Abstract:
The paper attempted to find out if male and female undergraduate students were
motivated by the same factors to study Library and Information Science and
whether and why some people use librarianship as a "transit camp". Survey
method was applied. The instrument used for collection of data was the
questionnaire. The findings of the study showed greater percentage of females
(38.46%) than males (26.67%) considered LIS when they could not secure
admission to their first choice programme. Females did not set high priority on
economic rewards when they decided to choose the library profession and they
showed greater rate of stereotyping towards the library profession than males. It
was also revealed that 6.41% of females and 6.67% of males chose librarianship
when they decided to change occupation and 52.78% of the total respondents did
not choose library and information science out of volition, conviction and
commitment to the course of librarianship but were propelled by extraneous
circumstances. Out of this category 77.19% were females. The · paper
recommended that both the Nigerian Library Association and the Library Schools
should market library services in order to create awareness of the potentials of the
library profession.
