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A study of secondary school library resources in Anglophone Cameroon: Strategies for improvement
Abstract
There is a paucity of data on the resources, organization and management of secondary school libraries in Anglophone Cameroon. The few data available are based principally on casual observations and personal impressions, and in general, describe the collections as shocking and disgracefully meagre. The main objective of this study was to examine the current status of school library resources in selected secondary schools in Anglophone Cameroon. To this effect, attention was focused on book stock, periodical holdings, audiovisual materials, physical facilities and equipment, finance, management and use. In doing so, the principal method used was survey research method. This was supplemented with interview and observation, document analysis and participant observation techniques. The survey research instrument contained 59 item questions centered on the current status of secondary school libraries in Anglophone Cameroon. During visits to schools, the researcher interviewed relevant school authorities and also observed first-hand the state of the libraries. Information so obtained was cross-checked against responses to the mail questionnaire and also data gained from documentary sources. In all the schools studied there was acute shortage of such library resources as books, reference materials, periodicals, and audiovisual collections. Most schools also lacked adequate work space, seating accommodations for the pupils and basic working equipment for the libraries. In the issue of personnel, evidence showed that all the schools lacked qualified manpower. A few schools have full-time librarians who are neither qualified academically nor professionally. Some schools try, once in a while, to set aside some money for the needs of the library. But on the whole, the amount usually budgeted is grossly inadequate for even the basic needs of the library. Specific and policy oriented recommendations in the form of guidelines for the improvement of secondary school library services in Anglophone Cameroon were proposed.
Subject Area
Library science|Curricula|Teaching
Recommended Citation
Nwanosike, Eugene Ogbonia, "A study of secondary school library resources in Anglophone Cameroon: Strategies for improvement" (1989). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI8917387.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI8917387