IMPLICATIONS TO RULES-BREAKING IN SOME SELECTED NIGERIAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (NLA) ONLINE GROUPS AND A WAY FORWARD FOR NATIONAL UNITY

The purpose of this paper is aimed at taming the unacceptable behavioural pattern of some individuals in some professional groups as it has to do with rule breaking. Rules-breaking is a menace that could jeopardize a group if care is not taking. It does not just stop at that, rather it goes further to threaten the national unity as the nation is being represented by a small segment of group of professionals. This paper through observation and existing literature stated a brief overview of the meaning of rules and national unity and benefits of being in a group. The paper highlights some of the causes of rules-breaking, the importance of rules in a group and it also proffered a way forward. In conclusion, it was stated that professionals need one another and the need for co-existence is paramount to foster national unity in all

Mentoring: A Tool for Career Development in Academic Libraries

Every organisation have new intake of junior staff and senior staff to achieve a common organizational goals. The new intakes need to be shown what it takes to have a successful career. The senior (mentors), need to assist, direct and counsel the junior (mentees) working under them to grow and advance in the job. Mentoring is a tool in career development and advancement of library staff it gives individuals the opportunity to be mentored in order to develop their career and makes them feel like they are valued by the organization. This makes the mentees to be more involved in the job for effective and efficient performance .This study examines the roles of mentors and mentees, on how mentors promote and improve mentees job performance for career development and advancement. The study also focus on the approaches to mentorship. In conclusion mentors need the right environment to carry on their role of mentoring to the mentees on both research writing and their job duties to achieve the desired goals of the library.Mentoring increases confidence and motivation of librarians and help in the career development advancement within the library. It was recommended among others that mentoring tools should be well defined fit in handling mentees for attainment of optimal educational and objectives aimed at learner,s behavioural change .Mentoring programme that are very specific to the needs especially to the career development needs should be put in place

Bibliotherapy in the Wilderness

This study investigated how LIS professionals and health practitioners have adopted bibliotherapy and relevant information services to enhance mental health issues in Nigeria since 1962 to date. The study adopted a narrative research design of qualitative methodology. Semi-structured interviews using audio recordings and personal observations/interactions by the researchers were the instruments for data collection. The researchers collected data from three purposively selected academics whose areas of expertise cut across library and information science and psychiatry. The data collected were presented in a narrative form, with insertion of verbatim transcriptions where nuanced expressions were identified. The findings from the study revealed that bibliotherapy is used by clinical psychologists in neuropsychiatric hospitals in Nigeria; however, LIS professionals do not have the knowledge and adequate skills to practise bibliotherapy. The study recommends that the time is ripe for NLA to pragmatically implement recommendations that the LIS curricula in Nigerian library schools be diversified and expanded to incorporate valuable realms like bibliotherapy

Reading Culture, Benefits, and the Role of libraries in the 21st century

This paper addresses reading culture, benefits and the role of libraries in the 21st century. The paper x-rays the World Book Day as a day for celebration of reading around the world. Reading exposes one to solutions to problems. The role of library cannot be over emphasized when it comes to promotion of reading culture as it offers diverse services to users of information. Some of the role of libraries in promoting reading culture include to promote literacy, offering depth and breadth of resources, secondary school students’ participation in library week among others. It was concluded that people read for different reasons aside education, this among others include self-improvement, pleasure, and relaxation. People should Read a Book a Day and Share A Story for at least 10 minutes. However, reading culture should be included in library collections, readership campaigns, reading clubs and World Book Day Activities

Survey of Library and Information Science Education in Nigeria: The Case of Two LIS Schools

This study investigated the state of Library and Information Science Education in Nigeria. The essence of the study was to explore the current LIS educational activities and environments and determine how it fully prepares librarians for the changes that are taking in academic institutions. The descriptive survey research design was used; four research questions were raised. The study population comprised of 264 LIS students at the University of Port-Harcourt and Rivers State University, Nigeria, in which total enumeration sampling technique was used. 245questionnaire were returned and considered suitable for data analysis; this gave 93% response rate. SPSS output format based on simple frequency count and percentage distribution, mean and standard deviation were used for data analysis. The findings revealed that: LIS students’ awareness on emerging topics in the discipline was low; there were no practical sessions on Information Literacy, Digitization, as well as Indexing and Abstracting. Though there were modern facilities, yet, there were no RDA Toolkit and Teleconferencing facilities, just as students do not have the opportunity of evaluating their lecturers. In addition, cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills are not collectively considered in the overall evaluation of LIS students. Based on the findings of this study, four recommendations were made

Mentoring: A Tool for Career Development in Academic Libraries

Every organisation have new intake of junior staff and senior staff to achieve a common organizational goals. The new intakes need to be shown what it takes to have a successful career. The senior (mentors), need to assist, direct and counsel the junior (mentees) working under them to grow and advance in the job. Mentoring is a tool in career development and advancement of library staff it gives individuals the opportunity to be mentored in order to develop their career and makes them feel like they are valued by the organization. This makes the mentees to be more involved in the job for effective and efficient performance .This study examines the roles of mentors and mentees, on how mentors promote and improve mentees job performance for career development and advancement. The study also focus on the approaches to mentorship. In conclusion mentors need the right environment to carry on their role of mentoring to the mentees on both research writing and their job duties to achieve the desired goals of the library.Mentoring increases confidence and motivation of librarians and help in the career development advancement within the library. It was recommended among others that mentoring tools should be well defined fit in handling mentees for attainment of optimal educational and objectives aimed at learner,s behavioural change .Mentoring programme that are very specific to the needs especially to the career development needs should be put in place

Reading Culture, Benefits, and the Role of libraries in the 21st century

This paper addresses reading culture, benefits and the role of libraries in the 21st century. The paper x-rays the World Book Day as a day for celebration of reading around the world. Reading exposes one to solutions to problems. The role of library cannot be over emphasized when it comes to promotion of reading culture as it offers diverse services to users of information. Some of the role of libraries in promoting reading culture include to promote literacy, offering depth and breadth of resources, secondary school students’ participation in library week among others. It was concluded that people read for different reasons aside education, this among others include self-improvement, pleasure, and relaxation. People should Read a Book a Day and Share A Story for at least 10 minutes. However, reading culture should be included in library collections, readership campaigns, reading clubs and World Book Day Activities

Tackling the Challenges of Plagiarism in the Age of Information Overload by LIS Professionals in Nigerian Academic Institutions

The advancement in information and communication technologies (ICTs) has increased the generation and dissemination of information. This has created a remarkable shift from the previous promulgation of information explosion to the concept of information overload in this age, which seems to be characterised by the ease of intellectual theft in various forms. The sophistication of ICTs and the overwhelming availability of information have subjected many research outputs to the affliction of ‘copy-and-paste’ syndrome and copyright abuse; and there appears to be a dearth of literature on efforts being made by LIS professionals to tackle the challenges in Nigerian academic institutions. This study, therefore, sought to draw attention to how the challenges of plagiarism are tackled by LIS professionals in the age of information overload in Nigerian academic institutions. The study adopted the phenomenological research design of qualitative methodology, using semi-structured written interview that was developed by the researchers and sent electronically to the respondents. The data were presented textually with the insertion of verbatim quotations where necessary while the research findings were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings from the 45 respondents across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria revealed a high level of plagiarism and a moderate level of engagement in curbing the menace by LIS professionals. The study recommends a multifaceted approach to curb plagiarism; comprising information literacy instructions in academic institutions, institutionalised adoption and access to plagiarism detection software and advocacy programmes that promote ethical writing and ICT skills for LIS professionals

Radzenie sobie z wyzwaniem plagiatu w dobie przeładowania informacjami przez specjalistów ds. bibliotekarstwa i technologii informatycznych w nigeryjskich instytucjach akademickich

Der Fortschritt in Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (ICT) hat weltweit zu einer Zunahme der Informationsgenerierung und -verbreitung geführt. Dies hat zu einer bemerkenswerten Verschiebung von der früheren Informationsexplosion hin zum Konzept der Informationsüberlastung in diesem Zeitalter geführt, das sich durch die zunehmend einfache geistige Eigentumsverletzung in verschiedenen Formen auszeichnet. Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass die Raffinesse der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien sowie die überwältigende Verfügbarkeit von Informationen dazu geführt haben, dass viele wissenschaftliche Forschungsergebnisse unter dem ‚Kopieren und Einfügen‘-Syndrom und Urheberrechtsverletzungen leiden. Es scheint auch an Literatur darüber zu fehlen, welche Bemühungen von Fachleuten im Bereich Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft unternommen werden, um den Herausforderungen in nigerianischen akademischen Einrichtungen gerecht zu werden. Daher versucht diese Studie, die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Art und Weise zu lenken, wie Fachleute im Bereich Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft mit den Herausforderungen des Plagiats in einer Ära der Informationsüberlastung in nigerianischen akademischen Institutionen umgehen. In der Studie wurde eine phänomenologische Forschungsmethodik unter Verwendung einer qualitativen Methodologie (phenomenological research design of qualitative methodology) angewandt. Dabei wurde ein teilweise strukturierter schriftlicher Fragebogen entwickelt, der den Forschern von den Befragten elektronisch zugeschickt wurde. Die Daten wurden in Textform präsentiert, mit wörtlichen Zitaten, wo notwendig, und die Forschungsergebnisse wurden mithilfe einer thematischen Analyse ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigten ein hohes Maß an Plagiat und ein mäßiges Engagement der Fachleute im Bereich Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft bei der Bekämpfung dieser Bedrohung. In der Studie wird empfohlen, Informationskompetenz und akademisches Schreiben als grundlegende Kurse in den Studiengängen der Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft sowie in anderen Disziplinen zu integrieren, um Wissenschaftler mit den erforderlichen Fähigkeiten auszustatten, um qualitativ hochwertige und plagiatfreie wissenschaftliche Arbeiten zu erstellen, insbesondere in Zeiten des Informationsüberflusses.The advancement in information and communication technologies (ICTs) has increased the generation and dissemination of information. This has created a remarkable shift from the previous promulgation of information explosion to the concept of information overload in this age, which seems to be characterised by the ease of intellectual theft in various forms. The sophistication of ICTs and the overwhelming availability of information have subjected many research outputs to the affliction of ‘copy-and-paste’ syndrome and copyright abuse; and there appears to be a dearth of literature on efforts being made by LIS professionals to tackle the challenges in Nigerian academic institutions. This study, therefore, sought to draw attention to how the challenges of plagiarism are tackled by LIS professionals in the age of information overload in Nigerian academic institutions. The study adopted the phenomenological research design of qualitative methodology, using semi-structured written interview that was developed by the researchers and sent electronically to the respondents. The data were presented textually with the insertion of verbatim quotations where necessary while the research findings were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings from the 45 respondents across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria revealed a high level of plagiarism and a moderate level of engagement in curbing the menace by LIS professionals. The study recommends a multifaceted approach to curb plagiarism; comprising information literacy instructions in academic institutions, institutionalised adoption and access to plagiarism detection software and advocacy programmes that promote ethical writing and ICT skills for LIS professionals.Postęp w technologiach informacyjno-komunikacyjnych (ICT) zwiększył generowanie i rozpowszechnianie informacji. Spowodowało to niezwykłe przejście od poprzedniego rozpowszechniania eksplozji informacyjnej do koncepcji przeciążenia informacyjnego w tym wieku, która wydaje się charakteryzować łatwością kradzieży intelektualnej w różnych formach. Wyrafinowanie technologii informacyjno-komunikacyjnych i przytłaczająca dostępność informacji sprawiły, że wiele wyników badań zostało dotkniętych syndromem kopiowania i wklejania oraz nadużywania praw autorskich; i wydaje się, że brakuje literatury na temat wysiłków podejmowanych przez specjalistów ds. bibliotekarstwa i technologii informacyjnych mających na celu sprostanie wyzwaniom w nigeryjskich instytucjach akademickich. Badanie to miało zatem na celu zwrócenie uwagi na to, w jaki sposób wyzwania związane z plagiatem są rozwiązywane przez specjalistów ds. bibliotekarstwa i technologii informacyjnych w dobie przeciążenia informacjami w nigeryjskich instytucjach akademickich. W badaniu przyjęto fenomenologiczny projekt badawczy metodologii jakościowej, wykorzystując częściowo ustrukturyzowany wywiad pisemny, który został opracowany przez naukowców i wysłany elektronicznie do respondentów. Dane zostały przedstawione tekstowo z wstawieniem dosłownych cytatów tam, gdzie to konieczne, podczas gdy wyniki badań zostały przeanalizowane za pomocą analizy tematycznej. Ustalenia 45 respondentów w sześciu strefach geopolitycznych w Nigerii ujawniły wysoki poziom plagiatu i umiarkowany poziom zaangażowania w ograniczanie zagrożenia ze strony specjalistów ds. bibliotekarstwa i technologii informacyjnych. Badanie zaleca wieloaspektowe podejście do ograniczenia plagiatu; obejmujące instrukcje dotyczące umiejętności korzystania z informacji w instytucjach akademickich, zinstytucjonalizowane przyjęcie i dostęp do oprogramowania do wykrywania plagiatów oraz programy rzecznictwa, które promują etyczne pisanie i umiejętności ICT dla specjalistów ds. bibliotekarstwa i technologii informacyjnych

Repositioning academic libraries for the achievement of National Integration (Ni) for Development (Dv) in 21st century in Rivers State, Nigeria

This study investigated repositioning academic libraries in Rivers State. Some of  the positions raised to further strengthen National integration are inter-faculty quiz, creating television rooms, creation of makerspaces, organizing seminars etc. The major hindrance for smoother sailing to achieving national integration by academic libraries is „this is how we used to do it syndrome‟. Moving away from this syndrome – stay quiet and read, no brainstorming activities, read books all day, etc. will  reposition our academic libraries for the achievement of National Integration (NI) and Development (DV)in 21st century. It was undertaken as a correlational  research with population of 3,035 students from Uniport, RSU and IAUE. The  sample size was 150 students drawn from the population using simple random  sampling techniques to give every members of the population equal opportunity to be selected. The instrument tagged Repositioning Academic library and National  Integration Questionnaire (RALNIQ) and Users‟ Development Questionnaire (UDQ) and oral interview were used to elicit information from the respondents. Instrument was validated by three experts in the Department of Library and Information Science and Measurement and Evaluation. Reliability was done by test retest method using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient ® which yielded an index of 0.78. Both the research questions and hypotheses were answered and tested respectively by Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient ®. The findings revealed among others that there is a significant relationship between ALU, NI and development in 21st century. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the principles of  national integration which helps to house all races and nations, be applied for Users‟ Development in 21st Century.Keywords: Repositioning, academic, libraries, National, integration, development, 21st century