Doctor's Awareness and Perception of Medical Library Resources and Services: A Case Study of Delta State University Teaching Hospital (Delsuth), Nigeria

Research Questions

• 1.

  What types of information resources and services are doctors aware of in the DELSUTH Medical Library?

• 2.

  What is the perception of doctors about the adequacy of the information resources and services in the DELSUTH Medical Library?

• 3.

  What is the perception of doctors about the value of the information resources available in the DELSUTH Medical Library?

Review Of Related Literature

Medical libraries, according to Ali (2010), are libraries found in hospitals, medical schools, and in medical or health associations. Their responsibilities among others include assisting physicians, health professionals, medical students, patients and medical researchers in locating health and scientific information to improve, update, access and evaluate health care services. Their information resources, clientele and services are directed towards a specific community and subject respectively (Ekene, Agbo & Onyekweodiri, 2016). The information resources and services offered by medical libraries are mainly health based. According to Okiki (2013) information resources refer to print and electronic materials that could be sourced and accessed manually or electronically by users. The goal of information services on the other hand, is to provide the information sought by the user. It seeks to anticipate as well as meet user needs (Reference and User Services Association RUSA, 2012). According to this definition, information services are offered with regards to users’ needs and requests.