TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Approval Page ii
Certification Page iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgment v
Table of Contents vii
List of Tables x
Abstract xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 4
Purpose of the Study 5
Research Questions 6
Significance of the Study 6
Scope of the Study 9
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 10
Conceptual Framework 10
Concept of Serials 10
Concept of Management 13
Concept of Utilization 15
Concept of Academic Staff 16
Serials as a Source of Information 17
Serials Management in University Libraries 18
The Extent and Use of Serials by Academic Staff 21
Constraints of Serials Management and Utilization in University Libraries 22
Strategies for Improving Serials Management in University Libraries 26
Theoretical Framework 28
Scientific Management Theory (SMT) 28
Administrative management theory (AMT) 30
Review of Empirical Studies 33
Summary of Literature Review 38
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD 40
Research Design 40
Area of the Study 40
Population of the Study 41
Sample and Sampling Technique 41
Instruments for Data Collection 42
Validation of the Instruments 43
Method of Data Collection 44
Method of Data Analysis 45
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 46
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSS OF THE FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Method for Acquiring Serials Resources 58
Implication of the Study 61
Recommendations 62
Limitation of the Study 62
Suggestion for Further Research 63
Conclusion 63
References 65
Appendix I: The Five Process of Management 77
Appendix II: Population of the Study 78
Appendix III: Distribution of Sample 79
Appendix IV: Federal university in North-East, Nigeria 80
Appendix V: Yamane formula and Sampling 81
Appendix VI: Questionnaire 82
Appendix VII: Interview Schedule 83
Appendix VIII: Qualitative Data Transcripts 84
Appendix IX: Validated Instruments 92
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: mean responses for acquiring serial resources ————————–
Table 2: mean responses for organization patterns
Table 3: mean responses for staffing in the federal university libraries in North east, Nigeria —
Table 4: mean responses on the control of serials resource of federal university libraries in North east, Nigeria ———————–
Table 5: mean responses on the extent of use of serials resources by academic staff
Table 6: mean responses on factors that hinders the utilization of serials material by academic staff of federal universities north east, Nigeria ———————–
Table 7: mean responses on the steps to be taken to improve the management and use of serial resources in university libraries in North east, Nigeria —————————
ABSTRACTS
This research work was designed to examine the serials management and utilization by academic staff of the federal university libraries in North-East, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to determine the method for acquiring serial materials and determine the organization patterns. It is also to determine the staffing, find out the control mechanism of serial collection and determine the extent of utilization of serials resources by academic staff and make recommendations for improvements of serials management and utilization. Seven research questions guided this study. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population of this study comprises all academic staff (lecturers) excluding librarians.
The Federal
universities in North-East, Nigeria, whose number is put at 2,187. Out of this
population 437 representing 5% of the population was sampled. Out of the 437
questionnaire administered 421 were filled and return representing 80% response
rate. Statistical tools used for the analysis were frequency counts and mean
scores, the major finding of the study is that there are many serial.
Collections such as journals, magazines, newspapers, newsbulletin, reviews,
proceeding, research, memoirs, abstractreports patents among others in the
federal university libraries in North-East, Nigeria and that lectures use the
serial collection manly for education, teaching and research purpose. A major
finding was also that lecturers utilized serial collections more than any other
source of information. A number of recommendations were put forward for
improvement of serials management and utilization but the most prominent
suggestion was that more up-to-date and relevant serials materials like
journals should be acquired for the library, and that the library should be
properly funded.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
University libraries are to support the objectives of the university, which is to promote teaching, learning and research. The university library is meant to serve the undergraduates, postgraduates, academic staff and other members of the university community. Akpata (1979) and Edoka (1992) refers to a university libraries that cater for the needs of those engaged in academic pursuit in higher institutions like the universities, collages of education, collages of technologies and polytechnics etc. the quality of a university is measured largely by the quality of its library because of its unique role in the university system. In fact, there can never be the existence of a university without a library since the university is mean to teach and carry out research. For the teaching staff and research fellows, the university library is supposed to provide information resources and service of sufficient quality and diversity.
No doubt, Nakpodia (2003) stated that a university is a system which is made up of people in different backgrounds in terms of needs, skills, talents, status, competencies, knowledge, behavioral styles, interest and perception. To that effect university libraries are the communities of those who teach and those who learn with the noble vision and mission to generate, expand, and disseminate knowledge in all disciplines for the advancement for civilization and produce highly stalled graduates with a capacity for life-long, critical conceptual and reflective thinking which is achievable through active involvement and facilitations of information on serials resources.
Serials are important sources of current information. Nowadays all academic libraries are creating and maintaining a serials collection within their budget and space. The ALA Glossary of library and information science define the serials as a publication issued in successive parts, usually at regular intervals, and as a rule, intended to be continued indefinitely. Serials include periodicals, annuals report, yearbooks etc and memoirs, proceedings and transactions of societies’! Steueat and Moran (2007) stated that serials constitute a major part of all academic libraries and typically accounts for more than half of their expenditure on library materials. For many lecturers and research fellows, refer the serials to which the library subscribes are most important and useful resources of its stock. Brookfield (2005) noted that serials enhance intellectual growth and development. In the words of Nwalo (2003) serials are prominence in the library because they provide the latest and up-to-date information in discipline.
Brookport, (2013) Stressed that Serials are of great importance because they carry latest, current and up-to-date information for the latest and up-to-date opinions and development within the various subject fields and new knowledge in critical ways.
In this regard, serials can be considered as a set of new knowledge as the foundation approach to teaching, learning and research productivity. Hence, the concept and application of serials collection in the university libraries does not come without misconception. Thus the greatest misconception observed by the researcher among university libraries is lack of proper management of serials collections.
Management has been defined in many ways but the basic essence of management is using organizational resources to achieve objectives through planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. Popoola (2000) opined that one of the greatest challenge confronting public administrators today is how to effectively and economically control and utilize their ever increasing information base. This has led to confusion and delay in accessing some important resources.
Management of serials requirescontinuous process which covers all aspects of serials like, publisher price, bibliographic details, design etc. Gama (2010) observed that in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria, management (creation, organization, preservations or controlling, accessibility, retention and disposition) seems to be rather difficult especially the areas of retention and disposition. He further emphasized that a number of resources that are supposed to be retained are disposed of unnecessarily retained. Oyedapo and Ojo (2013) stressed that, the element of management are collection which involve selection, and subscription, organization, dissemination and use which involve processing; preservation; binding of back issues and repairs of damaged ones and provision of facilities. Due to the proliferation of knowledge and scholarly writing academic staff find it difficult to get all relevant information in time. The rest of serials publications are also raising and publishers as well as librarians are struggling to meet the users varying needs for serials resources. All these factors pose problem in the management of serials acquisition and it access. The different formats, delivery options, subscription and licensing issues, standardization and bibliographic control, archiving and many other issues makes management of serials a big problem and its utilization.
Utilization of serials resources simply means using of serial resources. A person or thing that uses something somewhere or someplace to achieve his or her purposes is a utilizer or users in the same context; one can state that those who make use of the serials materials for their benefits are serials users or utilizers. Also, those who enter the serials section and find such serials materials useful are serials users. Whittaker (1993) also defined a user as a person who uses one or more of library services at least once a year. Hence, people who go either to the public, private, special, school or academic libraries for some genuine reasons, requiring the attention of the serial staff, are known as the serial section users or utilizers. Serials users in the university can be divided up administratively into external and internal users. The internal users consist of final year undergraduates, postgraduates, academic staff, research fellows and other members of the tertiary institutions while the external users are those who are not members of the institution but are also served by the libraries but under certain specific official arrangement.
Users of academic libraries are mostly made up of subject readers who concentrate their serials materials on subject fields, academic staff also part of these subgroups with the obviously forming a high proportion of the users of serial resources because serials are current and up-to-date of new knowledge that provide vital information for national development.
Statement of the Problem
