SCHOOL LIBRARY ENVIRONMENT AND UTILIZATION OF LIBRARY RESOURCES IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS WITHIN CALABAR MUNICIPALITY, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between school library environment and utilization of library resources in selected secondary schools within Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of this study four null hypotheses were generated to direct the study. Literature review was done according to the variables of the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of one hundred (105) respondents were randomly selected for the study. The selection was done through the purposive sampling technique and convenient sampling technique, where the researcher intentionally selected and included in the study only the library users who had registered with the library within the selected schools. The questionnaire was the main instrument used for data collection, and it was subjected to face validation by an expert in measurement and evaluation. The reliability estimate of the instrument was established through the Test retest reliability method. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis was the statistical analysis technique adopted to test the hypotheses under study. All hypotheses were subjected to testing at .05 level of significance. The results of the analysis revealed that, Library’s comfortable space, library’s quiet zones, and the aesthetic appeal of a library’s environment significantly relate to students’ utilization of library resources. Based on the findings of the study it was recommended that the school management should provide a comfortable library space for their users, ensure that the library environment is noise free as well as beautify the library environment with pictures, paintings drawings that have strong aesthetic appeal on the users. Keywords: library environment, comfortable space, quite zone, aesthetics appeal