Assessment of library user skills possessed by unity school students in Nigeria

Abstract

This study was geared towards the Assessment of Library User Skills possessed by students in Unity Schools in South East Nigeria. The research objective is to find out if students in Unity Schools have acquired library user skills necessary for their academic performance. One research question and one hypothesis guided the study. Survey research design was adopted. Out of a population of 29,358, multiple-stage sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 1,212 comprising 480 JS I students, 469 SS III students and 263 staff from the 12 Unity schools under study. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. This instrument was validated by five experts. Reliability co-efficient of 0.91 was arrived at using Cronbach Alpha method. Mean and Standard deviation were used in the analysis of the research question while T-test was used to test the hypothesis. Findings revealed that: the dearth of Library Resources in these schools resulted in students not possessing requisite Library Skills. Null hypothesis of no significant difference was rejected. The findings have a number of implications for education. It was strongly recommended that because of the immense benefits of Library User Skills acquisition, Government should give urgent attention to the provision of Library Resources to Unity schools. Secondary school curriculum should be revisited for inclusion of Use of library study. Collaboration between librarians, teachers and students should also be encouraged.

Key words: User skills. Library user education, Assessment, Unity schools