The Role of Academic Libraries in the accreditation of undergraduate programmes in FUTMinna

Abstract

The primary objective of this study is to find out the role of academic libraries in the accreditation of undergraduate programmes in Federal University of Technology Minna. The specific objectives are to: identify undergraduate accreditation requirement for various departments compared with library holdings, identify university accreditation requirements compare with library holding, find out if current materials available in academic libraries for accreditation of undergraduate programme are adequate and determine the relevance of the materials that are stock in the academic library in relation to accreditation requirement. This study is limited to Federal University of Technology, Minna with all categories of librarianss as target respondents. The study adopted census design method called total enumeration as means of gathering data with a target population of 97 staff of the library . The questionnaire was used as instrument of data collection. One null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. T-test analysis was used for the test of hypothesis. Research question data were analysed using frequency counts and simple percentages. The finding reveals that libraries are actively involved in all accreditation process since it provide information resources needed by the university to be accredited. It was concluded that a number of constraints such as inadequate funding and erratic power supply affect library role in accreditation. The study recommended sufficient financial support given to academic libraries to enable them function effectively, and alternative power supply should be constantly available for library to have a stable power supply. Adequate skilled personnel with professional knowledge in librarianship should be put in charge of the library and academic libraries should also invest in acquisition of electronic resources, as the world is going digital.