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AVAILABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND UTILIZATION OF INFORMATION RESOURCES AND SERVICES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The study investigates the availability, accessibility and use of information resources and services among information seekers of Lafia public library in Nasarawa state. The term availability must be distinguished from accessibility. Availability of information resources means ensuring their presence in the libraries for immediate use (Aguolu and Aguolu, 2002). Learning materials might be available i.e. the library has acquired them but inaccessible for use to those who need them for whatever reason (Un-cataloged, miscataloged, miss-shelved etc.). Accessibility means that users can identify and use the resources.

The library means different thing to different people and institutions. To some it is a place where books and non-book materials are preserved for the purpose of dissemination of information and knowledge and for the benefit of the society it is meant to serve. To others, the library is an institution where books and other information resources are collected, processed, stored, retrieved and disseminated.

The public library unlike other types of libraries is not restricted to any group of users. It is more or less a universal library. It is expected to serve all kinds of people including young children and people with disabilities and even people who for one reason or the other are incapacitated. Such people include patients in the hospitals, prisons etc. they are generally managed, financed and supported by government, local communities and occasionally non-government organizations etc. some National Libraries in Africa develop, operate and maintain public libraries (Aina, 2004).

Information availability establishes a new standard for system and network that are always on for applications and data that are always available and for end users that are always connected. Availability of information resources also entails acquiring and also providing means by which users could get necessary information resources needed. It tries to ensure that every user gets document, which could satisfy his/her quest for information.

Indeed, availability of information resources could justify the existence of the library or information center. It is in line with this that the study set to assess the level at which information resources are made available and accessible by the users of Lafia public library. Perhaps a study such as this could give an insight into how the library is used and relevance services provided to the users.

Accessibility in general term is used to describe the degree to which a system is useable by a wide range of users as possible. In other words, it is the degree of ease with which it is possible to re ach a certain location from other locations. Accessibility can also be viewed as the ability to access the functionality and possible benefit of some system or entity.

Accessibility is very important specifically as it focuses on people with disabilities and their access to entities, often through use of assertive devices such as screen reading, web browsers and catalogs through technological format. It is one thing for the resources to be available and it is another thing to be accessible. What so ever is available but not accessible is equally useless. Only what is accessible that is usable.

Garba, (2009) posit that information resources can be accessible through the use of telecommunication and information technology. It enables access to information and services by minimizing the barriers of distance and cost as well as the usability of interference. If the resources are in print format but the language, which it is written is not understood by the user, it means the resources are not accessible. The accessibility of information resources is 

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