Mobile Phones and Libraries/Information Centres

This chapter examines mobile phone use and behavior among users in library and information centres. It discusses both observed and perceived mobile phone behaviors among library users and advocates the control of identified negative trends in libraries. It recommends that user education should be intensified; law and legislations on mobile use in libraries should be enacted and guarded jealously. The chapter concludes that, though the use of mobile phones has revolutionized library and information services, it also redefined user behavior. Negative behaviors associated with the use of mobile phones among users will stop or at least reduce while libraries and librarians will continue to evolve ways and means to curb ugly trends

The 21st Century Library and Information Services as a Veritable Strategy for the Enhancement of Teacher Education

This chapter discusses 21st century Library and Information Service as a veritable strategy for the enhancement of teacher education. The work started by highlighting the place of teachers in every society. Teachers are builders of destiny. They teach the leaders of tomorrow. It is important to ensure that they receive worthwhile education which depends to a very large extent on a robust library platform brought by 21st century libraries. The chapter further discusses the services provided by 21st century libraries such as Online Reference Services, Selective Dissemination of Information, Current Awareness Services, and Online Public Access Catalogue. The opportunities of 21st century libraries are highlighted; these include multi –user access to resources, improvement of internal operations, round- the-clock access, etc. The chapter also highlights the challenges to successful implementation of 21st century libraries, prominent among which are incessant power outage, insufficient fund, Information and Communication Technologies illiteracy among others. This chapter recommends adequate provision of funds and intensification of user education programme. It concludes that 21st century libraries are sine qua non to the enhancement of teacher education and should therefore not be trivialized

Examination of the Nexus Between Academic Libraries and Accreditation: Lessons from Nigeria

The article investigated the nexus between academic libraries and accreditation in the higher institutions with special focus on the Nigerian experience. It showed that all accreditation agencies place a high premium on library provisions as a major component of requisite benchmarks in determining the status of the program or institutions being assessed. Academic libraries help to enrich formal classroom curricular and act as a broadening influence on lecturers and students as well as nurture in them the virtue of independent inquiry. State-of-the-art academic libraries confer prestige on the institutions and have tremendous impact on student retention, rankings, and high profiling of parent institution during accreditation. The article noted that there exists strong intrinsic and sometimes imperceptible relationship between academic libraries and higher education. It recommended institutionalization of global and regional ranking of academic libraries, among others

Publishing Newsletters and Associated Information Products in Organisations

Organisations are entities like institutions and associations that exist to achieve a particular purpose and collective goal. They do notexi~ in isolation. They are linked with relationships both within and outsid their environments. For internal and external relationships to thriv there is need for accurate and adequate communication. Therefore organizations are left with no choice than to publish informati channels that wiJ:.! enhance effective and efficient informatio dissemination, proauctivity and good public image. One of the mo important channels of information published by organisations newsletter. Newsletters are cost-effective media for communicating11i staff, building good relationships with customers, advertising ne products and gaining prospective markets. This chapter focused on types of organisations, the processes and importance ofpublishingnewslette in organisations. It also examined the publication of associat information products in organisations

Library Professionals and Social Network Sites: Use, Relevance and Challenges from University Libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria

The use of social network sites among library professionals in university libraries in Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria is investigated. The study population consisted of seventy-eight librarians in four universities in the state. Questionnaires (which was the instrument for data collection) were administered to the entire population, out of which 55 (representing 70.5 % response rate) were filled, returned and analysed for the study. The study revealed that library professionals do make use of SNS. The most frequently visited SNS was Linkedln (58.2 %). The respondents also indicated that they visited SNS for the purpose of connecting and collaborating with friends and colleagues, carrying out current awareness and reference services to library users, etc. Majority of the respondents (94.5 %) in the study further revealed that the greatest challenge to the use of social network sites was lack of social media skills. The first hypothesis tested in the study indicated that there was moderate positive significant relationship between device used for internet access and use of social network sites (r=.408**, N= 55, p.05). The study was concluded with recommendations that library professionals should undergo training in social media skills

Towards Curbing Plagiarism in Higher Institutions of Learning: The Strategic Role of the Library

Lack of academic integrity has frustrated the attainment of educational objectives especially in tertiary institutions in recent times. Perhaps, one of the most prevalent fraudulent practice among students, academics and researchers today is plagiarism. This paper examines the concept, nature and intricacies of plagiarism. It notes the devastating effects of plagiarism on the individual, academic institutions and the society at large. The paper argues that libraries by their assigned and inherent functions have a strategic role to play in curbing plagiarism. The roles include awareness creation, teaching of referencing and citation skills, information literacy programmes among others. The paper concludes with further recommendations for dealing with the menace of plagiarism

Information Provision by Public Library to Agricultural Extension Agents in a Developing Country

One of the bedrock of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is eradication of poverty and hunger. In an attempt to actualize this goal, the role of public libraries in information provision to agricultural extension agents in Nigeria becomes paramount. This paper discusses provision of information to agricultural extension agents in a developing country. It starts with the concept of extension agents and the essence of information provision to them. It further discusses types, sources and challenges of public libraries in information provision to agricultural extension workers in a developing country. Some of the challenges are as follows: poor funding of public libraries, demotivated staff, and so on. Based on these discussions, the paper recommended adequate training and retraining of staff, adequate funding of public libraries by the federal, state and local government, the revitalization of the abandoned mobile library services among others. The paper therefore concludes that information provision to agricultural extension agents by public library is very crucial for national development. The current state of poverty, hunger and lack in Nigeria and some other African countries could be reduced to a great extent if current, relevant and up-to-date information are provided by libraries to the concerned agencies

Towards Curbing Plagiarism in Higher Institutions of Learning: The Strategic Role of the Library

Lack of academic integrity has frustrated the attainment of educational objectives especially in tertiary institutions in recent times. Perhaps, one of the most prevalent fraudulent practice among students, academics and researchers today is plagiarism. This paper examines the concept, nature and intricacies of plagiarism. It notes the devastating effects of plagiarism on the individual, academic institutions and the society at large. The paper argues that libraries by their assigned and inherent functions have a strategic role to play in curbing plagiarism. The roles include awareness creation, teaching of referencing and citation skills, information literacy programmes among others. The paper concludes with further recommendations for dealing with the menace of plagiarism

Impact of Primary Care–Based Disease Management on the Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Comorbidity

Contains fulltext : 80343.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effectiveness of the German diabetes disease management program (DMP) for patients with varying numbers of other medical conditions with respect to their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A questionnaire, including the HRQoL-measured EQ-5D, was mailed to a random sample of 3,546 patients with type 2 diabetes (59.3% female). The EQ-5D score was analyzed by grouping patients according to those on a DMP and those receiving routine care. RESULTS: The analysis showed that participation in the DMP (P < 0.001), the number of other medical conditions (P < 0.001), and the interaction between the DMP and the number of other conditions (P < 0.05) had a significant impact on the EQ-5D score. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the number of other medical conditions may have a negative impact on the HRQoL of patients with type 2 diabetes. The results demonstrate that the German DMP for type 2 diabetes may help counterbalance this effect