ACQUISITION PRACTICES IN STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN NORTH CENTRAL ZONE OF NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This  study  is  centred  on  acquisition   practices  in  state  university libraries  in  North  Central Zone  of  Nigeria.  The  study specifically sought   to   find   out   the   acquisition  polices  in  state university libraries   in   the   North   Central   Zone  of  Nigeria,  ascertain  the acquisition  pattern, ascertain  the  sources  of  acquisition, identify current   problems  encountered  in  the  acquisition practices  and finally  determine  strategies  to  enhance  acquisition  process. The study was guided by five research    questions    directly drawn from the purpose of the study.    Purposive   sampling technique   was used to select a sample of    196    which   comprises    of professional    librarians, para-professionals  and others   who     are   concerned  with   acquisition   of   library   information resources  in    all the state university  libraries    in    the  North  Central  Zone  of  Nigeria.  The instrument   for   data collection “Acquisition Practice Questionnaire (APQ) was   used   to   collect data  from  the  librarians,  library officers and staff  in  the  acquisition  and  serial  sections  of  the libraries. Other instruments   for   data   collection were interview and observation. The instruments developed were face validated by the researcher’s Supervisor and two experts. The researcher personally  with  the help  of one  trained  research  assistant  from  each university distributed  196 questionnaires to respondents.  One Hundred and Seventy-Seven questionnaires were duly filled and returned. Furthermore, simple percentages, frequencies, tables, and mean were used for data presentation and analysis. The  research  findings  show  that  this  important  library  activity is still fraught   with   problems   which include:- Lack of adequate  funds, non-existence     of     written acquisition policies, lack of skilled acquisition librarians, low level of publishing, lack of book trade, absence  of staff motivation.  The  researcher  recommends  an  increase  in  government  allocation, proper formulation of written acquisition policies, training and re-training of staff, recruitment of skilled professional librarians to enable the state university libraries and similar libraries overcome the problems associated with acquisition practices, among others.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Universities  represent  major  investments  in  the  development  of  human resources.  According  to  Gelfand (1971), universities  whether they are publicly or privately controlled, are presumed to be subjects of major concern of governments. He further stated that universities should be organized, developed and administered in accordance with objectives which reflect the specific needs and aims of the nation, as well as the traditional purposes of the university.

Universities generally, are established primarily to discharge the tripartite functions of teaching, research and community development and inspire the investor-persons who create  history. In addition  to  this  function,  is to  develop  completely  the  human resources for meeting man-power needs and to train the “whole man” for nation building. However, the achievement of these responsibilities therefore depends on a number of factors. One of such factors is the  availability  of a carefully  selected acquired and organized collection of books and other information resources in the libraries. The library is the institution which helps people to get knowledge, and the best agency to actualize the objective of the university. This explains why Nnadozie (2006) defined the library as an institution established for the procurement, organization, presentation, dissemination and utilization of humanity’s information and communications productions.

Consequently, Abdullahi as cited by Anafulu (1996) asserts that, the central

focus of any educational institution is its library. It is the hub of the system to which both students and staff resort for academic nourishment. Thus an up-to-date library contributes in no small measure to paving the way for academic excellence. In view of this, libraries require information resources in which it is established to achieve its

aims – teaching, research and extension work. University libraries based on this, receives allocations from the parent institution in which they are established. Without adequate  financial  support,  the  library  cannot  satisfactorily  play  the  role  of organization and administration of collection, staff maintenance, procurement of equipment, meeting the immediate needs of users and evaluation of services. In addition to this without a well equipped library, the parent institution will not achieve its  goals  and  objectives.  The  above  assertion  accounts  for  the  reason  why  the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASSU) has been stressing on improvement in the funding of education. According to Ifidon (1985), writing on sources of finance for academic libraries posit that the library  funds are derived from institution which is funded by  government  grant, contributions  and gifts, endowments,  student  fees, investments and consultancy.  Academic  libraries may collect direct funds through overdue book fines, photocopying, publications, charges on loan on special items. Consequently, without adequate provision of funds, acquisition of library information resources becomes difficult.

Acquisition is the act of procuring and obtaining materials. This is the act of

acquiring knowledge or books that are relevant to users. The acquisition department or section is the only gateway to any library’s collection development. Acquisition can be seen as acquiring of qualitative, relevant information resources to meet the need of users and the objectives of the library. Edelmam (1977) defines acquisition as the process of verifying, ordering, and paying for needed information resources. That is securing resources for library’s collection whether by purchase, as gifts or through exchange programme. This then means that the functionality of acquisition can be seen as the sole foundation on which library systems are built.

According  to  Magrill  and  Corbin  (1989),  acquisition  is  the  process  that implements selection decisions and collection development plans. On the other hand, Nzotta (1973), sees “Book selection” as a process of choosing books for inclusion in a library while acquisition embraces all the process involved in obtaining a book for a library. These processes include book selection and ordering or obtaining the book by gift or exchange. Book selection is a major aspect of acquisition and demands a great deal of the Librarian professional skills. Thus this explains why the acquisition section needs  to  be  manned  by  a  qualified  acquisition  librarian.  Qualified  librarians  are important  because  they  are  knowledgeable  and  skillful  in  the  practice  of  their profession. Without qualified librarians, it becomes difficult to successfully acquire the necessary relevant information resources needed by students and researchers. The presence of a qualified librarian is very crucial to the development of the University library collections as they put in their expertise to formulate acquisition policies, so that information resources acquired in the university library are not chosen at random, but  chosen  by  observing  the  acquisition  policy,  selection  and  other  process  of acquisition such as purchase, exchange, legal deposit, donation/gift etcetera.

Inflanet (2008), asserts that acquisition and collection development focus on methodical and topical themes pertaining to the acquisition, purchase, selection of print, other traditional format of library materials (by purchase, gift, exchange, legal deposit,  and  electronic  information  resources.  Other  specialized  areas  include collection development policies, methods, techniques and practices for collection assessment, usage, statistics, and prizing ownership and access issues, open access, format duplication and scholarly communication and librarian relations with publishers and  vendors.  This  relationship  with  these  bodies  enables  the  library  to  acquire relevant and meaningful information resources needed for university education. This

means that in order to acquire relevant information resources into the library for university education, excellent acquisition practice must be put in place. Both acquisitions, and collection development sections, depend on one another for proper execution of funds in acquiring library information resources that will achieve the goals of the parent institution. However, in the process of developing the collections, university libraries run into some difficulties which include:

Lack of funds: – The library cannot meaningfully support the institution without

enough finance. It is with adequate fund that libraries can acquire the various information resources needed for university education. Since finance is the bedrock of any organization, loss of funding will have adverse effect such as staff cuts, less research,  closing  of  research  institutes  and  dearth  of  information.  This  can  be summed up that academic work will be paralyzed and knowledge limited in all spheres of life, socially, culturally and morally. In a developing country like Nigeria where book budget  is  meager,  care  should  be  taken  in  selection  and  acquisition  of  library resources.

Low  Level of  Local Book  Production:  – Another striking  problem  that affects

university libraries when acquiring information resources to include in their collections is the low level of local book production. This has made the country largely dependent on the importation of books, particularly from abroad with respect to advanced texts used   by  universities,   technical   and   vocational   institutions,   and   required   for professional degree students. Anafulu (1996) asserts that lack of money makes it impossible to maintain any form of library operations and services. Also where funds are inadequate, the efficiency of the services is bound to be adversely affected. The source of this problem emanates from an inadequate budgetary allocation on one hand and foreign exchange restrictions on the other. To procure materials published

abroad without obtaining the appropriate foreign currency is possible. Getting foreign exchange in the country poses a lot of problems because, the rate is often very high. Lack of Formulation of Acquisition Policy: Furthermore, lack of formulation of acquisition policy is also a major problem as some libraries do not have a written or articulated acquisition policy. They take decisions on the improvement of the library collection as the need arises. It is vital for every library to have a written acquisition policy for effective and efficient development of the library collection. Organizing the selection process in an orderly manner is another problem university libraries face in acquiring information resources. The absence of selection policy statements and non- availability of selection aids further makes it the more difficult. Coupled with this, acquisition  librarians  are  faced  with  the  issues  that arise  from  the  fact  that no organized book trade exists in the country. Consequently, the state universities in the North Central Zone are no exception of these problems aforementioned as they all run into hitches here and there in the process of acquiring library information resources to inchude in their collections.

Acquisition of information resources in libraries is dependent on tha type of

library and the users it is meant to serve. Collections in libraries vary from one library to  another  such as: National  libraries,  academic  libraries,  public  libraries,  private libraries, school libraries and special libraries. Academic libraries acquire information resources that are adequate, relevant to the teaching, learning and research work of the parent institution.

Edoka (2000) posited that there are two categories of information resources

that are acquired by libraries, whatever type of library. These include print and non- print information resources. He stated further that the print category includes: text books, periodicals, newspapers and magazines. The non-print materials according to

him  are  the  traditional  component  of  the  library  stock  such  as  maps,  charts, illustration and posters. Included in the non-print media are resources that require machine for use such as: film, slides, film strips slides, film hoops, transparencies, video tapes and audio-tapes. He further classified the last group as three dimensional subjects such as acted specimen sometimes termed as reeler or models. He went on to mention the multimedia kits which he asserts are a combination of more of the non-book media where the computer is associated with this in regard to the capacities as it cuts across the various divisions.

Bakari (1984) and Edoka (2000) noted that the types of information resources libraries acquire included government publication, technical reports, committee reports, publications on seminars, statistics, theses or dissertations, serials and students’ research work. In addition, Ifidon (2006), on his part classified information resources into certain groups which include;

      Books which he describes as publication in printed form with a distinctive title which  appears  as  monograph,  Reference  books,  Text  books,  Light  reading materials, Periodicals, Special materials, Documents, Microforms, Audio-visual materials, Vertical files, Machine readable materials. From the various types of information  resources acquired by the library, it can be seen that all libraries especially  University  Libraries  acquire  this  information  resources  as quickly  as possible  to  meet the need of users. Magrill and Corbin (1989) opined  that a university should give priority to the needs of students, faculty and other academic staff of the university, who may be said to constitute the library primary clientele. State University libraries in the North Central Zone of Nigeria are not exceptional in terms of acquisition practices as they also acquire relevant information resources as quickly as possible to meet the needs of its users.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Libraries play crucial role in national development, particularly in educational institutions. No university education can achieve any progress without adequate provision of library services. Academic libraries feed the intellect of the students; it also encourages the researches of the faculty through acquisition of current, relevant information resources such as textbooks, reference materials and academic journals etc. Academic libraries fundamental aim is to acquire information resources that will help to support teaching, learning and research activities. Collection development serves as the foundation upon which other library services are built. It is a planned systematic  development  of  collections  based  on  the  objectives  of  the  library. Acquisition is the only gateway to assemble information resources into the libraries collection for adequate services to be rendered to its users.

The importance of collection development cannot be underestimated as it is the aspect of the practice  that is responsible for selecting, and acquiring  information resource that will enable librarians and information scientists to perform their various functions to users effectively. Collection development occupies the most vital position in the  functions  of the  librarian.  The  need for  a well evaluated  and adequately selected collection has become all the more crucial in view of several factors, such as proliferation in the range of subjects, complex and varied information needs of users. With  the  collection  development  in  place,  building  irrelevant  collections  will  be minimized if not completely controlled. The consequences of building irrelevant collections are enormous as it leads to thwarting the overall objectives of the parent institution, the use of such haphazard collections will be low as they will be unread information resources which may lead to the strong urge to purge from the shelves. This in itself is financial wastage.

Consequently, from the observation of collection development and acquisition process of most state university libraries in the North Central Zone of Nigeria, it is yet to be appreciated as most of them do not operate on a well articulated written and collection department policy, no up-to-date selection Aid, nonexistence of acquisition policy statement in some cases and absence of qualified professional librarians.

Considering  the  enormous  importance  of  acquisition  practices  to  library services, it has become pertinent to investigate how acquisition practices are carried out in state university libraries in the North Central Zone of Nigeria. Hence the need for the study, as not much has been done on the acquisition practices in the state university libraries in the North Central Zone of Nigeria. This study therefore seeks to bridge this gap.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The broad purpose of this study is to examine the acquisition practices in state university libraries in the North Central Zone of Nigeria.

The specific purposes are:

1.      To find out the acquisition policy in state university libraries in the North Central

Zone of Nigeria

2.      To ascertain the acquisition pattern in state university libraries in the North Central

Zone of Nigeria.

3.      To  ascertain  the  sources  of  acquisition  of  information  resources  in  state universities in the North Central Zone of Nigeria.

4.      To identify the current problems encountered in the acquisition practices in the state universities in the North Central Zone of Nigeria.

5.      To determine strategies to enhance acquisition processes

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will guide the study:

1.      What are the acquisition policies/practices in state university libraries in the North

Central Zone?

2.      What are the acquisition patterns in state university libraries in the North Central

Zone of Nigeria?

3.      What are the sources of acquisition of information resources in the state university libraries in the North Central Zone of Nigeria?

4.      What are the current problems encountered in the acquisition practice in state

University libraries in the North Central Zone of Nigeria?

5.      What  are  the  strategies  adopted  in  enhancing  acquisition  processes  in  state university libraries in the North Central Zone of Nigeria?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The result of this study will help university administrators and librarians  in particular in understanding  acquisition  practices  and problems encountered  in the acquisition of information resources in the university libraries, and help them make quality decisions on future acquisition management of the university libraries. Library administrators, librarians will benefit by the revealing of the possible shortcomings of the acquisition practices in state university libraries with a view to improving their practices in building adequate collections that will meet the needs of their clientele.

This work will add to the growing body of knowledge in the literature of library and information science and also provide reading resources for students and researchers.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study will cover state university libraries in the North Central Jone of Nigeria, namely, Benue State University – Makurdi, Kaduna State University, Kogi state University, Nasarawa State University, Niger state Universidy and Plateau State University. However, Plateau State University was omitted from the study because as at the time of this report, it was not in operation. The study is restricted to acquisition practices such as selection, ordering, purchase, gift, exchange, legal deposits.

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