Supporting Medical Research in Nigeria: Uncovering the Gaps in Librarians' Competencies
Journal of Medical Library and Information Science,
Vol. 6 No. 6 (2025),
5 April 2025
,
Page 1-11
https://doi.org/10.22037/jmlis.v6i.47816
Abstract
Introduction: The introduction of research support services in medical and health libraries worldwide aims to provide the necessary tools and resources that assist researchers in planning, conducting, and disseminating their research effectively. This study aimed to survey the research support services and the competencies of medical librarians to provide such services in medical libraries in South-South, Nigeria.
Methods: The survey method was employed, using a sample of the population, all registered medical librarians from 11 government-owned universities with colleges of medicine or health sciences colleges in the six South-South states of Nigeria. The total enumerative sampling technique covered 47 medical librarians in the institutions. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The questionnaire was a 4-point scale instrument adapted from the Medical Library Association Competency Standards. Data were analyzed using simple percentage/frequency counts and statistical mean.
Results: The research services provided to support medical research in South-South, Nigeria, are limited to basic library services such as circulation and lending services, while medical librarians are competent in the provision of basic library services, such as effectively finding printed resources, in addition to assessing information needs and selecting information resources.
Conclusion: Medical librarians contribute to medical research; however, they need to be competent to support medical researchers in medicine more than anything else. The researchers recommend that librarians attend regular training programs to improve their proficiency in critical research areas.
- Research support
- Medical research
- Medical libraries
- Librarians
- Competencies
How to Cite
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