Forestry Researchers as Information Users in Nigeria

Abstract

In a questionnaire survey undertaken to study the information gathering habits of forestry research scientists in Nigeria, the results indicate that (1) most forestry research scientists in Nigeria consult two or more information sources, (2) they rely heavily on the literature as their major source of scientific information, (3) accessibility, convenience, reliability, ease of use and language are key factors in determining their choice of information source, and (4) the libraries of the organizations in which they work constitute their major source of scientific information. It is recommended that collection development programmes should be established for the libraries in the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, the Federal Department of Forestry and the Department of Forestry Resources Management of the University of Ibadan. The use of informal sources of information should be encouraged and obstacles to this end identified and removed.