Correlates of School Library Development in Calabar, Nigeria: Implications for Counselling

Abstract

The study investigated the correlates of school library development in Calabar, Nigeria.  Two hypotheses guided the study.  A thirty item structured questionnaire was developed and validated by experts in Measurement and Evaluation.  This was administered to a total of four hundred and fifty respondents comprising of principals, vice-principals and library staff of the secondary schools in the study area.  Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used for data analysis.  The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between the negative attitude of principals of secondary schools and the school library development.  A significant relationship also existed between funding and school library development in Calabar.  Based on this it was recommended that government should set a compulsory benchmark for every secondary school in the state as a condition towards having a functional, current, well stocked library.  Philanthropic organizations and private investors in the state should be made to promote the development of school library service by presenting books as donations to schools.

Keywords: Library Development, Counselling, Principal attitude.