ABSTRACT
This study examined the use of OPAC in library
service delivery by librarians in university libraries in Edo State, Nigeria.
The study adopted the descriptive survey design and the population of the study
comprised of all the 176 professional and para-professional librarians in university
libraries in Edo State. The purposive sampling technique was used to draw a sample
size of 127because it allows a selection of sample based on perceived
characteristics/variables relevant to the study and copies of questionnaire was
used for data collection. Out of the 127 copies of the questionnaire
administered, 100 were retrieved and analyzed using simple percentage,
frequency count and tables. Findings from the study revealed that majority 89
(89%) of the respondents indicated that OPAC is available in their university
libraries. Findings also revealed that majority of the respondents agreed that
OPAC interface can be used to retrieved books through their call numbers 33 (33%),
that OPAC saves time 55 (55%), facilitates easy access to library collection 69
(69%) and is faster than the manual catalogue 65 (65%).It was discovered that
factors inhibiting the use of OPAC as
indicated by majority of the respondents include irregular power supply 86
(86%), network failure 87 (87%) and inadequate computer systems 90 (90%).
Recommendations posited by the study include adequate funding, launching
library catalogue on the web and putting alternative source of power supply in
place.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Research
and publication have been and will continue to be a critical factor to reckon
with in the career life of librarians especially those in the academic
environment. It is, of course, a well-recognized verity that the quality and
quantity of an institution’s research is one of the yardsticks of measuring its
academic accomplishment and excellence. Hence, research productivity of
librarians is worthy of focus as the quality and quantity of their publications
are a determining factor in their performance evaluations, promotions, tenure,
research grants, and salary increment (Okonedo, Popoola, Emmanuel and
Bamigboye, 2015).
According to Ogbomo (2010), research
productivity is often used interchangeably with publication output, publication
productivity. Research output and sometimes knowledge productivity. Research
productivity, therefore, is expressed by the entirety of researches conducted
by academic librarians in universities in his or her career over a specified
time frame. Research productivity of librarians in Nigeria rest largely on the
quality, and often the quantity of research published as textbooks, or chapters
in books, journal articles, conference/workshop proceedings, occasional papers,
monographs, edited books, bibliographies, abstracts, and indexes published.
Librarians carry out research and publish for career related rewards such as
status enhancement, promotion, securing tenure or permanent appointment; to
gain recognition for creative thinking, visibility and acceptability within and
outside the university community; to satisfy intellectual curiosity (Ocholla
and Onyancha, 2012).
The
library has always been known as the heart of academic activities in
institutions of learning; it is in this regard that Gbadamosi & Omotayo
(1995) describe it as an essential tool in learning at any level of our
development right from infancy till death. No institution of higher learning
can be successful without a library especially as programmes of study offered
within the university would not be accredited without a well-equipped library
for the provision of adequate information resources in those areas of
discipline.
In
providing a conducive atmosphere for research and studies, the university
library provides well stocked current research materials and trained personnel
to organized available information materials and assist faculty and students in
the retrieval and use of these resources. Information retrieval itself has
become more complex especially in the face of information overload. As a means
of meeting up with the challenges of ensuring that information materials are
available and accessible, libraries provide catalogues to display what is
available in the library through the circulation department and where they can
be obtained.
A
large number of libraries in Nigeria have automated their operations and
services using this technology to fulfill their user’ needs. Public catalogue,
which is an important service of the library, is not exceptional to computer
technology. Computerized catalogue is termed Online Public Access Catalogue
(OPAC). It acts as an information retrieval system for the user. OPAC has
revolutionized access to bibliographic information through search capacities
such as keyword searching, Boolean searching, truncation, proximity searching,
and item identity number searching. These were not possible in the tradition
catalogue.
Today,
a number of libraries are providing OPAC service to their users to find out
their documents. In such a situation, the libraries should examine periodically
how much comfort the users feel with this service so that some initiatives
could be taken timely to improve this facility. In the study, therefore, the
productivity of academic librarians will be measured in terms of their research
output. Research output includes the number of articles in journal
publications, conference/workshop publications, chapters in books, number of
books written, compilation of bibliographies, book reviews and on-going
researches.
In
theory there should be a huge demand for the services OPAC offers. When OPACs
were first developed in the 1970s, they were welcomed by library users (Dowlin,
1980). More recent advances have broadened the capabilities of OPAC, increasing
their potential to benefit the library user, offering an efficient and
self-guided service which does not require heavy reliance upon library staff.
Although a handful of experimental systems existed as early as the 1960s, the
first large-scale online catalogs were developed at Ohio State University in
1975 and the Dallas Public Library in 1978. These and the other early online
catalog systems intended to closely reflect the card catalogs that they were
intended to replace. Using a dedicated terminal or telnet client, users could
search a handful of pre-coordinate indexes and browse the resulting display in
much the same way they had previously navigated the card catalog. Therefore
this study examine will examine use of OPAC in service delivery by librarians
in university libraries in Edo State.
1.1.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Academic
libraries are established in tertiary institution in Nigeria to render quality
and efficient information and communication services in the academic milieu.
The librarians in these libraries are the engines that are saddled with the
herculean task of rendering these high quality and efficient information
services. They are expected to be highly productive. High productivity on the
part of librarians is very essential to ensure a very high degree of library
effectiveness. Among the 20th century’s grandest information
technology accomplishments was the transformation of the library card catalogue
into the Online Public Access Catalogue. OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue)
is an online bibliography of a library collection that is available to the
public. Prior to the emergence of OPAC, for users to find information about any
item in a library collection, they must flip through or search a collection of
catalogue cards in a filing cabinet in circulation using appropriate access
points for known items. Where the item is not known, the subject catalogue is
used.
It
is Important to reiterate that the aim of cataloguing materials is to create
and organize information, so as to promote access and use of information, and
catalogues are often based on the physical location of items in the library.
The basic purpose of library automation software is to help in creating a
database of library holdings, which will, in turn, provide an online catalogue
to help the user in identifying and locating their required documents. However,
most libraries in develop countries automated their systems way back in the
early and mid-1980s, libraries in Nigeria did not join in the automation
movement until recently, even at that, only a few is fully automated.
The
measure of academic success in academia is research productivity which requires
information resources and this can be obtained through OPAC. The universities
and other higher institutions set up libraries to make information resources
available to assist academic staff members in their research quest. Therefore,
this study set out to investigate to what extent has application of OPAC aided
librarians research productivity?
1.2.
OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
The
main objectives of the study is to examine the effect of OPAC application on
research productivity of librarians. The specific objectives are to find out:
1.
The extent of availability of OPAC in Nigeria University Libraries
2.
The extent of use of OPAC by librarians
in university libraries.
3.
The effect of application OPAC on
university library functions and services
4.
To determine the extent the use of OPAC
affects research productivity of librarians in Universities
5.
Problems hindering the application and
uses of OPAC by Librarians
1.3.
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
To
achieve the stated objectives, the following research questions are formulated:
1.
Is OPAC available in university Library?
2.
Is the OPAC used by librarians?
3.
What is the impact of application OPAC
on university library functions and services?
4.
To what extent does OPAC affect research
productivity of librarians in university library?
5.
What are the problems hindering the application
and use of OPAC by librarians?
1.4.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The
study examines use of OPAC in library service delivery by librarians in
university libraries in Edo state. Interestly, only librarians
working in universities will be investigated, while other tertiary institutions
will be excluded from the study.
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It
is hoped that the findings from the study will contribute to existing
literature on use of OPAC in library service delivery by librariansin library
of higher institutions and the finding will stimulate the urge in librarians
for furthering their knowledge base.
The
findings from this study will also enhance librarians to identify problems
militating the application of OPAC in university libraries because increase in
the research outputs of academic librarians is likely to ease the tension that
is usually associated with researches due to dearth of information materials.
The application of OPAC will ease such process and make librarians more
productive.
It
is hoped that efficient library service delivery could be achieved through the
use of OPAC by librarians. Furthermore, more respective colleges in the
university could earn accreditation regularly from the National University
Commission. The study is equally significant as it would help library
authorities to see the effectiveness of meeting users need.
1.7
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
OF TERMS
The following terms are defined as used
in the context of this study for the purpose of clarity and precision.
1.
Library: Library is a place in
which literary and artistic materials, such as books, periodicals newspapers,
pamphlets, prints, records, and tapes, are kept for reading, reference, or
lending.
2.
Academic Libraries: They comprise
of school libraries at the primary and secondary levels, college libraries, and
University libraries whose prime objective is to meet the academic needs of the
particular institution for which it is created to serve. The purpose of a
University Library differs, in varying degree, from that of a school or college
library in that the former adheres extensive and particular emphasis to
research projects apart from the curricular needs of the institution.
3.
Online Public Access Catalogue
(OPAC): OPAC has revolutionized traditional accessibility to resources of
libraries in general and academic libraries in particular. It is an interface
of information retrieval system which assist information searchers to access
resources of library(ies) using several access points. Traditionally, it is
concerned with searching for the retrieving bibliographic records of
information items instead of full-text of the content of resources. It has made
searching and retrieval of bibliographic records of materials easier and
faster.
4.
Environmental Factors: this refers
to the physical, social, psychological and technological conditions that are
found in the work places which influence directly or indirectly the
productivity of librarians. Environment factors include: human beings social
interaction, physical and technological infrastructure, electricity, office
furniture and equipment, relative humidity, temperature, noise level and
atmospheric weather condition.
5.
Productivity: This refers to the
research and intellectual output of each librarian. It is the ratio of input to
output per librarian. It means doing more with less. Productivity is a standard
yardstick for measuring efficiency and effectiveness of the librarians.
Productivity in the study refers to the measurable and quantifiable aspect of
academic librarian’s job. It refers to the amount of research output in terms
of publications that the academic librarians are able to produce.
6.
Staff Development: This refers to
all professional development (growth) activities that academic librarians are
engaged in with a view to boosting their performance, efficiency, productivity,
morale and status.
7.
Library Resources: This refers to
valuable information resources that are available at the library; such as
books, e-books, CDs DVDs, magazine, games, computers and internet accesses.
8.
Information And Communication
Technology (ICT): They are the computing, communicating facilities and features
that variously support teaching, learning and range of activates in education
in various fields.
9.
Computer: Computer can be referred
to as the backbone, nucleus or hub of ICT application. In virtually all ICT
applications, the computer is interfaced with another device in order to
function effectively.
10.
Internet Facility: Internet is
described as a worldwide network of computer and people. Built upon state of
the art technology, the internet makes it possible for thousands of dissimilar
physical networks that are not connected to one another and that use diverse
hardware technologies to connect and operate as a single communication system.
There are locations of various types of information on computer system linked
to the internet. It is an important tool for global online services.
Networks: This is a
system of interconnected computers for sharing information and resources. This
may involve two or more computers in a single office or several computers in
different units across an organization or across the country. The networks
include the local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN). With computer
network, libraries can access and share information in different locations and
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