Abstract:
This study focused on researchers’ perception of the relationship between library and information services delivery and their scholarly communication outputs in agricultural research institutes in North Central Nigeria. Library and information services delivery is represented as current awareness services (CAS), selective dissemination of information (SDI), internet services (IS), inter-library loan services (ILLS), reference services (RS) and circulation services (CS). The study sought to find out among other things: the extent to which CAS, SDI, IS, ILLS, RS, CS are provided by ARIs libraries, extent of perceived relationship between CAS, SDI, IS, ILLS, RS, CS and researchers’ scholarly communication outputs in agricultural research institutes in North-Central Nigeria and the constraints militating against the researchers’ utilization of library and information service delivery. The study had eight research questions and six hypotheses. Correlational survey research design was used for the study. With a population of 1,642 at the four (4) agricultural research institutes in North-Central Nigeria, the study arrived at a sample size of 820 using multi-stage sampling procedure. Two sets of questionnaires were developed and validated with reliability achieved using Cronbach’s Alpha with an overall coefficient of 0.938. Descriptive statistics was used to highlight the respondents’ major characteristics. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the data collected to answer research questions 1 and 8 while Pearson Product Movement Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) was used to analysis research questions 2-7 as well as test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that agricultural research institute libraries in North Central Nigeria to a high extent provided CAS, SDI, IS, ILLS, RS and CS to their researchers. Researchers’ in agricultural research institutes greatly utilized CAS, SDI, IS, ILLS, RS and CS to increase their scholarly communication outputs. In order words, there was a strong positive relationship between CAS, SDI, IS, ILLS, RS, CS and researchers’ scholarly communication outputs in agricultural research institutes in North Central Nigeria. There was also a significant relationship between the researchers utilization of CAS, SDI, IS, ILLS, RS, CS and their scholarly communication outputs in agricultural research institutes in North Central Nigeria. Constraints such as slow Internet connectivity, delay in service delivery, inadequate knowledge of search techniques and others militated against the agricultural researchers’ utilization of library and information service delivery. The study therefore recommended that agricultural research institute libraries in North Central Nigeria should focus on providing and encouraging their researchers to utilize more of selective dissemination of information (SDI) since it had the strongest positive relationship with their scholarly communication outputs, the institute libraries should improve on the provision of IS and RS as an increase in their utilization by the researchers contributes to a significant increase in their scholarly communication outputs, the libraries should provide viable ILLS and CS to the researchers by creating awareness of their existence and importance to their scholarly communication outputs as well as improve on their Internet connectivity in order to ensure that, researchers utilized Internet facilities effectively without any delay.
