Librarians Innovatıon in the Federal Universities in Nigeria

Abstract

The demand for new types of services from the users, change in technology application in university libraries, and inadequate budgetary provision faced by libraries has made innovation a necessity rather than a mere consideration by librarians in Nigerian universities. Innovation has become a veritable means of survival in the face of challenges facing library and librarians across the globe. The quest to channel information to library patrons spurred the creation of several innovative services that has facilitated the link between traditional library information services and emerging technological application. Therefore this paper investigated the innovation by librarians in federal universities in Nigeria.The respondents’ age was 40.58 ± 2.30 years and 59.1% were males. Respondents’ qualification were Master’s degree (62.7%), Bachelor’s degree (18.1%), Ph.D’s degree (13.5%), and M.Phil degree (5.6%). 654 librarians from the 40 federal universities in Nigeria formed the population of study and were enumerated. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. 79.2% respondents filled and returned the questionnaire. The result shows that the level of innovation by the librarians in the federal universities is high ( =86.60).Different innovation strategies were employed by the librarians to market library products and services of their work place.Significant difference exists in the innovation of the librarians based on the universities. Therefore, library administrators should create conducive atmosphere where innovative ideas can be promoted and rewarded among the librarians.