Acquisition practices in state university libraries in north central zone of nigeria

Thesis 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.