Availability and Adequacy of Library in Public Primary Schools in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Education plays a prominent role in the human capacity development and economic progress of any nation. For sound education, reading for self-development and actualisation, learners must be able to get along with extra sources of supplementary books apart from classroom work. Hence, the need for adequately equipped library in the primary schools for effective training of young minds. The study therefore examined the status of school libraries in Oyo State public primary schools. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 56 public primary schools in the study area. Data generated was analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that majority (68.9%) of the public primary schools do not have a school library, where they are available, the learning materials are outdated. Furthermore, the study revealed non- availability of essential library resources such as dictionaries (60.5%), encyclopaedia (86.0%) and information books (79.1%).There is the need for the Ministry of Education and relevant stakeholders to devote more funds for the procurement of educational materials and provision of standard school libraries in primary schools.