Teaching Effectiveness, Availability, Accessibility, and Use of Library and Information Resources Among Teaching Staff of Schools of Nursing in Osun and Oyo State, Nigeria

Introduction Background to the Study In each society there are facilities other than classrooms that can contribute in no small measure to teaching and learning process. For learning to take place learners must have access to necessary information materials and resources. They have to interact with tangible and intangible resources and institutions to ensure some levels of performance. In an academic environment like the studies study, one of the main sources of information is the library. Roberson (2005) defines a library as an institution that manages the intellectual products that individual can gain access to readily, lyanda and Salawu (2006) on the other hand sees library as a building, an instructional and self development centre, which operate as an integral part of the entire school environment. Also Ranganathan as quoted by lyanda and Salawu (2006) describes library as a public institution or an establishment charged with the care of a collection of books the duty of making them accessible to those who require the use of them and the task of converting every person in its neighborhood into habitual library goers and readers of books. Libraries provide resources for knowledge acquisition, recreation, personal interests and inter-personal relationships for all categories of users. However in an academic environment, attention is basically focused on academic and nonacademic staff, students and researchers. The philosophy of librarianship is based on the concept of library services and provision of relevant resources for users. To this end, Professional Librarians continue to strive to collect, store, organize and disseminate all forms of recorded knowledge in order to satisfy both present and future information needs of users. Library resources are the stock in trade of librarians. These are the materials in the library make services possible. They are the materials which the users come to consult, read or borrow. Library resources are many and varied, but they can be divided into two broad categories namely "printed and non printed materials". The printed materials are books, pamphlets periodicals, newspapers and reference resources. Non-printed materials are however, often referred to as audio-visual resources. They are the product of advanced technology, some of which require special equipment to operate. Non-printed resources can be grouped into three (i.e. Audio, visual and audio-visual). We also have electronic resources as part of resources in the libraries. Popoola and Haliso (2009) define library information resources as those information bearing materials. That are in both printed and electronic formats. Such as textbooks, journals, indexes, abstracts, newspapers and magazines, reports, CD-ROM databases, internet/E-mail, video tapes/cassettes, diskettes magnetic disk, computers, micro forms e.t. c. These information materials are the raw materials that libraries acquire, catalogue, stock, and make available to their patrons, as well as use to provide various other services. Teachers need various kinds of information for teaching and research for the purposes of impacting knowledge in students and self development. To achieve this, the right information must be available for the right person at the right time in its appropriate format. Which are the responsibilities of the library. Oguntuase and Falaiye (2004) agree with this view by observing that the most effective way to mobilize people is through the provision of required information. In the most useable form and that such information should be provided for the benefit of a large number of people. Nursing Education and Teaching Effectiveness Akinyele (1999) defines education as the process of learning in order to develop physically, socially, emotionally, intellectually and economically. An educated person is not only literate but has also developed his or her mental and reasoning powers and is knowledgeable. …