Appraisal of Library and Information Services to Rural Dwellers in Nnobi and Nnewi Communities

This study was carried out in the rural community Nnobi and Nnewi communities in Anambra State to determine the library and information services available to the rural dwellers of the community with reference to rural dwellers’ information needs. Questionnaire were used to obtain data from the library users while interview was employed to obtain data from civil servants, petty traders, farmers, artisans (welders, carpenters, hairdressers,) and the unemployed in the communities. It was gathered that rural dwellers’ sources of information are predominantly oral and their information need is relative to their type of occupation. More so, these group of people source information from their professional colleagues/trade masters, churches, through promotion by motor advertisements, television/radio and ceremonies, rural library provides the rural dwellers with information that are print based or documented on video/film; and majority of the rural dwellers are not aware of the resources and information provided by rural libraries but are willing to use them when services are modeled along their needs. As a result, the study recommended that rural library should conduct needs assessment so as to model their services towards the needs of their communities and that rural library providers should utilize the oral information sources that the rural communities are familiar with while providing their innovative information services.