Librarians’ Perceptions of the Security of Library Resources in University Libraries in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The security of information resources is crucial in university libraries due to their usefulness in supporting and meeting students’, lecturers’ and researchers’ information needs. These individuals all rely on the resources in carrying out their studies. The rationale for securing library resources in the university library is to ensure that easy access, retrieval, and longevity of the resources are not denied to users. Therefore, this article reports on a study that investigated librarians’ perceptions of the security of library resources in university libraries in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted for the study. Four research questions and one research hypothesis guided the study. The population of the study consisted of 72 librarians from the four sampled university libraries in Bayelsa State. Data were collected from the same librarians. The findings revealed that librarians’ perceptions of the security of library resources in university libraries in Bayelsa State varied in the contexts that showed positive attributes. The study further revealed that book mutilation, book miss-shelving, non-return of borrowed books, impersonation, and book theft as the major security challenges encountered by university librarians. Therefore, the study concluded that university librarians should advocate for the use of electronic security systems as this will to a large extent minimise the security threats experienced in university libraries. The study recommends, among other factors, organising training for library staff on security breaches at regular intervals.