Students' Perceived Influence of Library Services in Secondary Schools in Kwara State, Nigeria

It is often said that students' effective learning cannot be acquired through classrooms activities alone, they refer to school library information resources to complement what they have been taught. In view of the foregoing, this study examines students' perceived influence of library services in secondary schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. The study population consists of 27,883 students in secondary schools (public and private). Multistage and systematic random sampling techniques were used to select 378 students across the 16 local governments drawn from the three senatorial districts that formed the state. An instrument titled "School Library Questionnaire (SLQ)" was used to collect relevant information from the respondents. Data collected were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Partial Least Square (PLS) softwares. Findings of the study revealed that availability of library services positively influenced students' academic success. Findings established factors that hamper provision of library services, which include shortage of relevant materials, lack of facilities (such as internet, desktop computer and printer), lack of chairs and sitting facilities, and inadequate library personnel. The study concludes that library services remain an indispensable services that are needed to improve students' academic ability and that adequate library facilities, such as procurement of current library materials, availability of chairs and tables, desktop computers and internet, should be provided to ensure a comprehensive provision of library services to students and other library users.