CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

According to Ifidon (2014) Academic institutions are sometimes considered to as the citadels of study since they are the pinnacle of knowledge acquisition. According to this viewpoint, colleges exist for four connected purposes: teaching, training, investigation, and society service.

The academic library is critical to the implementation of all four, because none of them can be completed properly without one. That is, the Academic library assists the institution's educating, learning, and research work. Academic libraries have the role of ensuring that the use of their information resources and services is maximized to advantage their clients, requiring the need for a library user education program, which is also in line with the National University Commission's encouragement of academic libraries in order to equip students with a good library materials use and resource acquisition (NUC, 2016).

User education is a means of teaching library patrons how to utilize the library system effectively and efficiently by familiarizing them with skills in identity, location, search, retrieval, and use of data sources. It includes all actions aimed at assisting college students in becoming efficient data users.

According to Uwakwe et al (2016) User education is a process in which prospective library users are taught how to make efficient and productive use of the library and its resources through to the acquisition of skills in the classification, position, retrieval, and expropriation of data. It includes library guidance, library orientation, cataloging instruction, and content knowledge. User education can take the form of guidance programs, workshops, and seminars; the library also hosts "know your library" sessions for both new and old college libraries on occasion.

These applications can be bundled in either hard copy (manuals, handouts) or soft copy (small discs). The primary goal of user training is to expose, familiarize, and instill in customers the essential knowledge, comprehension, and skills required for effective and productive use of library resources and services. As a result, user education is all about equipping students with the knowledge and skills they need to make wise use of the services and resources offered in an Academic library.

The selection and implementation of devices obviously places the responsibility of carrying library use along on library service providers through the design/packaging of good user education, which determines the rate of use of any library and also fabricates the long-term optimal users ’ satisfaction. The consequence is that inadequate user education may explain for low rates of use of library services and resource acquisition, which is also contrary to the library's user happiness policy.

The process of adding to the library's collections is known as acquisition. As such, it includes the order, gift, trades, and other operations that occur in a library, and the synchronization of these events reveals the true nature of acquisition. The spark plugs for the brake on the building of library materials are used at the same time. It is the spark plug's job to coordinate the spending of a library's funds with the collection's demands.

Ossai (2014) The majority of learners use data resources to complete their academic task, which contains information to complete the tasks, tests, and research; they also use internet resources to meet their personal development, health, practical, and worldwide information needs. According to Baro, Onyenania, and Oni (2016), people use the internet as their primary source of knowledge, followed by lecturer notes, handouts, and the library.

The lack of resource acquisition by academic libraries has been a major challenge to users. Lack of resource has made learners not to be interested in library user programs especially in schools this as a result of inadequate funding, lack of ict etc in academic libraries in Nigeria .It is on this the study centers on influence of library user education on resources acquisition in an academic library.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

With the daily proliferation of data, users require sufficient knowledge and ability to explore and select necessary details. Library user education programs are essential for all users, particularly newcomers, because they include instruction on how to connect and use the library's data resources.

User education can assist users in developing the necessary skills for research and life - long learning, as well as using the library's resources. Sadly, library user education is not well taught in schools, resulting in the poor use of library resources by the majority of library users this is as a result of poor resource acquisition by academic libraries in institution of learning. It is as a result of this the study focuses on the influence of library user education on resource acquisition in academic libraries.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The major purpose of this study is to influence of library user education on resources acquisition in an academic library . Other general objectives of the study are:

1 To examine the objectives of library instruction user programs

2 To examine the influence of library user education on resources acquisition in academic library

3  To examine factors responsible for low acquisition of resources in academic libraries

4 To examine the challenges of library instruction user programs

5 To recommend ways of improving library user education programs  in academic library

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions shall guide this study and in the course of this research, we shall attempt to find answers to the following questions:

1 what are the objectives of library instruction user programs?

2 what is the influence of library user education on resources acquisition in academic library?

3 what are the factors responsible for low acquisition of resources in academic libraries?

4 what are the challenges of library instruction user programs?

5 What are the ways of improving library user education programs  in academic library?

1.5HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

Hypothesis 1

HO: there is no significant influence of library user education on resources acquisition in an academic library

H1: there is a significant influence of library user education on resources acquisition in an academic library

Hypothesis 2

HO: there is no significant relationship between library user education and resources acquisition in an academic library

H1: there is a significant relationship between library user education and resources acquisition in an academic library

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The results of this study specifically will add to the current scope of influence of library user education on resources acquisition in an academic library. Policy makers may use the findings of the study to come up with strategies that can improve library user education and resource acquisition in Nigeria. The findings of this study will guide academic library to implement policies, standards and procedures for better service delivery. In effort to provide efficient, effective and reliable services to library users  the study findings will benefit students and lecturers

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 

The study would cover the influence of library user education on resources acquisition in an academic library

1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The researcher was faced with the following constraints in carrying out this study:

Time: The time within the researcher is too short to carry on the detail study on this topic.

Resources: Another constraint of the researcher is financial resources to carry on the detail study of this topic. Data: Another limitation to this study will be lack of data to make valid study on the research problem.

1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

RESOURCE ACQUISITION: Resource acquisitions are the responsible for the selection and purchase of materials or resources. The department may select vendors, negotiate consortium pricing, arrange for standing orders, and select individual titles or resource

ACADEMIC LIBRARY: Academic libraries cater specifically to the educational needs of a school, college or university where it is located, for the convenience of the students and teachers.

USER EDUCATION: User education is a process whereby potential users of the library are made to learn how to make efficient and effective use of the library and its resources through the acquisition of knowledge and skills in identification, location, retrieval and exploitation of information