1. Introduction

The school library is crucial in the teaching and learning processes. School library is the type of library established in a primary or secondary school. It is an integral part of the school community. School library pursues the vision, principles of the school management. Fakomogbon et al. [1] opined that school library helps to support the school curriculum by providing up-to-date information to keep teachers and students abreast of new development. The school library compliments the work of the classroom teacher with the ultimate goal of ensuring that each student has equitable access to resources, irrespective of home opportunities or constraints. School library reflects and encourages collaborative learning and sharing of ideas.

One intriguing element of school library is that it offers students opportunity to make their choice of material which increases students’ motivation and in as much as student’s academic motivation is associated with their actual academic performance, the goals of every school librarian should therefore be tailored towards helping children develop a strong desire for learning activities.

1.1. Review of Literature

Academic motivation facilitates students’ interests in learning activities. In other words, academic success increases with students placing greater value on the specific academic or class activities. According to McGrew et al. [2] students who have “synchronized” academic values (i.e., positive intrinsic reasons for engaging across academic domains) demonstrate higher academic motivation than students with asynchronous academic values (i.e., high intrinsic interest in some domains coupled with only a utilitarian value in other domains).

1.2. School Library Role in Promoting Students’ Academic Motivation

School library remains the power house of educational institution; any educational institution without a library is as lifeless as a motor car without an engine and a body without a soul [3]. The school library is a learning central. It is a place where students get access to all kinds of reading materials, cultural and knowledge building activities. It is also a place where students engage in deep thinking and lively learning discussions. In a school library, students are given opportunity to engage in innovative, curios and problem solving activities. School library is a place for social interactions. Cross-age peer tutoring, cooperative learning groups and informal 'study groups' are the motivating and supportive social situations within the school library to improve students’ academic skills. Teachers and school librarians through collaborative efforts work out such social situations to facilitate learning. In such situations, teacher librarian collaboration is very important. School library provides the opportunity for teachers and school librarians to collaborate [4].

School librarian collaborates with subject teacher to encourage students to visit the school library to access other materials for further study and better understanding of the topic taught in the classroom. An important aspect of school library is that it offers students opportunity to make their choice of material which increases students’ motivation. Students, who are allowed to make their choice of materials and participate in some activity, are highly motivated to take part in any academic activities. School librarians have always used materials, method and instructions to make learning fun in a way that engages students’ interest.

School library provides students the necessary learning support and teach them essential skills they need to succeed academically. Through research, technology, and information problem solving, school library excites students about the learning process and stimulate their curiosity. Agyekummr and Filson [5] have shown in their study that most students in Ghana use library resources and services to supplement their class notes, assignments, and helped them in examination preparation. Krasher [6] who was cited by Yusuf [7] in his thesis stressed that availability of a print rich environment and digital resources lead to more free voluntary reading that promotes students’ potential for comprehensive knowledge, language ability and grammatical and spelling competence.

1.3. School Library Resources and Students’ Academic Motivation

Aanu and Olatoye [8] noted that the quality of library collection has tremendous impact on student’s academic performance and higher test scores and even more with a higher usage of the school library resources. School libraries provide more than just books, magazines, newspapers computers and other technology, databases of accurate information, e-books, plus fun and educational activities. Arua and Chinaka [9] identified the types of books which school libraries should acquire to include reference books, non-fiction books like textbooks, fiction books like the story books, novels and cartoons. According to Afolabi [10], a school library by minimum standard of policy outline should consist of books, pamphlets, paper cuttings, gazettes and government publications, atlas, maps and charts, photography records, films, record players, cassette tapes/ payers, film projections, slides, pictures, photographs, realia and periodicals. School library collections will not be complete without reference books, non-fictions and fictions. There is the need to provide these school library resources in order to provide a clear path towards the realization of curriculum goals of school subjects. It is important to make today’s student best in the world with library software and materials that improve literacy and build reading comprehension. With today’s easy-to-navigate eBook platform, students and teachers are provided access to eBooks for easy browsing, and digital media materials vital for classroom instructions.

1.4. Accessibility and Utilization of Library Services and Resources

Accessibility and utilization of library information resources and services are determinant factors in the provision of quality services in different types of libraries. A school library with its resources will only be useful if explored by the staff and students it is meant to serve. Okiy [11] and Iyoro [12] stressed that availability of resources encouraged the use of library services. These authors further stated that there is a significant relationship between accessibility and use of library services. According to Ugah [13] the use of library services has a high degree of dependence on the accessibility of information sources. With the right resources, school libraries can facilitate cross-communication and enhance collaboration between students, teachers, administrators, and families [14]. When students are given opportunity to engage in independent self-selected reading, the level of their literacy development increases [15]. Accessibility of library resources and services increase students’ library use. Programmes such as library tour in school libraries enable students to get familiar with the location of the resources needed as they complete their assignments in the school library or outside the library.

1.5. Usage of School Library in Nigeria

In 2011, Ajegbomogun and Salaam discussed the state of school libraries in Nigeria. The authors highlighted declining financial support; inadequate infrastructure and equipment; employment of unqualified personnel; emptiness of the book shelves and low level of information technology development as problems facing school libraries. They therefore suggested that the problem of poor library patronage and information usage among Nigerian children should be given adequate attention [16].

Daramola [17] also indicated a very low patronage of school libraries in spite of the availability of school libraries in most of the secondary schools evaluated. It was noted that the purposes of utilizing most of the libraries were for reading, borrowing and returning books [17]. Precisely, Moruf [18] concluded that majority of secondary school students in his study population did not use the school libraries effectively while Jato, Ogunniyi and Olubiyo [19] in another study found that the students did not regularly use the school libraries with many other students responding that they’ve never used the libraries at all. Most of these respondents used the school libraries to read notes and library textbooks [19]. Aru and Chinaka [20] in their study wrote that majority of respondents use the library occasionally. This implies that more efforts need to be made to improve the frequency and regularity of library use. One of such efforts could be in the area of provision of current and up-to-date materials [20].

In Nigeria, gender has been found to be inversely related to the level of use of library resources. The explanation of this is that there exists a greater tendency to use resources available in a library among males than females [21].

1.6. The Role of a School Librarian

A strong school library is staffed by the library team of a state certified or licensed librarian supported by clerical assistance; has up-to-date books, materials, equipment and technology, includes collaboration between classroom teachers and school librarians and supports the development of digital literacy skills [22]. Scholastic's publication [14] suggests that having a qualified school librarian, a well-developed library collection, and collaboration and co-teaching between the teacher librarian and teaching staff all elevate student learning. The role of school librarians goes beyond every day ordinary library routine of stamping books, charging and discharging of books, they are saddled with the responsibility of understanding and nurturing students and their reading, guiding them to navigate the maze of books and impact them with the core skills they need to improve the quality of their study.

According to ASLA [23], having qualifications in both teaching and librarianship, teacher librarians are familiar with pedagogy and curriculum, and also have expertise in resource management, information literacy, and literature. In addition to teaching students the essential twenty-first-century skills they need to succeed, School Library Media Specialists also excite students about the process of learning and stimulate their curiosity through research, technology, and information problem solving [24]. A school librarian is professionally trained to support students’ reading activities and to guide them through the world of books, until they come to the understanding that reading is an important part of their life and become lifelong readers [25].

Oddone [26] stressed that teacher librarians have been specifically trained to help and teach teachers and students to locate the needed information materials from millions of titles available in the library in various forms. This author also stressed that teacher librarians' knowledge of literacy development, current releases, and popular culture offer them the ability to suggest the right book that will entice the reluctant reader, and to share joy with the compulsive bookworms when new titles by favorite authors are released. Trilling [27] emphasized that school librarians have deep expertise in digital literacy skills, have well-developed institutional strategies based on thinking critical, communicating creatively in a variety of media and solving problems creatively and are often role models for strong leadership, initiative, and other career and life skills.

It is therefore the aim of this study to evaluate the use of school library materials and services available in promoting students’ academic motivation in selected Secondary Schools in Osun State, Nigeria.

2. Research Questions

The following research questions are pertinent to the purpose of the study:

1. How frequent are the students using the school library?

2. What are the main reasons why the students used their school library?

3. How important are some available library services to the students?

4. How frequently the students use some available library resources?

5. To what extent do they enjoy the services in the library?

6. What motivates them in the library?

3. Population and Methods

Osun State is The State is divided into three Senatorial Districts. There are 10 Local Government Areas in each of the districts. The study adopts multistage random sampling technique to choose the sample size. One senatorial district was randomly one of the States in south-western Nigeria. Osun State was carved out of Oyo State in August 1991. Selected out of the three senatorial districts in the State. Out of the ten local government areas in the selected local government area, three were randomly selected. Two secondary schools were randomly selected from each of the three local government areas. 240 students were randomly selected from the six private secondary schools selected for the purpose of this study. A self-administered questionnaire was employed as the instrument for data collection. The questionnaires were distributed in the classrooms to those who agreed to participate in the study.

The questionnaire divided into 6 sections with 41 items altogether. The first section asks questions about the biodata of the respondents. Section 2 contains 10 items asking questions about the reasons students use the library. Students respond on 4-point scale ranging from 1 to 4. The third section of the questionnaire contains 10 asking questions on the importance of library services to students, using a 3-point scale of “very important”, “important” and “not important”. The fourth section contains 11 items about the library resources and the frequency of usage by students. This was assessed using a 3-point scale of “regularly”, “occasionally” and “never”. The fifth section contains 10 items that assess the extent to which they enjoy the resources and services in the library while the last section adopts a 4-point scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree with 10 items asking questions about what motivates the students from the use of the library.

3.1. Data Analysis

The data was analyzed using SPSS for Windows version 20.0, (SPSS Inc Chicago Illinois, USA). Descriptive statistics was performed generally on all the variables. Secondary analysis was performed on the second to sixth section of the questionnaire where variables were measured according to the Likert’s scale of measurement. Weight values were assigned to all the responses according to their ranks in the Likert’s scale. Value of 1, 2, 3, 4 were assigned to “Strongly disagreed”; “Disagreed”; “Agreed” and “Strongly agreed”. Weight values of 1, 2, 3 were assigned to “Not important”; “Important” and “Very important” weight value of 1, 2, 3 were assigned to “Never”; “Occasionally” and “Regularly”.

The total weight value (TWV) for each variable was obtained through the summation of the products of the frequency (F) of responses and the respective weight value (W). This is also expressed mathematically as follows:-

(where TWV is the total weight value, Fi is the frequency of respondents that rated the variable (i); and Wi the weight assigned to the rank of the variable (i) in the Likert’s scale which is either 1, 2, 3, or 4.

The score for each variable (VS) was arrived at by dividing the TWV for each item by the total number of respondents which is expressed mathematically below:-

Variable score (VS) = where N = number of study population. In this instance 2241 participants.

The variable scores ranged from 1 to 3 or 1 to 4 as the case may be for the responses in each section. The closer the value variable scores to 3 or 4, the higher the significance of the variable for the participants. The Mean Variable Score (MVS) for each section was calculated by the summation of all the scores divided by the number of variables measured in the section.

4. Results

There were 241 respondents; 120 males (49.8%) and 121 females (50.2%). There ages ranged from 11 to 20 years. 42.7% of the students were from Senior Secondary School III (SSS III), 39.4% from SSS II while the least were 7.5% from Junior Secondary School III (JSS III).

Majority of the respondents (53.5%) use the library weekly; 36.5% daily and 10.4% use the library monthly. The students that used the library daily were predominantly boys (49.2%); the Senior Secondary I class (68%); and ages that ranged from 13 to 14 years (77.8%). Most of the students those that used the library weekly were females (71.1%); students from Senior Secondary school III (89.3%) and ages that ranged between 18 to 20 years (73.6%).

Table 1 shows the main reasons why the students used their school library. The Mean Variable Score (MVS) for the ten variables evaluated is 2.72. To borrow books; for reference; to use library computers; to study individually and to ask for library staff assistance have Variable Scores (VS) higher than the MVS. To read newspapers/magazines; to use internet; to use photocopying machine; to print from computer and to meet with friends have variable scores below the MVS. To study individually has the highest VS of 3.61 and to use copying machine has the lowest variable score of 2.21.

Table 1. The main reasons for using the library

Table 2 shows that there were gender differences in the use of school libraries by the students. The differences were statistically significant for most of the variables evaluated except in the use of library computers. Analysis show that girls contributed more to the chi square values of three variables; to borrow books in the library, using the library for reference and research and to meet with friends. The boys were found to have contributed more to the following six variables; to read newspapers, to use the internet, to study individually, to use the copying machine, to ask for library assistance and to print from the computer.

Table 2. Gender difference in the use of libraries

Table 3 shows how important some available library services are to the students. The Mean Variable Score (MVS) for the ten variables evaluated is 2.08. Use of library computers; assistance from library staff; access to library materials; access to online resources and finding the library as a place to do private study have Variable Scores (VS) higher than the MVS. Finding a place to do private study has the highest VS of 2.6 while finding electrical outlets in seating areas has the lowest variable score of 1.49.

Table 3. The Importance of Some Library Services

Table 4 shows how frequently the students use some available library resources. The Mean Variable Score (MVS) for the ten variables evaluated is 2.17. The use of textbooks; reference books; picture books; no-fiction; magazines and internet have Variable Scores (VS) higher than the MVS. Using the library textbooks has the highest VS of 2.92 while the use of CD-ROM has the lowest variable score of 1.54.

Table 4. Frequency of Using the Library Resources

Table 5 shows the responses of the students regarding what they enjoy in the library. The Mean Variable Score (MVS) for the ten variables evaluated is 2.40. Finding relevant materials for better understanding of subjects I offer; Learning a lot more facts about various topics; Knowing the different steps in finding and using information; Reading and taking notes and Writing information and ideas in my own words have Variable Scores (VS) higher than the MVS. Finding relevant materials for better understanding of subjects I offer and Reading and taking notes have the highest VS of 2.88 and 2.85 respectively while Searching the Internet better has the lowest variable score of 1.59. Table 6 shows the responses of the students regarding what motivates them in the library. The Mean Variable Score (MVS) for the ten variables evaluated is 2.99. I always find something interesting to read in the library; Finding and learning new things in the library; I always find a suitable place to sit; I always find the answer to a specific problem; I always find more information about interesting topic; The library has a good selection of story books and the librarian is always ready to offer any assistance have Variable Scores (VS) higher than the MVS. Finding and learning new things in the library has the highest VS of 3.53 while I can always check my email has the lowest variable score of 2.32.

Table 5. The Extent They Enjoy Some Services in the Library

Table 6. Motivation Derived from the Library

5. Discussion

The school library, as a strategic arm of its parent institution is established primarily to organize collections of all human efforts either in print or non-print forms that are relevant to the educational development of the children regardless of age, background and race. The school library is not only a depository and a storehouse of knowledge and a center for the dissemination of knowledge but also a recreation and relaxation center for the students [28].

Our findings as regards the use of libraries show that students used the school library on a slightly lower frequency daily when compared with a recent study [29] in another South Western state of Nigeria where 57.7% of the respondents visit the library on daily basis compared to 36.5% observed in our study. It is also lower than that of Oravec [30] in the US who found that nearly 80% of the students visited the library at least once or twice a week. Our opinion on this is almost similar to that of Burks [31] and Charter [32], who concluded in their studies that students did not use the school library on a regular basis.

Suffice to note that predominantly, the students in this study visit the library once in a week. The result agrees with that of Erdama and Demirel [33] who identified students’ habits in the use of their own school library, the authors found that more than half of the students go to the library once a week or month, while only a few students go everyday and that there were even participants, though very few, who never go to the library. Findings from this study showed that boys use the library daily more than girls which is consistent with Burks [31] research who wrote that males had a higher frequency of school library media center use in general and a greater number of visits during the sample week than girls did. This is contrary to the general believe that girls read more than boys and to some published works that opined that girls use the school library more than boys [34, 35]. The frequency of daily use of the school libraries decreases with higher classes and the age of the respondents. School library use has been found to decline rapidly with age [34].

From Table 1, the main reasons for using the library by the students show the Mean Variable Score (MVS) of 2.72 out of maximum of 4 obtainable, this explained the fact that the students actively visited and used the libraries resources and services. This is contrary to both Burks [31] and Charter [32] studies who wrote that many students only used the school library when they visit with a class. Few major reasons for using the libraries were identified; “to study individually”, that is, to read own books in the library has the highest Variable Mean. This is similar to the findings of Adebamowo [36] who observed that majority of the respondents use the library to read personal books brought from home followed by those who borrow books from the library. This finding is also similar to that of Wilson [37] in her study on library use and that of Bamidele [29] where it was found that the respondents make use of the library mainly to borrow books which is also significant in the study. Greater than the group’s Mean is the finding that the students used the library for reference and assignment purposes which is consistent with the Burks [31] study, which found that students used reference and non - reference books on a fairly frequent basis and 90.0% of them make use of the library for assignments [38].

One of the reasons for using the library from our study is not to meet with friends; which is similar to the findings of Bamidele [29] who reported that 63.3% of their respondents did not go to the library to socialize with their friends. Using the photocopying machine was rarely the reason why the respondents visit the library in our study, this is contrary the study by Burks [31] where High school students visited the library media center to use the photocopy machine more than for any other reason. This study shows that there are gender differences in the usage of school libraries among the respondents. With statistically significant difference, girls visit the libraries to borrow books, use reference materials and meet with friends more than boys. Boys go to the libraries to read newspapers, use the internet, study individually, use the copying machine, ask for library assistance and print from the computer more than girls. This is similar to [21].

Evaluating the resources and services important to the students, “Finding library as a place to do private study” and “Access to library materials” such as library computers and online resources were the most significant variables. This gives credence to the fact that most of the students that visited the library are active users and also reveals the primary purpose of their visit which is private reading and learning.

Textbooks were the most frequently used material by the respondents. This is consistent with the findings of Adebamowo [36] in Ogun State Secondary Schools. Other materials like reference books; picture books; non-fiction and magazines were also well used which is similar to the Burks [31] study, which found that students used reference and non - reference books on a fairly frequent basis. CD-ROM was rarely used in the present study. This is untoward because in this information age along with the traditional forms of library resources, new form of resources are also been introduced in libraries; like eBooks, Optical Discs, DVD, CD-ROM and Internet. Librarians and teachers are expected to develop methods of integrating these library resources directly into subject lessons, such as storing science lessons in CD ROM on the library's computers which will enhance the usage of the facilities.

“Finding relevant materials for better understanding of subjects I offer”; “Learning a lot of more facts about various topics” and “Reading and taking notes” are some of what the students enjoy in the libraries. These variables revolve round the traditional library usage by the students. Among the least enjoyed factors are; “Searching the Internet better” and “How to evaluate information I find on the Internet” this brings to the fore the fact that school libraries are still in the infantile stage of development in Nigeria compared with some developed countries where they are well advanced in the integration of various technologies in school library resources and services.

The students claimed that “Finding and learning new things in the library”; “Finding something interesting to read in the library” and “finding a suitable place to sit in the library” are some of the major factors that motivate them. This is not unexpected since most of the respondents visit the library to read library textbooks. In essence, the school libraries are invariably serving their general and traditional functions, as a learning space for students to do individual work. Worthy of note is the fact that the students claimed that the libraries have good selection of books and the librarians are always ready to offer any assistance. The school librarians are here found to plays a role in students’ academic motivation. In as much as student’s academic motivation is associated with their actual academic performance, the goals of every school librarian should therefore be tailored towards helping children develop a strong desire for learning activities. School librarians have always used materials, method and instructions to make learning fun in a way that engages students’ interest. Also, School librarian collaborates with subject teachers to encourage students to visit the school library to access other materials for further study and better understanding of the topic taught in the classroom. This opportunity is provided by the School library for teachers and school librarians to collaborate [4].

Considering the indicators in most of the sections of the study evaluations; Table 1 shows that one of the insignificant or not important reason for visiting the library is to browse the internet. Despite this claim, the results show that “the use of computer” and “access to online resources” were comparatively important to the students as seen in Table 3. Also, “searching internet better” and “knowing how to evaluate information on the internet” were not enjoyed. (Table 4). It can be observed in Table 5 that ”always going online and checking email” was a factor that has the least Variable Score among factors that motivates the students in the library. This means the students were not motivated by online activities in the library; i.e. browsing and checking emails. These may not be unconnected with the fact that some of the libraries, especially private school libraries do have some computers but they are either for “show” or only for staff and teacher librarian and most of them are not internet connected. Studies have shown that the bulk of the secondary schools surveyed in some parts of Nigeria have computers in their laboratories but only a few are connected to the internet. Therefore, majority of the school libraries did not have access to the wealth of the information resources on the net [19, 39]. Apart from robbing the student sufficient access to unlimited web information, reluctant readers who would have been attracted or motivated to use to the library through online activities enjoyed by today adolescents will never find the library a veritable facility for enhancing their academic achievement. Ogunniyi et al. [40] noted that most school libraries were not connected to the internet, therefore recommended that efforts should be made in other to get school libraries connected to the internet.

6. Conclusions

The students used the school libraries on a slightly lower frequency daily when compared with a neighbouring State. Boys were found to use library daily more than girls contrary to the general believe that girls use the school library more than boys. The main reasons for using the libraries were to study individually. Finding library as a place to do private study and access to library materials were significantly important to the students. Textbooks were the most frequently used material. “Finding something interesting to read in the library” and “Finding a suitable place to sit in the library” are some of the major factors that motivate them. One of the reasons for visiting the library was significantly not to browse the internet despite the fact that this is important to them and the least factor that motivates them is their experience in online activities in the library. To encourage voluntary reading and increase substantially students’ academic motivation in Osun State and Nigeria in general, it is obvious from this study that a lot of funding still need to go into acquiring new technologies for use in Nigerian School libraries.