Disaster management in University Libraries: perception, problems and strategies

Abstract

The paper investigated disaster management in University Libraries in South Eastern Nigeria; perceptions, problems and strategies. The design of the study was a descriptive survey. The population of the study consisted of librarians from university libraries in Southern Nigeria. Eighty-six librarians were sampled from the total of 265 librarians. Three research questions guided the study. Data for the study were collected using questionnaire which was validated through expert opinion. Data generated for the study were analysed using some descriptive statistics of percentages, mean and SD. It was discovered that perceptions of librarians vary on disaster management. Some of the problems encountered in disaster management include lack of adequate facilities, inadequate fund allocation to libraries and lack of interest on the part of some librarians on disaster management issues. The paper identified strategies for effective disaster management in university libraries in South Eastern Nigeria. These strategies include development of disaster preparedness plan, vulnerability analysis and risk assessment should be conducted to evaluate the types of emergencies that might affect library collection, personnel and building; backing up library websites regularly, staff training and raising awareness of the need to protect document from disaster. It was recommended that modern facilities to avert disaster should be provided for government. Training of librarians and other staff on disaster control and prevention should be carried out as well as adequate funding of the libraries by the government.

Librarians’ perception of disaster preparedness as precursor for effective preservation and conservation of library resources in Nigerian university libraries

“…On another hand, the result of this study corroborated that of Echezona, Ugwu and Ozioko [16] who noted that it has been an age long thinking of librarians that the chances of disaster occurrence in libraries are rare. If this claim is anything to by, it can then be concluded that librarians in Nigeria are yet to learn any lesson from the two fire disasters gutted the University of Jos two campus libraries' whole collection in 2013 and 2016 respectively [14].…”

“…This could affect Nigerians' general perception on disaster-whether natural or man-made. This may not be unconnected to why it has been reported that some librarians pay little or no attention to disaster preparedness, due to the assumption that Nigeria and indeed Africa are not prone to disasters and that library disasters are not widespread in the region [16]. Disaster preparedness embraces activities, programmes, policies as well as measures which are taken up before (to prevent or mitigate), during (to respond) and after (to recover) from the loss accompanying emergency.…”

“…After the two fire disasters in the two campus libraries of the University of Jos, in Northern Nigeria in 2013 and 2016 respectively, it was reported that the level of disaster awareness among stakeholders and the general extent of emergency preparedness in the campuses were poor [14]. It has been reported that librarians in Nigeria placed disaster preparedness activities at the bottom of their priority list [15,16].…”

Covid-19 impact on the Caribbean academic library: Jamaica's preliminary response to people, place, product and services

“…An online search of the scholarly literature on (1) academic libraries and disaster management and (2) the role of academic libraries and librarians in natural disasters and in providing health information, yields large positive results (for example, Newman, 2018;Clare, 2016;Newman and Harris, 2015;Iske and Lengfellner, 2015;Khalid and Dol, 2015;Abareh, 2014;Echezona, 2012;Corrigan, 2008;Kostagiolas et al, 2011;Ahenkorah-Marfo and Borteye, 2010;Trishanjit, 2009;Clareson and Long, 2006, amongst others); these, however, are about fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes, inter alia, and do not cover pandemics. This indicates that the literature on academic library pandemic management needs development.…”

Do University Libraries in Australia Actively Plan to Protect Special Collections from Disaster?

“…Given the case studies of disasters affecting university libraries, there has been few research studies conducted globally with specific focus on university librarian knowledge for library disaster management. Echezona, Ugwu & Ozioko (2012)…”