ABSTRACT

The study investigated influence of user education programmes on the utilization of resources in Abia State Polytechnic, Aba Library. Five research objectives and questions were used for the study. Existing literature in the field of study were reviewed under the sub-headings: academic library, library resources, and user education. Gaps in the literature were also identified. The study adopted a combination of case study and survey research designs. A sample size of 265 respondents from a total population of 1327 students, who are registered library users of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba was used for the study. Data used for the study were collected through a researcher-developed questionnaire titled, “Influence of User Education Programmes on the Utilization of Library Resources Questionnaire (IUEPULRQ)”. The instrument administered for data collection yielded a return rate of 74.7%. Data analyses involved the use of tables, percentages and criterion mean values. The result of the study showed the user education programmes available in Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Library namely library orientation for new students, teaching of use of library as a course (Library instruction), advisory services on the use of library resources, guidance on the use of library resources, and library practice; the available user education programmes in the institution’s library were highly implemented. User education programmes in the Polytechnic influenced use of library resources positively. The results also identified problems associated with user education programme in the institution such as irregularity in the implementation of the programmes, inadequate time for delivering user education instructions, etc. The study suggested solutions to the problems of user education and recommends that authorities of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba and the Library should provide more user education programmes in the institution, the institution should continue to implement user education programmes, including conducting the programmes more regularly to fresh students, and provide supporting equipment for efficient implementation of user education programmes in the library, among others.