ABSTRACT
The study was designed to look at the preservation and conservation of library information materials in Abia State Library Board. The objectives were: to Identify library materials available for conservation and preservation in Abia State Library Board, identify the conservation practices available in public library board Library Board, identify the preservation practices available in public library board Library Board, ascertain the challenges that militates against the preservation and conservation of library information materials in Abia State Library Board, proffer strategies to militate the problems of preservation and conservation in Abia State Library Board. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study, the population of the study consist of 113 staff of Abia State Library Board and using complete census technique the entire population was adopted as the sample size. Questionnaire were used for data collection, 113 copies of questionnaire was distributed and collected, representing the 100% in analyzing the data obtained, frequency counts, simple percentages and mean (X) were used as statistical methods. The results obtained from the findings revealed that various; that the library under study has quite a number of information materials that undergo preservation and conservation, Inadequate power supply are challenges that affect preservation and conservation of library materials in the library. Based on the findings, it was recommended that; there is need for better funding of public libraries especially in the face of these emerging trends and there should be formulation of preservation and conservation policy to ensure the library carriers out this preservation and conservation practices effectively and efficiently.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of contents vi
List of tables ix
Abstract x
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the Study 1
1.1.1
Brief History of Abia State Library Board Umuahia 7
1.2
Statement of the Problem 8
1.3
Scope of the Study 9
1.4
Purpose of the Study 9
1.5
Research Question 11
1.6
Significance of the Study 11
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Conceptual Framework 13
2.1.1
Concept of preservation and conservation of library resources 14
2.1.2
Preservation and Conservation Practices in Abia State Library
Board
Umuahia 19
2.1.3
Need for Adoption of preservation and conservation
practices
in Abia state Library Board, Umuahia 22
2.1.4
Information Resources Available for Preservation
and
Conservation practices in Abia state Library Board, Umuahia. 26
2.1.5
Human Resources Needed for Preservation and
Conservation
in Abia State Library Board Umuahia 29
2.1.6
Problems Associated with Preservation and
Conservation
in Abia State Library Board Umuahia 31
2.1.7
Strategies for the Enhancement of Preservation and
Conservation
in Abia State Library Board Umuahia 35
2.2
Review of Related Empirical Studies 40
2.3
Summary of the Reviewed Related Literature 43
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
3.1
Research Design 44
3.2
Area of the Study 45
3.3
Population of the Study 46
3.4
Sample sampling Technique 46
3.5
Instrument for Data Collection 46
3.6
Validation of the Instrument 46
3.7
Method of Data Collection 47
3.8
Method of Data Analysis 47
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
4.1
Data Analysis 49
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1
Discussion of Findings 60
5.2
Conclusion 67
5.3
Educational Implication of the Findings 68
5.4
Limitations of the Study 70
5.5
Recommendations 70
5.6
Suggestions for Further Studies 71
5.7
Summary of the Study 72
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
LIST OF TABLES
Table
1.0: Distribution and Return Rate of the Questionnaire 49
Table
2.0: Demographic Distribution of the Respondents
based
on Academic Cadre 50
Table
3.0: Mean responses on the materials available
for
preservation and conservation in ASLB 51
Table
4.0: Mean responses on the conservation
practices
available in ASLB 53
Table
5.0: Mean responses on the preservation
practices
available in ASLB 55
Table
6.0: Mean responses on the challenges militating against
preservation and conservation of information
materials in ASLB 57
Table
7.0: Mean responses on the strategies to counter the challenges
militating against the preservation and
conservation
of
information of information materials in ASLB 58
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background
to the Study
The
library has the primary role of acquiring, processing, organizing, preserving
as well as conserving the printed and non-printed information resources or
materials for the use of their clientele. Library information resources refer
to all those media for storing information such as textbooks, journals,
newspapers and magazines, patents and standards, handbooks and manuals,
directories, gazetteers, encyclopedias, atlases and maps, calendars and diaries,
vertical files, theses and dissertations, tapes, videos, films, optical discs,
cassettes, magnetic tapes, microforms, etc. Similarly, library information
resources can simply be defined as book materials, microforms and electronic
information materials capable of meeting information needs of the users
(Popoola, 2003).
Conservation
and preservation of deteriorating information resources in libraries has become
a global phenomenon to which libraries must aggressively respond if their
mission of providing information needs of their patrons would be met (Akande,
2009).
Libraries
acquire material to meet the informational or recreational needs of its
clientele. When the material in one’s care is allowed to deteriorate unchecked
or become damaged in anyway, it may be ultimately difficult for the information
it embodies to be available for use. It is the responsibility of the library
staff to keep these materials in good physical condition so that they are
available for users at all times.
Materials
in many libraries and archives throughout the country are still housed in
conditions that leave much to be desired (Olatokun, 2008). A large portion of
information recorded on audio or videotape about important events, people,
etc., has been routinely wiped out in our electronic media houses (Popoola, 2003).
The deterioration of information-bearing material has a long history. Unless
something is done to stop the process, library collections deteriorate and will
continue to deteriorate. This is a battle that has to be waged against to
prevent the deterioration of our intellectual heritage. Preservation is the
action taken to anticipate, prevent, stop, or slow deterioration. It can also
be described as the art of anticipating and preventing decay (Baker, 2001).
Conservation
is an act of preservation, protecting and shielding material from destructive
influences that shorten their life span. The library plays a crucial role of
protecting and preserving information-bearing materials from distortion,
deterioration, and eventual loss because the materials are imperative. Public
libraries acquire information resources to meet the needs of their community.
As a result, the libraries are left with damaged books, distorted tapes,
scratched CDs, etc (Popoola, 2003).
When an important, often
used book is found in a poor physical condition that restricts its future use
and denies the borrower the pleasure of its reading, then the need arises for
its preservation and conservation in public library.
Nostalgia for such works is another point of consideration, Wide Range of Users: Everyone from a
child to an old man, from layman to researchers, turns to information even
after hundred years of the publication of the material, Future and Heavy Use: Hard copies of the old as well
as new materials are prone to decay. So, to provide continuous and wider access
to the collection preservation is a must. Priority should be given to
high-value, at-risk materials of national interest. The purpose shall be to serve
preventive preservation, as well as security, goals by reducing the handling of
the originals.
The strategies in preservation and conservation
of library material can be viewed in the form of following points:
Document Selection: If
preservation and conservation practices will be followed then the goal should
be to bring as many worthy collections as possible for the document at risk to
improve access. According to the option chosen for preservation necessary
infrastructure should be developed. In case of digital preservation necessary
hardware and software should be procured. If possible the archive or library
can go for automated management systems that will manage digital resources for
acquisition, use, and archiving automatically. The Conservation Laboratory: Conservators routinely use
chemical and scientific analysis for the examination and treatment of the
works. The modern conservation
lab uses equipment such as microscopes,
spectrometers, and x-ray machines to understand better the objects and their
components. The data thus collected help in deciding the conservation
treatments to be provided to the object.
The
term ‘Conservation’ has been defined in the IFLA Principles for the Care and
Handling of Library materials (2010) as “specific practices taken to slow down
deterioration and prolong the life span of an object by direct intervening in
its physical or chemical make-up. The composition of some of the media of
storing information makes deterioration inevitable. Deterioration may set in
through the natural ageing process or as a result of other factors such as
chemical composition of the media of information, biological agents,
environmental factors, physical agents and improper handling. There is,
therefore, the need to take certain conservation measure to slow down
deterioration to avoid losing these library resources. Conservation involves
taking protective measures to prevent decay and consequently, the loss of
library resources. It also includes taking preventive measures against agents of
deterioration of books and other library resources.
Preservation
has been defined in the same IFLA Principles for the Care and Handling of
Library Material to include “all the managerial and financial considerations
including storage and accommodation provisions, staffing levels, policies,
techniques, and methods involved in preserving library and archival material
and the information contained in them.”. While conservation is direct physical
intervention arresting or slowing down deterioration of library materials,
preservation involves both the direct and indirect action. In preservation
consideration is given to every element that promotes the protection of the
materials including the housing, storage system and security against such
threats as theft, mutilation and poor handling. Preservation is, therefore, a
more embracing concept and it includes conservation.
Popoola
(2003) further submitted that until 1980’s, preservation and conservation of
library information materials was thought to be relevant to rare book materials
by librarians and curators of collection of special materials. But, library
information materials are bound to deteriorate or breakdown with time through
the aging process, and to replace them may be difficult and expensive if not
practically impossible. The modern day libraries and information centers are
faced with the problem of deterioration of information materials in their holdings.
Their information materials have deteriorated to the extent of losing their
intellectual contents. It must be noted that thousands of volumes of
information materials in most African academic libraries and information centres
are either in state of brittleness or disrepair because of preservation
problem.
According to the National Library of Australia
(2004), one of the major crises facing libraries throughout the world is the
rate of deterioration of their collections. Since library materials are
composed primarily of organic materials, they are subject to natural
deterioration. Most libraries’ collections today are based on paper either in book
or sheet form – bound volumes, newspapers, serials, manuscripts, maps,
water colours, prints and drawings. Some libraries have an important collection
of oil paintings, a small collection of objects, and a large collection of
photographic materials including negatives, prints, glass negatives and
photographic albums. The collections of modern materials such as sound tapes
and electronically stored information such as CD ROMs and computer discs is
growing rapidly, and most libraries’ collections are essentially impermanent
(National Library of Australia, 2004). Unlike museum items that are rarely
handled, library materials are meant to be used. They are vital sources of
information which cannot be conserved and stored away in an ideal and secure
environment to arrest their decay. This is the dilemma of library preservation
– to make information accessible, while still ensuring its ultimate survival.
As the IFLA-PAC China Centre (2006) puts it to be the core activity on
preservation and conservation is to ensure that significant library and archive
materials, published and unpublished, in all formats, will be preserved in
accessible form for as long as possible. The public library is established to
provide materials, which communicate experience and ideas from one person to
another and make them easily and freely available to all people. The public
library is a local centre of information that makes all kinds of knowledge and
information readily available to its users. It is established, supported and
funded by the community, either through local, regional or national government
or through some other form of community organizations. It provides access to
knowledge, information and works of imagination through a range of resources
and services. It is equally available to all members of the community
regardless of race, nationality, age, gender, religion, language, disability,
employment status and educational attainment (Aboyade, 2004).
1.1.1
Brief
History of Abia State Library Board Umuahia
Abia
State Library Board came into existence in August, 1991 having been carved out
from the old Imo State by the Act of Government of Abia State Library Board Law
of September, 1992. This is to ensure that government did not default in
providing library services to theirclientele. What is today used as the
headquarters of the library has being existing as a branch of the Old Eastern
Nigeria Library Board with Enugu as the headquarters. The building was
officially opened in April 17, 1965 by the Rt. Hon. Michael Iheonukara Okpara,
the then premier of Eastern Nigeria.
Abia
State Library Board is a social service oriented parastal under the Ministry of
Education with the main objective of rendering efficient and effective library
and information services to Abians and non-Abians alike. The Board is also
saddled with the responsibility of providing library services to primary and
post-primary schools in Abia State. In rendering their services, they
established the following objectives based on the law establishing the library:
·
Establish, equip and
maintain the State Library and Its branches in all parts of the state.
·
Assemble, maintain and
extend the collection of books and other information materials.
·
Provide in accordance
with enabling law such services as are in the opinion of the Board.
The
Library is owned and funded by the Abia State Government and has about
one-hundred and forty (140) staff. It is situated in a piece of land opposite
the Head of Service, Governor's Office, Umuahia.
Abia
State Library Board has eight departments- The personnel, Finance and Supplies,
Public Services, Planning, Research and Statistics, Information Consultancy and
Bibliographic Services (ICBS), School and Extension Services, technical
Services and Business Services.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The public library is established to
provide materials, which communicate experience and ideas from one person to
another and make them easily and freely available to all people. It is
highly imperative that information materials acquired in public library should
be well preserved and conserved. The essence of preservation and conservation
of information materials in public library is to guard against the
deterioration of library materials, which is a basic problem of libraries.
Thus, the need to preserve and conserve library information materials.
Deterioration of library information materials in public libraries has been
established in literature as a universal phenomenon. While these materials are
negatively affected by natural and human factors, observations and experience
have shown that they are more vulnerable to decay and damage by climatic and
environmental factors.
Most library managers fail to realize the importance
of preservation and conservation of information materials. All library
information materials are industrial productions made up of chemicals and other
ephemeral properties; they are subject to decay, wear and tear, mutilation,
soiling and other manifestation of deterioration (Nnadozie 2007). The observation
of the researcher is that there is little or no awareness about preservation
and conservation of information materials
inAbia State Library Board. Lack
of preservation and conservation in public libraries will affect the growth of
the library in the sense that if the library materials keep on deteriorating
there will be limited resources in the library for user to use. Hence, the
decision to undertake this study with the aim to identify appropriate solutions
to the mentioned problems.
1.3 Scope of the Study
The scope of the study is on the preservation
and conservation of library information materials, the methods to adopted for
the preservation and conservation of library information materials and also to
proffer solutions to the challenges that militate against the preservation and
conservation of library information materials in Abia State Library Board.
Geographically the research will be limited to Abia State Library Board.
1.4
Purpose
of the Study
The main purpose of the study is to investigate
the preservation and conservation of library information materials in to Abia
State Library Board.
The specific purpose of the study is to:
1. Identify library materials available for
conservation and preservation in Abia State Library Board.
2. Identify the conservation practices
available in public library board Library Board.
3. Identify the preservation practices
available in public library board Library Board.
4. Ascertain the challenges that militates
against the preservation and conservation of library information materials in Abia
State Library Board.
5. Proffer strategies to militate the problems
of preservation and conservation in Abia State Library Board.
1.5 Research Question
The following research questions was formulated
to guide the study:
1. What are the library materials available for
conservation and preservation in Abia State Library Board.
2. What are the conservation practices
available in public library board Library Board.
3. What are the preservation practices
available in public library board Library Board.
4. What are the challenges that militates
against the preservation and conservation of library information materials in Abia
State Library Board.
5. What are the strategies to militate the
problems of preservation and conservation in Abia State Library Board.
1.6 Significance of the Study:
The result of the study would
enhance the preservation and conservation practice in Abia State Library Board
library by enlightening librarians and users on the importance of preserving
and conserving the information materials in the most suitable way, and by
implication help the libraries to save cost
The findings of the study is
expected to be of interest to public library and Abia State government by
ensuring that they understand the true state of the library materials and the
need to adequately reduce the rate at which valuable information materials
deteriorate.
It would enable librarians make quick and
meaningful decision on appropriate methods to reduce further deterioration.
This research would also be of great benefit to the librarians, students and
researchers by contributing to literature in the study of preservation and
conservation of library information materials.
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