The role of library in the growth and development of media centres

ABSTRACT

The study is on “The role of library in the growth and development of media centres”. The study has four objectives and four research questions. Survey research design was used for the study.  The population for this study comprises of one hundred and fifty (150) staff of Orient Television, Owerri. and the sample size was is thirty (30) staff selected using the Simple Random Sampling techniques.. Questionnaire was used for collection of data while simple percentage and frequency counts table was used to analyse the research questions.  The findings revealed that although there are libraries in media centres under study, there is need for it to be equipped with modern facilities. There are information resources which include: compact disc, textbooks, video CD, Encyclopedia, etc. The usefulness of the library to the growth and development of media centres include: efficiency in service, updating staff with the latest information and it encourages more research. Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made: It is strongly recommended that computers and ICT facilities in the libraries and resources should be fully utilized by the staff in media centres in order to enhance teaching and learning of library. Workshops, seminars and conference should be organized to acquaint the library teachers on how to use computer in the effective teaching and learning of library. Government should see that the software necessary for teaching and learning are made available to media libraries. Philanthropic individuals, donor agencies and non-governmental organizations at different level should be encouraged to assist in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects and computer education in media libraries. Nigerian scientists should work towards developing prototypes for different Information and Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets with a view to reducing the price of these materials.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A library can be considered a store – house of knowledge. It is often referred to as “a building or room containing a collection of books”. A library renders a great service to the society. A library plays a very important role in promoting the progress of knowledge. There are many people who love reading. But they can’t afford to buy books because the prices of books are very high. So when one becomes a member of a library, he can borrow valuable books. A member can borrow two books at a time and he can keep it with him for two weeks. Libraries are particularly useful for poor children. Even those who are better off can’t afford to buy all the books they require for their studies. For instance, invaluable books like Encyclopedias and large dictionaries cannot be purchased. Libraries depend on ethical principles more than any other institution because library services are essentially human-oriented. He stressed that librarians must follow the intellectual freedom principle and they have a moral responsibility to the patrons (Ademola 2011).

Media are those channels of information, radio, TV Newspaper, magazine and journals, which can make the same message available to a cross section of people despite their distance from the source of the message. Just as the nervous system receives, processes and interprets stimuli reaching the body, in order to achieve the needs, organize and correlate the activities of the body, the broadcast industry today collects information from a wide diversity of sources and places in the globe, processes and reports back to people located in an equally wide diversity of places in the Diaspora in an effort to bind parts of society together in their interactions and interdependency moves.

Nevertheless, the extent to which the broadcast media have gone in making the work smaller and more interactive is obviously lucid. The effects of these media are becoming so pervasive that people in the communication field are today talking of global neighborhood family. Therefore, regardless of whatever the radio and television say, their very form (broadcast simultaneity in reaching a heterogeneous audience) facilitates relationship in the world to an unspeakable degree. During world soccer and Olympic event, at least half the world is focused on one topic – sports encounter between nations. The media thus set agenda, interests and pursuits. Accordingly, it entails a system comprising nations in the Diaspora where people live and work in unison regarding given social, economic and political objectives regardless of religious learning, ethnic nationalities, languages, race, geography, etc. and where also communication is used to give expression to the interactions.

1.2    STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Another major challenge that weakens the power of Orient Television (Imo Broadcasting Corporation- IBC) Owerri, is poor infrastructural facilities. As Sobowale (2008) quoted in Okunna (2009), it has been observed that media centres in Nigeria especially in the South East are faced with challenges, such as: basic infrastructural facilities as roads and transport system are in an abysmal state of development; and this limits the work of the media practitioners in gathering information.

More so, some of the staff do not posses high level of computer skill. Also due to the inflationary rate and economic challenges in the country, there is shortage of fund as a result of lack of financial support by government of Imo State

Similarly, some of the facilities need to be upgraded to meet modern standard for effective dissemination of information.

1.3    PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The general purpose of the study is to determine the role of library in the growth and development of media centres. The specific purposes are:

1. To ascertain the establishment of library in media centres.
2. To identify the information resources in the libraries in media centres
3. To ascertain the usefulness of the library to the growth and development of media centres.
4. To ascertain how the usefulness of library can be sustained in media centres.

1.4    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is no doubt very unique in the sense that it focuses on the role of library in the growth and development of media centres.

However, the study in its simplistic approach or analysis would make it possible for the stakeholders and more importantly those that are at the helms of affairs to know the importance of library in news dissemination especially in Orient television, Owerri.

It will enlighten the public about the role which library plays in promoting the progress of knowledge because libraries are important cornerstones of a healthy community.  Libraries give people the opportunity to find jobs, explore medical research, and experience new ideas.

• RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. Are there libraries in media centres under study?
2. What are the information resources in the libraries in media centres under study?
3. What are the usefulness of the library to the growth and development of media centres under study?
4. What are the problems affecting media libraries in the growth of media centres under study?

Pages:  68

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF        

Chapters: 1-5

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.