Duties and job performance factors of cataloguers in Nigerian academic libraries

Cataloguing is fundamentally the basis of theory of knowledge where information organisation, the structure and the means for handling them are identified and specified. Cataloguers are the specialists responsible for bibliographic control, information management and the creation of resource discovery tool that aids user in their search for materials. Essentially, they are responsible for the provision and organisation of efficient and effective retrieval system. Thereby saves time, increases the quality/productivity of library users and ultimately enhances the performance of the institution to achieve set objectives. Literatures indicated swift changes in duties, skills and functions of cataloguers. The changes had posed challenges to the professional development of cataloguers. This study with the use of questionnaire surveyed cataloguing practice in Nigeria in the twenty first century, their duties and tools being use in the university libraries. In addition it collects opinions on job performance factors. The result revealed that the libraries are of medium size collection with low cataloguers strength and modest use of ICT in all the libraries. The libraries still possess the card catalogue system. On the duties perform, eighty-six percent of the cataloguers, perform technical duties as original descriptive and subject cataloguing, determining appropriate guidelines in applying rules, Subject heading polices with the use of Subject thesaurus. Leading skills that enhanced job performance of the respondents include: Ability to plan,organise/supervise cataloguing activities in the library, Ability to establish/maintain effective work relationship with colleagues and other library staff and Ability to lead the way in researching into new techniques for cataloguing. All the libraries still engage in manual cataloguing work and uses traditional library working tools

RDA perceptions among Malaysian catalogers

Purpose – This study aims to investigate Malaysian catalogers’ awareness, familiarity and understanding of the new bibliographic content standard, i.e. Resource Description and Access (RDA). Design/methodology/approach – The survey method was adopted in this study. Questionnaires were used to gather data from respondents. The study included catalogers from higher education institutions in the area of Klang Valley, Malaysia. Purposive sampling method was used to identify the respondents. Findings – The results revealed that, in general, though Malaysian catalogers were aware of the RDA, they were only familiar with the basics of RDA and its related topics. They were mainly aware of topics regarding the overview and development of RDA, and indicated low understanding of other topics, such as Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), related to RDA. The study found that respondents acknowledged the inadequacy of their basic understanding of RDA. The study also identified the catalogers’ needs and preference for RDA training. Most of the catalogers favored learning more about RDA context topics which include FRBR, Functional Requirements for Authority Data and International Cataloging Principles. They indicated willingness to undergo a two- to three-day intensive workshop to learn more about RDA. Practical implications – Like in other countries, catalogers in Malaysia may also encounter problems when implementing the new RDA. Findings of this study would be useful in designing RDA trainings for catalogers. Originality/value – No study has been done to investigate Malaysian catalogers’ awareness and understanding of RDA

Information sources used by Nigerian lawyers for task-related activities

Studies on information seeking behaviour have shown that workers, especially professionals look for in- formation in order to perform their work related activities. Because the legal profession is an information-intensive one, understanding the sources consulted by lawyers for their task performance is important for librarians as ser- vice providers in order to ensure effective and efficient ser- vice delivery. This study seeks to understand the sources that are consulted by lawyers for specific job-related tasks they perform. Data was gathered using questionnaires from a total of 64 lawyers in Kwara State, Nigeria. Findings show that the sources consulted by lawyers are related to the kind of tasks they perform. While human sources are mostly consulted for the performance of tasks involving interpersonal communications such as negotiations and settling disputes out of court, the advocacy task requires that they consult authorised sources such as legal publi- cations and literatures. However, a generally low use of electronic sources (such as e-databases and e-journals) was observed among lawyers