Abstract
The study investigated the influence of four selected variables of quality assurance (library collections, human resources, library environment and funding) on information service delivery in federal university libraries in south-south zone of Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research design. The population and sample size of the study was 178 comprising 64 professional librarians and 114 para-professional librarians using the census sampling technique. A researcher-developed questionnaire–Quality Assurance Variables and Information Service Delivery Questionnaire (QAVISDQ) validated by three independent assessors and with reliability coefficient of .82 determined using Cronbach Alpha reliability package in SPSS 20 - were used for data collection. Data collected were analysed using Mean and Standard Deviation to answer the research question and dependent t-test to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The findings from data analysis showed that the investigated quality assurance variables had significant influence on information service delivery in federal university libraries in south-south, Nigeria. It was concluded based on the findings of the study that information service delivery in university libraries is determined and influenced by the quality of the collections, human resources, library environment and the adequacy of funding. Consequently, it is recommended among others that government should ensure proper allocation of funds for academic libraries as all the quality assurance variables cannot be put in place without the availability of funds and that university libraries and librarians should take up the initiative to proactively improve the quality of their resources and services by sourcing for funds through partnership and collaboration with corporate bodies, philanthropic individuals and so on.Keywords: Quality Assurance Variables, Library Collections, Human Resources, Information Service Delivery
Highlights
The university library can aptly be described as the heart of the university, supporting the intellectual development of the university community through the provision of information resources and facilities and services to students, lecturers, scholars and professionals
The cluster Mean of 2.79 for the items indicate that majority of the respondents agreed on almost all the items on library environment as a quality assurance variable implying that library environment influence information service delivery
This finding is in line with Isiaka and Olaide (2014) who reported that the library environment influences information service delivery in university libraries in Nigeria
Summary
The university library can aptly be described as the heart of the university, supporting the intellectual development of the university community through the provision of information resources and facilities and services to students, lecturers, scholars and professionals. Quality assurance variables and information services delivery in federal university libraries in south-south, Nigeria are provided for effective learning and research activities and to the faculty, resources to support teaching and research. Nwamarah (2002) observes that effective information service delivery in Nigerian universities depend, to a large extent, on how university managers have used the available human and material resources to make the library functional in effectively providing information sources and services that support the programmes of their institutions. According to Isa, Sali and Abubakar (2012) in their study of the application of quality assurance mechanisms for effective library services in academic libraries in Nigeria discovered that academic libraries were effective in their service delivery because of the relevance of their information resources to supporting the teaching and learning of their parent institutions.
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