Library Science

In this study, an organized method for determining the novelty of submitted manuscript is presented. The importance of the need for objective determination of the novelty of submitted manuscript is identified. Discussions on the meaning of novelty are presented and used as basis to form mathematical expressions defining parameters useful to quantify the novelty of submitted manuscript. The defined parameters will be found more useful in objective decision of the novelty of submitted manuscripts as opposed to the current frustrating subjective methodology adopted by editors and reviewers world over.

This paper presents a study which examines the foundation of the present day scientometric as laid down by Derek de Solla Price in his award winning work: A general theory of bibliometric and other cumulative advantage processes, published in Journal of the American Society for Information Science. In the study, the importance of scientometric in research evaluation is identified, and a new concept of scientometrick is introduced. The error made and concealed in the trivial modification of the effect of contagion single-edged success introduced by Derek de Solla Price is exhumed with elucidatory discussion. The features of the Price’s model do not seem to correlate well when compared with the real time situations in academic publishing process. Except that Derek de Solla Price stated so, it is doubtful that the Price’s model is relevant and useful in real time bibliometric and academic publishing processes.

This paper presents a study on the works of Derek J. De Solla Price who is reputed to be the founding father of the field of scientometric. A brief overview of the scientific exploits of de Solla Price was made with a focus on his advanced study on bibliometric and information science. The error introduced by the trivial modification of the contagion success model was identified and discussed with elucidatory expositions. The implication of resulting prizing system which is a derivative of De Solla Price’s works are also identified and discussed. This study provides the rationale for gathering knowledge to learn and improve future designs and implementation in citation analytics.

The study sought to know how Library and Social Media serve as a facilitator for national unity and security in Nigeria. The study adopted a correlational research design with a population of 3,840 comprising of students and lecturers of different levels. A random sampling technique was adopted and Krejcie and Morgan method was used to determine the sample size of 350. The instrument used was tagged “Library and Social Media as a Facilitator for National Unity and Security (LSMFNUSQ)”. The instrument was validated by five experts and a field trial of test retest was done to know the internal consistency which yielded 0.79 co-efficient. 350 copies of questionnaire items were face-to-face administered to the respondents and 200 successfully retrieved. Mean statistics was used to analyse the research questions and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) was adopted to test the hypotheses. The study noted that Library and Social Media played a high level of role towards national unity and security. Among other things, the study recommended that there is need as an issue of priority to establish more public and school libraries which will help cultivate reading habits among youth and adults. Books on security issues should be stocked in the libraries for users

This paper looked at Nigerian Law Library management in the age of technology using selected management theories. Classical, behavioural and modern management theories provided guidelines for providing a modus operandi in Nigerian academic Law Library management. This study showed that technological age has shifted intensively into educational settings, and information centres have taken the path of innovation to meet up with the demands of technology. Management theories were critically looked at and it was found that classical management theories were no fit for management of organisations in a dynamic technology era. Issues inherent in Nigerian academic Law Libraries were found inimical to the trends of technology age. Behavioural and Modern management theories were recommended for managing academic law libraries through the technological age. Chaotic theory, systems theory and contingency Management theories are subsets of modern theories deemed fit for a paradigm shift of academic Law libraries. While McGregor’s “Y” theory was deemed fit for applying right motivation to Law Library workforce.

This study adopted a correlational research design to find out the relationship between the roles of Library and Information Science (LIS) Education and the 21st Century Information Users in Nigeria. The study covered six higher institutions with twelve Departments and a population of 2, 400 year 1 and National Diploma I students. A researcher-designed instrument and four point scale was used. 331 was the sample size using Krejcie and Morgan sampling method of determining the sample of a known population. Mean statistics was used to answer the research question and Pearson Product Moment Correlation adopted in analysing the hypothesis. The study discovered that LIS education played high level of roles for the 21st century information users in Nigeria. Among other things, it was recommended that government should formulate a workable policy that will see that students are introduced to the use of library education from the Nursery, Primary and Secondary school levels.

Library cooperation (LC) stems out of the fact that no library can be self-sufficient in terms of funding and resources available for service delivery. Funding level could affect library collection, staffing, facilities, equipment and even buildings which are all areas where the impact of library cooperation could be visible. The level of resources including funding available to Nigerian universities especially the privately owned makes library cooperation an issue for consideration. Resources to meet vital requirements in some of the institutions are not available and the library is always considered as a minor when allocating resources, this further softens the ground for venturing into Library Cooperation. This paper which studied ten (10) private universities in Southwest Nigeria highlights the areas of Library Cooperation among universities, the process, the progress and the challenges. It concluded that libraries in these institutions are still developing.

The study conducted on the effect of career development on job performance in University libraries reveals that there are no clear processes for career development in various institutions of higher learning and where it exist, it’s often focused only on key faculties. The study was conducted in six academic libraries in Nigeria. Questionnaire was the instrument used to gather data from professional librarians who were the respondents. Statistics for Social Sciences Package (SPSS) was used to analyze the data obtained from the 94 professional librarians examined. Findings from the study reveals that paying attention to career development of individuals will be vital not only for skills development but also to help establish an enhanced performance at work by giving librarians a clearer sense of direction and purpose. The study thus concluded that the core reason for giving essential consideration to career development issues is to create an enduring job performance and effective service delivery in institutional libraries.

Advances in information technology have resulted in the development of various computer-mediated communication tools of which the Instant messenger (IM) is one of the most prevalent. Instant messaging apps are widely used today for information sharing. The present study “Knowledge sharing over instant messaging apps: a study among Kinfra community, Malappuram” is based on the importance of instant messaging apps and the authenticity of the information sharing via those apps which helps the users to determine its reliability. The need to conduct a study based on trustworthiness of the information sharing is desirable and useful for the users. A structured questionnaire is used for collecting data which are personally distributed or sent through mail. The collected data are classified, analyzed. The investigator’s conclusion on whether or not instant messaging has negative effects on real-life social networks is, well, inconclusive. People have varying opinions on the topic, and there is evidence that can demonstrate both the pros and cons of using instant messaging. The safest thing to say is that the effect of online communication depends largely on the personality and habits of the user himself.

With the proliferation of ICT services, libraries are moving towards use of electronic information resources and services (EIRS) such as Integrated Library Systems (ILS), internet, online databases, online catalogues and interlibrary information sharing. This study aimed at establishing the type of electronic information resources and services (EIRS) provided in the Kenyan academic libraries and focused on a selected number of academic libraries namely: University of Nairobi (UoN), Kenyatta University (KU), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Kenya Technical Teachers College (KTTC). The study used both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The study used descriptive survey to collect information by interviewing and administering questionnaires to a sample of 264 individuals. The target population for this study was made up of the students, library staff, and teaching staff of five academic libraries Interview schedules were used on the chief librarians to get specific information. Questionnaires were used to collect information about library users’ attitudes, opinions, habits or any social issues. The study used descriptive statistical techniques to analyze the collected data. Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used for analysis where frequencies, means and modes were drawn from the data. Findings showed that the EIRS offered were computers, online Bibliography, OPAC, online Journals, online interlibrary sharing, DVDs, CD-ROMs and video tapes. Further, findings showed that computers and online journals were the frequently used EIRS while talking tapes were never used by the respondents. The study recommends the need for the users to be adequately equipped with the right skills on the use of the EIRS so that the there is utilization of the EIRS provided in the libraries.