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Purpose -This paper aims to examine the current trends, needs and opportunities of professionalism in librarianship in Nigeria. The broad purpose of the paper was to investigate the level of professionalism in librarianship and to ascertain the current status, trends and opportunities within the profession among academic librarians in Nigeria. Five specific research questions were formulated which are: to examine how librarians value librarianship as a profession, to elicit the efforts made by librarians with regards to professional development, to ascertain methods of acquiring current competencies within the profession, to investigate the role of professional bodies in promoting professionalism and excellence within the library and information science (LIS) profession and to proffer strategies to enhance professionalism and excellence among librarians in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach -Descriptive survey design was adopted in the study across both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The area of the study was the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State and the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra State. Population of the study comprised a total of 63 librarians in the two universities. All librarians were sampled because of the small sample size. The instrument for data collection was oral interview and questionnaire which contained 53 items derived from the research questions and built on a four-point scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree, (A) Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). The criterion mean was 2.50. Therefore, any calculated mean below 2.50 was adjudged a negative score, while any mean from 2.50 and above was regarded as a positive score. Findings -The study revealed the challenges facing professionalism and excellence within the LIS field as lack of funding for professional development, lack of sponsorship to workshops and conferences, lack of uninterruptible internet facility and a dearth of professional mentors in the South East zone. Other problems gathered from a scheduled interview with some senior professionals in the institutions revealed that most librarians are still facing the challenge of imbibing and utilizing emerging skills in the LIS professions such as digital archiving and data mining skills for their day-to-day activities. Originality/value -Recommendations arising from the study were proffered such as the creation of staff development programmes by management; collaboration and partnership by libraries within the zone; acquisition of training through workshops and conferences irrespective of sponsorship by the institutions; and teaming of academic librarians to enhance their visibility and publication output. International staff exchanges and opportunities for sabbatical leave, which hitherto was not common in the South East Zone, were recommended. Among other recommendations also were building of consortia with libraries in the country; LIS professional bodies helping to create visibility and prestige of the LIS profession; and, finally, to scale up the imag...

PurposeThis study examined the state of digital records management in Nigerian university libraries. It investigated the extent university libraries have captured/created, utilized, planned, organized and developed the skills of librarians, etc. for effective management of electronic records.Design/methodology/approachDescriptive survey design was adopted. The area of the study was Nigeria. The population of the study was 231 academic librarians and senior technical and administrative staff drawn from 12 federal university libraries. Data were collected and analyzed using questionnaire, checklist and version 20 of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). Information obtained through oral interviews was analyzed qualitatively and incorporated in the discussions. The analytical framework was the Readiness Assessment Guide developed by the International Records Management Trust/World Bank in 2004. The criterion of judgment was that any item or statement of the research instruments that obtains a mean value of 2.50+ was rated high, and low if less than 2.50.FindingsThe results revealed that ICT facilities were available in Nigerian federal university libraries but the manner and extent of utilization, planning, organizing, re-skilling the staff, budgetary provisions and adoption of international best practices, etc. for e-records was low. Adequate funding, steady power supply, full internet services and adoption of global best practices for e-records management were some of the recommendations.Practical implicationsThis study has established that the status of ICT facilities and current digital records management in Nigerian university libraries have not been properly managed and therefore are likely to become vulnerable or inaccessible for future transactions.Originality/valueThe gap in the literature about the dart of empirical studies on the status of e-RM in Nigerian university libraries has been bridged.

This paper assessed the extent to which federal university libraries in Nigeria have prepared for management of their records in electronic format. Specifically it investigated the extent to which university libraries have provided ICT infrastructures for digital records, made institutional plans for e-records management, and enacted policies that guide e-records management, among other areas. Survey research design was used. The instruments for data collection were questionnaire, observation checklist, and oral interviews. The population of the study was 84 librarians drawn randomly from 18 federal university libraries in Nigeria. Data was analyzed using mean scores and simple percentages. The criterion of judgment was that if the mean value of any item of the research instruments scored 2.50+ and above, it was rated high; if otherwise, it was considered low. The study found that ICT facilities were available in all the libraries, but the state of preparedness for their utilization for e-records management was low. Inadequate funding, intermittent electricity supply, absence of e-records management policy, etc. were the major factors hindering preparedness for e-records management. Adequate budgetary provision, increasing power supply, and enactment of digital records management policy were among the recommendations made. With regards to practical implications, federal university libraries may not steadily use their e-records in a networked/connected environment. These records may become inaccessible over time. This study was the first to investigate extensively on the state of preparedness of Nigerian university libraries for digital records management.