Prevalence of Digitization and Security Management in Archives Preservation in Public Libraries in Rivers State

Abstract

This study assessed prevalence of digitization and security management in archives preservation in public libraries in Rivers state. Two objectives and its corresponding research questions and hypotheses guided this study. The descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. The target population of this study comprised 514 library staff drawn from Rivers state library board and staff from Jubilee library Port Harcourt. The sample size for this study was 399 library staff comprising of 172 library staff from Jubilee library Port Harcourt and 227 staff from Rivers state library board. The sample size was determined by Taro Yamane sample size determination formula while a two-stage sampling technique of stratified and simple random sampling techniques was used to select the sample size. A self-structured questionnaire titled prevalence of digitization and security management in archives preservation questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. Face and content validation was ensured by three experts. The instrument yielded reliability coefficients of 0.79 with the use of Cronbach Alpha reliability method. Mean and Standard Deviation was used in answering research questions while z-test was used for the inferential statistics. The findings revealed that digitization and security management are prevalent in the preservation of archives in public libraries in Rivers state, Nigeria. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that there is a significant difference in the responses of staff from Jubilee library Port Harcourt and the ones from Rivers state library board on the prevalence of security management in the preservation of archives in public libraries in Rivers state. It was therefore recommended that Librarians and Information Technologists in Rivers state public libraries should be scheduled for regular upskilling. By so doing, they will update their knowledge on digitization and security management in archives preservation to meet global demands.