Impact of Serials Management, Access and Use on Publication Output of Lecturers in Nigerian Universities

This study investigates serials management in university libraries, determines the extent to which serials are accessed and used and appraises the influence of availability, accessibility and use of serials on publications output of lecturers in federal universities in Nigeria.  Questionnaire administration method was adopted to accumulate data for the study.  Combinations of both open-ended and closed-form types of questions were used.  The study reveals that the universities studied have different types of serials in stock. Print and electronic serials were the major forms of serials used by lecturers in Nigerian universities with print serials being the more utilised.  University libraries and Internet were the major sources of serials used by the lecturers.  The result also reports that lecturers in Nigerian universities had publications in six categories of publications. The influence of serials management on access and use as revealed by the results, management on access (r = 0.112; P<0.01) was significant while management on use (r = -0.031; P>0.01) was not significant. All the independent variables (management, access and use) when combined had significant influence on the dependent variable (publications output) (F (3; 860) = 12.48, R = 204, R2 = 0.04; P<0.01). The study therefore recommends that government should provide adequate fund for provision of relevant, current and adequate serials for research activities to improve publications output of lecturers in Nigerian universities and that universities should maintain the policy associated with ‘publish or perish’ to boost research, information generation, utilisation and dissemination. Keywords: Serials management, Access and use of serials, Publication output, Federal university lecturers, Nigeria

Serial Records: A Mechanism for Control

Consideration of serials has, to some extent, been pushed aside, allegedly temporarily, as we have struggled for solutions to many other complex library problems. The sheer volume of serial holdings in large research libraries and the enormous resources required to gain control over them have caused administrators to face what sometimes must seem like an intolerable dilemma. They see the need for relieving a deteriorating situation, but they are understandably reluctant to pour funds into what many of them view as a bottomless pit. At the same time the astronomic rise in the quantity of serial literature in recent years cannot be ignored. Today the reputation of a research library depends on its total holdings, and serials represent a very sizable portion of a research collection. Some major libraries estimate that as much as three-fourths of their holdings are serials, and it has been indicated that in science and technology alone more than 50,000 serials are published currently. 1 It has always seemed something of a paradox to me that concentrated attention to problems of serials controls has been so long delayed at a time in our history when the scientists who are so dependent on them are more and more active. Librarians have been quick to institute acquisitions arrangements that would insure collection of the scientific and technical publications for which the scientists have clamored. Yet one of the greatest disenchantments of the scientific researcher for a very long time has been the lack of adequate control over serial publications. He has not been timid either about expressing his unhappiness as he has repeatedly asked why librarians have not been more concerned about providing easier access to journals and their contents. Serials, therefore, are very much with us and the problems of their control are not going to vanish.published or submitted for publicatio

Awareness and Attitude of Undergraduates toward Serial Publications in Kwara State University Library

This study examined the awareness and attitude of undergraduates toward Serial Publications in Kwara State University Library. Descriptive survey research method was adopted and questionnaire was administered to 360 undergraduates of Kwara State University to obtain the required data. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the level of awareness of serials publications, the rate of serial accessibility, attitude of student towards serial publications, constraints faced in the use of serials and types of serials used by student and its influence on their academic performance. The result revealed that journals and newspapers are the mostly patronized types of serials by undergraduate students. More than half of the undergraduates have access to serial like journals, newspapers and government publications. Also fair size of the respondents attested that serial publications have positive impact on their academic performance to some extent. The study also revealed that the respondents have negative attitude toward serial publication in the library. The major constraint associated with the use of serial publications was inadequate infrastructure for accessing serials electronically and many of the serials are not well displayed in the library. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the university library should ensure that more current serial publication should be provided for undergraduate students’ use

EVALUATION OF STUDENTS’ ACCESS TO SERIAL PUBLICATIONS IN THREE SELECTED UNIVERSITIES IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

This study evaluates the extent to which serials publications are accessible and used for learning purposes by the students in Nigerian Universities. The descriptive survey research design was adopted with the study population made up of students from one federal government owned university, one selected state owned university and one selected private owned university in Ogun state. A self-constructed questionnaire was used for data collection in this study, was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Findings revealed that Nigeria university students have access to different serial collections in academic libraries. Serial publications are available and students have equal access to serials publications in the library. Restriction of some serials materials to undergraduate constitutes impediments to the use of serials by students in the university libraries. Students who visit the library frequently to read Bulletins are better informed about the university issues. It was also revealed that students often visit the serial section in the Universities libraries for academic purposes. The Serial Librarian attitude affects student’s use of serial section. There is a need to create conducive environment for students and guide the student in the proper use of serial publications. Serial Librarians should be well guided to give the best to the students in the use of serial publications and there is need for various universities to subscribe to different online or electronic serials

Serials Management In Polytechnic Libraries in Nigeria: A Comparative Study of Kaduna Polytechnic And Yaba College of Technology Libraries

Despite the strategic position of serials publications amongst the materials acquired in the library most especially academic libraries and in spite of their unique values as dependable allies of academics and other researchers and the increasing cost of their acquisition, the management of serials has not enjoyed a corresponding attention from library managers as well as writers in the field of librarianship. Investigation was therefore conducted to appraise serials management practices in two polytechnic libraries. Attention was directed at such specific routines as selection and acquisition of serials, recording of titles, methods of serials dissemination, filling of gaps in back runs, binding of serials and other issues that are considered most crucial in serials management. Solutions were proffered to identified problems. Samaru Journal of Information Studies Vol. 7 (2) 2007: pp. 28-3

Bibliographic Control of Serial Publications

An important problem with serials is bibliographic control. What good does it do for libraries to select, acquire, record, catalog, and bind large holdings of serial publications if the contents of those serials remain a mystery to all except the few who have the opportunity to examine selected journals of continuing personal interest and have discovered some magic way of retaining the gist of the contents? Bibliographic control is the indexing and abstracting of the contents or guts of what is included in the serials. It is this control, provided by secondary publishing services, which this article will discuss. Just as there are problems with serials in general, there are some easily identifiable problems connected with their bibliographic control including: volume, overlap, costs, elements and methods, and a few other miscellaneous considerations. Some history of bibliographic control will also put the current problems in a helpful perspective. Hereafter "bibliographic control" will be designated by the term "abstracting and indexing," one of these alone, or the shorter "a & i." (I do distinguish between abstracting and indexing and believe that they are not in order of importance and difficulty.) Although a & i do provide bibliographic control, this paper will not discuss cataloging, tables of contents, back-of-the-book indexes, year-end indexes, cumulative indexes, lists of advertisers, or bibliographies. If there is to be control, there must always be indexing. Abstracting is a short cut, a convenience, and perhaps a bibliographic luxury which may be now, or is fast becoming, too rich, in light of other factors to be discussed, for library blood and for the users of libraries especially for the users of indexes who may not depend upon the library interface. Abstracting, though, provides a desirable control, and one which will continue to be advocated.published or submitted for publicatio

Cataloging Loose-Leaf Publications

Current practices in the cataloging of loose-leaf publications have created numerous problems for both librarians and users. Many of these problems result from the effort to fit loose-leap publications into a monographic cataloging format. It is argued that library needs demand, and AACR2 perhaps permits, the treatment of several types of loose-leaf publications as serials

Cataloging Loose-Leaf Publications

Current practices in the cataloging of loose-leaf publications have created numerous problems for both librarians and users. Many of these problems result from the effort to fit loose-leap publications into a monographic cataloging format. It is argued that library needs demand, and AACR2 perhaps permits, the treatment of several types of loose-leaf publications as serials

Hidden Under a Bushel? Evangelical Journals in an Era of Web-Based Communications

Evangelicals face significant obstacles as they seek to make their publications accessible to potential readers. This study measures the extent to which evangelical scholarly journals have made their contents available in electronic form. Thirty-five journals – all active, refereed, evangelical in perspective, and published in English – were chosen for analysis. Two serials management tools and individual journal Web sites provided data regarding electronic accessibility. Twenty-six of the journals are available in some electronic form – most commonly in one or more aggregated databases. Evangelical information professionals could play a significant role in helping to make additional evangelical journal content available electronically