Abstract
This study assessed the capacity building efforts of library and information professionals in university libraries in Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and a structured questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The exact population of the study is 238 librarians in the university libraries in South- South, Nigeria. The total enumeration sampling technique which involves studying the entire respondents was employed for the study. Two hundred and thirty eight copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the respondents; the researchers were able to retrieve only 211 questionnaires. Hence there was 89% response rate. The data collected for this study were analyzed using simple percentage and frequency counts using tables. The findings of the study revealed that the capacity building needs of library and information professionals in university libraries were majorly troubleshooting new technologies, academic research, internet search skills, e-library management, and library automation, among others. Additionally, findings show clearly that on the job training, in-house training, participation in professional association, lecture/ discussion and exercises, and job rotation were the major methods of building the capacity of library and information professionals. It was recommended that sufficient funding should be allocated to university libraries for the organization of capacity building programmes for library and information professionals, among others.
 Keywords: Assessment, Capacity Building, Library and Information Professionals, University Libraries
Highlights
Capacity building is the process organizations maintain to develop their workforce to realize their full potential in view of meeting the organization’s current and future goals
The findings of the study revealed that the capacity building needs of library and information professionals in university libraries were majorly troubleshooting new technologies, academic research, internet search skills, e-library management, and library automation, among others
This findings agrees with the study of Bhatti and Nadeem (2014) which revealed that LIS professionals in university libraries in Pakistan need to develop their capacity in troubleshooting new technologies, endnote, data compression, Internet, social media such as Facebook, Blogger, Flickr, Twitter, and online databases
Summary
Capacity building is the process organizations maintain to develop their workforce to realize their full potential in view of meeting the organization’s current and future goals. Capacity building of library and information professionals is currently a topical issue in the literature as no university library can strive without a competent workforce (Ajeemsha & Madhusudhan, 2012). The library and information science profession should as a matter of urgency move along with the trend to be able to meet the current and future needs of their users. To achieve this aim the need to build the capacity of library and information professional becomes inevitable
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have