An Evaluation of Library and Information Science Education in Some Selected Nigerian Universities

This paper intended to investigate the perspective of final year students of Nigerian Library and Information Science (LIS) schools in ascertaining the current status of LIS education and training in Nigeria. This has been necessitated by the fact that prospective fresh graduates of LIS schools are expected to be fully formed and equipped in providing timely and relevant information services to their immediate environment and the society at large especially in this era where the continued advances of ICTs upon the profession even places greater expectations on the prospective LIS professionals to be agents of transformation and development in Nigeria. The studies revealed that the current sets of students are predominantly between the age bracket of 20-24, with a large enrollment of female students. Cyber Security and Digital Archiving were ranked the least courses included in the departmental curricula. Most of the respondents agreed that Library and Information Science Education is very educative. There is low satisfaction among the respondents in the quality of faculty available in the Library Schools. Facsimiles and Scanners are least accessed and utilized ICTs in the Library Schools. There is a general low rate of ICTs access and utilization in the Library School by the students especially on a daily basis. Power Outage, inadequate computers and limited access and utilization of ICT in the computer Laboratories and departmental Libraries are the major challenges confronting the students in the Library Schools. Recommendations were made for all stakeholders of Library and Information Science Education in Nigeria

Marketing of Library and Information Services in the Digital Age: Challenges, Strategies and Implications

This paper discussed effective marketing of library and information services in the digital age. It focused on librarians marketing themselves and library services which require the application of ICT through web 2.0 tools; these include WhatsApp, email, face book, You-tube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telephone, etc to reach out to their clientele in order to satisfy their information needs. The study adopted a conceptual review based on previous research. It x-rays the need to market LIS to increase usage, whether onsite or remote for sustainable development. There were some challenges such as ignorance among librarians, lack of ICT infrastructure, lack of awareness of the public in their right to information, lack of fund and lack of training and retraining of library staff. However, some strategies, implications and recommendations were proffered. It was concluded that effective marketing be used to promote access to library and information services as a panacea towards sustainable Nigerian libraries in the digital age. Keywords: Marketingt, Library, Information Information services, Digital Age

An Evaluation of Library and Information Science Education in Some Selected Nigerian Universities

This paper intended to investigate the perspective of final year students of Nigerian Library and Information Science (LIS) schools in ascertaining the current status of LIS education and training in Nigeria. This has been necessitated by the fact that prospective fresh graduates of LIS schools are expected to be fully formed and equipped in providing timely and relevant information services to their immediate environment and the society at large especially in this era where the continued advances of ICTs upon the profession even places greater expectations on the prospective LIS professionals to be agents of transformation and development in Nigeria. The studies revealed that the current sets of students are predominantly between the age bracket of 20-24, with a large enrollment of female students. Cyber Security and Digital Archiving were ranked the least courses included in the departmental curricula. Most of the respondents agreed that Library and Information Science Education is very educative. There is low satisfaction among the respondents in the quality of faculty available in the Library Schools. Facsimiles and Scanners are least accessed and utilized ICTs in the Library Schools. There is a general low rate of ICTs access and utilization in the Library School by the students especially on a daily basis. Power Outage, inadequate computers and limited access and utilization of ICT in the computer Laboratories and departmental Libraries are the major challenges confronting the students in the Library Schools. Recommendations were made for all stakeholders of Library and Information Science Education in Nigeria