Assessement of information resources of public libraries in Rivers state, Nigeria

Abstract

The paper assessed information resources of public libraries in Rivers State. A survey research design was used for the study; four research questions and one hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. The population of the study comprised of 1150 public library users and librarians in Rivers State. A sample size of 220 public library users and 10 librarians were obtained through purposive sampling techniques. A structure questionnaire and a checklist were used to collect data for the study. Data obtained were analyzed using arithmetic mean and the hypothesis tested with z-test. The checklist was analyzed based on the degree to which the items are available. Findings revealed that public libraries in Rivers State provide adequate information resources for users, awareness of resources provided by public libraries in Rivers State is low, inadequate funding, high cost of information resources are some of the problems faced by public libraries in Rivers State. Some recommendations were made for improvement.