CONSTRAINTS AND STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCED MENTORING PROGRAMMES AND PRACTICES IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN SOUTH-EAST,NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the constraints militating against effective mentoring for professional skills development and suggested strategies for enhancing mentoring programs and practices for academic librarians in federal university libraries in South-East Nigeria. The sample for the study comprised 115 academic librarians from five federal university libraries in South –East, Nigeria. Data was collected through a questionnaire titled “Challenges and Strategies for Enhanced Mentoring Programmes and Practices in University Libraries Questionnaire” (CSEMPPULQ). The results showed that many factors constituted constraints focused upon in the study, they included amongst others: absence of mentorship in the professional education and training curriculum of librarians, non-institutionalization of articulated, structured formal mentoring programs in Nigerian university libraries, lack of mentoring policies, guidelines and frameworks and inadequate facilities for mentoring indicated by Std. Dev of .494, .497, .540, .608 respectively. Strategies suggested included revision of LIS curriculum to include mentorship, institutionalization of formal structured mentorship programs, developing formal mentorship policies and frameworks provision of mentoring facilities among others. Based on the findings it is recommended that institutions should develop and provide institutional mentoring programs in line with international best practices in libraries in university in South East, Nigeria. The study concluded that if intentionally articulated, mentoring will provide a strategic continuous learning platform for developing professional skills of academic librarians in the ever changing paradigm of the university libraries in the period of economic recession.