EFFECT OF THEFT AND MUTILATION ON THE USE OF LIBRARY COLLECTION IN AN ACADEMIC LIBRARY IN LAGOS STATE

This study examines effect of theft and mutilation on the use of library collection in an academic library in Lagos State, Nigeria. The total population for this study comprised of 250 undergraduate registered user of university of Lagos library in the 2017/2018 academic session who are constant users of the library. The entire population was sampled using total enumeration sampling technique because of the small and manageable size of the population. Questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Findings from this study revealed among others that the extent of theft and mutilation of library resources in academic libraries in Nigeria is very high, that high cost of books, lack of photocopying machine, porous library security system, lack of electronic security measures, lack of proper monitoring of students, unavailability of online databases among others are factors responsible for theft and mutilation of resources in academic libraries in Nigeria. This study also revealed that theft and mutilation of information resources has lots of negative impact on the entire collection and services of the academic libraries in Nigeria. The following were suggested to improve on ways to curb the menace of theft and mutilation of resources in academic libraries in Nigeria: The library security personnel should be placed in strategic position in the library so that strict compliance to the library rules and regulations would be ensured among the library users; Male and female security personnel should be employed to ensure that a thorough search takes place for both male and female students at the exit of the library; Closed circuit television (CCTV) system should be deployed to the library as the major system of securing the library collection and should be closely monitored by a security minded staff so as to minimize the menace of book theft and mutilation among others