Students want better Library service, facilities
By Beniah Miracle
“We are from the school Library and we just came to tell you that the Library is still existing and opened for students” this was the crux of the announcement the Chief Librarian of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Mrs Odomero Omohwovo and her assistant Mr Kingsley Okonkwo, on Monday, January 24 2022.
This didn’t come as shock to the students as it was already a public fact that students of the institutes no longer use the Library. Students who felt it appropriate to express their opinion on this matter responded to this reporter’s question of why they don’t use the library.
Olabode Oluwakemisola, HND 2 Broadcast student revealed that she loves group reading and she is unable to do that in the library due to strict rules that govern library usage. “I used to use the Library when I was in HND1 to make research especially when I have assignments or when I want to update my note but now that I am in my final year, it has been quite a struggle due to the rigorous group assignment, project and rigid timetable," she also pointed out.
Momodu Precious an HND 1 student echoed the voice of some students in the school that the attitude of the librarians and other library staff discourage students from reading, stressing that their strict and sometimes rude attitude hurts students and make them unwilling to use the library again.
"We are in the 21st century and the modern-day library shows great advancement. The library arrangement and tools have gone beyond what is obtainable in my school library and that's why a lot of students don't find going to the library interesting. With the internet, students can read anything in the comfort of their homes; the library doesn't give them the comfort and inspiration they need" Phillip Elias an HND 2 student said as he lament how the library has refused to follow the tide of change and progress.
Some students are comfortable with the materials they can get on the net, like Marvellous, a former ND student of NIJ who now interns with the NIJ Pen Radio said: "I am not the type that would pick up a book to read, I prefer to Google search it and read because it is much easier and I can read at my convenience. If I have questions I can easily ask Google compared to using the library and searching for a book that has answers to my questions.”
Some students like Oyindamola, a full-time student who has personal business keeping her occupied alongside her school obligation may not be able to use the library during the stipulated time of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm as classes start by 8:00 am and end at 5:00 pm every weekday except Wednesdays for full-timers.
“The only time I know I can use the Library is weekend but the library attendant tells us that on weekends, the library is not meant for the full-timers but part-timers only which is not that fair on our part”
Another HND 2 student, Igwejiakwu Mercy, said: the Library is cool but I use it more during exams.
Edet Blessing complains about the lack of some books in the library and the dusty shelves and books there. She also pointed out that she is preoccupied with lots of class activities like assignments, projects and group work which prevents her from using the library.
Librarians Speak
In a previous interview with the Assistant Librarian, Mr Kingsley, he said:
“Over the years it has been like that, it is not peculiar to only the NIJ library. I want to clearly state two factors amongst others. Firstly, the death of reading culture, these days students don’t read again and the second factor is the advent of the internet. Today, technology particularly the internet has taken over many people. Students have sophisticated devices that give them access to the internet and so they spend more time on their phones and the net. That to me are the main reasons students no longer visit the library”.
However during the school round announcement by the library team, in the HND 2 Print Class, Mr Kingsley when responding to students complaints about the Library’s stringent rules, he said the rules are meant to protect the library and its properties and in fact in some libraries like the National Library you can’t bring anything other than your writing materials into the library.
It was also stated during his announcement, that until there are lockers in the library, student’s materials are not the responsibility of the librarians to keep.
The Chief librarian when responding to the complaints of time constraints due to classes suggested that students make use of the library on Wednesdays when classes end by 12 noon and on Saturdays.
Moving on to betterment
Students who complained about the attitude of the library officials revealed that if they were more welcoming and friendly with the students, more students will be willing to use the library.
The library also needs to integrate creativity and innovation in its operation. Digitalization is the hope for every venture at risk of going moribund, so the Wakilin Hassan library should embrace digitalisation of process by providing online services like the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) which will make it possible for students to browse the catalogue of the library to know if it has what they need. This will help students who are already familiar will Google search for materials and eliminate the unnecessary hours student spend on looking for what they want on the shelves or in the library physical catalogue.
Bibliographic and reference material services can also be digitalised. Final year students who are writing their term paper or project will need to consult the library for materials related to their research project. Occasion like this which this reporter has once experienced will have the user browse through lists of past projects in big books for several minutes, before if fortunately he/she finds the material gets to borrow it. If this process can be digitalised where the student only have to input a search query into the database and immediately have access to an available material it will definitely encourage an increase in the use of the library service.
Awareness service of the Library is only done on the board situated inside the Library. This can be optimised into a digital bulletin shared through the various intra-campus communication medium like the class WhatsApp groups. If notification of every new material entering the library gets to the viewing screen of students phones promptly, increased use of the library for the sake of that can be achieved.
Should the library integrate creative activities like book reading/reviewing sessions, group reading sessions, book presentation/expo the students who are known to always find creative events interesting will also be drawn to the library.
Nice and insightful read. Well done to the writer!
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