Effective Records Retention Program for Selected University Libraries in South-South, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated effective records retention program in selected university libraries in the South-South, Nigeria. The population consists of 790librarians and library staff of the federal, state and private university libraries in the south-south, Nigeria, The questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. Seven hundred and ninety (790) copies of the questionnaire were administered but 670 copies were retrieved from the respondents. The data collected were subjected to frequency count and simple percentage. The results of the study, among others, showed that universities libraries has the following typed of records commonly stored which include books and journals acquired, periodical/ appraisal /promotion/ conference records, staff files, library holdings, minute of meeting, receipts of money received, library equipment, actual budget allocation, releases and retiring/ shipment receipts and purchase order. The outcomes of the study revealed that existing records retention programs in the university libraries were patron records, library resources records, standard records /managerial records and digital records. The study further reveals that using computer, stored manually and file cabinets were the methods utilised to improve records retention programs. It also, revealed lack of awareness on records policy /lack of professional training on records retention/ improper filling, inadequate finance, inadequate resources facilities’, lack of policy implementation, poor maintenance culture, quality and quantity of staff / poor storage condition. It was recommended that management should develop a comprehensive records retention policy that establish clear guidelines of what constitutes a record, identify different record types, and categorize them based on their importance and legal requirements and how long each record type should be retained, considering factors like legal obligations, historical value, and operational needs and among others.