Bibliotherapy: An Option for Enhancing Students' Motivation for Academic Achievement in Iganmode Grammar School and Grait International College, Ota - Ogun State

The paper examines Bibliotherapy (Book Therapy) as an option for fostering students' motivation for academic achievement and success. Enhancing students' motivation for academic achievement is an important subject in educational psychology which requires serious attention. The research is a survey study and random sampling technique was'. adopted for selecting the population sample. The Respondents for this study are Senior Secondary School 3 students from Iganmode Grammar School (a Public School) and Grait International College (a Private School) both located in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The finding revealed that students who read diverse kinds of materials including textbooks; used library material; and acquired personal reading materials had their achievement motivation enhanced/increased than those who do not read books, use library resources or acquire personal books. Thus, the two Null Hypotheses tested were rejected. Recommendations include: ( 1) that the Government and all other institution responsible for managing Education of younger generations should come together and find a lasting solution to the education sector, conduct research, and prescribe practicable educational policies that will move the nation's education forward. (2) Government should increase the funding of education. (3) Librarians should collaborate witp school authorities, counselors and teachers in order to render more effective library services. (4) Librarians should work with school teachers and counsellors to know the reading needs and challenges of students; this will assist in acquiring relevant reading materials in addition to academic books.(5) Book club programmes packaged with giving of awards to best readers and most frequent users of library resources should be encouraged in schools. (6) School Management should make provision for a robust school library that is stocked with all kinds relevant materials including motivational books. Finally (7) Bibliotherapy should be taught as a course or incorporated into an already existing course offered in Nigeria Library Schools

The Role of Picture Books in Promoting Reading Culture among Nigerian Children: Implication for Libraries and Development of Leadership Qualities

The study examined the role of picture books in cultivation of reading culture among Nigerian children and the implications for developing leadership qualities. Reading has been recognized as one of the most valuable legacy that can be handed down to children. This study placed emphasis on early introduction of children to reading using picture books. It viewed picture books as powerful, and compelling tools which have inviting influence on children, thus, making them want to read more than they would ordinarily do. The study further posited that picture books can assist children develop socially, personally, intellectually, culturally and aesthetically. Factors militating against the use of picture books for the promotion of reading culture in Nigeria were identified as poor implementation of government policies, high cost of publishing, ignorance on the part of parents about the value of picture books, lack of enabling environment for publishers to publish quality picture books, lack of available libraries in Nigeria’s nursery and primary schools among others. Recommendations include: that the Government should lead the reading promotion and awareness campaign, that government should reduce or remove import duties on printed materials, professional librarians should advocate for libraries and lead a campaign against nursery and primary schools that do not have libraries. Lastly, picture books should be used to teach children acceptable values of our society, while at the same time teaching against unacceptable or unwanted values in the societ

Career mothers and health implications of work place stress : role of libraries in stress management

The study examines the health implications of workplace stress on career women with respect to their age and educational qualification. Sixty - nine (69) working women from a Women Fellowship of about 86 located at Agbowo, Ibadan were used for the study. Akinboye's Response to Change Test (RTCT) or Work Stress Inventory was used to collate the data and analyzed. Two hypotheses were tested and rejected. Further analysis shows that an average of 92% of graduate respondents between age (31-50) experienced high stress, implying that there is significant difference in respondents' response to stress experienced on the basis of age and educational qualification. Thus indicating that age and educational qualification can sometimes determine who experience stress or not. The analyses reveal that older career mothers with higher degrees experienced high levels of stress than younger ones. The library is recommended to play a crucial role in managing stress in the workplace, which is mainly to make information materials / resources available to staff and workers

Utilization of Reference Books by Students: A Case Study of Covenant University, Nigeria

This study assessed the utilization of reference books by final-year students of Covenant University, Nigeria with a view to providing valuable data to help students to get a better orientation on the use and importance of reference sources for their research work, to guide instructors and teachers on the use of library, information retrieval processes and information literacy, and to help University management, policy-makers and other stakeholders to make appropriate policies concerning the acquisitions of library materials. The survey method of research was adopted for the study. The simple random sampling technique was used in choosing the study population. The respondents for the questionnaire, interview and focus group discussion were chosen from the 400- and 500-level undergraduate students at the Covenant University. 300 copies of the questionnaires were administered to respondents. A focus group discussion was conducted with 30 participants. And 18 students were interviewed. It was revealed that students prefer online resources, which accounts for the poor usage of the hardcopy reference materials. It is, therefore, recommended that the library should intensify its information literacy skills program in order to help users maximize online reference resources. At the same time, the library should acquire more online reference sources rather than buying hard copies for a few user

Intervention Strategies for Combating Aliteracy in Nigerian Schools: Implications for Public Libraries and Government

The study examined the strategies for handling or curbing aliteracy in Nigerian Schools. Aliteracy is having the ability and capacity to read, but lack the interest and motivation to read on a regular basis. Aliterates read for functional reasons and not for pleasure or as a hobby. Lack of reading/literacy was identified as one of the principal causes of underdevelopment in many nations across the globe. The study identified and discussed some of the factors militating against reading habits of students as the lack of reading and reasoning competency, lack of intrinsic motivation, indecision, introduction to ICT among others. Low leadership output, lack of understanding and interpretation of things and situations; the vocabulary and terminology acquisition is low, individual intellectual limitation, poorly developed analytical skills, and lack of knowledge were listed among other consequences of aliteracy. Some of the strategies for managing aliteracy include encouraging reading using ICT device, introduction of readers’ club in schools, involvement of students in book recommendation and selection process, encouraging students to do book reviews, organize excursion for students to visit national public/academic libraries. The recommendations identified in this study include allocating time for reading in school Time-Table, parents should encourage reading by buying books as gifts rather than toys, student reading interest should be taken into consideration when selecting books for school libraries, reading competition among others

STUDY SKILLS AND UTILIZATION OF LIBRARY RESOURCES BY STUDENTS OF GOSPEL FAITH MISSION INTERNATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL, IBADAN, NIGERIA

The study investigated how teaching of study skills and use of library resources can provoke effective utilization of available information resources in secondary schools. The survey research methodology was adopted for the study while the questionnaire and the experiment were used as data collecting instrument. Using the simple random sampling technique, the senior secondary students were grouped to two. Eighty (80) students were selected for the study. Each group comprised of 40 students i.e. the experimental group and the control group. The questionnaire instrument administration was twice, first as pre-test and later as post-test after subjects had undergone teachings on study skills and use of library resources. The study found out that over 38% of the respondents made use of some study techniques. Furthermore, 75% of students had had study skills training in school. The subjects also affirmed that study skill classes equipped them to effectively use library resources. However, environmental barriers, physical tiredness etc was found to have constituted hindrance to students not using the library resources effectively. Similarly, 85% of students affirmed study skills teaching enhanced their academic motivation. The study tested three hypotheses which were rejected and the alternate hypotheses accepted, implying there was a significant difference in all three cases. The study therefore concludes that teaching study skills and library use skills education is helpful and enables library users to effectively use the library resources and therefore recommended that teaching study skills be intensified in all schools at the elementary level

Emergence of Hi-Tech Examination Malpractices in Nigeria: Issues and Implications

Examination malpractice is considered as a huge challenge to educational assessment and evaluation. This paper examines the dimensions and trends of examination malpractice, as well as the emergence of hi-tech examination malpractice (otherwise called e-cheating or digital cheating) in various levels of the Nigerian educational system. Causes, implications and strategies towards curbing the emerging phenomenon were discussed. The proliferation of mobile phones and other private digital assistants (PDAs) was identified as the driving factor for e-cheating. The paper also identified inadequate funding, corruption, issues bordering on morality and legality as challenges to curbing hi-tech examination malpractice in Nigeria. The involvement of all stakeholders in curbing this societal evil was recommended as the way forward

Research Output and Sustainable Development: Webometric Analysis of Scopus Indexed Publications 2008 -2014

The study evaluated research output indexed by Scopus between 2008 and 2014 in the month of April 2015. It assessed the quantity of research publication within the period, top ten published universities, fields, journals and their impact factors, cited authors, and top ten published countries. This was with a view to determining author relevance, institutional priority, the extent of sustainable development in the fields and host countries. Findings revealed that Li, Wei, of Harbin Institute of Technology China, Wang, Wei of Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) China, Zhang, Wei of Tsinghua University China, and Li, Hui Technische University Berlin, Germany were foremost among others during the period and their institutions and countries had more publications. Therefore, it is recommended that scholars, universities, and other institutions of higher learning especially in the developing nations should emulate these few to realize the yearnings of the world (sustainable global development)

Social Media Use in Academic Libraries: Applications and Implications in a Developing Country

Social media use has become the norm in information services delivery. It holds the unique advantage of delivering service to users through social interaction. This chapter discussed social media use in academic libraries in a developing country: Nigeria. It examined the concept and definition of social media; it also discussed trends in social media usage in libraries. The chapter further outlined the types of social media tools used in libraries. It discussed the peculiar challenges of social media use in Nigeria and proffered solution

Nigerian university libraries and the question of marketing: reconciling the salient issues

This paper makes a case for marketing library and information services in Nigerian University Libraries. It examines the practice and problems of marketing library and information services in Nigerian Universities as well as chart the way forward in dealing with identified problems. It further posits that if carefully planned and executed, marketing could help the library improve on its public perception and win more readerships