The Readers’ Services Department is an essential part of the library system, providing a wide range of services designed to help Ekiti State University users’ community.The Departmentis a specialised area within the library dedicated to directly assisting library users in finding, accessing, and utilising the library’s resources. This Department serves as the main point of contact for readers, offering support with a wide range of services such as answering reference queries, helping with the search for specific books or materials, guiding users on how to use the library’s catalogue, other resources, and providing recommendations based on individual needs. It plays an essential role in ensuring that the library’s vast collection is accessible and usable for all patrons.The Department also coordinates the activities of all faculties and branch libraries.
Functions of the Department
Generally, the key functions of the Department include providing reference services, assisting in book reservations, guiding readers on how to navigate the library system, and offering help with interlibrary loans. Also, this section often takes on the responsibility of organising educational programmes that help library users develop skills in information retrieval and information literacy. In many cases, the library staff members in this Departmentare trained to help users not only with physical books but also with digital resources, such as e-books, online databases, and other electronic content. The importance of the Readers’ Service Department is significant in that, it supports and empowers library users to make the most of the resources available to them. By offering personalised assistance, it also helps remove barriers to accessing information, ensuring that everyone whether students,researchers, or casual readers can find what they need in an efficient and user-friendly manner.In essence, the Readers’ Service Department exists to ensure that all library users, regardless of their experience, can make the most of the resources available, making the library a more accessible and valuable tool for learning, research, and personal growth.
Specifically, the department provides the following services:
Reference Services: One of the core functions of the Department is to provide reference services. This involves helping library users find specific information by answering queries and guiding them to relevant books, journals, articles, or digital resources. On every occasion, when a patron needs help with a research topic, looking for a specific book, or seeking general information on a subject, the staff in this Department assists by directing them to the appropriate materials.
Book Reservations and Renewals: This Department handles book reservations and renewals to ensure that students can access materials when needed. If a book is checked out, the Department allows users to place a reservation on it, ensuring they will be notified once it becomes available. In addition, the staff helps patrons renew their borrowed items, extending the borrowing period for materials when needed.
Interlibrary Loans: Not all libraries can house every book or resource, thus, the interlibrary loan service allows patrons to borrow materials from other libraries within a larger network. If the book or resource a patron needs isn’t available in the IOL’s collection, the Readers’ ServicesDepartment will issues a referral note as a document to other libraries, thereby expanding access and helping to ensure that users can find the resources they need, no matter their location. This service greatly enhances the accessibility of library materials across regions and institutions.
Catalogue Assistance:IOL Library has a vast collection, and the ability to efficiently navigate these collections by students of the Ekiti State University is crucial. The catalogue assistance services provided by the Readers’ Services Department help users locate specific materials in the library’s catalogue. Library staff assists patrons in searching for books, articles, journals, multimedia, or digital content and this in turn help themto become more familiar with the library’s cataloguing systems. This service is especially valuable for new users who may be unfamiliar with library tools or resources.
Information Literacy Support: In an era of information overload, information literacy has become an essential skill. The Readers’ Services Department often provides educational programmes or workshops aimed at improving patrons’ information literacy. This includes teaching library users how to search for credible sources, evaluate the reliability of information, and properly cite resources in their work. By helping patrons navigate the overwhelming amount of information available, the Department supports academic success, informed decision-making, and overall intellectual growth.
Circulation Section:
This is the public relations’sections of the Library. The head of the section is usually the Circulation Librarian. The Circulation Section has thefollowing responsibilities:
- Registration of new students through the Branch/Faculty libraries
- Charging of books out to users;
- Discharging of returned books;
- Keeping statistics and generating reports of Library users and Library materials consulted on daily basis;
- Displaying of new arrivals;
- Re-shelving of used books;
- Conducting shelf-reading on regular basis;
- Maintenance of books on reserved and other closed access shelves; and keeping records of usage.
Reference Section:
- This section is headed by a Reference Librarian. Reference materials such as Dictionaries, Encyclopaedias, Handbooks, Directories, Maps and Atlases etc. are meant for consultations only, and therefore,cannot to be borrowed or taken out of the library. The unit provides the following services:
- Provision of answers to Reference queries;
- Maintenance of reference collection on closed shelves;
- Provision of answers to directional and non-directional queries;
- Provision of information literacy skills;
- Maintenance ofusers’ statistics; and generation of reports of Reference materials consulted.
Opening Hours
Monday – Friday: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
The Library is usually closed during public holidays.