User delinquency in Nigerian academic libraries: an emperical perspective

In this epoch, one of the greatest challenges facing libraries all over the world is how to effectively curb the menace of user delinquency. The academic libraries in the university community in Nigeria cannot be isolated from this problem. Consequently, this study examined the issue of user delinquency in Nigeria using three selected universities in Edo State as case study. The universities were Ambrose Alli University, Benson Idahosa University and University of Benin. A survey research design was adopted and the Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection in addition to interview and observation methods. 350 copies of the Questionnaire were administered to both staff and students of the universities sampled for the study. 298 copies of the Questionnaire were successfully retrieved giving a response rate of 85.14%5. The data collected from respondents were analyzed based on the five research questions designed for this study using simple tables and percentages. However, it was revealed through the data collected from the study that user delinquency includes: stealing of library books, hiding books from other users and mutilating pages of library books. In view of the foregoing, the researchers amongst others recommend installation of security systems in the library; putting expensive or popular titles on reserve for short term loans; engaging staff to glance over the reading rooms and daily shelving and shelf reading of library materials. Keywords User delinquency User delinquency in Academic Libraries User delinquency in Nigerian Academic Libraries Mutilation of materials Nigerian Universities Academic Libraries in Nigeria Mutilation of Library Materials Stealing of Library Material Edo State Universities Nigerian Academic Libraries
INTRODUCTION Libraries have been termed one of the pillars of civilization. No nation can function effectively without the use of a library. The term 'library' means is a collection of [...]