Communicate: Journal of Library and Information Science

Mainstreaming African Local Content in the Information Society: The Role of Libraries and Information Centres

YT Babalola, RO Opeke

The global transition to the information and knowledge society requires that every country contribute its local content to the burgeoning global information infrastructure. African states and the African continent as a whole have much to offer in form of indigenous knowledge and scholarly research. However, it has been very difficult to ascertain the continent’s contribution as most the intellectual content that originates from the continent is barely accessible to Africans not to talk of the global community. This paper presents digital repositories and open access system as viable options for Africa to mainstream her local content to the global information infrastructure. The paper further stressed the critical role of library and information centres in achieving this goal. KEYWORDS: Africa – Local Content Digital Repositories – Global Information Infrastructure Libraries – Open Access System

Application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to Technical Services in Libraries

AL Ogbonyomi

The term technical services is used in this paper to refer to the major operations that are common to all Technical Services Divisions in libraries – namely, cataloguing, classification, indexing and abstracting. These activities have many repetitive components which used to be done manually. But today the new technology has changed that trend. These major technical services operations, the application of ICT to them, the obvious advantages of ICT and the challenges are examined in this paper. Implementable recommendations are made in the areas of management of electronic resources, library school curricula, funding and training and re–training of librarians. KEYWORD Information and Communication Technology – Libraries – Technical Services Management – Electronic Resources

The Challenges of Records Management in University Libraries in South–South Zone of Nigeria

BA Akporhonor

Records and records management are crucial factors in decision– making process. Inherent in them are some challenges which often impede effective utilization. The main aim of this paper is to unearth these challenges. The ten federal and state universities in the South–South zone of Nigeria provided the data and institutional setting. Since the population of the study (Eighty– three) was small, the whole population rather than a sample was used. The instrument for data collection was a home–made questionnaire. Eighty–copies of the questionnaire were administered. Off this number seventy–seven (92.77%) were returned. The data was analysed, using frequency count and simple percentages. The findings showed that inadequate funding was the major challenge KEYWORDS Records Management – Challenges – Universities – Nigeria

Resource–Sharing in the Digital Age: Imperative for Law Library Development in Nigeria

FO Anaeme

The Internet age has had such globalized impact on the nature, volume and variety of legal information resources that no single library can provide satisfactorily all the materials it requires for effective information service delivery. Law libraries in their respective domain are also evolving and adapting to the new trends of library services using information technology facilities. This trend has challenged the law library operators as well as the mode of their operations. For law libraries to more along with this trend and remain relevant in the digital age, resource–sharing using digital and electronic facilities becomes very imperative. The paper therefore adduces the need for resource–sharing among law libraries; provides modern approaches to resource–sharing using websites, databases, legal search engines etc. Problems hindering effective resource–sharing are highlighted. In spite of hindering problems associated mainly with developing countries, resource– sharing alternative becomes the way out of the woods for law libraries. KEYWORDS: Digital Information Service Law Libraries – Resource–Sharing – Digital Age.

Public Service Librarianship: Need for Effective User Education and Information Literacy Programmes – The Nigerian Experience

OA Adekunjo, AA Arinola

Library patrons are the ultimate consumer’s of the librarian’s services. But if the patrons are not knowledgeable in the use of the library, they are bound to suffer frustrations. Hence the major objective of this paper is to examine the importance of user education and information literacy. The two concepts – user education and information literacy fall within the purview of the public service librarians who are also known as pubic relations agents in the library. The major finding of the study is that Nigerian academic libraries are still lagging behind in service delivery in the areas of user education and information literacy. It is, therefore, recommended that literacy schools should incorporate user education and information literacy in their curricula that library manager should organize seminars and workshops, that orientation programmes should be organized for fresh students and that librarians should be trained to acquire ICT skills. KEYWORDS: Academic Libraries – Nigeria – Public Services Information Literacy User Education

Information Needs of Rural Women in Delta North Senatorial District: A Case Study of Ndokwa Area of Delta State of Nigeria

MO Ifukor

Out of the sheer neglect of the information needs of rural inhabitants in Nigeria, the author was spurred on to investigate the subject. Specifically, the study focused on the information needs of rural women in Ndokwa area of Delta North Senatorial area of Nigeria. The aims of the paper were to find out the information needs and sources of information of rural women in Ndokwa area of Delta State of Nigeria and to determine the significance of democratic variables to such information needs. The participatory research approach was adopted using the social meeting groups in Ndokwa area. The findings showed that the women’s information needs were nutritional information, agricultural information, economic information, literacy information, health information, religious information and socio– political information. It was recommend that information study rural women’s background (occupation, educational, economic and marital status and number of children; that functional literacy should encouraged among rural women by providing them with reading and writing materials; the community information centres should be established and that female extension workers should be trained to disseminate information to women in the rural communities. KEYWORDS Information Needs – Rural Women – Delta State – Nigeria

Managing Yourself and Others for Effective Performance

PO Oviasuyi

Success in life is dependent upon how an individual handles the issues of life from infancy through maturity to the declining stage. In other words, whatever you give to life is what you get in return. Your ability to manage yourself successfully will lead to your managing others successfully as well. This paper attempts to guide individuals on how they can manage themselves and others for effective performance. The paper started with the introduction, meaning of what managing yourself is was explained, the concepts of self-awareness, selfconfidence, self-regulation, managing worry and anxiety, empathy for others and managing yourself for excellence were discussed. The useful tips for managing yourself were articulated. The paper concludes that you can be whatever you want to be in life, if only you know what you want to be, and you are focused, persistent, articulate and committed to achieving your dream. KEYWORDS: Management – Yourself Managing for Excellence

The Effects of Information on Attitudinal Changes in Youths in Bauchi State – Nigeria

UF Aliyu

The main objective of this study is to find out the influence of information on the attitudes of youths, and the possible changes it has brought on the attitudes of the respondents. Simple random sampling technique was used to obtain a sample of 900 respondents. Questionnaire was used throughout to collect data for this research. The outcome of the research indicated that the majority of the respondents (34.70%) need information on the sources of employment. Electronic media especially films, as represented by 21.99%, was chiefly used by the respondents to source their information needs. However, 50.68% have negative change of attitudes. It is recommended that, politicians in the country should present themselves as role models with all efforts engineered towards the agenda for change that would help young people in the nation to change their attitudes positively. KEYWORDS: Attitudes – Change – Information – Nigeria – Bauchi State – Youths

Book Review: The June 12th Political Crisis (1993 – 1998): An Annotated Bibliography by Wale Adebanwi

I Bala

A review of the June 12th political crisis (1993 – 1998): An annotated bibliography by Wale Adebanwi. Kano: Centre for Research and Documentation, 2009, pp. 269 ISBN9789011223, Price: Not Stated.