Organizational Patterns in Nigerian University Libraries:- Juliet Onuoha

Abstract

Organizational pattem/structures of Nigerian university libraries vary. Most often, this variation could be as a result of the space the library is occupying, the personnel at the time of establishment. Furthermore, Nigerian university libraries vary from the very flat, simple and streamlined to the very complex and top heavy management, with layers of heads of departments, heads of units and supervisors. Nnadozie (2007) strongly emphasized that though there is no law as to a particular pattern of departmentalization for university libraries, the pattern adopted in any university library depends, to a very large extent, on the volume of resources and the administrative style of the university librarian. Based on the second criterion for segmenting the libraries into divisions, departments and units Nnadozie have vested much power on the university librarian. To this end, it could be said that the change in tenure of the university librarian may also bring about change in organizational pattern of the library. However, it has been a serious debate over time by scholars who started looking at the architectural design of the library and later shifted to the organizational pattern of the university librarian. Sad enough, it seems as if these debates have not gained any ground as a result of no regulation as to what the organizational pattern of the university library should be as well as the nonuniformity in the organizational pattern of Nigerian university libraries. One can simply say without further contradiction, the organizational pattern of Nigerian university libraries are based on matter of convenience and rule of the thumb which is not far from what Nnadozie (2007) established