Youth Contribution and Participation in National Building in Nigeria (The Role of the Information Centre and the Library)

Youth Contribution and Participation in National Building: The Role of the Information Centre and the Library

Abstract

Purpose: The Research was conducted to evaluate the information demands of the youth, library usage, sources of service deliveries needed and the obstacles of using the libraries in two various youth engagements in the urban community in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria

Methodology/Design/Research: A Descriptive Survey Design was applied for the study. All the youths that attended the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and the Students for Liberty (SFL) projects in Lagos were applied as respondents. There were 80 participants while Random Sampling was applied in the rural area during the youth requirements evaluation – April and October 2018 respectively. The instrument for data collection was a prepared questionnaire. An aggregate of 200 copies of questionnaire were allocated to participants between the ages of 18 and 30 while a return percentage of 73.5% was made.

Findings: The outcomes emphasized that 85% of the youth required information on politics and governance. It also evaluates this data through the Internet/Cyber and needed online sources (85.5%). It was also noticed that 65.5% of them have toured the library which was the school library. The major challenge emphasized that there are no libraries in majority of the communities (77.5%) which makes it difficult for them to evaluate the required information

Implication: The answers to obstacles of necessary information and library services to youth participation and the contribution to the national building entail an effective service delivery and the availability of information resources

Value/Originality: It was suggested that libraries must embark on the necessary proactive techniques in luring users’ requirements and also adopting the present day’s technological devices in conveying information to the youths wherever they are.

Keywords: Information and Library Resources, Community Development, Information Centre, Youth Contribution and Participation