An assessment of the extent of provision of research support services in public university libraries in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

University libraries provide a wide range of services that are meant to contribute to research excellence for the university community. The study assessed the research support services provided by selected public universities in Southwest Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted using a questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. The population of the study comprised 12 librarians from 12 different public university libraries. All 12 copies of the questionnaire were distributed and 11 were usably retrieved. Findings reveal that the services provided are under general services, training services and publishing services which show that up to 50% of the research support services listed in the study are provided. Also, results show the services provided by the selected university libraries reveal the extent to which the services are being provided for research support. For general services, training services and publishing services, the university libraries provided about 50% of the services under study at about 50% high extent. The recommendation is that public universities should commit more funding to further providing and sustaining research support tools, and facilities in the selected libraries.