University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACCESSIBIliTY ANII USE OF LIBRARY RESOIRCES IN BAL:I1E LIBRARY, l~I\T.RSITY OF GHA>""IA ANGONO, BRIDGET EJA:-IG (10325401) A DISSERTATION SLBMITIEDTO TIll: DEPART:I1E!liT OF I!liFORMHION sn-uu:s. t "NlVERSITY OF GHANA. tEGON. I:'Ii PARTIAL Fl'LI'ILLMEST OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AW ARD OF THE MASTER OF ARTS I~I.A) DEGREE IN \IURARY sn'DI'S Jl:NE2010 University of GhanaDE ChLtAtRpA :T/IO/:u'll gspace.ug.edu.gh I, Bndget Ejang Angono. hereby declare thai this dissertation is my anginal work. with the exception of quotations and ideas borrowed from other authors v.1Ucb are duly cited wwIer references. J fully accept respoIliibility of any mistakes in thii study. This atudy was carried out under tbe iupeMsion of Profeuor A. A. Alemna, wbo&e true signanue appears here-under in confirmation of my declaration. Bridget EjaDgADgoDo ProressorA.A.Alem08 (Stu.dent) (Supervisor) IDNumberl0325401 D." ..I .f?l.f!.IJ.I.I.I) ...... . Da". .l.c:t./j.l(~ ........... . University of GhanaD EhDItCtApT:IO//Su gspace.ug.edu.gh This .... oric:" first oral! dedicated IOtbe Almighty God for His abundant grace on meaod then 10 m) pamlls: Mr. L. A. Angono and Mama Susana Amboh Angono (of bleued memory). University of GhaACnKaNO WhLtEtDpG:E/M/uENgTs pace.ug.edu.gh Praise to the Almigbty God for his spc<:jal favour on me by bringing me to Ghana and for making this programme come to fruition. May He be worshipped and honoured forever and ever Amen. I wish to cxpn.'SS my sincere gratitude to my supervisor professor A. A. Alemna for his scholarly suggestions and commitment while supervising this project. May God continue to pour his blessings on him I am equally indebted to my children and my siblings for their ceaseless prayers and good wishes. May God continue to soower his blessings on thml My deep appreciation goes to the Scholarship Board of the Presb)1erian Church in Cameroon for financ:ial support. The concem $hown by my father, my husband. and my friend Caroline Anyangwe dwing the course ofmysrudies is highly appreciatcd. I also appreciate al1 my lecturers woo made an mput to this work The company of my course mates cannot be Wlderestimated. May God richly bless you all University of GhaTnABaL Eh OtFt CpO:N/T/EuNgTSs pace.ug.edu.gh Page Declaration iii [)edtcation Acknowledgement iv Table of Content List of Tables List of Figures Ab$lracl xii 1.0 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1.1 Backgrotmdofthestooy. .. 1.1.1 TheUniversilyofGhana ..... 1.1.2 The Salme Library ... 1.1 .3 Objectives of the Balme Library 1.1.4 Departments of the Balme Library. t.I .s Description of stock ... I . J .6TbeLibraryu~ ... 1.2 Statcment oflhe problem .... .. .. 8 I.3PurpoICofthestudy . . 1.4 Objcctives . .. UResearchquestions. 1.6 Significance of the study ... 10 1.7 Scope and limitation .... 10 1.8 Organisationofthc study .. II References .. 12 Univ2e.0 CrHsAiPtTyER o TWf OG, THhEaORnETaIC AhL tFtRpAM:/E/WuORgKs ApNDa LcITeER.Au TgUR.fe du.gh REVIEW ... 2.1 Conceptual framework .. .. ................................................. 14 2.2 Application of the printic-resoUIce access model for academic library... .. 16 2.3 The Demand theory by Buckland (1999) ... .17 2.4 Literature review ... . .. 19 2.4.1 Tbe role of libraries in universities .... 20 2.4.2 Availabilityofresources m libraries ..... . 2.4.3 Accessibility oflibnuy resources and challenges to accessibility. ... . ... 27 2.4.4 Use of library resourtes and factors that promote or hmder effective use 30 24.Slnfonnationliteracy .... 34 2.5 Summary of the review.. 3S References... . . .... 37 3.0 CHAPTER THREE, METHODOLOGY .. . ... 46 3.1 Introduction. .46 3.2 The Research design . ..46 3.3 Research method adopted ... .. ............ 46 3.4 Population ... . .......... 47 3.5 Selection of subjects for the study .... 48 3.6 Sampling Icchnique ..4 9 3.7Datacollectioninstruments. .. ............5 0 3.1.1 lbequesrionnairemethod ............ 50 3.8 Return oCtile administered questioruwres. 51 3.9 Analysis and presentation ofdala ... .. ........... . 51 3.10 Umitation of the survey .... 52 References. .. .... 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.0 CHAPTER FOUR, OATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .. 54 4.1 lNfRODUCTION. 54 4.2 Rcspooseraee .. .. .54 4.3 DatilanaJysis, findings and discussion ofstaffresponse5 ... 55 4.3.1 Demographic data. 55 4.3.1.1 Distribution ofstaffrcspondents by gender and age .. . 55 4.3.1.2 Oiltributiooofstaffresponden1SbyeducationaJ level .. . .. ... 56 4.3.1.3 Perception of educational Icvelofataffon service provided .. " .... ......... 57 4.3.2InfonnationliteracYikills ... 58 4.3.2.1 ProvISion oflnfomldlion literacy skills to user.; by Balme Library scaff.. 58 4.322 Ratingofinfonnalion literacy skills orusers by Balme library staff. ....... 60 4.3.3 Availability and adequacy of library resources in Salme library . ............ 61 4.3.3.) Howllaffinforms~ornewstock 61 4.3.3 .2 LibraryresoW'CcsavaiJableinBalmeLibrary.. 62 4.3.3.3 U&en accea to resourca... . ... .... 63 4.3.3.4 SatisflCtion of information ncedsofusers... 65 4.33.5 Selection ofinfonnalion resources by faculty members. . 66 4,J,J.6 Selection ofrcsourccs to be ICquired by students.. 66 4.3.3.7 Mdhods ofuquisition ofresoW'Ces , ............. 67 4.3.3.8 Library stock 68 4.3.4 ACCClSlbility oflibrary resources 69 4.3 .... 1 Methods users employ to obtain nccdcd rcsourcesand reasons forchoice ... 70 4.3 .... 2 Acceu to fCIOurces using the VatlOUS access tools ... . ....... 72 4.3.SCholiengl."Sfolcedinprovidingaccessibility. .. ........ 73 4.3.6lmpJo\"mgacc:essibility ... . ........ 75 4.3.7Faclorsthatinnucncetbeuseofraources. 75 vi Univ4e.3.r7.s1 Bitoyrro woinfg raGle ohfre5aOUnl'Cacs bhy sttutdpen:ts/ i/nu theg Bsalmpea Licbraery. .u....g .ed7u7 .gh 4.3.7.2 Eabanc:ing effective use of Balme Library resources..... . .. 78 4.4 Anal)'Sis,findingsanddiscussionofuserrcsponses . .... 79 4.4.10cmographicdata. .. .......................... 79 4.4.1.1 Theagerangeo(patron .. 80 4.4.2lnformalion htetacy 81 4.4.2.1 Provision of information literacy skills to users .... , . .... 81 3.4.2.2 Typesofinfomwion IiterlCyoffered to users 82 4.4.2.3 Rating of Sludent information literacy level .. 83 4.4.3 Availability and adoquacy of library resources in BaIme Library. . 85 4.4.3.1 Sources of knowledge of available libraryresourccs in the library .. . .... 85 4.4.3.2 Available resources in Balme Library ..... 86 4.4.3.3 ' Any tune' cc:eu to resourccs by users .. . ..........8 6 4.4.3.4 Needs satilfaction. 87 4.4.3 . .sUaerplrticipalionin rcsourceselcclionofresourccs ....................... 88 4.43 b Library stock ................................................................ 89 4 4 4 Accessibility ofhbrary l'CiOurces to UiUS... ...... . . ...................... 90 4.4.4. I Methods employed to obtain needed raourc:es and reasons for choice •.... 91 4.4.4.2 Acceu tool and time used to access resource. . .......... .. ........ .. ....... 92 4.4.5 Challenges to accessibility by students ... 4.4.6 Ways of improving accessibility by SlUdcnlS .. 95 4.4.7 Facton lbaI influence the useo(resources .. . ..... . 9S 4.4.7.1 Enhancing effective usc .. 97 4.5 Conclusion. . ...................... 97 References ... 99 UniversCiHtyAP ToERf FGIVEh: SaC~n!MaAR hY OtFt pFIN:/D/INuGgS. sCOpNaCLcUeSIO.uN AgN.De du.gh RECOMMENDATIONS 102 Introduction ... 102 Sununary of findings and conclusion ... 102 S.2.1 Adequac:yofinfonnation literacy ... 103 5.2.2 Availabilityaod adcquacy of library resource 103 S.2.3 Acces.siblhtyoflibraryreiOUfcesmadeac:celiSlble 5.2.4 Problems of accessibility m the Balme Library ... . ... 104 5.2.5 Factors thai infiuence effective use of resources in the library ... 105 5.2.6. Sugge&tioll$ to enhance effective use ... . .... 105 5.3 Recorruncndalions ... . ...... 105 References .. . .. 107 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 108 APPENDIX A .. . .... 119 APPENDIXB. 125 University of GhanaL IShT tOtFp TA:/B/LuESg space.ug.edu.gh Page Table 3.1 Population distributionoftbe study .... 48 o. 3. 2: Distribution of sample size: the Salme Library. , .... 49 4.1 DistributioDofn:spondents by age group .. . 55 4.2 Staffrespondeotsbyeduc.tionallevcl .. .... . 56 4.3 Respondents' perceptionofeducationalJevelofstafTonserviceproviders 57 4.4 TypesofinfonnaLionliteracyofferedtousers .. . . . ... 60 4.5 AvailabJe library resources in Balme Library ... . . .. 63 4.6 Selection of information resources by faculty members .. . . .....6 6 4.7 Selection of resources to he acquircd by slUdents . 67 4.8 Accessibility of resources . .. . . ......... 70 4.9Methodofaccessibitilyandreasonsfor coolce ............... 72 4.10Acces5loolsandtimeusedloaceesS .. . ..• 73 4.11 Factors that influence the use of resources. 77 4.4.1 Demographic data . . . . ... 80 4.4.2 Age range of patron .. . . ... 80 4.4.3 Types ofinfonnation literacy offered .. .. 82 4.4.4 Acquisition oftnformalion hter3cy .. 84 4.4.5 Where information literacy was obtained ... . ... . ... . .. 84 4.4.6 Resoun:es in BalmeLibrary .. . . .. 86 4.4.7 UsersPanicipation in resource selection. 88 4.4.8 Accessibility of library resources. . ..... 91 4.4.9 Method ofacccuibility and reuoru; for chOice ................ 92 4.4.10 Acc:ca tool and lime used to access 93 4.4.11 Factors that influenc:etbe useofraources .. ............ .. 96 University of GhanaLIS Th OtFt FpIG:U/R/uESg space.ug.edu.gh Page Figw-e 2. I PrintlElcctronic access model for academic library... . IS 2.2The Demond theory by Buekland (1999) . ..... 18 4.1 Provision ofinformatlon literacy skills by Balme Library &taffto users ......... 59 4.2 Rating infonnation literacy skills of users by Salme Library Staff. .... 61 4.3 How stafi'infOrml users ofnew stock ... . ... 62 4.4 Rating of access to resources 64 45 Rating satisfaction derived by users of Balme Library resources by staff. .... 65 4.6 Methods of acquisition of resources ... 68 4.7 Rating ofBalmc Library stock .. . ... 69 4.8Cha11engestolCcessibility. .... . ............................ 74 4.9 Ways of improving accessibility ... . .....• 75 4.10 Assessing borrowing rate of resources by libnry staff. .. 78 4.11SuggestiOOJthllcanenbanceeff~tlveuseofresources. . ......... . . 79 4.4.1 Provisionorinfonnationliteracyskllts. ....................................... 81 4.4.2 Rating of students mfonnation literacy skills of uscn ........................... 83 4.4.3 Sourccs of knowledge ofavailable library resources in lhe library ............ 8S 4.4.4 'Anytime' accessto!"eiOurces... . ...... 87 44 S Rating SlUdent satisfaction from Balme Library resources. . ..... 88 4 4 6 Ratmg of Balme Library stock by student.. 90 4.2.7 Challen&C$to aceeslibilit)'... .. ... 94 4.4.8 Ways of improving accessibility .... . .................. 95 4.4.9Waysofenhaneingeffectiveuse .. . ........ 97 University of Ghana AhBStTtRpA:C/T/ ugspace.ug.edu.gh The advent of infonnation technology has led to infonnation explosion and as such libranes are shifting from collection to access. Providing access to infonnation has thus lJe(;ome the principal goal of libraries. Patrons enjoy using resources mal are accessible and tNS iii made possible by providing an enabling environment. This study attempts to e~uate 'accessibility and use of library resources In 8alme Library, University of thana, Leg(m and 10 profile some suggestions to improve accessibility and usc. Using the survey method, the researcher administered questionnaires to Level 400 students of the Department of Infonnation Studies and the staff of Balme Library to elicit infonnationfromthem. The findings indicated that the mformation btcracy skills provided in Salme Library was not adequate enough to enable users make effective use of the resources. The study revealed that fonnals of documents such as audiovisua1 materials were not adequate. Furthermore, the study revealed that accessibility was hindered by misshelving; miscall1oguing; invisible call numbers; low bandwidth; inadequate information literacy skills; and mad~ualc workstations/computers. However, it was found that most of the users made use of the Online Public Access Catalogue hence justifying the huge surn of money speDt on automation. It was also discovered that the existing enabling enviroMlentinthelibrarywasnotconduc:iveenough. To resolve the findinp. several reconunendations were advanced to improve accessibility and use of the resoW'Cea in the Balme Library. Some of these recommendations are as follows: provision of adequate literacy skills; more workstations/computers; better Ilaff xl Unisvtrengtrhs thirtoyug ho trfai nGing;h lnatemnC1a c :ohnDteCttpivir:y/ /0u0 gcamsppus atoc enab.lue g' an.yetimde uan.dg h Il'lywbere' access 10 Balme Library Online Public Access C.talogue(OPAC) University of GhanCHaA PhTEtRt pON:E/ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh INTRODUCTION 1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Libraries are the store house of humanistic, scientific and technological knowledge. They preSCTVc the records of civilization and of mankind's achievements and discovenes. Alemna (2000) stales thai libraries century ago had served as repositories for information and knoulcdge, and further 3dds that they have provided the vjlal underpinnings for soclo.C(;onomic. political and cultural de\'elopmcnt in every civilization. Oyewusi and Oyeboade (2009) further stale that as the growth of research in all fields of human endeavour is becommg increasingly detailed and sophisticated, faculty members and students have realised that libraries have great roles to play in the pro\'ision of information necessary for their day to day research. Besides, libraries act as a medium of getting the latest scientific and tcchnological information either in print or in electronic format Libraries all over the world had come into being as manual information service systems. With the advent of information technology that has led to the birth of infoml.'ion explosion. manual library systems are no longer adequate for the storage, access and retneval of such massive volumes of information. Ajala (2001) opined that bulkiness. growth rate of information and diflicullies in coping with Updating of this mformatlon, render manual library systems inadequate. The development of information technology has made It possible to automate library operations. Today, libraries no longer boast of onlypnnt materiaJsbu(can aJ'W> boast of non print materials such as electronic resources . Hence, library users now expect their library systems to provide means of accc:s.sing both print and electronic resoun:cs and to provide unrestricted access to all information. Automation provides a smooth integration between system gateways, remote and local databases through the public catalogue module. Automation alia allows access by remote users to • library's resources, either by telephone or via an internet connection. It improves dttivcry of mformallon hence enhances accessibility of informatIon since Unitvechenorlosgyi treydu coes fti mGe inh raequnesating hantd trpece:i/v/inug dgocsumpenats.c lnefo.nunatgion. eavdailuabl.eg h electronicaJly can be delivered immC(ilalely onhne; rull-text is available for downloading or printing by users. It also enhances access as custodians can use technology to organize and index materials for rapid retrieval (Amekuedee, 2002). In addition, library automation helps in managing diverse library resources and provides better and wider access to resources (Rowley, 1988). Amelruedee (2002) also pointed oul that libraries were shifting from collection to acce!>S Providing access to information has become the pnnc ipal goal and activities in libraries With the aid of technology, producers of infonnation are making it more available electroRlcaily and directly to conswners in a more cost- effective manner. This iii facIlitated by networks where a consumer plugs into and gains direct access to lOformation in a vancty of fonnats. Also, through infonnation technology, accessible rQOW"Ccs Ire no longer defined as only those residing wIthin the library's four walls Through networking, the contents of the resources ofanolher library can be revealed and accessed through interlibrary loan scheme and the use of the Online Public: Access Catalogue (OPAC). Halsey (2006) contends lhat besides maintaining a collection within librarybuikiinp, libraries often fcaturetelecommunlcations links that pro\"ide users with 8CCcsa to infonna&:ion at remote sites. Although,libraries in developing countries suffer from inadequate provision 0 fresources, they are yet indispensable in an academic environment. ,\cadcmlc libraries support the main functions of their parent institutIOns which are teaching, learning and research, with the aim of prontotmg knowledgc and understanding (Akroful, 1999). According to Boakye (1998), univen.ity hbraries like those of the uR1\"ersities of Ghana playa very significant role in supporting the university's acadermc work. in the absence of the hbrary, the university will not be successful, because the libraries provide 5CTVices that help in teaching, research and leaming. Therefore, 'library acts as a pillar behind all academic: programmes run in a university and thUI could be tenned u the heart of the university. UnTivheBarlsmeiLtiybr aorywf hGichihsaunnivears ithylitbtrpary:i/s/nuoexgcesptpionatoctheisa.susegrtio.ne.lndotuhe.rg h wordJadequate library resoun:ei with adequate acc:essibility will support the intellectual and £cchnical development of students and will equally lead to effective teaching. Hence, a library should no longer be seen as a neutral adjunct to the instructional progranune. but rather as lbe hubofan enquiry process which soouldbe initiated in teaching. The more accessible resources are, the more likely they are to be used. Patrons enjoy accessibility through the skills of the librarian or the library staff. Hence, the intellectual access to available Jibrary resources is the prcoccupahon of the library staff who is the protector oflbe library's intellectual and physical property. This will influence use since readers tend to U$e library resources that reqwre the least effolt to access The library's role is to provide material in a manner that will allow individuals to freely access infonnation. In the Balme Library, besides the manual catalogue, print resources are made accessible vi. the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) and the collection is arTanp on the shelves using the Library of Congress Classification scheme. They also make available reiQurcCi accessible by creating a friend ly envirorunent centred on the ethiCal behaviour thai harnesses patrons. The cin:ulation record is used to charge and discharge books. This promotes the loaning scheme. hence aids accessibility of library materials. Lastly, the libnry stafT assists patrons to achieve their desired needs in the hbrary by providing them with bibliothecal and subject knowledge. Accessibility is also facilitated via the computer laboratory where patrons access elcctroruc rcsourcesthough with a fee. 1.1.JTbeUninrsityofGb.lI. The University of Ghana. previously known as the University of Gold Coast was founded in 1948 on the recommendations of the Aquith and Elliot Commission on Higher educatIon in Commonwealth countries. This university was established in ISiOciation with the University of London. (or the sale purpose of providing for and promoting university education. learning and reacarcb. The rust principal of the college was D.vid Mowbray Balme after whom the Ba1me library was named. UniTvhe unrlvsCTiStlty iso mfa dGe uph oaf Cnolaleg ehs. tFtapcul:ti/es/,u bug;tistutpes, aSchoeol.s uangd .Ceodtreul o.fg h researc:h and learning. Each of these has a library whose resource building largely depends on the Balme Library which is Ihc main library of the university. The University has a Chmx:ellor as bead. the Vice Chancellor as executive head. a Governing Council and aD Academic Board to advise council on academic matters. 1be University is administered through \'anous boards and committees, which are standing committees of the Academic Board. The Academic Board, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, receIVes reporuofthe boards and committees and approves their decIsions The library Board, which i, the policy-making body for the librvy. comprises the following' The Pro -Vice-Chancellor or his representative (chainnan) One member appointed by each faculty board Two members elected by the Finance Committee One member appointed by the Students' Representative Council (SRC) One member appointed by the Graduate Students' Association (GRASAG) The Universily Librarian • Registrar • Director of Finance • CollqeUbrarians 1.1.2 TilE BALME LIBRARY According to Alanna (2000), IJl age, SIU, and rank, Balme library is the country'. premier univenity library. This library wu opened in 1948 and was named after the tirst principal of the university, a British expatriate by name David Mowbray Balme. The pioneer Libranan wa. Mlu. Ethel Fegan. This library started operating in ill temporary sile on the AchlmotacanlpUS with a SlOck of6O.000 volumes In 1959, the library was fonnally opened when it Was moved to its pennanent site on Legon campus. By this time, the: stock had risen to 124.857 (Pitcher 1970, cited Amekuedee, 2002). \V.ulc constructin& this library, il was envisaged that il was going 10 Unihvalleie ra scoillteycti ono off 2G50.0h00a vonluame s.h lCtCtOpII'U:Il/O/duale g)5s0 rpeadercs e(Ke.duemg 1.9e90d, cuited. gh Arnckuedcc,2002) In the late 1960s, computer services were Introduced in lbc university. The computCfS that existcd during lhis pcriod were basically UiCd to produce payroll and latcr they were used to prepare students records. This was called the data procC$liing age of computers Later,ln 1987, the unn·crslly ...uninislnlOr supplied a WANG PC to the Balme library. Thil PC WII installed in the library in February where it started rendering services to readers. Since 1994, the library has acquIred mon: computers as a result of concerted efforts from the World Bank, International Federation of Library Association (lFLA) and Danish Devek)pment Association to name but a few. TIle Balme library has grown in leaps and bounds (rom 1948 till present day. As at 2009. the collection has risen to 387.648 volwncs from 60.000 volumes as of 1948. The library now subscnbes to many Journals, and has • computer laboratory with 20 computers, a scanner and a pnnter where students can access mleme1 resources, although with a fce. In 2008, an OPAC system was mtroduced into the library and computer terminals are provided in some sections of the library where library', rcsources can now be accessed. from UGCAT (online catalogue) using the website http://v.-Vv-w.Library.ug. edu.gh from anycomputc:rcormectcd to the intemel. This means tbat the library has both print and electromc resourccs. Ofsignificaneeilthe fact that the library offers services such ali user educalion. computer hteracy classes, photocopying and computer laboratory! online research library and binding of books. Looking at tbescservices, one would sce that they arcJCU"Cd lOWards making library resources available to users. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.1.3 Objectives of the Balme Library University libraries exist to further the mission of their universities.The main objective of every-academic libnry is to support teaching and research pro[,.'Tammc:softhe institution concemed(Asiedu,1998} The obJccuves of the Balme Library can be swnmariud Ii follows To :leqUire. organize and dissenunate all forms or kinds of matenals needed by sludenlS,lectureT"S and researchers in the pursUIi oflhei.r courses and to provide adequalelJlllerial forresearcb to be carried out auccessfuIly. To instTUcl students on the effective use of the library and ita resources. Cooperate with and assist faculty members in their academic programmes. To provide the physical facilities and equipment to make possible the most effective use of library resources. 1.1." DEPARTMENTS AND SECTIONS OF THJ.: RAI .ME l.IBRARY The Balme library i, made up of various departments and sections. Thc:::.c depmmcnts are as follows The Adminiltntjve Depanmena.; the ClialogUlng Department; the Acquisition Department; the Periodicals Depanment; the Reader Service Department; the Electtonic Suppon Umt; aod lhe Tethrucal Service Department. These departments 1ft umon with Ihe ubranans' office carry out spccific functions lhat go a long way to bring (orth access and use of library resources. In Iddition 10 the above departrnenLs, the Balme Library has special s«:t1ons., or collections (Asiedu, 1998). They are: the BraIlle Library, Students Reference Library, the Africana Ubmy, Development Information Centre, the COJq>uter Laboratory and Ambic Library. The library also provides photocopy servicea that CDlble UICB to copy page8oflibruymalerials. 1.1.5 DES(,RJYfIO:-; OF STOCK The Ralme library ftOck's i. made up of reference collections, loan collections and specIal collection. The reference collection is made up ofreferenee books lIuch as theses. bIographical souttCS, reference materials 00 science and librarianship, reference materials on social science and bwnanities, concordances, indexes, abstracta, bibliopphies. directories, encyc:lopediu.dictioaaries., aDd almanacs. Some oflbesereference sources Uniavre ether souirctey ty poemf dG theh acacenssdaire chriotntalp ty:p/e./ uThgeses mpaleariacls eare. uin gthe. erefdereunc.e gh hall. Olher tCSOurces that are kept In the refcrmce hall include past questions of all examinations taken in the university; it also keeps a list of all bound periodicals in all subjoci areas and these are arranged alph.abeticaUy. The library a1so has resources on microfonn (microfilm and microfiche). Microfilm materials, composed of local ncwspa~ and academic theses on Ghana and other acadcmic theses on institutions of higher learning in the commonwealth and the United States of America. The loan collection is collection that can be borrowed out of the library by library patrons. 'The stock consists of books on all subject areas taught in the University of The: reserve collection is collection that library users are not supposed to borrow from. But they are allowed to deposit thelrldemification cards, collect the book and use in the reserve section and rctumthebook to staff before collecting the identificatio ncard.Rare books and \"cry Important book5 that have very limited copies are usually kept in this ieCtion. There is also the special collcctlonofthe library which consists of the f ollowmgsections The Africana library, the Student Reference Section. the World Bank Library. the Arabic library. the Braille library. the United Nations library, the Students' Reference library, CD~Rom service, and email and lolane( services. The library bas a database of theses and subscribes to online databases like Agora, Emerald, JSTOR, EBSCOHOST to name just a few. The library slock is organized according to thc Library of Congress Classification Scheme and maintains a Union catalogues of some departmental libraries. A !ibm}' may have adequate. current materials and may not register 1000/. in functionality duc to challenges to a«cssibility such as mishelving. miscalaloguing, poor labchng and poor stafTaltitudes. A1so,whcna library is automatcd. It cannot regis tera hundred percenl of usc because of ei.dler lack of searching skiJls on the part of the users, inefficiency of library &taffin theuseofelcctronic raourccs, lnadequacy of hardware and UniiivOietwarres(laictky o fo anf m Gablihnaeanvniroanm ehntt).t pIt :is/ /IRuthgiJcsonpncacticone th.aut tghe.resadrcuhc.r gh wi5hes to evaluate the accei5ibility and use of library reIOutces in the Balme Library. 1.1.6 TheLibTIJryUseTs The pnnwy patron5 of the Balme Library include faculty members. students, resean::hen and admirnitrative staff of the University of Ghana. The users can be grouped into three categorict DamCIy, thole who hive the right to read and borrow from me collection and theK: Include both Jwtior and Senior Members of the university, those who can use the library for reference only and ItKycompnscte£chmgasslstants, national service pe rsons, t.:ni\"mIIY staff (who hi\"(:" b«n recommended by their Head of Department to Il$C the hbrary), and alumni of the Uruverslty temporarilY residing on the campus; and others with permishOlllO read and or borrow at the discretion of the University Librarian, actina on behalf of the Library Board 1.1 StatelDc.t ort"e problem An interview with some Level Four Hundred (400) students of the Deplllment of Infonmtlon Studies 1ft the Univenily revealed that ~c(,sslbllity 10 library resources is nol ~11 that easy due 10 the fact that the user educ3tionlmfonnallon literacy pro\'ldcd to studenu; and new library users at the Balme Library i, not adequate enough. As a result, they were not able to access and rt1:ncve necessary materiall that will help them in their «.demic and research work. Besides, the Balme Library OUsh! to be a weU·equipped library having resources both in pnnt and electronic fonn.ls thai would satisfy the user's needs, but they are w-..able to meet this challenle since some level 400 SludmtI complaincd thal thcy sometimes so to the hbraryto look for particular titles or works of puticular autbors but they do not find lhcm. In addition., they sometimes identify material that .5 useful for their study from the card Clt.logue or Online Public Acecu C.lI.Iogue (OPAC), unfortunately they are unable to kK:ale them on the &helves. They aJso Inltnwed. thai some of them were nol wi.fied with the facilities proVided; the wortwations were alw.ys in hiah demand and some of them are usually fnlItrated when Unitvheye arres uintayble oto fa cGcessh caertanina da thabatstesp. I:t/ /isu thgeresfopre athec res.eaurcgher.'se wdishu t.og h examin~ the challenges to accessibility of the resources. Furthermore, some of the students Intcrvlewed staled that !.he hbrary environment was not conducive enough and the servu;:es provided did not encourage: effective use of the resources. Looking at the above asswned problems. the researcher found it necessary to evaluate accessibility and U$C of library resources in Salme Library, University of Ghana, Legon. 1.3 P.rpoteofUaest.dy The purpose of the siudy was to evaluale Ihe accessibility and use of library resoUlces tn the Balme Library. University of Ghana. Legon. IAObjecdvt'.$ofstudy The objectives of the study.are as follows I. To ucertain the availabilit)' and adequacy of library resourccs. 2 To detennme the extent to which library resources are made accessible to users in theBalmeLibrary 3. To identify the factors that influence effcctive use of library resources in theBalmeLihrary. 4. To find OUt the adequacy of infonnation literacy provision to users in the Balme Library. S. To fiDdoul lheconstraints ofacccssibility in the Balme Library. 6. Make recommendatiol"ll for improvement! to accessibility ofresoun::es based on the findings oflhe srudy l.SRtstarcliquatioDs To address the objectives above, the study tried to provide answers to the questions below. I. How available and adequate are the hbrary resources? 2. To what extent are library resources made accessible 10 patrons in the Balme Library? Unive3. Wrshati tarye t hoe ffac tGors thaat influaenc eh eftfetcptiv:e /u/sue ogf resopurcaesc ine th.e uBaglm.e eLibdraury?. gh 4. How adequate is the: infomWion literacy provided to users in the Balme Library? 5. What are the constraints of accessibility in the Balme Library? 6. How can access to resources In the Salme Library be improved? 1.6 Significance of the study Many srudIcs have been carried out on various aspects of the Salme Library, but none has been done .so far OD the subject of this research. This research would therefore be seen as I trail blazer. The study will be 5ignificant to the infonnation professional by creating awarene&s of the need for adequate information literacy skills and accessibility as factors that lead to effectIve use of library resources In additIon. the staff of the Salme Library will be enlightened on the need to make library reSOurces more accessible since accessibility influences effective use of the library. It is also hoped that the administration of the Balme Library will vigorously pursue the findings and recommendations and use them as future strengthening measures in the library work This INdy is expected to conmbute to academic knowledge. It should serve as literature for scholarly reference and will be a stepping stone for further research in accessibility and use oftibrary resources and other related areas surrounding library resources. 1.7ScopcaDdl.lmUatioD The study was carried out at the Balme I.ibrary, University afGhanI. Legan. Due to time, human and financial constraints. the researcher limited the study only to the usen and staffofthis library that is; level four hundred (400) students of the Infonnation Studies Department and the Professional and Para·professional staff of the Balme Library 10 Uni1v.8e0rrl·s·6istayt6 Hoofft bGeltahdya na http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The resc:vchcr has presented the study in five chapters as follows: Cllapter oae: This chapter covered lhe background of the study. statement of the problem. purpose of tile study, objectives of the study. research questions, signIficance of the study, scope and limitation and organIzatIon oflhe study Cilaptertwo: II reviewedRlated literature to tbc study and presented the conceptual framework OIl whjeh the study is based. Chapter tbree: nus chapter described the methodology used for study. Cbapter four : It consists of the findings. analysil and discussion of the findiDJI. Cbapter DYe; This is: made up oflhe summary of the findings. conclusion and recommendations. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Rdueaces Ajala, I. O. (1997). "Use of University of lbadan Library ReiOUfces by Graduate SludcnlS".~ Vol. 46 No.6 pp.421427 AkroNI, M. (1999). The impact of donallOns on the collSXirinn of the I JniversjlV of Ca.Q~ Ct:wl. 'sgon University of Ghana. Unpublished M.A. Theses submitted to the Departmcnl oflnformallon Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. p. 1 AIemna, A.A (2000). I.lbrans; lnfonnahon and Socjety. Accra: Ghana University Press pp.l-ll& p.24 Amekuedee. J. O. (2002). An evaluation of Ijbrary automation in $Orne Ghanaians univeIJj'y Jjbrarig. Unpublished M.Phil. Thcies submitted to the Department of lnformation Studies, University of Ghana, Legan. pp. 49-52. Aaiedu. E.R. (1998). Thc Impact of Compulem:atjon on the Slaff of Salme Ljbrary Unjvcn;ity of Ghana. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation submitted to the Department of Information Studies, Umversity of Ghana, Legon p.28. Anah, S.K (1999). ybrarv BUildings and AcceU to Library Services and Resources to the PhY'ic.al Piyh10d IInjvvmity Stu_dent': A cue SUNy of the Ba'me !jbrJry tJoiymjty of Ghana. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation submitted to Ihe Department of Infonnation Studies, University of Ghana, Legon.pp.16-28 Boakye. 1. (1998). Awarenqs and 113 of Librwy CoIIs;tioos in Qbma A Case 'tvdv of SFjspce and Teshpgtgn Collections in the I 'niversity of Science and Technology CUSD ~ Unpublished M.Phil. Theses aubmined to the Department of lnfonnation Studies,UnivemtyofGhana,legon.p.18 Halsey, R. S .• et aI. (2006). Library (mstltullOn). Encarta 2006 [COl Redmond, WA' MIcrosoft Corporation. Available 8: 1 ww\\,.emera)dinwhl.com. Accessed 15102110 UnOivyewurais. Fi. tOy. & oOyfe bGoadhe, Sa. An. (a20 09h). tAtnp em:/pi/ruicagl stsudpy oaf acceu.ibuihlgY .aned duseu o.fg h library resourcei by undergraduates in a Nigenan Siale University oCTechnology Ubrary Philosophy and practice. Available http:// webpun.uidabo edu/mhuli%yewusj- ~I Accessed 17/12109 Rowley. J.c. (1988). 'fb.c BUi" of Informatign Technology. I.oodon: Clive BingIey Ltd., p.l The BaJme Library. A ..' ailable at hnp:f1ibrary.1!8 ron ph Accessed 24!1 2109 13 University of GhanCaII AhPTttEpRT:W//Ou gspace.ug.edu.gh 2.0 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ANI) LITERATURE REVIEW This chapler reveals Ihc lilennw-e of related study and discusses the conceptual framc ..... ork on which the work is based_ It il divided into two sections: section one handles the conceplual models and sec[ion two reviews related literature to the stud y. 2.1 Conceptual Fnmework Aconcepi could simply be considered as a shorthand representation ofavariety of facts. II is meant to simplify thmkmg by subsuming a number of events under one general heading (powell and Conm&way 2004). Tne use of technology and the internet has changed publishing models and the infonnallonlandscape. Ifhbranes have to achieve their objective which is to support students. researchers. academic faculty in their research and education by making the best print and elcctronlc resources available, they have to n.-dcfine their roles and make efforts to keep abreast with developing tecluwlogy. Hence, services provided and skills possessed by profcssionals in libraries should refleet that trend. The emergence of new technologies has shifted traditional library services LO "electronic accesstoamyriado(databases,prolifcrationofintcrnctsites.andpatronexp4.'C~tionsof speedy sm.lcc" (Burke. 2003). Library users now have more infonnation acce$S options aVlilablc. mcluding access to fulllcxt volumes which can be searched on individual desktops (Covi &. Cragin. 2004). Considering the emergmg S!lUatlOn. professionals are comms: up with conceptual frameworks thai lake care of both print and ele<:tronic resources. The conceptual model of prinllelectronic resources access for academic hbranes developed by AnWlObi and Okoye. (2008) wu used for lhis study. The model eonsists of !'Wo access enVironments: the in·house, local. or independent environment. and the universal, global or integrated acCC$S environment This model depicts a challenging situation for academic librarians wbo are expec:ted to ereate universal access IObotb print IDd elcctroruc resources. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ----------=- ------;;-----, :4fe1OUr'tcsUnit, J nc:ludil .. -, ~~.)_:r . ",hen," rl ~Opm .. 1 .1brn'y~ f1gurr I : PrintlF> RHources Access ~Odfl ror Atademic Library Uni2v.2 eAprplsiciattiyon of tfh e GPrinhtlEa-Rnesaou rche Attccpes:s /M/oudegl fsor pAcadcemeic. Luibgrar.ye du.gh The conceptual framework has three aJternative&: for the in-house environment. Figure I illustrates these tlu-ee alternatives. The fll'St (A) is the electronic resource Unit with the enabling environment (software, hardware. and trained staff),which is open to academic library users (2); A combined print and electronic resources Unit (B) with enabling environment (3) ; also open to library users (4); Print resources unit (C) with enabling environment (5) open to academic library users (6). The three alternatives are practiced in many university libraries today and are also practiced In Balme library. The in-house access environment expected of traditional libratyservices faJls short of the universal access thai is required of academic libraries of mternatlOnal standmg. The in-house, independent resource environment is the hub of an electronic consortium. This in-house resource environment works in a feedback mechanism with lhe electronic resources, print and electronic resources, or print resources unit, all of which revolve arouncl the library server (7). The University library server with automation software and other files and databases, and portals (7) provides resoun:es for the independcnt access environmcnt and also receives resources from it. The server (7) with high capacity hardware, software, and telecommunication components. gets feedback from the electronic resourtes unit (8). prinl and electronic rcsou(ce unit (9),orthe prinl resource units (10). Each of the units can access lhe server. which also can be accessed universally through the library Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) (II), available on the mtemet (12). The integrated access environment allows academic libraries operating any of the options in the independent environment to be pan of universal access with or without the involvement oflheir parent For academic libraries to maintain a prominent position in their institutions, they must move from limited or local access to universal access. For academic libraries in developing countnes to achieve this, requires expandability. flexibility and compatibility (Tebbets 1991). nus requires standard hardware. sufficient capacity. networking capabilities, Oexible software and standards such as MARC for information storage and 16 Unirevtrievarl,s aintd ylo tao1 efx pGertishe. aMnosta ac ahdemtticp hb:r/a/riues gIn sdepvealopcineg c.oungtne.se wdill ufaU. gh shan. of these requirements because oflack offunds,lack ofexpemiC and constant power failures and low bandwidth. 11U5model is apt for the study bccause itauggests tbe enabling environments needed in order to have ..xcu 10 both print and electronic resources whicb i. one of the researchers (ocus in the slUdy 2.3 Tbe DemaDd ...e ory by Buckla.d (1999) The second partofthc: study sh.all explore the demand theory propounded by Buckland (1999). Thelheory explains the responsive beha\"lourofthe libranan and that ofthc user Assuming a patron came to look for a book In the library. Assuming that the library, in fact own the desired title and that the user has correctly identified its place on the shelve, thcprobabilily of. copy bcmg available when wanted depends on the mteraction ofth ree variables· the panem of demand, the number of copies owned, and the length of time caples ue available when bcing used. If the Librarian knows that the availabilityofa particular title is low, the availabi lit yean be increased by addmg extra copies and/or reducing loan periods. Such changes constltulC .J.aptive responses (feedback) by the Librarian to Impro\'e an unsatisfactory standard of service. Iftheuscrdoc:snot find thehook,then the USCf CIo respond an either of the two ways: by coming back later, in which case the demand remains; or by taking other steps which will have the effect of rcducIDg the demand on the document. One can switch to another library, buy. penon.l copy, use a friend's copy, or simply give up. Thi6 ficcd.om of choice by the user constitutes a second, independent feedback rneehanian. The second set of option lUulu: in lowering of demand, thereby, increased a. .. ailabliity.Seefigure2below 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ENVIRONMENT IncI 1 Resourees 2 Othefuse&ofr850urces 3... Sooalvalues ENVIRONMENT lOCI ~by 1.0th8l"&ourcesof Ubrarians of quality Infon'netIon and use of IIt>r8Iy MMCe 2. P.-.onaIvaIueI The Dcnund theory mcoopcralcd In the three connected systems determining the proviIion and use of library semces. Adopted from Bucldand (1999) Flgur.2 The DemUId Theory By Buckland (1999) 18 UniTvhe sqr>saraiIet yint corKfti oGn b)'h twao sny&aten \5h (thtet cpog:n/it/ivue sgystemp andc the e.cuonogm.ice sydsteums.)g h i. the role played b), me demand decision. These two systCllli in addition to the economic s)'Stem clearly bring out issucsin 'usc'oflibrarystlVices. o In the cognitive system. tWng the library services generates the set of retrieval signals thaI lead 10 the user becommg informed and acquiring new knowledge o In the political and managerial system, use of the library provides principal justification for allocating resources LO the library and alw generates the pcrcepe.ion ofUie which conslitulesa feedback loop o In the economic system, the experience of using the library provides part of the baa for the user's futun: decision to use the library. Each of these systems is dominated by the external envirorunent which determines the rcsourccs for provision oflibraryservic:es. the vaJues and preferences of users, most of thctornmunicationto and hence the kno\\ledSeofindividuals, and alternate sources of mformalion.1bcrelalionshipbetwcenthesethrecsYSlemsissceninFigu.re2 The purpose of reviewing earlier works by researchers is to determine what their study can make in terms of adding new knowledge to the already existing knowledge on the Me.I of study. utcratUrt review helps researchers limit their scope of the inquiry and convey the importance of studyiog a topIC kl readers. The revlcw for this study i. made under the fonowmg sub-themes: The role of libraries in universities. b) Availability of library resourcc:sin Jibranes c) Accessibility ofhbnry resources and challenges to accessibilily d) Usc of library resources and factors tNt promote or hinder effective use. e) lnfonnationlilency Uni2v.4.1e Trbseriotleyo floibrfa rGiesihD auBnlvuasit iehs, ttp://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The relationship that exiit between Itbranes and cultural progreiS has been 10 interdependent that il is occdless to argue whether man's cultural advancement merely produce libraries as by-products. The emergence of libraries therefore was a direct response to the accumulated body of recorded experience that has exceeded the retentive eapacity of the hwnan memory (Alemna, 2000). It is thus a social instrument which develops the human mind. II also serves as a place where books and user (readers) interact together for the transmission of civiliazation and the cultivation of hwnan beings (Adolabu, 1973). The unIversIty IJbrary calers for the whole academIc commWlity. serving the faculty. aclrmnistralorsand studenl$. Aina (2004) defines academic hbrariesas libraries attached to post-secondary inslilutions and can be categorized into two. These are, unIversity libnricsand Libraries that are attached to non-university institulions. Also, the American Library Associalion (1986) defines a university library as a library established ,supported and adminislm:d by a university to meet me infomlation needs of students and faculty and to support its in5tructionaJ, research and service programmes. Furthermore, Tang (2001), also sees a university library as ''the heart of the university"," treasure of knowledge",and",hefountainofknowledge". To emphasIze the role of university libraries, Ellis (1990) cited In Tang (2001) stated that academic libraries have educalional functions in the followmg areas: I. Assist in the educalion of stud en Is in meirrespo::liveareasofspeclalizalion. 2. Bro.deningthescopeofstudenu'knowledge 3. Incrculnl lbe ability ofpauons to use the library. 4. Enpging in the ideological and political education of students and faculty. Buckland (1992) cited in MI and NCitI (2006) Id,,'Otified three typCi of libranes: print library, automated library, and electronie library. It is the place of libraries no maner the Iype 10 provide the informational,educational andn::creauonal oeedJ of its patrons. 20 UniTvhe rorles oift ayn acoadefm iGc: lhibraryn cann oth bet tupnd:er/e/stuimgatesd. pIt aenacbles .tuhe gind.ieviduaul 1.0g h develop its full potentials and widen the range of its perception. interests and skills Stressing me role the library plays in a leaming environment. Travaline (1997) maintains tbaa today's library IS hkc a big play ground wairingto be explored and the librarian the best playmate. one who makes the playground worthwhile. This study will verify how the librarian or library &taff performs their role as the best playmate in the library in making resourcc:s ICceu.ible to users thCRby providing an opportunity for effective use of library Today. academic: libraries are faced with managing hybrid resources {print and electronic) and the hbrary staff and user have the chaJlenge of leaming the skills that are needed to make these materials accessible and thus pultlRg the available resources into proper usc. From the look of things, !tbranes In Ghana especially the Balme Library. hai Incorporated infonnalion technology by automating its services. They no longer have to cootend with the problems of manual routines in providing traditional information services although presently they are using the two systems simultaneously. However, inaccessibility of both print and electronic re5Qurces in academic libraries hampen; the fulfillmenta of a well established library which is to provide effective teaching, learning and research. Therefore• • university library with a good collection of appropriate maIcriaIsandeasyacecsstoresourcesisessentiai for an cffective use of the n:!o>ourccs Oyewusi and Oyeboade (2009) asserted that thc pnmary purpose ofunivcrsily libraries is 10 support teaching. leaming and research in ways consistcnt with. and supportive of the mstitution's mission and 10815. TIlls is achu:ved by providing material assistance and an enabling environment. lie added that hbrary resources should be sufficient in quality, dcpt. dlVer5lty, and currency 10 suppon Ihc instilulions' curriculwn.and should a Iso cater forlilerecreationalandinformationalneedsoflecturers,stucicotlandresearthcl'5.ln addition, a univcrsity library should enable the students adopt a self education approach to studies and an opportunity to do independent work. The functional aspect of the library places it as the hean of the university and il is directly related to the success of the aim s and objcctivcsofthe university 21 UniKvwaeporngs (i1t9y70) , odufr inGg a hsyampnosiawn horgtatnpize:d/ b/yu thge Gshpana Lciberar.yu Agsso.ceiatdionu, a.t gh Greenhill in 1970 on the theme" Libraries as a force in education", stressed on the role of acadenuc libl'llries as he pointed out that "tbe university library can be considered as the heart if nol aorta of any university and its academic heallh. intellectual vitality and cfTectiveness,closelydependsollthestateofhealthandexcellenceofitslibrarywhichiS Indeed its very lifeblood". To bultrcss this point, one can compare the image of a car wlthoul a dl'iverto a universitywitbout a library Furthermore. Thompson (1979) opined that the role of university librarie5 is to provide an absolutely fundamental service which affects the whole of the university and without whieb it would cease to function as a eenler for teaching and research, He funher states lhatlhe prime function ofa university library was to provide facilities for study and research for the members of its own institution. However, a university library also has a duty to its toeal commWlity. To buttress the role of academic hbranes. American Library AssoCiation 1198b), asscn.ed that URI\'crSlty libraries offers to its clientele collection of broad &COpe and depth, specialized and in·depth assistance in the useofitJ resourees. It also makea available to the clientele the resources and collections of other libraries throuJb. various cooperativc programme. It is thus imponant for library services to be foeuacd towards malong resources accessible so u to encourage the use of these library Campbell (2006) observed that ''numerous creative and useful services have evolved within academic libraries III the digital age: providing quality learning spaces; creating metadata; offering vln.ual reference services; teaching information literacy; choosing rnourtes and managing resoun:es licenses; collecling and digitizing archival materials; and mamlalning arehival repositories". Library users on the other hand are opting for more "qualitative" sources of information. To buttress this pomt, Lombardi (2000) observes thai users will prefer more computer content, more computer indices, digitized finding aids, digltl.loo repositories of articles, online access to newspapers, etc. Heoc:e.to remamrelevant mthedigital age, academic libraries arc repositionins library resources, opcrallOns, scrvices and skills. 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The university system is not sialic. The syllabi and schemes of work cbange when the education board: deems it necessary and new faculties come into being u the wriversity expands Therefore. the conccpl of availability is very important as far as academic libraries are concern. This is because the library stock has to keep adding to meet the cWTent demands ortbe users Therefore, defining availability in terms of immediacy is a useful ",dlcator of library 5er\'ICes. This is a situation in which all requests are invnediately satisfied. Hence, the information needs of users ofme Balme Library should bellti,fiedwhcnc\·crsougbt. 1be library is the bean of any orgamlation. Therefore any orgarnzation wishing to grow has to depend on the resowces in the library. In most instances, the degree of the advancement usually goes proportionately with the potential the library can respond. In Badu' s (1991) study of the University of Gbanl Graduate students, it was revealed that students had very hnle lcnowleJge of the University's libraryresoW'Ces and services that were .vailable to them tberefore • more vigorous library user education programme to be mtegrated mto the wUversity cW"riculwn was advocated. The importance of the Balme Libruy is to respond to the infonnation needs of the students and staff of the anstlMion. In this cue, the production and dissemination of knowledge must operate from a bue backed by current and adequate library resources which is also made known to U$ers lhrough awareness service andtbcse resources sbould 1150 be made accessible. 2.4.2 AVlillblUty of library moul"C" in libraries Webster', Third New International Dictionary (1993) describes availability as what is ICcessibleormaybeobtainedorbeatdisposalforuli1i7.ation.ICmaterial isnotacquired il eannot be made available and material i, only accessible if it is .vailable. This means that whal is present is the physic.1 form that is capable of being utilized. Therefore, me IInmedi.tc .... ailability is I useful measure of library performance. A v811able rHQurccs make itpoaible for research to take place in any organization or IRSlitulion. Ekpo(2001) observed that one could not have a funetiona.I library except such a library bout of the (ollowins: UniveI rAs riicthyco lloecftj oGn Inh varionus afor mhatst tanpd :re/l/evuangt tso tphe anecedes a.nud ignte.rest dofu th.e gh largeruscn. 2 The collection IS systematically selected and wholesome. 3. The resources aR properly organised for easy retrieval using any acceptable classification scheme. 4 The coUection js accessible to the target users and official opening hours are convcnicnt to the users S There are accommodatIOn, space and facilities, trained and dedicated personnel to maintain collection anci to Supcrv15etheirusage. Oyewuii, and Oyeboade (2009) slated that universIty library collections include not only rnditiooal pnnt~on~paper media like books, journals. newspapers, and maps but also audio-"isuai materials like records, audiocassettes, video cassettes, projectors, art reproductIons. maps, photographs, microfiches, CD~ROMs, computer software. online datIbases. internet, electronic books and electronic journal and other media. WalSon(200S),statesthat libraries tbathave not expanded theircollectiondevelopment strategies to include all information carrien are unlikely to satisfy all (he information needsoftheirU$efS. To buttress this point, Broderick (1965) opined that librarians who failed to usc all medias were narrowing the world thcy offered to their users. Hence, non~ print materials should form p.vt ofllle information arsenal oftoday's library. In trying to state what library resources are, Fayose (1995) states that "the extent to which children and young people of today will be creative, informed and knowledgeable will be shaped by the bounduies ofthc contents ofthc hbraryresourccs available within their scoools" This statement invariably sums up the value of library resources. According to Whitmire (2002) academic library resources are considered a good measure of an institution excellent andquaJity. The resources of any library are what create an image: for the library. Therefore, the issue of availability of library resourees is a very important iJIue. Hence, libruy profeuionals as educators should find and crate the literatwe that is pedagogically sound, and rclcvant to the educational purposes oCi" 24 Unipvatreonsr. sToi tbyutt reoss ft hGtl pohinta. Pnopaool ah (2t0t08p) :in/ti/muatged sthapt tahe cinefor.muatgion. resdouruces. gh and SC1'Viees available in in&titutional information systems must be capable of supporting research acuvities among the students and faculty members. Availability and accessibility are variables in information seekjng and use. Aguolu and Aguolu (2002) &eeavaiiabilityas the means that ensures the prc:senc:eoflibrary resources in libraries for immediate use. They attribute lack of availability of resources to the stcadyproliferatioaofuniversities in Nigeria. Dike (1992) conducted a research on the scarcity of books in Nigeria and the threat to academic excellence. From his findings. he was able to establish that non*availability of library resources has led to the low ullhzatJon of library services. Marama and Ogunrombl (19%) confirm that there is high unavailability of library reiQurces in the libraries in Nigena especially Library and Information Science (LIS) collections. OklY (2000) conducted a research on availability of library resourccs and recorded an unavailability rate of 7.50/• . Ajayi and AkilUliyi (2004) in his research found frustration among information seekers due to the non* availabilityoflOUrCcs Furthermore, Dyedlran-Tidings (2004) studied information needs of library users at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos and observed low use of library by students, which was "attnbuted to the expressed unavailability of desired information resources. From thisobscrvatioo it can bc dcduc::cd that seeking uscr input for the acquisition process and policy is very imperative. The term availability simply refers to the probability that a copy of a given book is available when sought for. The central focus in librananshlp therefore is to make books physicaJly a\'ailable when sought. Hence, the"main rule of library stock control is that both the information resources and the acquisilion policy.hould be relatcd to tbe level of demand for the item. This ought to be so since choices are usually made based on the antlclpaledneed(Buckland,1989). 25 UniSviDece racsquiitsiytio no off liGbrarhy raonuraca hinvtotlvpes :a/ll/ uprogcesdupre aemcpke)ye.du tog b.rien&d tou th.eg h library all needed print and non-pnnt resources that could satisfy the needs of users, collecrion development policy in my library should be reviewed from time (0 tlrne because people and things changeover time. Equouven (2002) stalcs Ihat "each librarian should bavestanding guidelines or policies wruch belp in thccoJlection developrnent so that in changlDgofstaff,the policy will nol be diltorted". This will ell£ure consistency in acqUlsllionpolky Furthennore, availability requires workable performance measures 10 back it up. The Importance of a librarian IS reflected In her efforts devoted to the design and creallon of blbhographu:s. catalogucs,clusification sc:heme, and othcr devices that help eatablishthe eXlstetlCCofindividual documems and their relevance to specific enquiries. The librarian allG cooperates with the tUICher to select rnaterial that is related to classroom units or gives book talks. Hence. the role of librarians is special and hence they need special trammg. Fleming (1990) opined iliatlibraries should be designed to serve actual nctds u well as anticipated needs or the users. Therefore, for effecltveservice, the library staff should be effecllvcly tnmed tcc;hnically and professionally. Where resources are available. access to the resources abo becomes a factor of .vailability because when something IS not physically present, nothing can bc accessed. Therefore. a library is known iftbe resoun::C$ arc accesSible and dernands made for its rc:soun;cs and services. However, there arc penod. when demands arc made for resources In the hbruy but tbeIe resources are usually IlOt available. Some of Ihe reasons for unavailability of reJOW'tes may include: waiting for recalled book to be returned and lack ofmulliple copies of needed boob. violation of loan policies by some patrons., rahelvjng IndmiSlhclving Issues espt:clallywhere Iibracylfaffis few 26 Uni2v.4e.J Arcsuiutlbyil itoy off lGibrahrya rensouarc esh autdt pcb:a/ll/euDlgu Cso apccaesscibielit.y.u g.edu.gh Buckland (1999) observed that ''the tenn accessibility wu used by different people in relation to bits and pieces of the whole II in "subject 8CCCIi, "open access," and "TeIIricted access", and .. knowledge access system". However. each refers to one or more aspects of providing means of access to infonnatlon. of enabling users to accede either to a IOUf'Ce of inform arion or in a fuller sense, to knowledge, and to understandmg The provision of library semces is concerned with acceu to knowledge. Again, Buckland (1999) defined "accw" as a means to enable the enqUirer to learn from and become informed by a source pertinent to an enqUiry. 10 accede to the evidence that will yiekJ the knowledge desired , He added thai it may not always be possible to provide ICceu: GO pertinent source mayexiR for some inquiries; with some obscure mqumes. the source may eXISI but understanding il might be beyond any body's expertise, as with fragmeall of Io5t languages. On the other hand. a suitable. intelligent and credible soW"Ce may cxlll and the problcm of access reduces to bring a source and the enquirer together. He Iherdore identified six types of harriers thaI must be overcome to enable access to be achicved. Thc:ieuediscussedas follows a) Identification: A suitable source has to be Identified. This means finding a pertinent document about the tOPIC of enquiry. This 15 usually a two way process; deciding whereto look (ehannel·sc:lection) as well IS identifying a specific book,record, or othcrsource b) Availability: the enquirer needs 10 be able to inspect the source or a copy of it. This phYSIC&! aspect of document delivery is a matter of logistics and teclmololY. If a source that has been idcntificd eannot bc made physically available in an acceptable fashiOn. tbcn anotberwill have 10 be identified and made available. C) Pnce to &be Uler. Price is used here to denote what the would.be user must expend to usc the service. Ifthepnce is not accepted by the user then pricebccomes a barrier 10 d) Cost to the Provider: COlt iii used in this contex110 denote what has to be expanded by the providenofthe service. 27 Unive)e Crosgniittivye aoccefs s:G theh eanqunirear mhUltl thpave: /s/ufficgienst pexaperctise .10u ugnd.erestadndu th.eg h idenrifiedsource. f) Acceptability: this term is used in lhis context to denote two related i!iSues: (i) enquirer may be reluctant to accept a particular source, as credible regarding it as baving madequate "cognitive authority" and (ii) the enquirer may be unwilli.o, 10 accept the evidence of the source because it i, unwelcome in whit it signifies and connicli with other belief" amatlerof{cognitive dissonance" E.ach one of these dlmensioIl$ constitutes a Iype of barrier to acCC55; each one must be lMilfied if accca is 10 be effected. Also, poor retrieval devices contribute to the inability of users 10 have aeceu to the vilal infonnatlon they are searching for. In some academic hbranes retrieval devices are clther non-functional or not undentandable to users. These relrievaJ tools may include: abstracts. catalogues, indexes, classification scheme and search terms etc. Also. Korantens (2OOS) cited the following as ways of retrieving ruou.rcesin the library. 'These ways areas follows' .) UlleofindcxingandabstractingservicC5 b) Browsing through the bookshelves c) Uteofdectmnicdllabascs d) Useofcardcltaloguc,and c) UIC of Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) Osman (1987) carried out a study on how users locate and rctnc\C materials and indicated UW many users made use ofthc library cataloguing for inlonnatlon retrieval Aguolu and Apolu (2002) SIlled that accessibility is the means by which users can identify and use library resoun:cs. Learnang matenals might be available, that is, the library bas acquired them. but inacceSSIble due CO poor catilloguing, poor arrangemc:m of resources OD shelves, poor labeling of book resourcea. and in the case of electronic resources. Inaccessibility can be caused by electricity outages, low bandwidth and lack of 28 Unimvfoermrabsoni tliytc rxoy fsk iGlls (hfebabents.a 19 9h1). tAtlpIO.: e/le/cutrongMs: rpesoaurcese ca.nu beg iM.eCcdeSiuibl.e gh due to l~cqu&lC compUlUl. need for 'pUIWord', lanauage of the docwnenl. lack of .archUu: sloUs. lack of computer lilene), ski Ill. difficulty searching and navigating Within ; liblwy website; c:osI of pnnttng and copymg at the library, shon.ge of knowledgable librarians. lack of customer orientation. and electnclty outages. The user may encowtter fi\·c possible types of inKtcasibility a5 follows: conceptual. linguistic. cnheai. bibliogrlpilic. and physical inaccessibility (Ugah, 20(8). Watson (2005) allO Identified iOllle challenges thII biDder aecea to .udio-viiUal materiaJs. Therefore, for library resoureea to be effectively utilized., they m"-St be made available al the djsposal of !.he u.sa1 WIthout delay. When these resources are euily ICcessible in the library uruncdlate usc by cUStomer.; will be enhanced. In providing access to electronic collections and servICCS, hbranans are required to collaborate with I wider range of people than in the past. Theie include academic faculty, computer specialists, graphic designers and archivislS (Con & Cragin, 2004) Acc:aat'bility just like aVAIlability has a close rtlationdUp with the use of library reeourcC$. A library's poorreputJllion is altnbutcd (0 lack ofacceuibility ofresouccea. KubllhIu (1991) arpc:I thll the action ofinfomuflon seeking dcpcnda on the necds,the perceived IIxcaibilily. sourcea, and information iCeking habits.lyoro (2004) in his study identified acCesSibility as one of the pre-requisites of infonnation use. He observed .ner canying oul • research on the impact of serial publication on the educalioru.1 performlnCe and reported thai &erial$played a very signjficant role In lhe acquisition of knowledge. TIul was becawe senal collection was easily and conveniently accessible. II would thcreforc not bcano\·et'Slatement to saythtt the Ivai lability and ac:cc:uibilityofserials in a hbrary mcrc.cI the use of that library irrespective of the type of library. The provtaOD of library SCTVlCCS is concerned with access to knowledge. Nnadozlc and NDIdozic (2008) eaulioncd that. availability of information resourccs and services does 001 automatically tranalate inlO infonnation accessibility and UIe. The rcscatt:ber's study will validate this assenlOn. Aguolu and Aguel .. (2002) assert thtt resources may be 29 Uniavaejlarbsleinttybe bo1nfr yGandhevaennideant ifhiedtbtipbl:io/g/ruapghicsaJplyaurecleva.nultogoo.ce'ssdubujec.lg h of inlC'R5t, but the user may noI be able 10 lay hands 00 them. One may identify citations in indexes, but may not have acccsstotheSOW'Ce5conLaininglhe rclevant articles. These obscrvaIiona have been validated by empiricaJ studies such as Slater (1963), Allen (1968), and Rosenberg (J967). Therefore, the physical presence of the material in the library IS a very imporUnt aspect of accessibility and the ultimate use of the library However, with the advent of technology, physical presence is no longer a smous det:erminant ofavailabililY of resources. Beaides, uscrscanget remote access to resourccs ofolherlibrariesthroughoctworking. WithtbecontinumgmcreascinpubhcatHlNboth In print and electronic fonnat. no library IS able to meet the potential library resources for Its users (pilling, 2000). Resource shanng is therefore recommended since it maximizes the availability of resources and minimizes expenses (Majid et al. 1999). It is achieved through the formation of a consoniwa. Through a consol1nlm, the cost of resoW'ces are reduced, there is Improvement In resource sharing and • network infonnltion environment is d~\{elopcd Hlrshen. (1998) Cited in Amegashe. (2007). 2.4.4 l 'seoflibrary resources aod ractorstbatpromoteorbindtrt'ff« tinule. LdJl'II)' u.c refers to the degree to which patrons make use of available resources in the library to meet their different informltion needs. This depends on the choice of the patron.' Ute' is important as it guides the collection development of the library. The 'use' of. libruy is !mown from the request of its resources. Suffice to liay that if patrons do not demand resources in a library. it means that the library does not have what they want In thiS 'Iluationthc library will record very lowpatronagc . Highavlilabilityofrcsources encouragCl ita usc. Effective use of these resources depends on accessibility. The more accessible infonnation resources are. the morc likely they are to be used. Readers tum to use mfomwion resoun:es thai require the leut effort to access (Agoulu and ASOUIu, 20(2). Buckland (1975) analysed f'rustratlOns felt by UKn who failed to find the infonnaaion sources they wanted in the library. He outlines four relationships between the uscranda"ailabilityofresourceswhichare 30 UnivIe rTshe i~tayte ro thfe pGopuhlariaty,n thea lo whert tthep im:/m/eudiagte savapilabilcitye .ug.edu.gh 2 The longer the loan period. the IowCT the immediate avallabiliry and the shorter the)oran paiod. the bigher the immediate avaHablhty J Thegrcalcrtbcpopularity,lheshortertheloanperiodhutobeandthcless the populanty,lhe kmgcr the Joan penod can be. 4 lnc~asingthenumbcrsofcopiesavailable, hkeshor1erunlthelcngthorloan pm:ods , lncrease~theimmediateavailablhty. Eff«m·e use of library resources can be hampered if patrons lack knowledge In the u~e oflhe hbrary. itclIl also be handicapped if a patron i~ ROt satisried with the output he is gemng (rom the library ltarr. In addition, the resources pro\'lded may not satisfy the needs of the patton thiS is because they can be out·dated; Inadequate, mutilated and acceaingtheelectronicresourcesmaynotbecost-effective. However, no matter the nature of resourc('$, patronl do not visit the library for the same purpose Baker (1997) concluded that sludenlS mainly use hbraries to accomphsheourse lllipunentl or self·intellectual development Hardesty (199S) suggested thai student', role in u.singlibrary resourcn is determined by the value the classroom instructor ana.ches to library research. Therefore, faculty members have 10 develop a positive sttitudctowards library UIC and design assignments for students that necessitate theUie o( library resources (Write. 1996 IS eited in Adiklta and Anwar 200S). In addition. Sellen and Ilrtluch (1984) suggested that suceeiSl'u1 u!ile of the 50phisticaled libnt)' resources by students for research or course malenal ennchment required the appropriate skin, to be ab~ to utilize theIC retourcn effectively. In try;ngto identify students lJI(onnaIion use skills. Coombs and Houghton (1995), found that moal Itudenu perception of their own ability to use I range of infonnation tools was high and pronllsmg. In this research work, the relClrehcr will continn or refute this findiQ&. Furthennore, MeN.!ly aoc:I Kuhlthau (1994) slated that the role of the librarian involves more than providmg answcn to individl.&ll questions. They argued that ac:adcnllC hbranms must teach siudents how to analyse m(onnation problems and structure theu 31 Unsievarecherrs soi tays to ofinfd tGheir howan annsawe rsh. AtIt-pQa:ll/af/(u20g00)s stpudaiedc the p.eurcegpti.oen odf 1u80. gh (acully members II Kuwwait UnivCfSlty regarding the mformatlon literacy skills of undergraduate students and found OUI that information literacy skills increased in the upper classes. The need of information literacy is imperative for effective library use (Mosley, 1998). Baker (1997) also fclt that the librarians must be at the forefront in teaching students how to find information Use of any hbrary ean be judged by the availability of required materials, staff strength and the extent of ilS use by its clienteles. Therefore the goal of use study is to Wlderstand. inOuence and discover, and eliminate obstacles that may hinder users from achieving their iCUCh goals or information needs. For a library to be properly utilized. the librarian will need to raise awareness and expectations of the library users (Buckland, 1999). He added Iha1 the librarian needs to release the full potential of library stock and servicC& since the main purpose of every library is servlce to ItS users. Therefore, it is imperative for the librarian to hsten 10 clients as this Will go a long way to increase customer satisfaction while giving them greater confidence in the library and more motivation to use lhe library Olosbooshaiye (1994) supported the point that library staff attitude to work is a detennined factor to library use as he stressed that "efficiency of productivity cannot be guaranteed except the right attitude to work has been encouraged amongst library starr' lherefore. when: stafT develop aggressive attitude toward! users, they would be scared and fail to visit the library. Staff and user relationship is therefore very prerogative in delennininalibrary use. It is expected that library staff should be very fnendly and courteous 10 UKTI. Hence. Iibranca should move towards the role of counseling. foctued on advising users in locating and efTeclively utilizing library resources. ltambi, (2006) intimated that, circulation procedures could also hamper use. Therefore circulation procedures should be made simple but followed up strictly. Record of circulation brings out the level of utilization or rate of activity in a library. From these 32 Unirvecoerdrs sareiatsy of hoeafv yG Uieh wiall bne anot ll:hed tatnpd t:hi/s/ wuillg susggpesat thce (elei!.rauDIgIIIY. eOJ d'"!u9'''.''' gh duplication rates for most items. Furthennore.. the readinJ culture of the populace contributes to their level of library use. Ezckwe (1991) poslUlated that "students are yet to cultivate the required reading culture" To lWI1 it all poor readmg eulture leads to low utilization of library resources. It is possible to redress the poor reading habits of youths by avoiding foreign acquisition which has DO local flavour. Literature that depicts our local setting, characteristics, noons andvaJueswiUmcreasclibraryusc In a study by Suiernanj and Katsek.por (2007) on the infonnation seek.ing behaviour of a Health Science faculty, he concluded that access to the internet by faculty has had an Impact on their information seekmg behavIour. He added that the Health SCIence faculty prefm thc: use of electronic databases and full-textjoumal to the tradilional print index es and abstrac:tsand hanl eopy publications. Some reasons that accounts forthehighusagl" were lhe freely available access, the ease of use, and its currency. Waldman (2003) reported a high usage of the library's Online Public AccCQ catalogue (OPAC) by st\lde.nts Falk (2000) reported the rapid growth and use of electronic books in schools and uruversities. According to Ashcroft and Watts (2004) the use of electronic books has a lot of advantages some of which include; easier access, speed of publication, space- saving and lower costs. 00 the other hand, Majid and Tan (2002) in his study on the usage of infonnation raources by computer engineering students of Nanyang Technology University Singapore reveal that the usc of electronic databases, electronic journals and other electronic infonnllion sources was surprisingly low. This result was distressing as these students were affiliated to • school of computer engineering and were thUI expected to be more comfortable with computers and to show a high level of database use and 33 UnimvfoermartlsOni tyret rioevafl Gsk1l1hs. aThne aw orhryt thpere: /I/S,u wgerse pthea&e celec.truongic .reSdOUulte&. gh appropriale for their infoml.a1ion needs? Pcrbapi they bad preference on other reiQurcei 5UCh as print coUectioa. lecture notei or they relied on friends for infonnation. Callinan, (2005) buttress Magid'i and Tan' s view as he noted that after conducting a researcb on liril and final year srudents in the UPI\'CTSlty College of Dubhn on their informatlon scckina behavIOur ofundcrgraduate itUdena of Biology, it was revealed that scudent5 wen: not usmg the library's electronic databases, because of lack of awareness. Alia, Ray and Day (1998) found that limited time and lack of effective infonnation retrieval skills .-e the main balevcn to using electronic res;ources. Conversely, faster access to anformation was noted u the main ad\"antage ofelcclrOnic sources. Besides, Bar-llanet aI. (2003) found that speal accessibility and search ability were &un as the main advantages while the main di&advant.ages were lack of accei$, lack of coverage and low readability. 1bey added that age also pla)"l an important role in usage; the younger the facully manbeni and students the more they usc electronic resources 2.4.5Iafor..atioDlileracy Adib (2003) suggested lhat it "'as necesury to include information htcracy in library scrvice.Headdedthattheimpactoftheperceivedusefulnessofelectronic reaourcesand eonvenience of aecas upon usc of electronic resowt:e5 is considered to be important. Connie (1976) suggested thai students must be given a thorough orientation on the effective mcthodsoftlling library resoun:cs if they were to dcvclop fully Ihcircapacily to pur1Ue research Independently. Again, we see the emphasis placed on the orientation of uteri for effective use of Jibnry resowt:cs. Ajala (1997) also identified other problems that confront studenlS in the COUCie of uAn& the library. Some of these are u follows; Identifying relevant resources,locating the where about of the relevanl malcriala. and ICCcuinlthematenaJl. AlIo,Wood(l969)clcarlye)(presscd Ihat ''lhe ability to know what you want to find out and wlw you have already known will help to determine the cxlerlt of your search" Therefore for successive searchC$ to be achieved, users have to have I clear piClUrC ofthcirinfonnation nced 34 UnivStuedernts oiftteyn noeedf thGe exhpeartisne oaC a hbtratnpan: t/o/ auppgly sepuc:ah tcecehni.quegs a.ned fdindu th.eg h Information they need. They need he~ in navigating through the many layers of electronic reiOurces, and in cv.ltamng and selecting appropriate sources for their reeearch (MacWhinrue, 2003). Shill and TOMer (2004) study on library usage patterns found out tbIt III integraled facility design to proVlde research and study space, tea::h students Information hteracy skills., expose studenli to recorded knowledge In both print and elcctroruc fannata. and make 'infonnahon expert" radily acccs.sable in one place. Ajal. (1991)eonduclcd a research on' Useofthc Univenity ofrbadan Library resourcts by graduate sludenU • and found out that user ' s search pallcm for library matenals indicated lhat they rely mostly on starrWISlanCC, followed by the use oflibrarycalalogue, shelve - lials, fnends and personallRtuillon In that order. Korobili,et ai, (2006) conducted a research on t~ topic "Factors lhIt influence the Uie of library resources by faculty members and found out that the use of electromc resources IS positively influenced by the respondenls ' perc:eived usefulnes.sofresources,convemenceofaccU$ 10 the soW'ces and their academic productivity. Looking at the above, it is clear that they are certain factors lhaI Innuence uae of library resources and there are equally others thai nr:gate the effcctiveuseoflibraryresources. l.5 Sl:l\IMAR' Of THE REVIEW Fromthtabovehlcralurere\lev.cd,llcanbeestabhshcdthatthel'eisacolTelation betwecn availability,accessiblhtyofresources and utiliz3lionorresources. Hence. there if the Deed to improve acccsslbility in libraries. The review also revealed that resources can be adcquately available bul inaccessible Through the review, the researcher was able to discern that users have different problema with accessibility of library resources and that they are certain faClofS that mfluence use of library resources and there arc othc:n that equally negale the effective use of library resourccs the most imponant being inacCessibIlity. The review also brought out lhal Ihe 35 Uniavniheldre sof ilitbyrar yo 5taff f Gaffechts autlnhzatlO nh antdt apn e:n/a/buhng esnvplf'Oanmcmet w.aus Igmp.cer3ldiveu fo.r gh effective hbrary usc Also.thcn:vu:wrcvealedthatavailabllityofhbraryresourcesanditsutihzationatTeets the teaching and 1eamina process in the Wliversities and that availability of library resources in alibnry gives accrediwion to the parmt uruversity Tocrowa it all. acccssibilityand effective use of library resources depend on an enabling environment. An enabling environmenl as suggested by the conceptual framework will include the availability ofwftware and hardware. databases. portals. wide network. mternet gateway, workstatlolll., trained personnel and relevant collection. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ade\abu, A (1913). "Some Ihoughts on book circulation in university libraries". Ni.&min ~VoI.INo.2p.75 Adlka. G . (2003). "Internet usc among faculty members of UniVersitIes in Ghana", ~VoJ.52No.I,pp.29·37 Aguolu,C. c.& Aguolu, l. E. (2002). I jbrarig and infonnauon management In Nigeo! Maidugujri: ED·Linfonn ServIces p.48 Aina, L.O. (2004). Library ADd InfonD'lion SCIence Text for Afnca·Ibadan: Third World In(ormation Service Limited, pp.28 and 42 AJala, 1. O. (1997). "Use of University of Ibadan library resources by graduate students". ~. Vol,4bNo.6pp.421·427 Ajayi, N.A., & Akinniyi . A. R. (2004). "AccessIbIlity of health infonnation to pnmary health workers in some selected locaJ government areas in Nigena·'. ~ JjhOO'Pd infonDlljoo Sciern;e VoU No.2 pp3 1·38 Al·QaJla.(. C. (2000). "Faculty ptTCeptlons of the information literacy skills of undergradu.te rtudenta a' Kuwait University". Singapore Journal of I jbrary and InformatJooManagement Vol. 29. pp. 69·94 Alemna. A.A (2000). Librane;s ("ranDallon and Socjety. Accra: Ghana University Press pp. I·1.l& p.24 Allen. T J . (1968). "Organisational aspects of information flow and technology". 6!li!2 ~Vo1.20pp.4J3-4S American library Association (1986).Worid EOCyc!opaqtj, of! Ibryy and Information ~Cbicago:AdamaotmePressltd.pp4..(j 37 UniAvnuenorbis. Ci.tVy. a nod Ofk oGye, hI.Ba. (n20OaS) .Thhet trople :o/f /aucadgemsicp Hbararcie&e in. ungive.neal daccuC6.S gh 10 pnnl and electrortic resources in the developing countries. LIbrary Philosophy and Praclice(e-jownaJ) Available at http://digtacommons.uol.edu. Accessed 28/1/10. Ashcroft. L. and Wans, C. (2004). "Change implications related to electronic educational resourcr.;" Onhne Information R~view, Vol. 28 No.4 pp 284-291 Badu, E.E. (1991). "lbe infonnatlUn seeking habits of graduate students an the UnivemtyofGhana". pducation Llhranes Journal. Vol.34 No.2 pp.3S-39 Baker, R. K. (1997). "Faculty pcrt'cption towards student library use in a large wban community coll~ge", Journal of AcademiC Ilbrananihip Vol.23 No.3, pp.I77-182 Bar-llan, J., Petitz, B.C. and Wolman, Y. (2003). "A survey of the use of elo;tronic databases and electronic jownals acceued through the web by the acadrnuc staff of Isncli universities'The Journal ofAcadnnjc [jbrarianshjp Vol.29 No.6, pp.46·36I Broderick. 0 (1965). "On misplaced devotion". School library louro,1 January 13, p.34 Buckland, M. K. (1975). Book Avajlabjlj!y and Ibe I jhrary User. New York: Pergamon Prtss.pp.42 ..... 3 Buckland. M. K. (1989). "Roles of Collections". Journal ofDQccumentatjoD Vol.4S No.3 1'1'.213-226 Buckland, M. K. (1992) as cited In MI, J. (2006). "Marketing library services to the net generation". Library M,nagement Vol. 27 No. 617 pAlS Bucklatld, ~ 1(.(1999). Library service ID tbeory and context. Available at ~lc.,fu:rkeky·ed!l/LiterahllySqyjcg., AC4:eucd 25/lOl10. 38 UniBvureke,r Ms. i(2t0y03 )o. Afcc CG$s shervaicens ian t hhe 2t1thp C:en/t/ury gItI sA.p Hanscone $ .Su.Lg.Le.vein d(Edus)., gh Bujldin, a virtual library. Umted KIngdom: Information science Publishing. pp.66-77. Callinan, J. E. (2005). ··Infonnation Seeking behaviour of undergraduate Biology students. A comparative analysis of firsl and final year students in University College Dublin". ~VoI.54No.2,pp. 86-99 Campbell, J.D. (2006). Changing a culturaJ icon: The academic library as a vinual dcstination.~. pp.16-31 COMIC. R. D. (1976). "Library services to the gr3dualc community: the University of MIC:higan". Collue and Rmarch Libraries Vol.37 No.3, pp.248-9 Coombs. M. and Houghton. 1. (1995). "lnfoonation skills for new tertiary students ' perceptions and practice", Australian Academic and Re::.eych I jbranes Vol. 26, pp. 260- 271 Covi. L.M., and Cragin. M.H. (2004). "Rcconfiguring control in library collection development a conceptual framework for assessing the shin toward electromc collections" Journal of American Society for information SCl!~ncc and Technology. pp.JI2-l25 Dike, A. (1992). "Scarcity of tcrtiary books in Nigeria: A threat 10 academic excellence andsuggcsuonsforaction". Journalo[ljbArianshipand InfOJ!DatiQn Science. Vol.24 No.2pp.79-85 Ekpo,C. M. (200t).~. A paper presented It a workshop for training of trainers on the use of Inspector'. manual and (ramers guide at Calabar gth _12111 pp.lO-11 39 Uni:vu~e::r~s~ i:t~y: Io:f~ :G~~h~:aIn::a b ~h::tt=p;~:n//Mu::g:si:pn a:.c:e:.~u~vg~.~e:d:.u:. gh PubhcallOns.p.181 Ezekwe. F.A. (1991). foundation of J jhrary and Infonnation Science. Oniaha: Noble Books.p.13 Falk, H. (2000). «Electronic Compus".The Electronic Library Val.21 No. I, pp.6J-66 FayoiC, P. (1995). School! jbrary Rgource Centre for Educational Excellent. Ibadan: AENL Educational Publisbers.p.36 Fleming. H. (eel) (1990). User Education in AcademiC Ljbrane~. London: library Assocl8tlOoPublishinsLimited.pp 14 Hardesty, L. (1995). "Facully culture and bibliographic Instructions: an exploratory ..aI_".~Vol.44.pp.339-367 Hinhon, (1998). Academic Library consortia: Past, Present and Future. ill Amagashe. P K (2007). Networking in the Univroity of Ghana ! ibt'D' System: Pm~t....mSI QWlmaa. Unpubhshed Theses submitted to the Department of Information Studies. University of Ghana, Legon.pp.16·18 lIamb., B.E. (2006). 'The slate of Iibrancs In the North West Province. Cameroon. A paper presented dunng the Cameroon Association meeting of librarian, Archivisu, Museographers and Docwnentalist (ABADCM1) al Presbyterian High School Mankon, Bamcnda". Joumalgf! ibrariansbip Vol. 2, No. 3,pp.lO-11 Iyoro, A. O. (2004). '"Serial availability, accessibility and use: Pcn:eption of in-training mformallon professionals In a Nigerian Wliversity". The Njgerip I ibrary I jnk. Vol. 11 No.2pp.66-71 4() University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Koranlcn .. A. K. (2005). InfOrmation Nq:4A and infonnalion seeking behaviQur oepolice JHOHCutors al the crimmal inve&tigatjon Department Headauaters Accra. Unpublished M.Phll. Theses submitted to the Department of lnfonnation Studies. pp.27.27 Korobili. S. • TihklOOu. I. and Delistavrou. A. (2006). "FactOfi thai influence the usc of hbraryresourcesbyfaculrymembers".~Vol .SSNo.2pp .91·105 Kuhhhau. C. C. (1991). "Inside the search process: lnformation seeking &om the Wlet pcnpcctivc". JQWJlII of Amqjcao Socjety for Information Science. Vol. 42. No.2. pp.361·370 KWIpOng, A.A. (1970). "Ubraries in Univenity Education in Ghana." ~ !ruImiI. Vol.4No l,p42 Lombardi, J. V. (2000). Academic Library in a Digital Age. D-Lib Maga..lIDc Available a!~Acc:esscdI3/11!CJ9 Mac\\lHnmc. L A. (2003). ''The Information Commons: the ac3demic library of the fufurc" Portal · L,branes. and 1M Acadrnt.y. Vo1.3 No.2 pp. 241-257 Majid, S. and Tan. A.T. (2002). "Using ofioformatlon SOurcCi by computer engineering studcnlS. a cue sludyofNanyansTcchnic:aI University, Singapore", ~ ~Vol.26No.S.pp.318·32S Mljid, S. and Eisenschitz. T.S. and An"·ar. M.A. (1999). "Resource shanng among AgriculturalLibnriesinMalaysla".~ Vol. 48 No. 8,pp.384-394 McNally, M. J. and KuJutbau. C.C. (1994). "InformatIOn search process In science education". Ibc ReferCRU I ihrarian Vol. 44, pp.S3-60 41 UniMv.eamras, 1i.t0. y• & oOgfu nGromhbi. a5.An.(1a99 6h). tAtvpaila:b/i/liuty ogf lsibpraray acnde m.founngatl.Oen sdCiuenc.eg h collections in Nigerian university libraries. LibT!O' Bulletin: Nigerian Umvmjty System. pp.I-2 Mi. J. and Nesta.. F. (2006), "Marketing library ServiCes 10 the net Generation". !J.bua MiDa&mlmL Vol. 27 No. 617 pp.411-422 M05Iey. P.A. (1998) "Creating a library assignment workshop for university fac:uIIY" ~1I(r.ibrananshID.Vol . 24.pp.33-41 Nnadolle. C.O., & Nnadozie, C.D. (2008). The infonnatlOn needs of (.culty members in • Nilenan pri ... ate VOIvenlty: A self -srudy. library Philosophy and Practice. Available at~~.,uldahnatu/-mboljnJnoadoziehtm.AccessedI2/11109 Oldy. R. B. (2000). "Aueuing students'and faculty use ofacoldemic libraries in Nigeria The case study of Delta State University, Abraka". Er2ntisr~( library and Infonnalion ~VoI.INo.lpp.6S-7S OSogbogshal)e.R. (1994) ResourcCjS Management for Ubmry and InfOrmation Science. lagos.ConcepIBooks.ppI4 Osman. :z. (1987). .. Pilot survey of user needs In the uw library, University of MaJa)'l-.~Vo1. 1 6No.lpp.12_21 Oyediran-Tidings, 5.(2004). "Information needs and seeking behaviour of library uscn: Rc.lts from Yaba CollCIC of TechnoloJ)', Lagos-. Lagos Journal of I ibryy m;f Information SClm;e. VoU No.2 pp.77-88 ()yewusJ, F. O. & Oyeboade. S. A. (2009). An empirical study of ICcessibility and'1ise of librvy ~ by undcrgraduaaes in a Nigenm state Cmverslty of Technology library Pbilosophy and practice A\'allable httpJIwwv,·.webpagg,ujdahn.edulmbylin/ow;wusi-ovsbQad!!.hlml 17/12109 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Pillings. S. (2000). "Collection Devdopmenl , preserv.tion and Retention",~ and Inlqlihryy 'ynding and Documentation Supply Vol. 28 No. I pp.38.39 Popoola. S.O. (2008). The use of infonnation sources and $ervices and itl effect on the researcb output of social scientists. in Nigerian universities. Libaray Philosophy and Practice. Available at .!:tg~ges.ujdaho.cdul.mbo!jnlnopoolabtm Accased 121111\)9 Powell. R and Connaway. L.S (2004). eUic Regarch Methodi for llbranans. 4· ed. Westport: Librancs Unlimited. pp.2. 53 Ray. K. and Day, J (1998). " Student attitude towards electroruc information resources". lofonnarion Resgn:h Vol. 4 No.2,pp.1-13 RosenOO-g. V. (1967). "Factors affecting the preferences of industrial personnel for mform~tlOn gathering methods". Information Storage and Rettie\'al Journal. Vol 3 pp.129-199 Sellen, M.K. and J irouch. J. (1984). "Perception of library use by faculty and srudenlS: a companson". CsillcKe and Regmh Lihraries Vol.45, pp.259-267 Shill, H. 8.,& Tonner, S. (2004). "Does the building still maner: usage patterns in new, expanded, and renov~led libraries,I99S-2002". College and ReeaCVh Lihranes. Vol.6S ~o2p.149 Slater. M. (1963). "Types of use and user in industrial libraries: Some impressions", Joomal o(Q9C"wmt'lIon. Vol. 21 No.2 p.16 Sulemani. B.S. and Katsckpor, A.S. (2007). "Information Seeking Behaviour of Health Science Faculty &l the College of Health Sciences, of the University of Ghana". Information Development Vol.23, No.1 pp.68 43 UniTvaneg. Jr. s(2i0t01y). '1o'hfe nGew hfacae onf acad ehmitct lpibn:t/y/ iun Mgesilapanal Cchiena. aus tghe.y endteru the. gh twcnty-fir51 century" library Managemen! Vo1.22. No. 415. p.329 Tebbetts. D.R. (1991). Expandability, flexibility, compatibility: Key management considerations in academic library automation. Available at hnp:!flib@D'·!le·~u.gh 23112109 n1 TbompiOfl. J. (1979). An Introduction to llniversity I jbp.ry Administration 3 ed. London: Clive Bingley,pp.II and 127 Travaline. K.A. (I997). Explon; the Playground of Books: TIP for the Parents of ~Newark,DE:Intemation Reading Associalion. pp.34-36 Uph. A. 0 (2008). Availability and accessibility of infonnation sources and the use of library services at Michael Okpara Univenilly of Agriculture. library Philosophy and pnlCtice Available al http:" webpages.uidaho.edul 16112109 Waldman, M. (2003) "Freshmen's use or library resources and self-efficacy" IgfprmationRegarch Vol. 8 No.2,pp.349-355 Watson, E.F. (2005). "Access to Audiovisual and Multimedia Materials: What are the challenges for developmg countries?" ~ (2005) World Library and Information Congress: 71th IFLA General Conference and Council. August 141h_ 18111 2005, Oslo. Norway Web$leT's IbID1 New International Dicljonary (1993). Grove P. B. (cd). Springfield, Mass: G.C Merriam-Webster Inc. p.I03 Whibni~.E. (2000)."The relationship between undergraduates background ch.aractenslu:s and college expcnences and the .cademic libnry use". COllege and Research I ibrariq Vol.62 No.6, pp528-540 UniWvoeoc1r. sDi.Nt.y ( 1o96f9) . G"Dhiscaovneriang thet tupser: /a/nud ghis, pinafoncnaetio.nu ngee.des". dru.Im.g h ~.262 Write, S. 8 . (1996). Faculty perccphons ofmo um.n uniVersity libraries: the urnverslty of Akron and Georgia Stale University. PhD. Dissertation. Michigan Slate Uruversity East LaMina. ML. In Adikata. A. A. and Ans" ar, M.A. (2005). "Student library use: a study offKUlly perceptions in a Malaysian unl\·ersIIY". ~Vol. 55 No.2 AVillab1e at WVo·w.emeraldinsshl.com/OO24·25J5.hlm Accessed 10/ 12/09 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CIIAPTER TRREf. M[TlIOOOI.OGY 3.llNTRODUCTION Thepurposeofthls sectlon is to present the research deiign, research method adopled, the popWatioD and ill sample, the wnpling method usod, instrument for collecting data. and method of analYZing. data. According to Busha and Harter (1986) a research i. unQcrukCtllOlIOtveproblenu;o(,ignificanceorlo increase thcoretieaJ knowledge. To them, the pnmary objective ofresearcb is to develop a genera! and systematic set of lheones from which hypothesis could be generated and tCited. 3.2 Tbe Research Design A research desipl IS • complete scheme: or pfOwamme for collecting data in order to IIl&We:r the reaearcb questions. Aina (2002) opines thai a research design is the plan or studysinccltprovidestheoverallfrarne\l.·orkfordatacoll«:hon. He further mentions two crucial processes of research design.. These are research strategy and data collection. Then: are a number o(resean;:h strategies used in soc:ial sclC:nccs. These include: case study, swvey research and historical research. J ..l Rnurcbrnttbod.dopltd The survey method was used in collecting data (or this diasenation. Leedy (2001) maintains that "the survey hu Ihe advantage of wider applieation as it allows data to be collected: on a large population within a short spaceoCtime". Heuaes the image oCa CMIICn 10 explain what a survey raearcb is as he SLllet "a survey research captures a fleeting moment in time, much as a camera takes a single fnme photograph of an ongolllgaclJVlty. Bydrawingconclusloru fromooetraruitorycollectionoCdata, we nay extrapo1atc about thc SlalC of afTa irs o,·er I longcrpcnoo". He adds tbat a survey method isquilC~leindeslgn·thcresearcherposeslseriesofquestiotl$towillingparticlpanls; Unisvwenmrarsiscist tyhei ro resfp oGnsesh waith npearce nthagtest, pfre:q/u/enucyg cosunpts andc theen. duragws. mefcdrenuc:e.ig h about a particularpopulauon from the response of the sample. In SW'Vcy research. subjoclS can also be tested with fewer expenses and fast to obtain the relevant data n~cd for the study. To buttress the above statement. Spat&. (2003), also says thai a wrvey melhod gathers infonnation about people's feelinp, opinion,. beliefs, attitudea: and behaviouCl through self-report questionnaires. The survey method enables the researcher to generalize the sample to a population so thai inferences can be made about some charactenSllcs, anitudes or behaVIOur ofthc population. The surveyed method is prefmed because of its statistical importance 10 libraries. Busha and Haner (1980) conlinn lhat quantitative survey method is more relevant 10 hbranes bec.uS(oflheir ' uniqueness; m enhancing dCCISlon making in libraries' . A usc:rsurve yili Just what the name implies, a survey of users and its purpose is to enable those raponIible for the planning and delivery ofinfonnation services and products 10 have qUllltifiable data about services . .1 .4 Popul.tlon A lWVey is carried oul usmg a population. Afolabi (1999) slated that, "A population is a group of subjects pos$CUina common characteristics that is the target of the investigation". Busha ~d Harter (1980) opined Ihat the concept of population is fundamental to survey research. The populatIon of this study therefore was Level 400 students of the Information StudiC$ Department ",·ho were four hundred and sixty-one (461) in number, and one hundred and nine staff of Salme Library: thirty-two (32) profea..iona.ls and para-profcssionab. and seventy-seven (77) non- professionals oftbe Balme Library, University of Ghana, Legan as at 17 May,20lO. The populltion disbibution of the study is shown in table 3.1 below UniIvbke3.rt sPoiptuyla lionfd isGt.-ibhutaionofafh ehstutdtyp ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vel 400 students 461 ----109-- - lffofBalmeLibrary 570 iSt>lectiouo(subjectsfortbestudy lee the population of tbe users of the Balme Library is too large for the study. and 'CT\ the time constraint. cost and other human resources for the dissertation, the :earcher selected it sufficient number of elements from Ihe population so that by dying the samples and understanding the properties and characterIStics of the sample ~jeclS. the researcher would be able to generalize Ihe properties to the population :ments. All conclusions drawn about the sample being studied are generalized to the puillion. Fink (1.995) is of the view that a sample is the subset of a population that is :en to reprnenl the population. In other words, samples are population microcosms. 'cording to Busha and Harter (\986). a good sample resembles its parent population; it also Iqe enough to a1low generalizations within measurable limits of accuracy, to the ~ect group &om which it was selected. To them, the more homogeneous the pulation IS with regards to pertinent variables. the smaller the sample size. In this rmeclion. the: sample population for this study was 12~ of 461 of the Level 400 !dents of the Information Studies Departmt'tlt of the Umversity of Ghana. Twelve reent (12%) of 461 is S6 elements. From the staff of Balmc Library. the researcher :do prof~slonals and para.pmfessionals who were thirty·p.vo (32) in number as at17 ly.2010 asons for selecting these two groups as sample i. that as students of lnformation M1iea Depanmcnt. then: is the tendency lhat they visit the library very often since ormation retrieval is part of their eoune work and as such, they will be able to provide Univer~lseviatnyl i nforfm aGlion hona thne area ohfttbte pstu:d/y/. uAngothserp reasocn feor. IuIClgeeli.neg thdemu w.ags thai they h~ been laught the 100ls 10 access library raowt:es. Also, the subject group had stayed In the: University for &arne year$ and must have used the library. Furthermore, the subJccc group is homogenous wIth regards to pertinent variables like offering the same course. The researcher's choiceofprofessionW and p.ara-profeSiionals Wai thaI they h.we the firsthand Information on the area o f 5tUlafT respondenh pro\ ilk.-d no Unirevspeonrses. Init aydd itionf.. 2G3(71h.9a%)n ofa sta fhf retstpopnd:e/n/tsu ingdicsatped athact rese.aurchg li.teracdy wuu. gh pronded while 9(28-2%) of staff respoodenll did not re$pond. Alao, 5( I 5.60/.) oC staff respondents revealed that publishing literacy was proyjded while 27(84.40/.) provided no responsc.(see table 4.4 below). From the ana1ysi& above the information literacy skill that was adequatclyprov;ded was bibhographic instruction. followed by research literacy and lhe least was publishing literacy. One can therefore deduce thai the infonnation literacy provided in BaIme library was not adequate. Table 4.4 Types of idormatio. literacy orr~ff'd to usen :1)1);;------ Yt'~ ~-. ~ TNor~'-5PoDsr· Percentage-III 'S,bl,og"phic 26(81.3%) I 6(18.8%) 0(00.0%) 1'50% Fr- 16(50'10) , 9(2·~8-.1""%7'")- I-"7(""21"'.9%",):-l-"O;;;;0·;;;-~-i I RcsoureelileT'3cy 19(59.401.) 7(2l.9%) 6(18.8%) 100% r-R~5Carthliteracy 23(71.9%) 6(18.8%) 100% ~";,"8li""'Y 5(15.61%) 13(40.6';.) 14(43.8'10) 1000/. SOllrn: Fldd Sliney, 2010 4.3. 2.2 Rating Informalion literacy skills of us en by Balme Ubrlr)' slaff Figure 4.2 showed 22(68.8) of staff respondents rated the infonnation hteracy level of users as being average, 6(18.8) ofstaffrcspondcnts rated it as bemg high. 3(9.4) ofstall' rapOOOmIS rated it .. bemg C'xtrl:rTlely 10w and 1(3.1) of Itaff respondents rated it u being extremely high. As a follow lip Iium analysis of types of informalion literacy prO\'ided, and resuJ.ta of analysis under judgment of literacy skills of \lierl by BALME hbrary staff. it can bc said that the litency skilb of users was average because adequate infonnation literacy skills were not provided. This study oonflmls Fullenon (1999) cited In \Jlk.lIl and Answar's (2006) study On faculty anitudes and pedagogical practices 60 Unrievlated rtos iniftoyrm aotiofn lGiterahcy at ntWOa C ahnatditapn l:: n/i/Vlu!rsgiti~s . p vIn athact setud.yu, sgcve.netYd-5eue.n gh percent of 233 rnpondcnts considcn. ..d infomlOlliun lil~ r.lcy skills of their fourth year !>ludcnlSas sa.lisfacl0r) .·i"ure.J.2 HSling informalion literacy skills of users by llalmel.ibr:.ll") starr -1.;\ ••' A":.Iillibility Hnd ut.l('qu. When uwrs are not infoml\.oJ of ncw UniavniVeI15r.slhiitsyC3 l1oafff CG'ClthhcaaV3nilaab ilhjltytopf~~:r/t/tuShcgncsccp:)ua'icngeuna.\u· aiglub.ielitdywuhic.hg h will inlUm31T. ." ClaCccssjbililyafldu~c Percentage I I OispIaykstofnew No response malenal • FiJ:,un' ".3 How stllrr inrurlllS us~rs or new ~1I.)(·k " .. 1..3.2 libra,., rnuun:n In·.ilabl,, in Ba lm" l.ibr:H) According to Whnnurc (2000) acodrnlic library reSUUfCl:S arc considt-red a good measure "fan in ititution's excellence and qll.1lity. Theresourceso(nny lit"lroryarewhalcreatcan il1,"*~": lor the library. Thcrdore. the i,~UI: of a\ailat"oilil)" of library resources is It vcr) importantissuc University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh - Percentag;(%) ~,Text~kS. 32 100 [_~~---+--'""'3""2---t- 100 t-ReferenceSources 31 96.9 r AudlO-visual materials 16 16 50 I Database 31 96.9 Online Jownals ~ _ _ __- -,-__9 _6.9_ _-, Source. F,eld Surwy, lOIO from the analysis of data, 32(100%) respondents indicated that textbooks, period icali. and reference sources respectively were available in Balme Library. Also. 31(96.9%) respondents indicated that databases and onlincjoumals were available and 1(3.10/.) provided no response. For audio-visual malenalsl3 (40.6%) indicated that they were available while 19(59.4%) indiealed thallhere were not available. From the result of the analysis. there is acle&r indication Ihat audIo-visual mate rials wcre eit her oot available or there were Inadequate . Hence, availability of resources was madequate since the library did nol have a rich collection m various fonnals ThiS finding differs from Ekpo' s (2001) assertion of availability of resources since there is inadequacy in resources in various formatJ. The results however. confum Watson's (2005), statement that libraries thaI have 1101 expanded their collection development strategies to include all information carriers ate unlikely to satisfy all the infonnation needs of their users. The study further ties in with Broderick '§ (1965) opinion thaI librarians who failed to use all media wen: fWTO\\ mg the world they offered to their users 4.3.3.3 Users access to resourCe5 The respondents were asked if they had access to resources an)' time they wanted from Balme Libtv)'. As shown In Figure 4.4 below, the study showed that 21(65.6%) rapondents mdicatcd that usus had access to resources sometimes, wh.ile 6(18 .80/.) said 63 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh readershadacc~lOl'OOurcesaillhetimeand5(15.6"1.)respondcnls indicated (hat readers had access to resources most uf the time. From the analysis. we con sc..'C that USCN did not hII"" ~S$ 10 l"C'5OW'teS alilhe link:. This is conlr.ary hi Billinss·s. (1996) v~ dull the goa.! of libraries was not to own large collection bUI "as rather to provide ··allytimc.anywhen!~acces.... ton:sourc. ..· s. centage '" Most of the time Accesslo'HOU'C. f'jgure4.4 Ralin~or.('c('~!!o 10 rC'~ourccs U.n.. 3i.3v.4eSartis:"liftaycti oonoffi nGfurmhaarionnnacfl lshoftutseprs: //ugspace.ug.edu.gh This part sought to kllll\\ how :\1,IITrcspondenls rOIled the s.atisfr. . r~ n:sources. FilUR 4.5 Rating ~ali:"lf.diun!!o uf infurmaliun n«ds uf u!!ocn by H.lme Librar')' !llaff When asked toC\o.&luale the c:xlent 1o wrueh resources in Halmc library satisfied users needs, :!4(7S,lW.) stafTrcspondents indicated thallhe resoul'\:es sometimes satis6ed their information needs, 6(18.8%) respondents SOlid nltlst of the time and 2(6.30/.) respondents said they satisfied their Ik-roS all the time. This re~ult suggests that R."!K)un:es did not salisfythcncaJsorlheu~rsalllhctil1le.Onceanallributctht:factthatresources did not SoItisfy the USCf'S needs alilhe lime due 10 exprcs"C."d unavailability of desiml information resources. The lindina ties in with Oyediran-Tidings's (20U4) study of the information needs of audcnts at Yaba Colleae of Technology. lag:os. tn hi,. research findings, he attributed low usc of Ihc library 10 unavailability of desired mtOurcc:s Uni4v.J.eJ.5r Ssekicttyion oI'fla fGormhatiaoiln reasou rhcest tbpy f:ac/u/luty gmesmpberas ce.ug.edu.gh The purpose of this iClCtiOO was to find out if respondents knew thole who conbibuted in selectingresourcc:s forlhc library. Table 4.6 Seledion of informatioD rnGllrce$ by faculty members. Perceotage% 93.8 '---63---1 100.0 Source: Field Sunq, 2010 Table 4.6 ~\·ealed thai 30(93.8%) of JtatT respondents indicated thal f.:ulty members took part in the selection process of re£Ources while 2(6.3%) of stafT respondents swd faculty members did not take pan in the selection of resources to be acquired. Therefore. the study revealed that faculty members made an input in the selection of resources to be acquired in Balme Library. The participalion of facuity members In fe!Ource selection Oug!lllOensuretheuailablhlyofadequateresourcesthatsatlsfYlhe Informal Ion needs of users all the time but findings from this study revealed. the contrary. The researcher can thus lOfer thai faculty members cbd. not put in maximum input in Ihe selection and Icquisitionorresources 4.3.3.6 Sdect.ioa of rnources to M acqaired by studeDlS n.e scali' respondents were asked 10 mdlcale if students took. part in the selection of resources. As shown in table 4.7 below, 9(28.1%) of iliff respondents agreed that students took part in the selection of resources and 23(7I.CW.) of staff respondents mdlcalcd thai studena did not take put in the sclcc;lion of resources. From the result, there was every indication that the studc:ntsdid not take put inresourccs selcclion in the Balm< Libnry. 66 UniTvabele r4.s7 Sietlyect ion ftl r G,,"ohorcaesn toa be ahcqtutirped: b/y/ usl.gdesatsp ace.ug.edu.gh PercHtage% 23 71.9 ~ --1+n-- I ~survey.ZOJO 4.3.3.7Metbodsofacqulsitionofresourc("§ This part was to discover how resources were acquired in the Balmc Library.AnalySlS on method of acquisition of resources in Balmc Library revealed In a ranking order that reiOurceli were acquIred through direct purcha$e 32(100°/_), gifts and donation 31(97-/0) through exch.lnge 20(62.5~) and through interlibrary loans 13(40.6%). The analysis showed that direct purehue and gifts and donallon were the chief methods through which resources were acquired 67 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 32 30 25 I 20 I .Values 15 ~ : I • Percentage 10 donations Purchase --- -.-- - - ----------" ri2U~..a.6'1t'lhut.lsoracqui!ijlionorrcsoun:l· ,kU.81.ibrary,lock When osked 10 rate Balmc: Library's stock. \italT h.')pllnd. ... uts provided responses in a n&I1kin~ order a! followOj; adc:qUltcly stock .... J 23(71.9'"1.): \'a-y adequately stocked 5(15.6-;.1. modcr.llcl~ slocked 4(12.5%). hom the analysis. il was evident trul Halme library stock "a.~ Iklt \"I.'ry ooeqUDle. AccordinG lu Oyc"u:-i and O)ebClUdc (2009). library ~sources arc a c\llkcli.m of text and bit'llitll!roJpni( inCormatiun ~un.·I.·~. it also inchKks mfnnnaliun 1~'Chnolul!~ !loch as those Ihal suppon bro .... ~int? authoring and oommunkation like computer and ,he inttmct. lienee. (or a libDry to be cunsidtrcd to be edequalel),slockwilllhuuldfullililheabovestandard.lnaddition.whenaskedifUalme library shared reC'WJurces with othtr libr.lries. the response "'3.4 po5iti\'c. The: staff responJl!nts were aware that resource lIoharing \0\8$ practiced in Balme library as all of them enJorr.cd it representing a response rate or 1000/0 • Also, asked for the typn of matl.'rial~ the Balmc Libnvy sham:1 with othn li"'raril.'~. staff mpondenb mentioned the Unifvolleo"rinsg iitn ya .o..wfn tG! orhdear: nIntan-li hhrartyt lpen:d/in/gu 8lg:!:'so ..p ). oanlci~e jo.uurngals. e7(2d1.9u"/..).g h textbooks, journals. dataOOs..'S. Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) respectively 4(12.5~;'). and training of personnel fnlm otIK'r lihraries )(9.4~.) and online information scrvicn 2(6.3%). Through resource sharing. r"C"uun:es were l1l3dc available in a cosa ~Ircctiv~ way. Effective R."SOun:c sharing scheme is Sl!CIl a!l IU1 important service which must be made operational if the uni\crsilY library is (0 exert itself in the 1k:000mic commumt) .Adequalely5tocJ(ed .Very~teIy&toclll'd Omodef.lely&'oclted Fia:,ure ~.7 I(aling uf U:llme Lihrary .'llo<:k by ".Ime LibraI')' ~taff 4.3." AC'uuibilil~ of library rr"';uurcc~ .'\ccc!!oslolht) IS crucial if library re»l,lurccs have 10 be effectively used. l'his seclion lhcrcfuresought to find out acccssibilil} uflibra,., resuun:~inBalmcLibrary UniTvabeler 4s.8 iAttytes soibifli l)G orh resaounrceas http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh fA"Wibllity IStaffauistancc -r 31(%.9%) 01(31"~- --n-~ Card catalogue 31(%.9%) 01(3.1%) I JZ l OPAC 32(100.0%) . JZ j Photocopying 16(50.0%) 16(50,0%) .1i 3Z Infonn.tionlileracy 21(6.5.6'/0} 11(34.4%) I 3Z I J Internet 31(%.9%) 01(3.1%) I 3Z IF100rguides 31(%.9%) 01(3.1%) I _. -3-Z- -- ~ S• •f a: FI"II SIi'r\¥)'.1010 Results on bow resources in Balme library were made accessible to UJCf'I were revealed u follows: 32(JOO%} of sgfT respondents mentioned that resources were accessed by usen (students) through Online Public Acceu Catalogue (OPAC); 31{96.CJ-/.) of itaff respondents indicated thai re5OW'Ces were accessed through staff iISIistance. card clialogue, the inlnm:l, and floor guides respectively. 21(65.6%) of staff Kspondenls .ndicllcd tNt they accessed resources through inConnation literacy. and 16(50.0'/.) of staff respondents said resource. were accessed through photocopymg.( See lable 4.8., The findings showed that reiOurces were made accessible to users through Online Public A«ess CataJoguc (OPAC). eard catalogue. SIaCf assistance, the internet noor guides and information literacy and photocoPyinl (in a dcscendlnl order). These methods used to actess resourc:es in the libruy are produccive. 4.3 .... 1 Metbodora«esslbilitya.dreasonsrorcbolce The study presented six access too. . from whu:h users had to indicate reasons (or sc:lcctlIlg any of the access lools. 1be rcsull indicated that the most effective acecu tool 70 Univerwsas itthye O no1infe PGublhic AacCnCSai C ahtaltogtupe (:O/P/AuCg) wsithp 2a5(7c8.e1%.)u regspo.nesesd. Tuhe. rgeahson for selecllng Ihc OPAC was that it \Was very accessible; the Rexl that Wa5 very accCSiible was the lfIler'Mt with 14(438°~) re5pOndents. Also. 19(59.4%) re5pondenls chole l brows.ing, 17(51 ( 0/0) respondents chose the card catalogue and 16(50.0%) respondents chosethcmlerTldandlhcreasons!.heyadvanudwereth.tllhcscloolswcre accessiblc: From thlll resull. one can deduce that resources were madc accessible an the Balme Library by using the named 8e(:css lools. This study confinns Osman's (1987) study on how usera locate me:! ~tneve material wroch indicated that uaen mllde use ofthc library catalogue ror tnfonnation re!neval. This study alllO supports Koranleng (2005) who cited 1 the followina: as ways of identifying resources in the library. These ways are as follows Use of indexing and abstracting services; browsing throuah the bookshelves; use of eleclronic databases; use of card catalogue, and through the use of the Online Publie Access C~t~loguc (OPAC). The study also ties in with Waldman (2003) who reported a high Wlage of the library', OPAC by studenlS, Howc\'er. the study differ from that of Ajala (1997) who$(: study on "U5e of the Uruvcrsity of Ibadan LibJary resources by Gradu.ate StudenIS" thai found that user'l search pattern for hbrary materials indicated that they rely mostly on staff I assistance; followed by the use of library catalogue; shelve -liiti; friends; and personal mtuitioninthatorder 71 UnTivlbeIe4r,9sMitetyilo dooffa ((Gesshiblalitnyaadr ehaStOtDpS:fo/f/(ubogices pace.ug.edu.gh Moderately Notacccuible ac(essible OPAC 25(78.1%) 6(18.8%) 1(3.1%) Cardcataloguc 10(31.3%) 17(51.1%) 5(15.6%) 14(4]8-/.) 16(50%) 2(6.3%) BroWSlnB 100]1 . ]O~) 19(59.4%) ](9.40/,) Stan-assistance 3(9.4%) 15(46.9%) 5(15.6%) 9(28.1%) Floorguidos 13(40.6%) 15(46.9%) 3(9.4%) 1(].I%) SDllrce: FidliSurvey, 2010 4,J.4,2 A((esJ to resources usiagtbe\'arious ICCt')!'> lools When asked how long it took users to access the ,'anous ac(ess tools, most of the respondents indicated thai II look them negligible delay 10 access resources In the Bllme Library uSing the vanous access tools. The analysis were as follows. 30(93.80/.) respondents indicated that il took them negligib le delay 10 access resources using the OPAC. The rest of th( r(sults were arranged In a ranking order as follows: 27(84.4%) respondents said negligible delay 10 acccs.s resources using the internet; 23(7I.lJO.!.) respondents spent negligible delay to a.;:cess U5ing floor guides; 22(68.8) respondents negligible delay 10 access usmg the card catalogue; and 18(56.3%) respondents spent negligible delay 10 access U5mg iliff !aSSIstance. Hence, the findmgs indicated thai. a majonty of the respondents experienced neghgible delay to acceu resources in the Balme Library using the Online Publie Access Catalogue and the inlemet 72 UniTvabele r4s.10i tAycc nos tfo olGs aahd taimne uased hto tatccpes:s./ /ugspace.ug.edu.gh delay j OPAC 30(93.8%) 1(3.1%) 1(3.1%) CardcataJope 22(6B.r/a) 9(28.1%) 1(3.1%) 1 : Inl<"'" 27(84.4%) I J(94°4) 2(6.2%) b,15(46.9%) 14(43.8%) 3(9.3%) I .. ~ ,SlaffaS5lstance I 18(S6.J°~) 12(37.5%) 2(6.2%, ~_ I p",..,~ guIde, 23(71.9%' 8(25.0%) 1(3.1%) Sourct'. fldd S"I"Mry, 1010 .U.5Cballenges raced In providiogaccessibiJIty This is • representation of the respOIlSCi from re5pondents on the challenges to lfXeaibililyoflibraryresourcCl. 73 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh "'i~ure 4.8 <':hllllcnges 10 acc('~sibi l il~ In spite of the fact that n:sulls showed that rl.'sourl.'l.'S in the Balml! Librar:- \\oc.=n.: rnaJ" accessible 10 users. respondents indicated :>l'me challenges to accessibility. Ine chall.mees 10 print resources were as follo\o\'S: 3U(93.8"/0 of staff respondents indicated I~t ,;omt documents wnc mis.!>hch"oJ. 18(56.3"10) of stufT ~pondcnts indicatC"d thai some documents wen: miscatalogcd anJ 17(5J.1 "I.) of slal1'n.:spondenl5 said call numbers were not visible enough. For the electronic resou.rees. the analysis sho ....- ed that 24(75.0%) users faced the challengl.' I,f low b.;md\\-idlh when accl.'<;.sing I.. . k ... troni ... resources. The stuJyalsoshowcdlhaI22(68.8"1.)o)r,talTn.:spofKkntsiIlJic3h.oJthatlacktlf~uatc inforRtalionliteracY5killshintJeredaccessibilityofprintandc1cctronicrl.'~urces\\h i lc 18(87.5%) of staff ~pondmts said llw f~ worksTatiuns,!compUlers. were also a challenge to ",,'c,,"Ssing print and electronic mourel.'s.. The other \-ariables like electric II) outages, leek of 'passwords' and too many ·pass. ... ords tn remcmber' had a 101 of 'no n:)iptln~ w-hich the rnean::her inlerpmcd as constituting 00 challenge. This finding confirm .. Aguolu and Aguohl's (2002) asscnion that "ph)'sical" Icamin~ materials may be a\ailablc: )·et inaccC'S.,itJlc due: to poor calaloeuing.. poor anangcmcllt of fC!>Ources nn tbC'shchcandpoorlabdin~ Un-'i.v3.6eImrpsroi\t·iny). !aoccfn siGbilihty.a na http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh \\'h\'11 .b ... ..:J Il> 'ugg..:!>t \\a)s lhat could impro\'e ac:cessibilil). stalTrespomknlS made the following sug~l·.tions I1S prescnlCd in a rankin~ ONCr. Th,-'SC were 14(43.8"/0) respondenls for increase in the numberof\\orkstationsicomputers.1(21.q\! of r~·'>Ourccs. the muh showed thai 32(IOO.o-/.)ofslalT~r",.lIlJcnts indicated a\aitlbility of resources, ease of use, uscr a\\-aI'cncss. :sta1T Dttilude. Ir.. illCd stalT, atkquale wOf'kslillion51cumputers, and the inlftnC't rcspcdivcly. 1he rest were represenlcd in a descending order as follows: lending service 23(71.9%); proximity to lihrMY 2:!(68.7%); 17(53.1%) li~hling condilion: and 16(50.0"/.) radine spate, This resuh su~gcsls lhallhe variables usaJ as factors that innuc~ lhe U!io!,' Uniovf resorusrceist .y.e iondfic aGlive.h Tahisn stuady hagrtetesp w:i/th/ uShigll sandp Taoncner (.2u004g) w.eho dfound. gh that an integrated &cility designed to provide rCieUCh and study space, teach students information literacy skills, expose students to recorded knowledge In both print and clcctronic fonnats,aod make"infonnatlon expert" rcadily ICcessible in one place. The findings are similar to Korobili,et a1. (2006) who conducted a J'CiCarch on the IOpic "Faclorsthal influence the use of library resources by faculty members and found out that the UK of e-l'CIOW'eeI is posiuvely infIuenc:ed by convenience of ICCeU to the source£. The result of this study i. also in conformity with a study of the information seeking of professionals who found oul that acceuibility and ea&e of use were the key to the &cquc:nc:yofusc, even 10 the pos.ible sacrifice of quality (leckie et al .. 1996). Thcstudy also aarees "Ith Burton and Chadwick' s (2000) .urvey conducted in 2000 at Iowa Stale University that-reported that among 543 university students, 63 percent of respondents ranked most highly those resources thai were easy to use. This is a clear mdicatlOn thai eascofuseiscrucialin~ucncyofUK. 76 UnTiavble 4r.11s Fitacylo roslhfa tGioflhuenacentbaeM sheotftrepso:u/r/cues gspace.ug.edu.gh FactorstbatinO_ence;'eofresources Frequency ! Freq_eDcy Percentage I (Yes) I (No) , (%) ~Orr~-;:CCs- "-32(100'/,) i -.oo.()- Ease of of 32(100'>',) ~ -.-00:0-use rnources 32(100%) --~ User awareness ofraources StafTattitudc 32(100%) 100.0 Lmdin&lCI'Viccs 23(71.9%) 9(28.1%) 100.0 AdeqUllccomPU1Cf'S 32(100'>',) 100.0 : ~ 20(62.5%) 12(37.5'>',) I TraincdstafT 32(100%) 100.0 I Rcadinsspace 16(500/,) 16(500/.) 100.0 ligtningeondilion 17(53.1%) 15(46.9%) 100.0 ~n1rtylOlibraty 22(68.7%) 10(31.3%) 100.0 ~--.-- 32(100.0%) 100.0 Source. F.eld Survey 2010 4.3.7.1 Borrowing raleofresourtes bYltudents In the Balme Library The analYSIS ofborrowmg rate ofstudcnll in 1hc Balme library by the stafTlI1(hcated that 19(59.4".) respondent! indicated that it wu high. 8(25.0%) saId it was extremcly high, and S(IS.6%} pointed that it was average. No respondent uKbcatcd that thc borrowing ratcwaslow_ A hip horrowlng ralC suggests SOOd use of the library re50Ul'Ces. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 .Series1 '0 .Series2 Average J' I1.!UI"t' ~.IU Uurru\\ing nil' of r('~our('t's ofstudenh illihe BMlm~ Librllry When asl",,:d to su!;:g4.·~1 \\;I~.~ (II ~nh.llncing cn~ctih' use, loluff rt!~plmdclus made suggeS1ions 85 ptescnlcJ in a ranL.ing urdcr. These "Cn:'. 12(37.50/,) of )loIff rl.')pundenlS said illlcnsil) in~ of inrt)rmalion literary skills, ~S(25.O-;.) said the staff strengdl should be incma~J Ihlllu~h lrainilll!. and b t 18JW.) of )tatT rL~pondcnls sU"l.'Slcd rruvision of more band""iiJlt\.. and 3 (9.4".) of )<'IafT respondems 5u.gc~lIcd the ~·"paJlsion of the computer labomory and 3 (9.40/.) uf stall' rnpondcnls su~(,slcd the ~quisition of CUffi'1l1 materials. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh .Senes1 .Series2 Fi~ure4.11 Sug2e!'llions Ihal c~n cnhallcedfecrive usc of resources ~A AnlllYlLill, FindinJts lind Oh.eus!oion of USl"r Respon:'ll" level 400 hundred Stud':l1b ,II' (he Dcponm~'nt of Inf\urnation Studies were the other respondents of this ~tuJ~, Fifty·six of them were administcfI:d qucslionnaircs and fifty r"'lumcJthcmdulycompll.'tcdmakingapcrccmageof8 l).J"o 4.4.1 O~mognphic:datll Demographic: infOl11llllion on the n:spondenls rc\cal..-d Ihat 27(54.0%) respondents were male while 23(46.0%} resptmdents "ere fClll;lil:'s . This n!sult tallies with that of the statT rcspondclits whcI'C we had mol"\." mail:' rcspondents than females. UniTvabele r4.s4.1i tDyem oogrfa pGbk hdaati na http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 FrequeDCY Percentage % ~Male - 27 54.0 Ferru1ic 23 46.0 Tow 50 100.0 I Silurce: Fieltl Sunoey, 20}0 4.4.I.ITlae.~raDgeorpatrCNIs Results from studentreipondents in Table 4.4.2 indicated thattheiragc group ranges from 20-25 yean tbIIlS 68.0%, 26·30 that IS 6(12.0%). 31-35 that is 6(12.kills 10 palron Uni4v.4e.2.2r sTyiptryso fioaffo rmGatihona litneracy ohffetrtepd t:o/ u/suersg space.ug.edu.gh The student respondents were alio asked to IIwbeate the various types of information % literacy offered and. the result was as follows: The result Indicates thlt 28(56.0 ) of student reipondents said that they were taught bibliographic literacy, 24(48.()I'/.) of lIudentl'Clpondentsreportt.-dthlttheyweretaughtrescarchhleracy, 18(36.0%} of student respoodenLS indieatc:drcsourcelitcracy, 15(30.0%) of student respondcnls also saidthcy werc provided with publishing literacy. From the results, it was seen that the information literacy skill mostly taught was bibliographic instruction. followed by research literacy, resource literacy, tool literacy and puhliihing literacy. ThiS result ties with the tindinas oblainedfromstaffrcspondents.ThisfUultluggcststhltlUthcdifferenlliteracyskills did not n:ccive tbc same anentioo bence the hlcracy skills provided are DOl very adequate.(see table 4.4.3 below) fable 4.4.3 Types ofinformatioD literacy offered tousen :Types-- lYe. No NorespODse PerccDtagee;e i ts~og,aphlc- I 28(jb.0%=)-If--,I~6(=32.=0'1o~')+ --6(1-2.-0'10-)- +- 100';';-- Toollilency 15(30%) 23(46.0%) 12(24.0%) 100~ Rcsourcelileracy 18(36.0'%) 18{36.~o) I 14«28.()I'/o) 100e;0 I ~y- 24(48.0%) 15(30.0'1.) I 11(22.0%) 100% l i PublishinS hleracy--~ 28(56.=0'1o~.)+ '- 1~3(-26-.0~-.)-l-~I-OO-%--1 S ••r ce: Field Survq. 2010 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.4.2,3 Ratingo(studtnbinform.llltion literacy level When the studcnl respondenlS were a~ko:J h-' judge their information literacy level, 23(46.D'~) responJents reponed that 1~lr infonnation literacy level was average. AI~, 17(34.0-,.) indicated it was high. 7(l·U"/0) said il was low and 3(6.0-/.) revealed that their infurm.'ion literacy level was extrcmdy high. The rc~nJents .iuda;ed their litenacy lelre! bascJonlhccasc ..... ilh which they localcd and uscd library resources. Ag.ain.thisfindi ng was the same as lhe finding of S1aff respondents which also revealed that the information lilcrxylcvclofusen\\1lS8verage. "'igurC' ...... 2 Rlitingofsh.dcnt's in(orn'aliun li".. ... 'c) Il'~ .. ...I.L"\ Acq .. i!!oilionofin(orm.tiun lilcracy \\bcn asked if ~spondent5 haJ e"cr recei"ed instructions on infonnalion literacy, 36(72.()0/.) stuJcnls atH'ffd ..-.-hilc 14(28.00/.) sluJCllis inJicatl."" thai they had never n:ceiH:d it. (sex table -104.-1) Also, studmts "ere asked t\) inJicate where the) received their infonnation literacy and 13(26.0"., students indicated to have obtained il from Halmc Library, 10(20.0%) studcnl~ indicatoo that they obtainoo it from the Information Studies Dcpartmc:nt during led1ft!'. 7(14.()"/o) studenls gol it flOm the internet, 5(10.0-;0) sludents got it fmm their former institutions. 3(6.0-1.) sludents got il from friends and 12(24.0010) stlkk.-nts pro\'ided no responsc indicating tilalliley were cilhc:r not aware that University of Ghana hlitbtrapry :o/r /buecaguses thpeya sicmpely. huadg ot.heer cdhouice.sg h tOCOO$UIt.(sec lable4.4.S below). Table4.4.4AcquisitioDoriarormatioDlileracy SDUTU: Field Survry. 2010 Table 4.4.5. Wbere ia(ormatioD IItency was obtaiacd. Pllce Frc:quency Percentage BalmeLibrary 13 26.0 I LeC1Ur<$ -I 10 ~20.0 -- 1 fntemc:t r- 14:0 1 I, _. ;w.,~ _I 10.0 Fnends 6.0 I Noruponsc - - ~ 12 --24._0 _. 1 SOUTce: FieidSun·'Y. 2010 8< University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.4.3 A\'ailability and adrquilcy of libra I") resourc("$ This section sought to lind the a\ail:Jhility and adequacy of library resources in Balme Library. The adequacy of resou(Cl.'S in a library is ",hal creates an image for thai librnr) 4.4.3.1 Sourcrs of knowlcdgr of available libntry re!>uurces in fhl: library 'fbestudcntn:spondents"I.'n:loindicateoowthI.'Y gotinforml.'daboutlibr.tryrcsourccs. As seen in figure 4.4.3 above. 22(44.0'/.) students engaged in persollill scarch of the Iibnrry rl."SOurces.II(22.0%) !>Iudl.'nls wen: informed through reference .)cr\-·ice. 8( 16.0'%) students ".:re infonned Ihrou~h lecturers. and 5(10.~o} students obtained it throu~h library use instruction .land ·WtO%) siudents got infonned through friends. This result differs from a study carried oul by OClC (2005) in Auslfalia. Can3da, India. Singilpore the United Kinbodom(U.K) and the United Slates where 6PY. respondents identilied friends as the top choice in idcntifying infomu:ation resources whi le less than 15"e of r.:spondcllls mdicalcd that they di~o\"c~red information reSQUfl:l!S from libr.lrians and h:ach.:rs. Friends may not be able to inrunn other.. on tmlilable Iibntr) resources in Ghana and in mosl African countries llecause only a few among them may have the information~. ... cssar)". 35 30 '0 5 Reference Frtwnds f.·i2ure ·"·t3 Sources or '-no" ledge of avaihlble libr3r) rt',uurcc~ in Ihe lihrar) Uni4v.4.3e.2r Asvaiitlaybl e oresfo uGrcesh ina Sna lmae Lhibrtatrpy ://ugspace.ug.edu.gh From the analy515 of data. 50(100%) of the student reipondenl$ indicated lhaI textbooks, penodicals.dal&bue5, reference~aretheresources.vai1ableinBalmcLibrary. 35(700%) of the student respondents indicated online Journals, being available In Balme Library. Also, only 15(30%) respondents indIcated that audio-visual materials were available in Ba1me Ubrary. Ag&in.thiSreiUlt hketheresult from t.hestalTrespondenl$ indlcat~ that the rCSOW"Ce5 listed in the questionnaire were all available in the Salme Libnry. However, the findings from the two sets of respondents al&O revealed that, most of the' respondents did not choose audio-visual. malenals . It could therefore be concluded that ir audio-visual materials were available in the Balme Library. they wCTt either inadequate or users as well as molt library staff were not aware of their c)(istence in the library Table ".4.6 Resources iD Salme Library ! Available rnou~~ - · - ~Y~..- ~ ~o I Textbooks - ,-00- - PenodLcals -5-0-- t 100 Refem'l«SouroeI 50 Audio-vi.ual mateoals I 15 3S I 30 1 1------- -+!--5-0-+----· - - 10-0 - ' 15 -70--- , Online Journals ......3 .3 •A ny time' U~ts5 to rtsO.rtn From Flguce 4.4 4, the respondents Wett asked if they had access to resources any tune they wanted from Salme library. As shown In Figure 4 S above. the study showed that Un2i4v{-eI1Jr,~s.' isttUylk not rfe spGondhenat irnxJlCaaI Cdh ttluttp th:e/y /huadg KsCepss a\0c r(eso.urucegs s.oemcdtunuc:s.. gh while 19(38.0-/., ,;100cntS hid ~ 10 resourccs most of the time. 5(10,0%) scudenls had KCess to (l!:M)uu':cs mrdv. and 2(4.0%) respm"i.ents indic3h.-d thai they had access to the resourcc:s.U the tlm~' , K;suilS from the 1.. ..' 0 sets ofrcspondenlS for this shKly indkatc thl!lllllSCl"Sdooothan!'xccuton:sourcesalllhctimcanJ as such. the finding ncaales thal of Sillioes. (1996) who achanccd thM the aoal uf lihraries was n04 to own large collcctionbu'w3srathertopro\·ide-...) 1imc •. 3ny. .... here-acccssloresourccs. UR ...~ V l .. igurc ..... .4·Anylimc·:I"cn;"I(Jtc'''uurcC''~ When asked hI c\aluah: the c " I,'1I1 10 which resources in Ualmc library satisfied users net'Js., 25(SO,0".~ uf !)luJcllI n:sponJcnts inJie31cd that the re~uurccs satisfied their infi.lnn3tion OC\."\J .. 5OmClill\(1, 20{40.~.) ~udent .. ~jd moSl ofthc ti,l"M:. 3(6.00/.) sluclenlS !Wid r.lI'dy. and 2(4.0·1.) students said they sati .. ticd their needs 311 the lime. Resulls rmm the two 5(:U of n:spond.ents coafU'lllCd each o&ha in th.1t both 1\'\ ,'akJ that resources did nul salisfy u.~rs· needs all the lime. One can :lIIribute Ix" of S4lisf.ction to cxprcs.s.cd un;l\'ailability of dcsiml information resourtts. Hence, the findina lies in with Oyediran- UnTividiengrs's (i2t0y04 ) ostfu dyG ohf tahe ninafor mhattiotnp n:e/ed/su ogf stupdt:anlsc aet Y.uabag C.oelledgeu o.fg h Technology. Lagos. In his ~scan::h findings, he anribuloo low use of the library to una".ailabilityofdesircdn·sollrcc., Figur" 4.4.5 Rating satisfactions frnn1 Balnu!Librllry resources by patrons 4.4.3.5l'!lrl" participation in reMIuree s~lecti(tn ofresourccs I"his section sought to find those who lake part in selecting resources. \Vhen resources an: selected by both the users and the librarian and again \\hcn most of the resources are ac~ui(edthroughdim:tpurchase.lhen:!IOun;:esareusuallyadl.'t.!uale Table 4.4.7 Us('rs participarion in re'luurcesclcction .'requency -40"" ---go:o--- . Total 50 100.0- Suurcl':I"iddSurw),,2UIU Un1ibve esturdsentist wye reo asfk eGd toh inadicnatea if thety ttpook: /p/arut ign tshep sealectioen .oufresgou.ne.:cds. uAs. gh shown in table 4.4.7 above, 10(20.O'Yo} student respondents ageed that they took part in the &election ofre50UJccs and 40(~() 0%) students indicated that they did not take part in the selection of resources. From this result. there is every indicazion that most of the students did not take part in resource selection in the Salme Library. This finding ties in with the finding of the staff respondents 4.4.3.6Ubrarystock When asked to rate .!:JaIme Library's stock. student respondents provided responses as presented m a ranking oroer as follows; adequately stocked 2S(56.0%). veryadeq uately stockedO(OO.O·It),moderatelystocked IS(36.00/o),and4(S.O%) students indicated that it was inadequately stock. This result confirmed the findmg from starr respondents In that both findings revcalled that Salme Library was not very adequately siocked. According to Oyewusi and Oyeboade (2009), library resources were a collection of text and bibliognphlc information sources; it also included information teclmology such as those tbat IUpported browsing, authoring and communication like compulcr and the intcm et Hence, for a library to be considered to be very adequately stocked, it should fulfill the above Slandard. However. findings from both sets ofrespondenl! were at variance with each other in that S(15.6%) staffrCipondenl$indicated that resources in Balrne LIb racy were very adequate, 4(S.o-l.) user respondents andicated the contrary that is that the Ttsourccs were inadoquate. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh adequately Very stocked adequately • Senes1 28 Senes2 56% 0% Figure 4.4.6 Ibling of Balme Ubl'llr)"', saork "'.-1.4 A~('('~.ibiIUy or lihn.r)" rnourus. A hbraryean ha\-c ad~qu.Jte resources but irthcse resources are not accessible to users the library will record low pulronagc. This section sought to lind out hu\\ accessible Balmclihrar)fClillUrccs\\'efetoU5C'1"S Results on hu\\ rl."soun.:I."S in nalme library \IIo'l."rc 111:1..11.' accessible wcre as follows SO( I 00".) slud.:nl respondcnts indicallXl that resuurces were made accessible through Online Public Access Catalopc(UPAC), and the card catalogue ~pc."4;ti\d). 48(96.0-/0) student fC'5pondcntsindicaled thatresoureC's weremDdC'occcssihle throua,hthc int.:mct. 35(70.0-/.) studenlS said they OOiainctl it through staff assistance. 27{54.0-/.) sakl",'n! respondenls indicated they obtained it thrllul!h information litenlcy, 26(52.0%) student .. obtained it through photocopyin&. and 20(40.0-/.) student~ throulh floor guidc1., ( S~ table 4.6). 1be findinp sho,,-ed that r. .' SOurces were Jll3de accessible to users in II r.lI1lllll! mdcr thmugh Online Public Access Catalopc: (OPAC), card catalogue, the inlemret, staff UniavsSleSlMrICse, ipthyot ocoopfy inGg ahnd aflonor agui dhes tatndp In:f/o/nunalgions Ipiteancyc. Tehi.s uresgul.t eII sdimuila.r gh lOlhcfindinpofthestaffretpOndents. TIus resultrevea1ed that therespondenlS were fully aware o( the methods through whif;h marenals could be made accessible in a library. Allthcse methods ease accessibility to library resources. Tablr4.4.8AcctssibitityorUbraryrnourccs ~AccessjbilkY- -----'~ \'es----., - -N-.- , Total --50- Fassl$C.atlce 35(70"-» 15(30%) IC ardcowo. ... 50(100.0%) 50 IOPAC 50(100.0%) 50 I r pholOCOp)1ng I 26(52.0%) 24(48%) 50 !lnfOnnationlileral:Y 27(54.0"10) 23(46%) 50 ~t 48(96,0'/0) 02(4.0"/.) 50 IF \oo'l,u;d,, - 20(4()'o%) 3o(6,,"7.)-+-~ -. --'- ----" Sourc~: Fwld S"rvq. 10/0 4.4.4.1 !\1r:tbod o(lccnslbilit)'aad reasons (orcholce The study prcsC'fl1cd six access lOOts from which respondents had 10 select access toots and mdlcate reasons (or selectmg any o( them. The result mdlcaled that the molt favoured access tool WII the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) with 21(42.()I'/.) student respondents who repon.ed tlw it was very accessible and 21(42.0%) student rt!spondents said it was accessible. The next wa the internet where 11(34.()I'/.) student respondents wd It WII very acceuible while 22(44.0%) studmt respondents indicated thai it was accessible. "The least accessible tool as revealed by the results wu the card catalogue where only 8( 16 0%) student respondCTIts indicated that it was very accessible Uniavnde 14r(4s3,oiet/oy} s toudefn t Gresphonadents amd ihc.ttedt pthI:1 /it/ wuasg acscepssiablec. Tehi.s ureagull. ceondfinune.dg h the result from the Ataffrespondents. T.b~4.4.IJMetbodor8cceSiibiliry.ndrraSOQ5forchoice 'M~lbod-- ~1~ Moderately ' NO. accessible r- I accessible 21(42.0%) 21(42.0'%) '(10.0%) 3(6.0%) IC ard catalogue 8(16.0"1.) 17(340'AO) 14(28.0%) 6(12.0"~) Iintemel 17(34.0%) 22(44.0%) S(IO.O'AO) 6(12.0%) ~o~:~~ng 8(16.0"/.) -23(46Mo) 13(26.0%) 6(i2~ rStaffusiSlance 3(06.O"AO) 22(44.0%) IS(JO.O%) 10(20.0%) ! [Floorguldes 3(06.0%) 19(J8.0'1.) 16(J2.0%) 12(24.00/.) SDurc,. F.,ld S.,rwy, 1010 4.4.4.2 Access 1001 aad time used to access resources T.ble 4.4.10 showed thai 34(68.0%) student respondents reported that they spent negligible 11me to accCSl resources using the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), 31(62.oe/.) student respondents said they spent negligible time to access resources through the internet. However, the result also revealed that fewer student respondents 14(28) spent negligible time 10 IC(:CU materiab using the card c.la)ogue and more than hair the total numbcroCstudent respondenu 21 (42.0%) indicated that they spent up to 2 hoUI1i to access resources USInS the card catalogue. Thil result gave the racartherthe impreulon that the cvd CItaIoguc was not \'ery accessible. From this result. one could conclude that the OPAC was the most acceuible retrieval tool. 92 UniTvabeler 4s.4.1it0 yAc :co:essf toGol ahnda timne ause dh tot tacp:c:e:ss/ /reumgurcs('sp ace.ug.edu.gh ~ N~liglble I Up to2 bOll n I 1-4boun r Mor-t lbaO a day ! dtlay : OPAC 34(68.0'A.) 15(30.0%) ! 1(02.0%) 0(00.0%) Cardcalalogue 14(28.0%) 21(42 .0% ) 9(18 .0",) 6(12.0%) i Internet 31(62.0%) 1(1(20.0%) I 6(12.0%) 3(06.0%) Brow.ing 19(38.0%) 15(30.0\',) 9(18 .0%) 7(14.0%) SlalTassistanc:e 21(42.0%) 19(J8.0%) 16(12.0'-') 4(OS.O'A.) Floor guides 17(34.0%) 18(36.0'10) 1 10(20.0%) 5(1 0.0%) Souru: Field Sal"'flq, 101 0 93 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh -tA.:=i Challenges IOat('('s!libilily This Sl.'Clion sought 10 disco\cr factoNo that hindcred access lorcSOUfl:l!S in the lib rary. 650 40 0" .38 -L35 50l . L26 ". -4.7 14J8 4~ .Senes1 ~ . L "C'"" Figure4.4.7Challenge:<.toac,"('ssibili~ In spill" of the fact thai the an.lly)is )howN thai ~sourcl!'s in Ihc Balm..: Library wl,!rl,! made accessible tll u~rs. student R.'spondents yet indicak-d some chaJlengc~ to accessibility. 1be challenges to print resources were as follows: 48(96,0%) students indicated that some documents "ere misshelved. 38(76.001.) students indicatt!d that some documents were misc8t:doged and 35(70.00/0) students said the coli numbers " 'ere not \'isiblt:t:nough. for thc electronic res()uTCt!S,analysisshowt!d thai 50(IOO.OO4)uscrs fac ed the challcnge of low b.and\\idth "hen accessing electronic r~·'>Ourccs. Thc study also showed thaI 26(S2.00/.) students indicattd lack of ·p'b~\\UrJ· 47(94.0%) students reponed thai lack of infonnaticIn lilCf".IC}" skills hinJI."f('d accessibility of print and electronic resources while 48(96.0%) sluJent respondents said that few workstations/computers wetc abll a challenge to acccssin~ print and electronic resources The other \"ariables like eir..-ctricit) \l1113~CS. lack of ' pas~\\"ords' and too many 'pass\\ords Uni1v0 remresmbietry' h :MoJ ifn siGgnifhicant nresapo nhsest. tHpen:c/e./ utheg r\~suph iandcicaeted. utheg e.xiestedncue o.fg h chnlleng~ to occ,,"Ssibility of both the print and d«lronic n:soun:~ -I..I.6\\Mysorim(lrtJ\'inl!ac('essibili~·. When asl.,,-d 10 SU~~'''I \\a~s that could improve accessibilit}. sludent respondents made the following sUGg~titlil" as presenleJ in 8 r.mking. order. Th4;se were 16 (32.00/0) n='Ip..mdcnts sugg~h;J Increasc in (he- number of workstations/computers. 13(26.0"/.) r~sJXlRdcnts sUG~oestcd Ilwr~ inloml::Jtion literacy skills, 9( t 8.0V.,) respondents sug~csled stafftrainin~. and 5 (10.0-/.) respondents su"est~ more b:lndwidlh 5 L Hl!urt~ -1..1.8 Ways of Impro\'ina accessibility. 4.4.7 FlI('lnnlhal iaOucncethcu!llt'ofresClurre .. When a.>ked to select f;lclur.> that innuenc..: 11~,· Po;(' of rcsourcn,. the resull showed So( 100.0'1.) of student rcspolltknts indicalcd ;)\ ;&11;)bility offbOurces, case of~, tmilk\! suJf,adeqWIC \\orl-sl;lIiuns.c\.mpu1.:rs and internet 40(80.0'1.) students indicat,,'\! ,,1;)11 attitude. 38(76.0'/.) studcnts ~uJ rro~imity to library, 30(60.00/.) said lighting condition, 27(S4.0'I.) indicalcJ reaJing !>pacc. 26(52.0'/.) students said Imdin, scl'\'ic~s and Univ2S(eSOr.OsO4i) tstyud eontsf t icGkedh wacr naware nhesst tanpd :lo/a/nu pegriosd presapectiveelY.u· I gms. erl;lId"" uJ'.-'g h like the re&UJ1 of the sta1Tre5pOodco15 iDdieated that all the factors highlighted in the queshonnaire mcrcased the UH of library resourccs. Table 4.4.11 F.utors that iDnnDc~ tbe use of resources Factors"""iiilltianufa-~e~useofresources I Freque-Dcy - -Frequency II Percentage : (Yes) (:'Jo) (·/0) ~b~"yoh""UlC" _ _I s~ --:---r--::J we O(Uieo(resources t- SO(looO-;.) . '100.0 IC ser awarenm of resource, 2S(SO.0%) 2S(SO.O%) 100.0 Staffallltudc t40(g00%) 10(20.0'4) 100.0 ! lendmgservic:es -I 26(S2.0%) : 24(48.0%) . Adequatec:omputers I SO(loo.O%)·- I ·-~ 100.0 i loanpenod 2S(SO.0%) i 25(50.0'/.)' 100.0' .--.1 I TrainedstatT SO(loo.O'/.) 100.0 I Reading-spac-e--- 27 (S4.0'/,) 23(46.0%) 100.0 lightingc:ondition 30(60.0%) 20(40.00/.) 100.0 1 Proximitytolibcary 38(76.()o;.) 12(24.0'4) 100.0 : SO(loo.O'Io) 100.0 1 96 Un-Ii.-vI.ie.llroshaiatcyia goefffe dGh·euhsea na http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh When askl."\I to suggest ways of enhancing e()~"Cli\e uS&!. students respondents made sUJ;(.!~\lilmS a5 presented in a ranking ordc:r. The~ "ere. 20(40/0%) stuJcnt respondents sugge,ted the neai for f1lOK information literary skills/user education, 11(22.0"10) respondenlS suggested inc-rease in staff strength lhrough training. 7(14.0"'.) student respondent OJ'HL-d for a friendlirt SIaIT, 6(12.11".' ) sllJdcnl respondents JuggcSled provision of man: bundv.idth, and 6(12'()"'.) student respondents su~csted expansion of the c:omput~r labor.ltor)". The n: .. ult from the two Sc!1S of n:spooocnts SU"cstl.'t! more information literacyl ll..«f cJucOlti~ln. increase in slalT sln:nath, increase in bandwidth. and e)(pOIllsion of the computer latlo..)ralOI)' 8lS ulh. .. r facturs Ihat could improve the use of hbraryn:sourccs :: L20 .Seriel1 11 .Serles2 '0 C" L% o . Morehleracy Increa$8staff FflendherSlaff ExpanltOnof More Skflls Streng1h Computer lab BandWldlh figurt'.J .... 9WaysorenhandngefT«tinu1C .J.SCondusion ItcanthUSbeconcludedfromthc;:lflal)sisanJlindil1g";'b()\Clhattherespo~raIClor the study was cxc. .. Umt. This ga\C the mullS of the stud:- ")lIIC ~rcdibility. The finJing Unifvrome brosth i!teyli o fo refsp oGndehntsa renvealed hthati ttphe :in/f/ourmgatiosn plitaeracye sk.ilull ogf .userds wuer.e gh nOI very adcquate. Also, the results oflhe study indicated audio-visual materials were not very adequate. The result indicated that access to the available resoW'Ces was hampered by wrong shelving practices, miscataloguing. invisIble caU numbers, low bandwidth. inadequate information literacy skills and workstations/computers and that it was very easy to access l"CSOurees using the Onhne Public Access Catalogue(OPAC). Both sets of respondents made some suggestions on Improving accessibility. These were Iftcrease in computers and the provision of adequate literacy skills. In addition. both se1& of respondents also indicated factors that could cause effective use of the library. These were as follows: availabihtyofresources; ease of use; adequate computers; and trained staff and internel connectivity. Lastly, both sets of respondents suggesled Improvement of mfonnation literacy skill as a method of enhancing effeclive use of library resources. 98 UniRvJ:eFErRsE~iCtEyS of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Adikata, A. A. and Anwar, M. A. (2006). "Student library use - a study of faculty perceptionsinaMala)'SianUniversity".~ Vol. No. 2ppl06· 119 Aguolu,C. C., Aguolu, J. E. (2002). ! ibgries and iofomliljon management in Nigeria. Maidugujri : ED-Linform Services p.48 Ajala. I. O. (1997). "U$(' of University of lbadan library resources by graduate students". ~. VoI.46No.6pp421-427 American Library Association (ALA) (2000). Infonnation Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Chicago: ALA Available http;IIwv..'W.ala.orgJacrifi/s tandardlo.html.Acc(Ssed22/12/2009 Babbie, E (1992). Survey R!!§f'i!!rch Method!, 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth p.S6. Baker, R. K (1997). "Faculty perception towards student library use in a large urban community college", lOWD.IQfASj,dmi' IjhmjlDihjp. Vol.23 No. 3. pp.177-182 Billings. H. (1996). "Library collections and distance infonnarion: New models of collection development for the 21" UOlury." JQUlN,! of Library Adminjstration Vol.24 No.ll2pp3·1? Broderick. D. (1965). "On misplaced devotion". Scboo1 lihrary Journal January 13, p 34 Burton. V.T. and Chadwick. S. A (2002). "Investigating the practice of students researchers: panems of use and criteria fOT use of internet and library sources". Compl.llm and CnmPMitiQD Vol. 17 No.3, pp.309-328 Ekpo. C. M. (20CH).~. A paper presented at a workshop fOT training of trainers on the use of Inspector's manual and trainers guide at Calabar SIh-121h.pp.IO.ll UniFvlemeinrg.s Hit y(c do) (f1 99G0). hUasn Eadu cahtiotnt pin :A//Furkg"*s pLjbararciCei· .Luongdon.:e Ldibruary. gh ASSociation PubhslungLimited. pp.14 Koranlcng. A. K. (2005). JnfollDllion Nm and infounation §«king heh.yiourofpolice pmsqutro at the crimina) invgrigation Deeartment Head9uatc~Unpublished M.Phil. Theses submiucd to the Department of Infonnallon Studies. pp.26.27 Korobili, S., Tilikidou, I. and Delistavrou. A. (2006). "Factors that influenee the use of libraryresourcesbyfacultymembers".~VoI.5SNo.2pp91-10S Lcckic..GJ .. Penigrew,K.E. and Sylvain, C. (1996). "Modeling the infonnation seeking of profeiSionah:: a general model derived from research on engineers. health care profeuionals,andlawyers".~Vol.66No.2.pp.161.193 McNally. M. 1. and Kuhithau., C.C. (1994). "Inronnatlon search process In science education". The Referm;e libMan. Vol. 44. pp.53-60 OCLC (200S). Pcn;a"on of I ibnriq IV!d InfOnnaljon Resources. Ohio; OCLC Online Computer Library Center. 1n Oyewusi. F.O., and Oyeboade, S. A. (2009). An Empirical study of Accessibility and Usc of Library Resources by Undergraduates in a Nigerian SUite Univenity of Technology. Library Philosophy and Practice Available at !HIp' lwv.w.wsbnagcs.ujdaho.edul-mbotmloyewusI-oyeboade.htmJ ACCC5Sed 17/12/09 OSO'Wl, Z. (1987). "Pilot swveyofuserneed5 in the Law Library. University of Malaya". ~VoI.16No. 1 pp. 12-21 Oyediran-Tidinp, S.(2004). "Information needs and seckmg behaviour of librvy usen Results from Vaba College of Technology. Lagos". LagO! Journal of t jbryy aM Infornwinn Seim:e. pp.-17-88 OyeWUSI. F. O. &. Oyeboade. S. A. (2009). An empirical study of aeeeuibilily and use of library resources by undergrIdu..fes in a Nigerian lIIIe University of Technology Library 100 UniPvhielosropshyi tanyd poral'fll ceG Avhailablne at hthtp:t//twpww: /w/cutmgagcs-s ,pujda.bcq MeyJ.mubuglin./eqyedwvuSI.- gh ~Accessedl7/l2J09 Shin, H. B,,&' Tonner. S. (2004)." Does the building still matter: usage patterns in new, expanded, and renovated lihranes,1995-2002" , CoUue and R"J'i"'Ch UbOOCi· Vol. 65. No.2pp.12J-149 Waldman. M, (2003)." Freshmen's use of library resources and self-efficacy" (nfoonatlOn Rc~ Vol. 8 No.2, pp349-355 Watson, E.F. (2005). Watson, E.F. (2005) Acceu to Audiovisual and Multimedia Materials' What are the challenges for developing countries? In.J.EL6 (2005) World Library and lnfonnatlon Congress: 71th lfLA Gmen! Conference and Council. August 14Uo. 18'2005 .. 0.lo.Norway. Whitmire. E. (2000). "The relationshIp between undergraduates' background charxtensltcs and college experiences and the academic library use", ~ ~Vol.62No.6,ppS28-l40 101 University of GhanCaH AhPTttEpR F:I/V/Eu gspace.ug.edu.gh 5.0 Summary of . 'iodin2s, ( 'onelusiop and RKommeadatio.s 5.1 JDtrodudioa Accesslbilityisavit.bleasSd.ifthe~esinalibraryhavetobeeffectivel)'utitizcd. This can be achieved if an enabling environment is created to facilitate access to library resources. An enabling envLtonmenl will include the availability and adequacy of resources., proper cataloguing, proper shelving, trained staff, proper labeling. adequate bandwidth. and adequate software and hardware The purposc of this itUdy wu to evaJuate the accessibility and use of library fcsources In the Salme Library, University of Ghana. Two sets of questiOMaires were designed and administered to library users and the staff of Bllme Ubrary. The researcher administered thIrty-two (32) copies of questionnaires to the professional and paraprofessional staff in the Balme Librwy and thirty·two (32) copies were returned. Also, fifty-six copies of qlKSlionnauc£ were admirustctcd to level 400 sludentJ of the Department of Infonnalion StudiCJ and fifty (50) copies were received duly completed. Below is the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations. 5.2 Summary or Fiudiu&s and Contl.sion The summary of findings was made under the headings as reflected in the objectives of the study. These were as (ollows: adequacy o( infonnation li1eracy in the Balme Library; avail3bilityand adequacy of lihrouy resources: accessibility o(resources; challenges to accessibIlity; (actors that influence use of library resources; and suggestions to improve accessibility in Balme Library. 102 Un5i.v2.1e Ardseqiutayty of ioff oGrmahtloae lnitearac yh ttp://ugspace.ug.edu.gh From the analYSIs the information hteracy skill that is adequately provided is bibliographic instructIOn.. fonowed by reseMch hteracy and the least information literacy sJull provided is publishing hteracy. The rlftdiDgs from the staffrevea1ed that students' level of information literacy is average. This finding Wai the same as that recorded from students' responses. One c:an therefore deducc: that the information literacy provided in BalmehbraryisnotaciequalC. 5.1.1 AvaUability aad adeq.acy of library resource Resulls on methods of acqulsilion of resources in Salme Library revealed that resources were mostly acquired through direct purchase, gifts and donations. These resources were complemented through resource sharing. Findings .Iso showed that faculty members took part in the selection of resources ror the hbrary while students did not. The results from the students' respondents like that from the staff respondents indicated that the resources listed In the questlonnain: wen: all available in the Salme Library. However, the findings Crom lhe two SClS of respondents also m'ealed that, most of the respondents did not chOO$C audio-visual materials. It can therefore be concluded that the audio-visual matenals aVailable in the Balme Library, were either madequate or most of the users and S1affwere not awan: ofthciraillcnc:e in the library. in addition, the findings from both sctsofrespondentsind!cated that avery low percentage of respondents had their needs satisfied all the time. One un attribute the fact that resources did not satisfy the user's needs aU the time to express unavaHability of desired infonnatlon resources. Hence, the firnhna ties in with Oyediran-Tidmgs's (2004) study of the infonnatton needs of students at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos where low use of the library Wai attributed to unavailability of desired resources. It can thus be concluded that resources 1ft the Balme Library were available but inadequate because the faculty did nol pul In their best in the selectIOn and ICqulSltlon process and the fact thai: ltUdents on their own part did not make an input in acquisition though it was their right 10 do so 103 UniSv.2.eJ Arcscei5tsiybil itoy off lGibrahry aresnouarce sh mtatdpe a:cc/e/susibgle space.ug.edu.gh The findings showed thai resoW'Ccs were made accessible to users in a W\king order through Online Public Access Ciotalogue (OPAC); card catalogue; the internet; staff asiistUr:NTS OF THE INfORMATION SHOlES DEPAR1"'SrT) l':'