EVALUATION OF THE USE OF KWARA STATE PUBLIC LIBRARY BY SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ILORIN METROPOLIS

The study investigated the relevance of public library to the peculiar needs of secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study and 300 students participated in the survey. The instruments for data collection include structure questionnaire, interview as well as personal observation. Each instrument complements one another and the data gathered were analyzed through the calculation of frequencies and percentages. Reports of findings has it that Kwara State Library Board stand a good chance to adequately cater for the diverse educational and other related information needs of secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis, but yet such expectation have not been met to a large extent. The state library has not leave up to its responsibility of providing services that support school curriculum and education. It is on this basis that recommendation was made that appropriate ministry responsible for funding of public library should wake up to reality of what is expected of a modern public library

The materials-centered approach to public library collection development: A defense

How selection of materials, understood as subject knowledge, should occur for non-fiction collections in public libraries has been polarized along an axis of user demand and intellectual rigor for many decades. Attempts to synthesize these various approaches have, largely, failed to do justice to either tendency. This paper is formulated as an encomium to the materials-centered approach and looks to uncover what is lost when librarians choose to focus in extremis, on the role of the user in the building of subject knowledge for a comprehensive civil society-oriented collection

Does Size Matter? In-library study of two Canadian public library branches

This paper summarizes a library use study of the central and community branches of a Canadian public library. An exit survey documented the in-branch activities of users as part of a library strategic planning process. Survey results were used in combination with branch statistics, postal code circulation statistics, neighbourhood demographics, and other data sources to document the in-library use of the two facilities. Questionnaires were administered to library users 15 years of age or older at the exits of the central and community branches. The survey collected data on their activities and services used during their current visit. Additional sources such as branch-level statistics, furniture tally sheets, photographs, Canada Census data, and circulation analysis by patron postal code and lending branch were used during the analysis stage. Both branches are heavily used but in different ways. Branch circulation and gate count per square foot of floor space were high relative to other Canadian libraries. Patron visits to the community branch were short in duration, in line with previous public library studies. User visit duration and in-library activities within the main branch somewhat resembled those of the central branch of a larger library system but likely for different reasons. The study was exploratory. Data were collected during two coinciding days of library operation, a Thursday and a Saturday, and may not be representative of the underlying population. The study was limited in scope as it was a community service project for undergraduate university students. Branch library use surveys, in combination with library statistics and demographics, can provide useful insights concerning in-library patron behaviour when the use of ethnographic techniques is not feasible. The study explored differences and similarities in user behaviour in two types of library facilities, a central and a community branch. Few published studies make such a direct comparison. The study explored the perceived benefits received by patrons from public library use and incorporated branch statistics, circulation analysis, and Census data.Peer reviewedAuthor Accepted Manuscript, final article has been publishedThis Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) has been deposited under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial International Licence 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0). Any reuse is allowed in accordance with the terms outlined by the licence. To reuse the AAM for commercial purposes, permission should be sought by contacting [email protected]. Citation to the published version: Shepherd, J., Petrillo, L. and Wilson, A. (2019), "Does size matter? In-library study of two Canadian public library branches", Library Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-08-2019-0058data analysispublic librarylibrary use studieslibrary userscirculation analysisin-library us

Spatial cultures of public libraries: Architecture, collective use and political agendas in Medellín’s Library-Parks

Political and cultural agendas determine the programmes of public libraries, implying complex and often conflicting requirements in terms of their functioning. On one hand, they need to provide open and equal access to knowledge. On the other, they have functional needs that might restrict or condition the distribution and access of books, equipment and people. At the same time, social and technological changes cause this building type to change so as to include the idea of socialisation as a form of learning. This thesis investigates how space, programme and use interrelate in public libraries in order to express an intended public message and fulfil a specific social and cultural effect. Medellín’s Library-Parks are the main case studies analysed, as they function as key elements of a project that addresses social inequalities. Through spatial analysis using space syntax methods, the thesis provides a thorough description of these libraries’ spatial configuration and their spatial organisation of programme. In addition, it shows how the libraries are used through a detailed mapping of users’ co-presence, which exposes patterns that are further associated with the spatial and programmatic arrangements. Based on these three analyses, the thesis formulates types of spatial cultures in public libraries and exposes the role of space in influencing the emergence and/or constraint of particular patterns of social awareness that the traditional notion of the programme cannot capture. It is found that depending on how public libraries control public use (spatially and programmatically), they can support the emergence of informal activities or work as educational institutions only. In addition, depending on how public libraries’ educational role is manifested in space as spatial practices, they can serve as places that facilitate the exercise of institutional-bureaucratic power to normalise visitors’ behaviours, or places that stimulate public participation and negotiation. The findings emphasise how public libraries work as accessible civic environments, promoting visitors’ political and social awareness and potentially strengthening the collective engagement of the surrounding communities