Phenomenological Study on the Information Use Pattern of Teacher Librarians in Post-Primary Schools of Rural Areas in Nigeria

Abstract

This was a phenomenological study that investigated the information use pattern of teacher librarians in rural areas of Nigeria. Sixty (60) teacher librarians from public post-primary schools in rural areas of Nigeria were interviewed to determine their experiences in the use of information and factors that contributed to the effective use of information. The phenomenological method was used to analyse the experiences of the teacher librarians in terms of their information use for teaching and learning. The findings indicated that face-to-face contact and print related media were the major information resources used by the teacher librarians. The findings also revealed that despite the barriers, their information use pattern was cyclical, starting from asking, skimming, referral, jotting down, photocopying, focusing, extracting, integrating and storing for further use. The findings of the study also showed that lack of funding, ICT facilities, and electricity, among others were factors that hindered them from having access to and effectively using information. Recommendations were made for the provision of basic information infrastructures to facilitate the information use pattern of teacher librarians in rural areas of Nigeria and for future research.