Communication in academic libraries: an assessment of university of Calabar library technique in information services delivery

Abstract

This study surveys trends and developments concerning communication in academic libraries with emphasis on the University of Calabar Library. Three research questions were considered for investigation and these were (i) what constitute Communication in academic libraries? (ii) How do librarians engage in communication to enhance their work? (iii) What factors enhance effective and result oriented communication based on theories of communication? The study discussed the concerns of communication with regard to relationship between information and communication; purpose, types and models of communication. The study also dealt with the techniques of University of Calabar library communication with users. The study went on to appraise how academic librarians communicate in their tasks of information search, access, processing, storage and distribution to clients. The study concludes that communication engenders effective library service delivery in that it enhances the teaching, learning and research as well as community service goals of academic institutions.

KEYWORDS: Communication; information; message; intra-personal; inter-personal; theories; models; techniques, search engines; library gateways.