Information needs and access of Members of Vigilante in Adamawa State, North -East Nigeria

ABSTRACT The study investigated the Information needs and access of Members of Vigilante in Adamawa state, North-eastern Nigeria, one of the three states bedeviled by the Boko Haram insurgency. Quantitative research methodology and Cross-sectional survey design was applied for the study. The population of the study comprised of One Thousand Four Hundred Members (1400) drawn from Nineteen (19) local governments areas in the state. Krejcie and Morgan Table (1970) was used to draw (302) members as sample of the population, while Walpole’s (1982) formula for proportions was used in arriving at a sample for each stratum (i.e. each local government area). In collecting data, a total of Three Hundred and Two (302) copies of questionnaires were administered, and Two Hundred and Forty 240 copies (79.47%) were returned and found useful. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The outcome of the study revealed that the information needs of members were daily mainly work related and from informal sources, as there were no public libraries/information centers in 17 local governments’ areas of the state. The outcome of the research also revealed barriers to information access to include general lack of formal information infrastructure such as libraries/information centers, poor and unreliable informal information sources, as well as lack of training on information literacy skills for members of Vigilante. It is recommended that there is a need for those involved in vigilante information delivery to continuously examine and identify evolving information needs of members of vigilante in order to meet such needs. Government should resuscitate the dying public libraries in all the local government areas of Adamawa state to provide information services. Libraries should organize training on information literacy and other information use skills for members of vigilante, because if this is done, it will enhance and improve information access across communities in Adamawa state. Finally, information resources be repackaged in order to take care of challenges of proximity to sources of information, language barrier and other challenges faced by members of vigilante

Entrepreneurship Education in Library and Information Science: Fostering Economic Growth and Development in Nigeria

The paper discusses issues surrounding entrepreneurship education and practice in Library and Information Science (LIS) as an economic development strategy for Nigeria. At the present time, the country needs innovative LIS graduates that can utilize information and knowledge to produce goods and services or high quality creativity and output to compete satisfactorily at both national and global market places. The paper analyses the concept of information economy and innovation. It presents LIS programs offered by Nigerian tertiary institutions in order to support LIS entrepreneurs to acquire business oriented skills in the 21st century. The paper posited that, the development of information economy has greatly influence entrepreneurship education and practice in LIS. Nigeria as a developing country will benefit by using the skills of LIS professionals in job creation, poverty reduction and realization of entrepreneurial society. The paper also examines LIS education in Nigeria, strategic economic value of LIS education and practice, establishment of innovative venture for income generation by LIS graduates as well as challenges of financing and marketing of information products and services. It concludes that, as the needs for entrepreneurship education continue to grow in Nigeria, the LIS schools have to adopt new patterns of education and training through practice-based teaching and learning, encouraging creativity, utilization of new technologies and exploring new career path in LIS entrepreneurship

Organization and Accessibility of Information Resources in Federal High Court Libraries in North-East Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria

Information organization and accessibility are part of the core functions of any special library. The need for organization is necessary to accomplished a planned library\u27s goals. Effective organization provides effective retrieval and use of the resources and also saves time for both the user and the information professional. This study highlights and describe the method of information organization and access in the Federal High Courts libraries in North-eastern geo-political zone of Nigeria. It also discusses the various ways the federal high court libraries Organize information resources, the means for information access and the challenges associated with the organization and accessibility of the information resources in the libraries. Qualitative research method, using narrative-based research design was adopted for the study while interview guide was the instrument used for data collection. Five heads of the libraries were purposely selected to serve as the study participants from five (5) Federal High Courts in the zone. The data collected was analyzed thematically using coding system. The data collected was analyzed thematically using coding system. The findings revealed that the resources in the libraries were organized serially in accordance with the broad subject of each item in open shelves without the provision of any class mark on the books, it also identified some of the challenges to be lack of comprehensive and uniform information organization policy and shortage of manpower. The conclusion emphasizes on the need for a comprehensive and uniform information organization policy, continuous evaluation of the methods of information access for effective and efficient library services. The ultimate goal of this study is to enable special librarians, and others interested in information services to understand the concepts, principles, and processes behind information organization and retrieval in special libraries

Entrepreneurship Education in Library and Information Science: Fostering Economic Growth and Development in Nigeria

The paper discusses issues surrounding entrepreneurship education and practice in Library and Information Science (LIS) as an economic development strategy for Nigeria. At the present time, the country needs innovative LIS graduates that can utilize information and knowledge to produce goods and services or high quality creativity and output to compete satisfactorily at both national and global market places. The paper analyses the concept of information economy and innovation. It presents LIS programs offered by Nigerian tertiary institutions in order to support LIS entrepreneurs to acquire business oriented skills in the 21st century. The paper posited that, the development of information economy has greatly influence entrepreneurship education and practice in LIS. Nigeria as a developing country will benefit by using the skills of LIS professionals in job creation, poverty reduction and realization of entrepreneurial society. The paper also examines LIS education in Nigeria, strategic economic value of LIS education and practice, establishment of innovative venture for income generation by LIS graduates as well as challenges of financing and marketing of information products and services. It concludes that, as the needs for entrepreneurship education continue to grow in Nigeria, the LIS schools have to adopt new patterns of education and training through practice-based teaching and learning, encouraging creativity, utilization of new technologies and exploring new career path in LIS entrepreneurship

Information needs and access of Members of Vigilante in Adamawa State, North -East Nigeria

ABSTRACT The study investigated the Information needs and access of Members of Vigilante in Adamawa state, North-eastern Nigeria, one of the three states bedeviled by the Boko Haram insurgency. Quantitative research methodology and Cross-sectional survey design was applied for the study. The population of the study comprised of One Thousand Four Hundred Members (1400) drawn from Nineteen (19) local governments areas in the state. Krejcie and Morgan Table (1970) was used to draw (302) members as sample of the population, while Walpole’s (1982) formula for proportions was used in arriving at a sample for each stratum (i.e. each local government area). In collecting data, a total of Three Hundred and Two (302) copies of questionnaires were administered, and Two Hundred and Forty 240 copies (79.47%) were returned and found useful. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The outcome of the study revealed that the information needs of members were daily mainly work related and from informal sources, as there were no public libraries/information centers in 17 local governments’ areas of the state. The outcome of the research also revealed barriers to information access to include general lack of formal information infrastructure such as libraries/information centers, poor and unreliable informal information sources, as well as lack of training on information literacy skills for members of Vigilante. It is recommended that there is a need for those involved in vigilante information delivery to continuously examine and identify evolving information needs of members of vigilante in order to meet such needs. Government should resuscitate the dying public libraries in all the local government areas of Adamawa state to provide information services. Libraries should organize training on information literacy and other information use skills for members of vigilante, because if this is done, it will enhance and improve information access across communities in Adamawa state. Finally, information resources be repackaged in order to take care of challenges of proximity to sources of information, language barrier and other challenges faced by members of vigilante