Management And Use Of Legal Deposit Materials By Libraries For Effective User Support In The National Library Of Nigeria

Management And Use Of Legal Deposit Materials By Libraries For Effective User Support In The National Library Of Nigeria

Abstract

The management and use of legal deposit materials by libraries for efficient user support was the subject of this study, which was done at the Nigerian National Library. Three important research objectives were developed in order to accomplish this. This study adopted a survey methodology and used straightforward random sample procedures. The number of librarians working in the National Library of Nigeria in Abuja, which has five departments, is comprised. The researcher readily chose 41 respondents for the sample size calculation, while 38 responses were received and 35 were validated. Data collection involved the use of a self-made and validated questionnaire. Frequency tables and mean scores were used to examine the collected and validated surveys. The study’s findings show that the National Library of Nigeria offers a variety of legal deposit services, including the collection of theses and dissertations, the legal deposit of government documents, the legal deposit of serials, and the legal deposit of non-print resources like CDs and other types of media. The results also showed that the national library of Nigeria uses lawful deposit materials to improve efficient user support. Additionally, the ineffective NLN marketing, staff help, the NLN’s weak legal framework, publishers’ noncompliance, etc., all have an impact on effective user support in the national library of Nigeria. The report suggests that the federal government make room for proper funding of the NLN in light of its findings. This enables it to offer resource-intensive accessibility options, such as the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC).

Keywords: Legal deposit items, National Library, and Libraries.

CHAPITER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Study’s Background

There are various libraries for various uses. These goals include the operation of the library, the kind of users it attracts, and its original intent. These are what cause the biggest variations in libraries. According to Okiy in Tinuoye (2010), the primary purpose of libraries is to meet the users’ informational needs by offering the appropriate resources. One sort of library can easily be distinguished from another based on the kinds of people who use it, the services it offers, the kinds of materials it holds, and the goals of those who founded it. National, public, school, academic, private, and special libraries are among the several kinds of libraries.

The top libraries in a nation are thought to be the national library. Uwaifo (2010) noted that national governments of various nations construct and maintain national libraries. They act as the nation’s most important information source. These, in contrast to public libraries, hardly ever let anyone check out books. They frequently contain a large number of rare, expensive, or important works.

By statute or other agreements, national libraries are charged with collecting, preserving, and acting as a “deposit” library for all major works produced in the nation. They will typically carry out the following duties as well: creating a national bibliography; maintaining a sizable and representative collection of foreign literature, including books about the nation; serving as a national center for bibliographical information; creating union catalogs; and publishing the national bibliography’s retrospective edition. Libraries that may be referred to as “national” but whose purposes do not fit the aforementioned criterion should not be included in the category of “national libraries” (UNESCO 1970). Additionally, the legislation recognized as the legal deposit statute directs the operations of national libraries.

In particular, Section 4(1) of the National Library of Nigeria (NLN) Decree No. 29 of 1970 mandates that the publisher of every book published in Nigeria must send three (3) copies of the book to the National Library for permanent preservation within a month of the publication, with one copy being sent by the Director to the library at Ibadan University. The legal deposit law refers to this. It is handed to the National Library as a tool allowing it to gather these native items.

Therefore, legal deposit materials are those that some libraries legally acquire in order to permanently preserve, properly process, and disseminate to the general public. These resources come from local authors and publishers, and they are primarily indigenous. Some libraries are mandated by law to receive and preserve these resources. These libraries are known as depository libraries, according to Edoka (2000). According to Prytherch (1995), legal deposit is a procedure whereby specific libraries are granted the legal right to receive one or more copies of each publication that is printed or published in the nation. Public libraries, national libraries, and government academic institutions make up the majority of these depository libraries.

In Nigeria, the National Library was created by legislation to serve as a legal depository. The library of libraries, that is. Due to the preservation of all published work, including important and rare works, it functions as the nation’s information bank. The National Library of Nigeria Decree’s aims, according to Adewunmi (2008), include: (a) Providing the required support for intellectual endeavours in all activities aimed at growth and development. (b) Ensuring open knowledge exchange between this country and others, safeguarding the country’s role in the community of countries that rely on recorded knowledge and information for survival in a world of rapid innovation and intellectual rivalry. (c) Ensuring full access to such resources both inside and outside the country’s borders, as well as availability of a complete and almost complete collection of resources, materials, and current knowledge in the globe.

Indigenous publications from within the nation as well as publications about the nation published abroad make up these permissible deposit items. They come in several varieties. They contain physical materials as well as password-protected access to digital or electronic versions provided to the National Library by publishers. They are legally obtained free of charge from publishers and authors of all creative works. Arua (1997) and Owen (2007) proposed that books, journals, newspapers, and government publications are gathered and maintained for posterity through the legal deposit. The materials include books, magazines, journals, films, newspapers, government publications, oral recordings or documentaries, etc. These items may be creative, group, original, or documentary works. .Due of the type of information they include, these legal deposit documents are of immeasurable worth to the nation. According to Ifidon & Ifidon (2007), they are helpful for study. They play a crucial role in the worldwide and domestic bibliographic control of publications. The National Library of Nigeria publishes the National Bibliography of Nigeria (NBN), which helps to achieve this. The National Library of Nigeria was established by decree to serve as the vast national memory. Accordingly, the legal deposit materials support users’ retrospective searches because many of these uncommon and antiquated items are used as references in court subpoenas and other legal proceedings. They are also used in government offices for verification and certification. In this situation, government documents, serials, and monographs are helpful. Legal deposit materials are crucial for the creation of collections. This is so that the national library or repository won’t have to spend money buying them. Publishers are free to deposit them. Ifidon & Ifidon (2007) believed that the collection may increase greatly if industrialized nations took full advantage of it (legal deposit materials). They also include information on many disciplines and the most recent news.

It is also used by attorneys as the Certified True Copy (CTC) in legal proceedings to settle disputes between writers. A librarian from the National Library of Nigeria typically travels with the item to be subpoenaed, as it is the only copy recognized by the court. This is so that it can be considered the original copy. The legal deposit resources are helpful to students in their academic endeavors. Okafor and Ezema (2009). The legal deposit resources, especially the publications published by the government, are also extensively used by civil officials. In government offices, certification and authentication are done via the official gazettes. They serve as documentation for many events, including transfers of employment, first and second appointments, promotion dates, etc. In these government offices, these documents are quite useful. Job searchers and those interested in current events are other users of the legal deposit documents. These people look for information in newspapers about job openings and current events. Even if newspapers are important, according to Ajidahun in Owairu (2010), the prices are out of reach for the majority of people. As a result, the majority of Nigerians rely on libraries that provide free services to stay up to date on news. The legal deposit materials are library resources that support this important goal. The National Library of Nigeria is one such library. Bibliographic control is helpful in identifying the works contained in information-bearing materials, confirming their existence, compiling these information sources, and creating lists and access points for their retrieval. This makes it simple to use and obtain the materials. According to Line and Line (1979), the legal deposit aids national libraries in achieving the global objective of Universal Bibliographic Control through local bibliographic control. This is accomplished by the legal deposit, cataloging-in-publication (CIP) data in the Library of Congress, for example, or collection growth plans that focus on international book markets. For these legal deposit materials, the National Library of Nigeria also offers Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. The legal deposit also serves as the country’s memory or information bank. There are numerous opportunities for the legal deposit materials to serve as essential library resources. The users are instructed, informed, and equipped. Additionally, it provides users with a platform from which to make meaningful contributions to society. They distinguish Nigeria as a nation and grant her a place in the council of countries. This agrees with Okwilagwe’s contention that books serve as a record of a people’s experience and artifact in Ola and Osagie (2011). The Nigerian Yearbook, for instance, which is printed and published by “Times Press (Nigeria),” Apapa, has all the information you could possibly want to know about Nigeria. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe captures the culture of the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria. Through the standard numbers provided by the National Library of Nigeria, the legal deposit materials aid in the promotion of indigenous Nigerian writers and publishers on a global scale. In addition to preserving books for future generations, the legal deposit system also aims to create a national bibliography and make a collection of the country’s published works accessible for research purposes. These include the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), and International Standard Music Number (ISMN). In support of this, Adrienne (2005) asserted that the legal deposit’s goal is to protect and guarantee long-term access to the nation’s intellectual legacy. This is the sign of a quality library.

Thus, what draws users to the library is the availability of these materials through efficient user support. A user who rushes to the library in hopes that it will serve as an information bank or pool will leave disappointed if the library is unable to satisfy their information needs due to a lack of necessary materials or difficulties in obtaining them.

The National Library of Nigeria offers access points to the legal deposit items thanks to its effective management. According to Owen (2007), these are user-focused and include staff consultation, indexes, library catalogs, and abstracts. However, Nsibirwa, Hoskins, and Stilwell (2011) note that the assurance of access to legal deposit resources depends on variables impacting legal deposit libraries. The Legal Deposit Act’s execution, other laws affecting access to legal deposit collections and the preservation of materials, management techniques, and other variables are among those mentioned by these authors. These elements expose the library’s inadequate management. hence adversely affecting user experience. In light of the foregoing, the National Library of Nigeria’s National Library is the focus of this study, which is on the management and use of legal deposit resources by libraries for efficient user support.

1.2 Description Of The Issue

The National Library of Nigeria’s collection includes a sizable portion of the legal deposit items. They are very helpful for managing bibliographies, research, study, learning, entertainment, and passing on knowledge to future generations. They are also a legitimate source of information during legal proceedings, subpoenas, and CTC authentication. They display the rich cultural legacy of the country. They encourage plenty of people to utilize the library. These people include attorneys, students, researchers, government employees, lawyers, tourists, etc. However, the researcher has already noted via on-the-job experience that legal deposit documents are not user friendly since users cannot easily access them or use them effectively.

Effective legal deposit management and practices also ensure that academics from all over the world have access to the nation’s published resources. With the supportive and dedicated leadership of the legal depository library, publishers, and authors as stakeholders, this is feasible and can be done successfully. It has been highlighted, meanwhile, that the legal deposit requirement is not consistently followed and that publishers and authors have not been upholding their legal deposit commitments. The user support and experience in using legal deposit resources at the National Library of Nigeria are therefore strongly impacted by these issues. Therefore, the goal of this study is to critically evaluate how libraries handle and employ legal deposit items for efficient user support in Nigeria’s national library.

1.3 Study’s Objective

This study’s overarching goal is to look at how libraries manage and utilise legal deposit items for efficient user support at Nigeria’s national library. The study’s particular goals are listed below;

Find out about the legal deposit procedures offered by the National Library of Nigeria.

Find out how to use legal deposit materials in Nigeria’s national library to effectively help users.

Find out what influences good user help at Nigeria’s national library.

1.4 Research Problem

The following inquiries will serve as a guide for the study:

What legal deposit procedures are accessible at the Nigerian National Library?

What are the applications of legal deposit materials that encourage efficient user support in Nigeria’s national library?

What aspects of Nigeria’s national library affect efficient user support?

1.5 Importance Of The Research

The administration and employees of the National Library of Nigeria, researchers, students, policy makers, writers, attorneys, public servants, publishers, lecturers, and students of library and information science are all expected to profit from the study’s findings.

In the literature of library and information science, legal deposit items are recognized as significant library resources. It is anticipated that this study would contribute to the body of knowledge already present in the department of Library and Information Science by examining how these items are managed and used at the National Library of Nigeria to improve user support. The National Library of Nigeria may also gain greatly from the findings of this study if they are adopted since they may highlight the National Library’s strengths and limitations in the administration of legal deposit materials for proper accessibility and efficient utilization. It will also highlight the places where the depository library may need to be adjusted appropriately in order to improve access to and use of the legal deposit resources.

1.6 Study’s Purpose

The management and use of legal deposit materials by libraries for efficient user support in Nigeria’s national library are the main subjects of the study. However, the study has been focused on identifying the legal deposit procedures offered by the National Library of Nigeria, identifying the applications of legal deposit materials that support effective user support in the national library of Nigeria, and identifying the variables influencing effective user support in the national library of Nigeria. Five departments at the National Library of Nigeria in Abuja that provide library services will provide the study’s respondents.

1.7 Study Restrictions

While doing the study, the researcher ran into some minor obstacles, just as in every human endeavor. Due to a lack of resources, the researcher was only able to choose from a small number of sample sizes while looking for pertinent materials, literature, or information, as well as when collecting data. Even more so, the researcher worked on this study and other scholarly projects at the same time. The time needed for study will be cut down as a result.

1.8 Term Definitions

Forecasting, planning, organizing, managing, directing, and coordinating are all aspects of management. Additionally, management is a method through which organizations make sure that their goals are met by effectively planning, organizing, and regulating their human and material resources.

Library: A library is a social institution created to gather, arrange, conserve, and communicate information resources to the people for whom it was built in an environment suitable for doing so.

National Library: These are the types of libraries that, regardless of their title, are in charge of purchasing and preserving copies of all significant works produced in the nation and acting as a deposit library in accordance with the law or other arrangements.