The Effects Of Poor Funding Of Public Libraries In Nigeria (A Case Study Of Imo State Public Library Owerri)

TABLE

OF CONTENT

Title page                                                       i

Certification                                                    ii

Dedication                                                      iii

Acknowledgement                                            iv

Abstract                                                         v

Table of contents                                             vi

 

CHAPTER ONE

1.0     

Introduction                                             1

1.1  Background of the study                            3

1.2  Statement of problem                               5

1.3  Objectives of the study                              6

1.4  Significance of the study                            6

1.5  Scope and limitation of the study                7

1.6  Research questions                                          7

1.7  Definition of terms                                    7

 

CHAPTER TWO

2.0     

Literature review                                       8-18

 

CHAPTER THREE

3.0  Research methodology                              19

3.1  Design of the study                                   19

3.2  Population of the study                              19

3.3  Method of collection                                         20

3.4  sample/sampling technique                        20

3.5  Data analysis                                           20

 

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0  Data presentation and analysis                   21-24

 

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0  Summary, Conclusion and recommendation  25

5.1  Summary of findings                                 25

5.3  Conclusion                                               25

5.4  Recommendation                                      26

       Bibliography                                             28

       Appendix                                                 29

Questionnaire                                           30

CHAPTER

ONE

 

1.0        

INTRODUCTION

The

public library is a social institution which is tied to the political and

social realities of the communities where it is situated. As the name implies,

this is a library that serves the public.

UNESCO

(1966) defines public library as “Those which serve the population of the

community or region free of change or for a nominal fee. It is a library

designed to serve the generality of the people.

According

to Oduagwu (2002) public libraries that serve the public are supported by

government subvention, local rates or charges. He went further to explain that

public library is often regarded as a poor man’s university. Its clientele is

heterogeneous devoid of race, status, rank, bias as to who would avail of its

services. It stocks every conceivable item that would add knowledge, education,

research, information and cultural needs of the society. In Nigeria today, each

of the 36 states kin the country including Abuja has a public library board

established under the public library act as united kingdom (UK), but here in

Nigeria, library board of states is established by edict or laws made by the

states legislators.

Oparaku,

Anyanwu, Madi, (2005) defined a public library as an institution that is set up

by the government through enabling law, funded and mentioned are expected to

meet the educational, informational and recreational needs of its community,

public library funding refers to making money available for the day running of

the library. Funding here deals with making money or funds available to public

libraries.

Finance

is the life wire of any establishment including land, labour, capitals and

entrepreneur and information. The capital here refers to finance which can be

used to procure other factors of production there by making it more important

than others. Fund is obviously the major element in every establishment. It is

equally the working capital of an establishment.

Public

library funding generally means the various ways we derive the expected funds

for capital and recurrent expenses. It involves the money available or

allocation to library for running its day to day activities.

However,

the funding and financial allocations to public libraries have remained poor

decades. Public libraries needs adequate resources to run their services pay

and hire personal provides current information, arrange, organize and monitor

both human and materials resources. Nigeria is a developing country and

its society is not a reading society. Nigeria do not appreciate the

importance and needs of public libraries and the services it offers and this

problem reflect in the level of funds allocated to it by the government. State

government subventions which constitute about 80% of public library fund is grossly

inadequate. This inadequacy is because of the political instability and bad

economy of the country. Ulu (1997) for instance, the Imo state library was the

first in he country to start services to handicap. But due to lack of fund to

train staff and carry out services, there services have been on glow

progression.