Job prospects for the Library and Information Science Graduates in Nigeria

Job prospects for the Library and Information Science Graduates in Nigeria

CHAPTER ONE

Objective of the study

The objectives of the study are;

To ascertain the job prospect of library and information science graduate in Nigeria
To ascertain library and information science as a profession
To ascertain the contribution of librarianship to your goal

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Library and Information Science Profession

Library and Information Science is the academic and professional study of how information and information carriers are produced, disseminated, discovered, evaluated, selected, acquired, used, organized, maintained, and managed. Library and Information Science profession serves the information needs of a democratic, progressive, technologically sophisticated and culturally diverse society. A key focus of the profession is enabling people to connect with the world of information, interacting with and utilising information in all aspects of their lives. The profession fosters lifelong learning, personal fulfilment, improved decision making, knowledge development, innovation, imagination, creativity and cultural continuity. People who work in the profession have specialised knowledge and skills, as well as employability attributes. The level to which individuals have requisite knowledge, skills and attributes depends on their formal qualifications, work experience, professional development, and the role(s) they perform. Library and information science professionals require knowledge gained through education to deliver quality library and information services. By meeting the information needs of their clients and encouraging them to acquire information literacy skills to seek, locate and use information, they also facilitate knowledge creation. All library and information professionals require sound practical knowledge and skills in order to effectively support the delivery of these library and information services. Experienced library and information specialists provide additional support by supervising staff, planning, implementing and evaluating services and systems and providing strategic thinking, innovation and leadership. Library and Information Science educators are striving continuously to find solutions to the dual challenges of meeting the needs of training students for a profession that is rapidly changing from librarianship to cybrarianship. However, the basic objective of Library and Information Science education remains unchanged – to equip Library and Information Science students for various library activities and provide trained manpower to manage different types of libraries. The profession, in keeping pace with the developments have brought several changes in Library and Information Science education including curriculum, methods of instruction, use of Information Technology in teaching – learning to mention but a few, to equip their students with relevant skills and competencies so that they can be employable upon graduation.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research design

The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to Job prospects for the Library and Information Science Graduates in Nigeria

Sources of data collection

Data were collected from two main sources namely:

(i)Primary source and

(ii)Secondary source

Primary source:

These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.

Secondary source:

These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.

Population of the study

Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information Job prospects for the Library and Information Science Graduates in Nigeria. 200 students of FUTO was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.

Sample and sampling procedure

Sample is the set people or items which constitute part of a given population sampling. Due to large size of the target population, the researcher used the Taro Yamani formula to arrive at the sample population of the study.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Introduction

Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.

DATA ANALYSIS

The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.

A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Introduction

It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain Job prospects for the Library and Information Science Graduates in Nigeria. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of Job prospects for the Library and Information Science Graduates in Nigeria

Summary

This study was on Job prospects for the Library and Information Science Graduates in Nigeria. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the job prospect of library and information science graduate in Nigeria, to ascertain library and information science as a profession and to ascertain the contribution of librarianship to your goal. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made final year students, year four students, year three students and year two students were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies

Conclusion

In today’s competitive knowledge based economy, the theoretical knowledge of academic subject is not enough for Library and Information Science graduates to succeed in the labour market. The graduates will have to develop employability skills to meet the challenging as well as changing needs of employers. They have to improve their communication skills, problem solving attitude, good knowledge of Information and Technology skills, storage and retrieval of information skills, presentation skills, proficiency in English language as well as provide services to customers with motivation and commitment. These features will enhance their employability skills. The curriculum of Library and Information Science should mirror these skills

Recommendation

Fresh library and information science graduates should not only look for the employment possibilities from known sources (for example only in academic libraries) rather they should also get exposure to explore other profitable and exciting avenues such as big corporate houses, publication houses, research and statistical institutes, multinational organisations, etc

Library and information science Schools should be give more emphasis on practical classes than theoretical class. Library and information science Schools should provide huge infrastructure to emphasize web based teaching and learning in the classroom. Developing communication skills is one of the most neglected areas of professional development in Library and information science school. Short term courses and workshops should be planned by Library and information science schools to overcome this deficiency. For this purpose, identify both theoretical and practical teaching applications and methods for specific programs of study by examining global library practices and information environments.

Training and re-training of library and information science professionals and lecturers

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