Challenges In The Education And Training Of Library And Information Science Students

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The study of the principle and practice of library operation and administration is new in Nigeria. It was introduced by the colonial masters.
It did not become an identifiable discipline nor did it emerge as a separate course or field of study. It until the later half of the 19th century.
It emerged as a response to the socio-economic development of the nation.
The library as a store house of information is very essential in every aspect of life. For business, decision making, effective planning, communication, research and advancement. We need information for everyday activities and so cannot do with out it. The development countries of the world understand this and appreciate the role of information in national growth.
The Nigeria as a developing country has just realized the need for libraries as centre for selection “EG” acquisition, processing storage and dissemination of information, and for this reason there are today various types if libraries such as public libraries, school libraries and academic libraries in Nigeria, each rendering information services to their different communities of users.
Librarianship as a profession catering for the services and operation of the library has been accepted as an important and noble profession. Librarians comes together and interact through the Nigeria library association (NLA) which for gears has been the link through its annual general meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops and other activities both at the national and state levels.
Despite all efforts of Nigeria library association and the services of libraries and librarians, the profession has not attained its full growth and development as other profession like medical, engineering, legal and nursery etc. it has been experiencing some drawbacks that are affecting its growth.
The drawbacks range from the challenge of perception to the growth and development of the profession. The poor image of the profession (librarianship) as a result of the ugly perception of the profession by the general public, is disheartening and so constitutes a very big challenges to library and information profession in Nigeria.
Besides the attitude of librarians themselves also brings about many challenges in librarianship in Nigeria. Both librarians feel inferior, this are enable to stand and defined themselves and their not been legally recognized like medical profession, legal, etc. it was only in 1995. This is a great achievement and land mark.
Moreover, the adequate supply of well qualified teaching staff and the effectiveness of the Nigeria library Association (NLA) are not assured and so constitutes its own problem towards the profession.
The funding and patronage of the library as the base for the training of librarian on the part of the government also arouse worries and affects the growth of librarianship in Nigeria.
Inspite of all these Ogunseye 1984 pointed out that librarianship as a profession has come to stay.
Librarianship students are accepted as academic disciplines in our universities. Researches into the problem in all the frontiers of knowledge in library studies are being carried out.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
like the university, the library came into existence in 1981 with the government of the university of Madonna High school, Chitee Uboma. As the former Imo state university, the pioneer university librarian was Mr. Kalu Onyeoka with Mr. Herbert O.M. Iwuyi as the deputy. On it’s relocation to Owerri, the university librarian became a senior lecturer of library and information science from the university of Maidugri, Dr. Ralph U. Ononogbo who is to day the university librarian of Michael Opkara university of Agriculture Umudike. The immediate past university librarian is Mr. M.S. Onife, who ventured from the position from FUTO.
The library is accommodated in relatively large building in a low density noiseless area of the university. The library has a sitting capacity if 450 students and has a collection of 50,000 volumes of books.
IMSU library consist of the main library law library, college of median library and faculty of business administration library. A part from the academic library (main library), the branch libraries are located within the faculties or department as the case may be.
According to the fact sheet of IMSU (2004, the college of the library is made up of 50,000, volumes of books, 2000 bound periodicals, 3000 documents and thesis, 400 unbound journals, 4 titles of newspapers, magazines mining for 10 years, 7200 unprocessed book is in the work room and 10,000 gift of books in cartons. It is instructive to note that at the law library, there are 4500 books, 500 documents and thesis, 90 journals and 4 titles of newspaper and magazines running for 8 years. At the college of medicine and health science library, there are 2,000 books while the business faculty library has 850 books. The library has 850 books. The library has total staff strength of 50.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
As we know that library and information science profession is faced with many problems which include poor perception, lack of marketing of library success, poor staff, absence of ICT, etc.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
I. To find out the challenges of librarianship within the case study
II. To identify the attitude of librarian in relation to the profession
III. To find out if the Nigeria library association (NLA) is effective in directing the affair of the profession.
IV. To discover the perception of the profession by the general public
V. To identify the problems militating against library and information science profession
VI. To proffer solutions to the problems militating against the profession.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
A critical study of various literatures reveals that efforts have been made in the past to train and educate the library and information science professionals therefore, this research is thus an improvement on earlier ones as it focuses on the challenges in training and education of library and information science professionals.
However, this study will be of immense value to undergraduate students, librarians and researcher’s in their research on challenges in training and education of library and information science professional

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In other to achieve the objective of this study, the following research questions have been formulated.
1. What are the challenges facing library and information science profession in IMSU and FPNO library schools?
2. What is the attitude of librarians in relation to the profession?
3. What strategies does the Nigeria library spoliation adopt in directing the affairs of the profession?
4. What are the perceptions of the profession by the general public?
5. What are the problems militating against library and information science profession.
6. What is the possible solution to the problem militating against the profession?

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The project covers the challenges of training and education of library and information science professionals using IMSU and federal polytechnic Nekede Owerri library schools as comparative study.