STATE OF THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE IN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN BENUE STATE

Abstract

The objective of any library or information system is that its resources and services should be effectively utilized. Utilization justifies the cost of acquiring the resources and the pains takes to process and organize them. If materials are available, they should be easily located and retrieved when needed. The library catalogue therefore becomes the most essential tool for accessing library collections as it lists all the holdings of the library as well as the call numbers of the materials so listed together with their locations on the shelves. The study sampled all the three universities in Benue State which are: the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, the Benue University Makurdi and the University of Mkar. Survey method was used for this study. A total of 300 copies of questionnaire was distributed out of which 285 (95%) were correctly filed and returned for analysis. The study found that all the university libraries in Benue State use the card catalogue. The catalogues were ill-maintained as many books found on the shelves had no cards in the catalogues while additions to the stock as well as withdrawals were not reflected in the catalogue in one of the libraries while cards were also not filed in strict alphabetic sequence. Some useful suggestions were made among which were the establishment of a Catalogue Maintenance Unit in all the universities libraries for proper maintenance of the catalogues to enable users have easy access to the collection.