A Study on Awareness and Frequency of Use of National Bibliography of Nigeria

Abstract

Earlier studies have concentrated on the history, formats, importance of national bibliography, awareness and use has not been  investigated in Nigeria. This study, therefore, investigated the awareness and use of national bibliography of Nigeria by librarians and  undergraduates in University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The study employed descriptive survey design. The population of the study  comprised of all librarians in Kenneth Dike Library University of Ibadan and regular undergraduate Students University of Ibadan, which  are 30 and 13189 respectively. Total enumeration sampling was used for librarians in Kenneth Dike Library and stratified proportionate random sampling technique was used to select the sample size of undergraduate students. The total sample size for the study was three  hundred and sixty (360), made up of 30 librarians and 330 undergraduate students. Structured questionnaire was the instrument used  for the collection of data. Five research questions were asked and answered and one hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance.  Data collected were analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS). The descriptive methods of analysis such as  frequency table, percentages, mean, standard deviation and correlation were used. Among others, the study revealed that print national bibliography was more available than other formats like CD- ROM, internet, and on-line other than internet. It was established from the  study that librarians and undergraduates are aware of national bibliography of Nigeria in print format, CD-ROM format, and internet  format. They were not aware of microfiche format and floppy disk format of the national bibliography. Lack of skills in making use of  national bibliography, poor awareness, slow internet connections and non sufficiency of national bibliography are some challenges of using National Bibliography. It was recommended that national bibliography should be made sufficient to users, most especially on the  internet and more awareness should be created.