Abstract:
The purpose of this work was to ascertain the availability and utilization of library resources in the teaching and learning of reading comprehension in schools in Obollo-Afor Education Zone. Five research questions were formulated to guide the study. The design of the study was a descriptive survey while the population comprised 46 schools, 139 English Language teachers, 11,321 senior secondary students in the sampled schools in Obollo-Afor Education Zone. The sample size was 400 including students and teachers. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the schools while simple random sampling technique was used to select the students and teachers as the respondents for the study. A structured questionnaire titled availability and utilization of library resources questionnaire was used. The data was analyzed using percentage, mean & standard deviation while three null hypotheses raised for the study was analyzed using t-test statistics. The major findings of the study is that many library resources such as dictionaries, manuals, maps, textbooks, magazines, newspaper, articles, novels, picture books, graphs and internet are available in the library . Out of the 11 (eleven) available resources, only 6 (six) are utilized in secondary schools in Obollo-Afor Education Zone. Another finding was also that both teachers and students possess the skills for using the resources while teaching, but are not aware of the need to use the available resources when it comes to the teaching and learning of reading comprehension. A number of recommendations were made towards the improvement of library use but the most prominent suggestion was that Ministry of Education and stake holders should organize workshops and seminars for English Language teachers in order to increase their level of awareness on the need to use the resources.
