibility. Moposiola, 2010 opined that school libraries can do more than expected especially in the field of education and enlightenment. From the foregoing, the paper strongly recommends aggressive user education and computerization of the library as well as acquisition of current information resources for proper and effective services.
CONCEPT OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Academic performance is the outcome of education. It is the extent to which a student has achieved his/her educational goals. Ebel (1999) defines academic performance as the assessment of outcome of formal instruction in a cognitive domain within defined subject matter that is explicitly taught. The author maintained that this instruction is expected to produce observable changes in behaviors of those who are being instructed. Hoyle (2000) asserted that schools are established with the aim of imparting knowledge and skills on students in enhancing good academic performance. According to Cambridge school reporter (2003), academic performance is frequently defined in terms of examination performance on students. Academic performance is commonly by examination or continuous assessment. There is no general agreement on how it is best tested or which aspects are most important. Academic performance refer to what the students have learned or what skills the students has learned and is usually measured through assessments like standardized tests, performance assessment and portfolio assessments(Santrock 2006).
The descriptive assessment information will usually be translated through grading system such as grade point average (GPA). Kyoshaba (2009) stated that academic performance in an educational institution means how well student meets standards set out by school board and institutions to make sure that students perform well in both internal and external examinations. The author maintained that different test exams will be conducted from the school to ensure that students are up to the task. In this context, academic performance refers to the rate in which students perform in their examinations and other extra-curricular activities in the school system.
EFFECT OF COMPUTERIZATION OF LIBRARY ON STUDENTS ACADEMY PERFORMANCE
According to Morris (2004), the school library exists to provide a range of learning opportunities for both large and small groups as well as individuals with a focus on intellectual content, information literacy and the learner. The school library provides avenue for independent work for the students. It enables them gain access to equipment’s and resources which hitherto might not be affordable to the students. Such equipment’s include Computer, internet facilities, literary books and a host of research materials. The school library resources equip students with life -long learning skills and develop their imagination, thus enabling them to live as responsible children and citizens. Adomi (2006) stresses the importance of adequate collections, which forms the basis for adequacy. School libraries help children to discover for themselves by independent study and learning how to ask questions. Aderye and Popoola (2011) assert that libraries provide resources for knowledge acquisition, recreation, personal interest and inter-personal relationship for all categories of users. Omekwu (2005) pointed out that information technology can be effectively used to integrate the apparently complex systems into coordinated functional and effective network. Information is of paramount importance to the development of an individual and for the growth of the nation. Information can be put into several uses and for various purposes. Hawkins cited in Faboyinde (2006) note that knowledge and information have become the most important currency for productively, competitiveness and increased wealth and prosperity. The school library is the store house of knowledge and information, it provides both access to information resources and the information itself.
Ubegu (2006) stated that school libraries should provide access to information resources, expert professional support to facilitate thorough and accurate use of all school library resources, access to school library materials and service to the community. Therefore, libraries are important in helping teachers generate information for the purpose of effective teaching of students and research. The significance of school library resources is inestimable most especially at the foundational stage of education where the school libraries are found. The development of academic culture in the life of adults takes its roots from effective use of the school library.
COMPUTERIZATION OF LIBRARIES AS TOOL FOR QUALITY EDUCATION
The main purpose of a school library is to support the school in areas of learning, teaching and research. The library is regarded as the “heart” of any academic institution, particularly, the university. Hence, to a large extent, the quality of a university is measured by the services provided by the library because of its unique contributions in the over-all goals of the university. For a school to perform its myriad of functions, its library collections must not only have quality and current books/journals, but also modern information sources in electronic formats, such as e-books, e-journals, internet etc. Besides available information sources in a university library, such information sources must be easily accessed and retrieved by potential users. Consequently, the demand for effective use of library resources in university libraries calls for the need to ensure that students have effective and efficient access to these resources. The questions that arise are: how can Nigerian University Libraries ensure that students know how to use their library resources effectively? How do students’ expectations change with the advent of modern information technologies?
Furthermore, do students know how to search, identify, locate and select, and use library resources relevant to their learning? In providing library/information services to the students, it is imperative for the librarians to know the information needs and seeking behaviour of students, their search skills and satisfaction levels in using library resources. Ocheibi (2003) argues that information is a key resource that can bring about change and improvement in students academic achievement. Aguolu (1982) reveals that the Nigerian University Librarians seems to be preoccupied with basic library duties like acquisition, processing and preservation without giving the proper services on how to use the library by the students for their learning/research. Although Unomah (1987) explores the problems facing user education to include: scarcity of funds, lack of professional librarians, lack of faculty cooperation, students’ inability to use the resources of the library, over emphasis on bibliographic instruction, and poor integration of user education course period. These problems if attended to may probably meet the students’ expectations which will help them to become more effective in using the library resources for their successful university education. Osinulu (1998) examines patterns of use in a university library in Nigeria by analyzing user records and data, which show low use of the library due to lack of awareness.
The author recommends library reference and instruction, publication of users’ guides, and teaching library use in the general studies programme. Ampka’s (2000) study on the use of University of Maiduguri Library found out that majority of students did not use the library effectively due to lack of interest on the use of library catalogues. Ugah (2007) evaluated the use of University libraries with particular reference to Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria and found out that both students and staff use the library, although students constitute the majority of the users. The findings also showed that nearly three quarters of users browse the shelves to locate materials, which shows their inability to use the library catalogue. He recommended intensive library orientation on the use of the catalogue as an effective tool for information retrieval. Oyesiku and Oduwele (2004) focus on academic library use. The investigation reveals that the students used the library mostly during examinations and to do class assignments. The study further revealed that collections were inadequate to meet users’ demands. The study recommends acquisition of current materials and proper organization of such materials for effective information retrieval.
2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Trinity theory by Ranganathan S. (1931)
Ranganathan, the father of Library and Information Science in India, introduced the concept of “trinity in library”. He says that “a library is a trinity made up of books, reader and staff”. According to this concept, the library having three inter-dependent components which make it a social institution.
The definition of a library, given by Ranganathan, makes us to understand the status of a library in the society. He designates the library as a public institution. This status itself set goals and objectives for a library. Being public institution, it has the responsibility to serve the public without any reservation or biasness. Further, he says ‘care of collection of books’ which, refers to the organization, maintenance and preservation aspects of the library materials so, it can serve the society or community for a longer period. The final and the most important factor in his definition is ‘making them accessible’. This aspect of the definition of a library set agenda to provide service to the society.
The collection of a library should be made available to the public for use or consultation who so ever and when ever required by them. Hence, the purpose of a library is to serve the society through the records of human thoughts, ideas and expressions by making them available as and when required by the 6 member of the society, as well as preserve them for the coming generations, as those records are the intellectual wealth of the society.
Those components are books, reader 19 and staff. The ‘book’ is the representative of all the materials which provide information and knowledge to people. These materials may be a book, magazines, journals/periodicals, map, charts, art facts, audio-visual materials, etc. The ‘reader’ refer to the member of the community or society who are directly or indirectly dependant on a library for their quest knowledge. The reader group depends upon the nature of the community a library is serving. For example, the students, teachers, researches are the reader for an academic library. But for a public library reader may be any one of the society without any distinction or scrutiny. The researcher and scholar are the reader for a special library. Hence, for the library, reader is reader is the client for whom the library is meant for. The staff of a library is the link between the users and the book. They play a decisive role in establishing contact between the information source and the reader. Without the effort of the staff, it is very difficult for the reader to get right information especially at right time.
TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM BY THORSTEIN VEBLEN (1857- 1929)
This research is also guided by the theory of Technological Determinism. Generally, this theory holds that technology drives and determines the structure and cultural values of every society: technology is a mover of historical and social change (Kunz, 2006, p. 2). The term is said to have been coined by an American social scientist, Thorstein Veblen (1857- 1929) and Beard, (1927). Specifically however, in the application of the theory to the media, technological determinism is attributable to the Canadian mass communication theorist, Marshall McLuhan in his celebrated 1962 work, “The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man” and further expounded in his subsequent works: “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man” (1964) and “The Medium is the Message: An Inventory of Effects” (1967).
In the context of the education and learning therefore, the theory states that education technology through computerization of libraries ultimately determines and shapes how the study, think, feel, and act towards concepts learned even as the society operates as mankind moves from one technological age to the other which in turn enhances their academic performance (Griffin, 2000, p.313; Reed, 2004). According to technological determinist theorists, technologies not only have overwhelming powers to drive human action (Lievrouw & Livingstone, 2006), but also such communication technologies as the print, radio, television and the internet do change society (Chukwu, 2014, p. 4).
The choice of technological determinism for this study is justified in the sense that the emergence of the internet as a source of news has caused a change in the news reading behaviour of societies across the world. McLuhan's "the medium is the message" is relevant here because "the medium" (the internet) through which one can access "the message" (news reports) has prompted a change in people's attitude. The theory also explains the rapid changes in the newspaper production processes occasioned by the rise of the internet and online readership of student.
2.3 EMPIRICAL REVIEW
Ankrah & Atuase (2018) conducted a study on the use of electronic resources by postgraduate students of University of Cape Coast. The main purpose of this study was to examine the use of electronic resources by postgraduate students of the University of Cape Coast, and with a view of giving recommendations based on findings. The cross-sectional survey design was used for the study. The objectives of the study as depicted by the research questions guided the choice of questionnaire as the sole data collection instrument for the study. total population for this study was 915 postgraduate. a sample size of 275 which is 30% of 915 postgraduate students was attained. Simple random sampling was used to sample the respondents. Quantitative analysis including frequencies, percentages, tables and charts were used as data analysis technigue. The findings revealed that most of the postgraduate students were aware of the eresources in the library. The findings of this study also revealed that most postgraduate students rather preferred to access information from Google scholar, and other web based databases more frequently than the databases in the library. The respondents identified poor internet connection as the most significant constrained for ineffective access to e-resources. 183(72.6%) respondents were of the view that poor internet connectivity was the major challenge they faced in accessing e-resources. Another 173(68.7%) confirmed that power outages in the library was a limitation they encountered in accessing electronic resources. In addition, 165(65.5%) claimed insufficient skills hindered their ability to access e-resources while 157(62.3%) respondents indicated that they could not access e-resources effectively due to limited subscribed titles. A total of 143(56.7%) respondents said they did not have effective access to e-resources in the library because of inadequate computers. Also, 32(12.7%) of them perceived that overload of e-resources was a challenge.
Similarly, Edem & Egbe (2016) examined the extent of availability and utilization of electronic resources by postgraduate (PG) students in the University of Calabar (UNICAL) Library. Five research questions and a single hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. Descriptive survey was adopted and the population of the study was two thousand, seven hundred and twenty six (2,726), while a sample of four hundred (400) postgraduate library users were selected through stratified sampling; two hundred postgraduate student each from Faculty of Education and Faculty of Science. Questionnaire was the main instrument used for data collection. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics such as simple percentages and frequency count. Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) was the statistical analysis technique adopted to test the hypothesis under study at 0.05 level of significance. Three hundred and eighty two dully filled questionnaires were received, giving an overall response rate of 95.5 per cent. The result of the analysis revealed that electronic resources were available in Unical Library and Postgraduate students utilized them. To a great extent, electronic resources were available in the University of Calabar Library. The University Library had e-journals, e-books and access to databases and Internet resources.