Search

Like many countries, Nigeria's university libraries services are affected by the integrated software used for service delivery. This study (conducted in 2021) examined the priorities and barriers for users perception of the use of integrated library software for service delivery in federal university libraries in the Niger Delta, Nigeria and the type of integrated software used by the Federal university libraries in Niger Delta, Nigeria, including what type of services rendered with the use of integrated library software to users, ease of use of integrated library software and benefit derived from the use and factors affecting the use were evaluated. A structured questionnaire was the instrument for data collection and was distributed to the respondents face to face at their various offices across all the university libraries in Niger Delta, Nigeria. The populace of the study was sampled using the total enumeration sampling technique because of the smaller and manageable size of the population. There are 489 responses (83% response rate) from six federal universities in the Niger Delta. The findings reveal that the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom has the highest rate of respondents -90(18.40%) followed by Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State -88(17.99%). It could deduce that the Federal Universities in Niger Delta are dominated by male in Nigeria, from 24-26 years are doiminated in the university system, students in 500 and 600 levels are majority of the respondents that participated in this exercise, Koha integrated software (402) had the highest response rate, majority of the respondents agreed that they used ILS to render the following services; user registration, changing and dischanging of library materials, referral service, e-reference service, internet service, electronic library service, OPAC and book reservation, majority of the respondents agreed that ILS is easier for user interface, accessing personal account is easy and straightforward, users can independently interact well with ILS and its OPAC user interface, users can easily search on their own, users can query the ILS using the keyboard, users can recover lost of information during query, users can retrieve information from the ILS without the help of a librarian and users can retrieve documents from ILS when needed, majority of the respondents agreed that ILS allow users to access to the books and other materials in the library, allows for round the clock library services, helps to know a documents reservation status, bring the library closer to the users, help to know easily the total number of books held in a library, know a document return date or date of availability in the library, allows for easy borrowing of library materials, auto-renewal of borrowed book is easy and fast, helps to know the position of a particular title held by the library, helps to know the position of a particular materials on the shelf and Helps to ascertain if a book is present in the library or not and the majority of the respondents testify that bottle necks on the use of ILS are as follows, lack of awareness, poor Internet connectivity/low bandwidth, lack of information searching skills, lack of proper guidance from librarians, lack of funds to support automation project by library management, shortage of computer systems designated for library OPAC, lack of required ICT skills, complex OPAC interface design, erractic electricity power supply/high cost of running electricity generating sets and lack of user training on how to use the library software. The respondents were concerned about the service delivery in the library. It is expected that librarians should ensure that users get their information needs on time and in the right format and that the best integrated library software should be installed and used in library services. Keywords: Integrated library software, users perception, service delivery, Federal University Libraries, Niger Delta, Nigeria. Introduction Almost all libraries in this 21st Century have a collection of both print as well as electronic resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An automated library environment is quite different from that of a library whose operations and services are still done manually. The paper shares Bowen University Library, Iwo, Nigeria automation experiences using Open Source Library Management Software, Koha. The paper explains the automation process such as choice of software, installation and configuration, training of staff and users, retrospective conversion, challenges and experience after automation. The paper carries out survey of library user satisfaction with the system. The result shows that users prefer the automated system to manual system. It also explains how automation has enhanced operations and provision of information services. The paper among others encourages libraries to consider the use of an open source software for their automation project, advises that they should be open to changes that ICT introduces to library profession, and settle the issue of regular power supply with management before embarking on automation project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights on library management services and enhancement of internet access to library resources. The author emphasizes the importance of maintaining the connection between the librarians and library users. He says that librarians are facing challenges in maintaining the students' interest in library, in critical thinking and in enhancing information-gathering skills. He adds that broader engagement of the library staff and delivery of virtual services as well as electronic resources can lead to the student's deeper appreciation of the library. Moreover, he mentions ways to enhance the next-generation interfaces including image integration into the interactive design and choosing the photographs that convey real message.

The service institutions always look for improvement of services to their clientele, They get technical support from the industry in the shape of hardware for the improvement of services. Libraries are not an exception towards accepting and implementing such technologies. The introduction of bar codes in the libraries improved services by saving librarians and users time on the one hand while on the other hand it brought accuracy towards charging different activities in libraries. The developed world has already accepted this technology and enjoying its fruits. In Pakistan, few libraries applied bar code technology as remedy to the problems of manual work. There is a need to make the librarians aware of the importance and benefits of such technologies for improvement of working conditions in the libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There was once a time when librarians could tell patrons what to do. If patrons wanted high-quality scholarly information they had to come get it in the library and had to do so on the library's terms. But we no longer live in a world of information scarcity; we now live in a world of information glut, and our patrons no longer feel as if they need us. Are they right? Are they fooling themselves? Do we need to change their minds-or our practices? And what does any of this have to do with serials work? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of availability (can a library patron locate a desired item on a library's shelves?) and Kantor's branching method for identifying barriers to availability (acquisition, circulation, library operations, and the user) are described. A literature review identifies more than fifty investigations of availability reported in journal articles, dissertations, theses, or conference presentations during the last quarter century. The mean availability rates for known-item searches by actual patrons of 61.3 percent or 63.1 percent (depending on the calculation method) are quite similar to the 61 percent found in an earlier review covering the years 1934 to 1984. Analysis of availability in Kantor's branches shows variation among libraries, but no branch standing out as a major barrier. The paper concludes with the argument that the traditional availability measure can be modified for use as an objective, user-centered evaluative tool in the electronic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article features the library service, self-checkout. Self-checkout systems are beginning to be integrated along most of libraries' automation systems. The most common self-check out systems utilized in libraries are those with radio frequency identification systems because library users find it easy to use. The system is compose of an electromagnetic desensitizer, user instruction screen and a barcode reader. Suggestions regarding implementation of self-checkout systems in libraries includes analysis of reasons in adopting the system, workstation locations, staff impacts and cost of equipments.