CHALLENGES OF SCHOOL LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT

1.1 Introduction

School libraries are very essential in primary and secondary education. They are established and maintained to serve and support the educational activities of the school. As an educational support service, school library adds value to classroom instruction, upgrades the intellectual scope and depth of teachers, and provides enabling environment for students to further their search for knowledge. The International School Library Association (ISLA, 2012), maintains that school libraries are libraries found in pre-primary, primary, secondary schools and colleges geared towards ensuring the academic growth of these schools. School libraries are collection of books and related materials which are organized, managed, and maintained by qualified staff. Unequivocally, school libraries prepare students for vocational and higher education. Secondary schools represent the second tier of the educational system in Nigeria. They receive pupils from primary schools and prepare them for vocations and higher education (National Policy on Education, NPE, 2014).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of Study

Standards for School Libraries (2014), published by the Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria. Assessment of information resources in school libraries for meeting professional standards in South – East, Nigeria entails measuring and appraising the collection of school libraries in relation to the Minimum Standards for School libraries in Nigeria (2014). Library information resources are the information bearing materials that are either in print or non-print format. They include CD-ROM, textbooks, journals, OPAC, online databases, serials, Internet resources among others. In a university, the information resources housed or provided by the university library are meant to support the teaching, learning and research activities of the university, and undergraduates constitute a greater percentage of students in most universities.

The Policy (NPE) further stipulates that State, Federal Capital Territory and Local Governments, as well as proprietors of schools shall establish functional school libraries in accordance with the established standards and actively promote reading culture in all their educational institutions. They shall also provide for the training of librarians and library assistants for these services. Weekly library periods shall be part of the school curriculum to aid learning activities. The Federal Government Guidelines on Inspection of School Library (2012), recommends that every school should have a standard library and it should be built separately or use a space of two classrooms. Furniture seating capacity should not be less than 50-60 seats in the library.

Goodall and Pattern (2011), asserted that the performance of students can be considerably improved if the school library is well-stocked. The authors further stressed that a school library does not exist in isolation but exists to serve the objectives of the parent organization. The objective of a good educational system is to equip pupils to be able to play their role in the society effectively. They further maintain that school library attempts to advance the objectives of the school and the aims of a good school library is to become a force for educational excellence.

School library resources, according to the National Minimum standards (2014), should meet the various purposes of the school libraries by acquiring resources that: meet curricular requirements and support teaching and learning; promote voluntary reading for information and pleasure. By way of operational definition, school library resources are the total accumulation of materials of all kinds that are put in place by a school library for its users (students and teachers) such as textbooks, fans, journals, reading tables, reading chairs and others.

The world is fast becoming a global village, provision and use of school library information resources deficiency places the students at a disadvantage position. This is so because most of the information needs in order to keep abreast with one's contemporaries can only be achieved through current and credible information materials such as textbooks, novels/story books, magazines, manuals, etc. which are domiciled in the school libraries. More so, the secondary school stage of any child is fundamentally important to education achievement of a child as well as the nation as a whole. Nonetheless, there have been serious search for the solutions to the poor library usage mostly experienced among secondary students in Nigeria and beyond.

Therefore, in Ebonyi State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Challenges of School Library Development.

1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that the school library is the live-wire of the primary and secondary school system. It is very relevant in preparing students for higher education and vocation. However, collection development in school libraries has become very difficult in recent times with increasing prices of books occasioned by the high cost of book production. Moreover, literature appears to indicate that student’ poor academic achievements in schools are connected with the low standards manifest in the school libraries. There are also unacceptable situations ranging from incidences of inadequate resources like books and manpower to total neglect, abandonment, and absence of the libraries in many secondary schools in Ebonyi State.

Most school libraries in Nigeria are stocked with foreign books that are not only obsolete but alien to the experiences and background of the Nigerian students. These are likely to dampen students’ interest and may scare them out of the library. Attention to school libraries by government, school management and stake-holders seem to be inadequate especially when compared with public and academic libraries.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to Investigate the Challenges of School Library Development in Akaeze Ebonyi State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To find out the extent quantity of library resources in school libraries meet professional standards in the study area;
2. To assess library resources for meeting secondary schools professional standards in the area under study;
3. To investigate the factors inhibiting the development of school library in the area under study; and
4. To investigate the problems militating against school libraries in meeting professional standards in the area under study.

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What are the problems militating against school libraries in meeting professional standards in the area under study?
• To what extent does the quality of library resources in school libraries meet professional standards in the study area?
• What is the library resources needed for meeting secondary schools professional standards in Akaeze district?
• What are the factors inhibiting the development of school library in the area under study?

1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There are no significant factors militating against school libraries in meeting professional standards in Akaeze district of Ebonyi State
• H1: There are significant factors militating against school libraries in meeting professional standards in Akaeze district of Ebonyi State

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant relationship between library development services and library resources utilization among secondary school students
• H1: There is a significant relationship between library development services and library resources utilization among secondary school students

1.7 Significance of Study

The result of this study may be beneficial to the government (policy makers, individuals), universities, library and library users. It may enable the policy makers to formulate appropriate policies that may enhance the type of information resources to be donated or bought for the library. It may also help government to be aware of current trends in the library sector and work towards achieving its goal and maintaining the standards of the library.

It is equally expected that the result of this study may help the university to provide adequate fund for sustaining library services. It may also increase value, that is, quantity and quality of information resources available to staff, students and individual users, thereby supporting the mission of each institution. This as well may help library users and staff to have knowledge of what is available in academic libraries and what is expected in the libraries. And create more opportunities for library users through user education and other skills development opportunities.

1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Challenges of School Library Development in Akaeze Ebonyi State. The study covers two public secondary schools namely; Ishiagu High School, and Akaeze Comprehensive Secondary School.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).