SOURCES OF SECURITY BREACHES AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES OF NORTH WESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the Sources of Security Breaches and Mitigation Strategies in Public Libraries of North Western Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey design of quantitative research was employed for the study. The sample of study consists of 145 library staff of the reader services departments of these libraries. Simple random sampling technique was used to select all the library staff. A self-developed questionnaire was used to collect data. In all, 145, copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the research population, out of which 112 copies were returned and usable for analysis. The study serves as a reference for any attempt to restructure or improve upon the Mitigation Strategies in public libraries of the North-Western Nigeria. The study revealed that--the major sources of security breaches include scarcity of the library materials, poor environmental condition, poor arrangement of information--resources, poor management commitment towards security issues, lack of trained security personnel, disasters and lack of modern security gadgets among others. The study recommends that provision of trained security personnel to checkmate security issues, provision of modern security gadgets, and provision of multiple copies of library materials among others.