Analysis of librarians’ responses towards provision of corporate social responsibility initiatives in Federal University Libraries in South East and South-South Nigeria

Abstract

The study is an analysis of librarians’ responses towards provision of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in federal university libraries in south Nigeria. The survey design was adopted. Data were gathered through questionnaire. Population of study comprised of librarians working in federal university libraries in south Nigeria. A total of 125 questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that Donation of books to rural areas, awareness creation on environmental, sustainability, promotion of educational activities in the host community and engagement in activities that promote acquisition of vocational skills among members of host communities are areas of CSR that libraries can engage. Librarians have positive attitude towards provision of CSR. CSR in university libraries can be effectively applied through creation of public relation/CSR unit, formulation of formal policy on CSR, commitment of library management towards CSR and partnering with non-governmental
organizations (NGO). Provision of CSR in university libraries may be affected by insufficient information on the benefits inherent in CSRs, demands  for additional knowledge beyond the expertise of library practice, unavailability of communication gadgets (laptop, public address systems) etc. Library management should take pragmatic steps towards provision of CSR initiatives in which case, there is need to formulate a viable ad  sustainable policy to guide the provision of CSR.

Key Words: Analysis, Corporate, Social, Responsibility, Librarians, University Libraries, Nigeria