Competencies and materials for repositioning cataloguers for information management in an electronic era in University Libraries in South East, Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the competencies and materials for repositioning cataloguers for information management in an electronic era. The survey method was adopted for the research design using questionnaire for data collection. The population comprised of 44 cataloguers in 12 universities in south-east states of Nigeria. The entire population was used as the sample size. Three questions were answered using mean statistics and standard deviation. Two hypotheses were tested using Z-test at 0.05 level of significance. The study reveals that in the electronic age, cataloguers needed more skills and  competencies to function effectively. The result also shows that cataloguers can be repositioned through attendance to  conferences/seminars and workshops. The result also reveals that resistance to change, inadequate funds and lack of  sponsorship for cataloguers to conferences/ seminars and workshops are some of the problems hindering  repositioning of  cataloguers. Therefore, the researchers recommended among others that, the library management should see the need to sponsor their staff to conferences/ seminars and workshops, as this will help them to acquire more knowledge on ICT applications in  operations and also to acquire and maintain the required materials as these will enhance their productivity.

Key Words: competences, skills, material, repositioning, electronic