This study examined the influence of professional development opportunities on library service provision by librarians in public universities in South-West, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population consisted of 220 librarians. A total of 19 public universities were purposively selected from the 30 in South-West, Nigeria. Total enumeration was utilised to study the entire population as sample. A structured and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential (multiple linear regression) statistics at 5% level of significance. The findings revealed that librarians provide library services at a high level, particularly in reference, current awareness and circulation services. The study also found that professional development opportunities are available and accessible to librarians. Multiple regression analysis showed that professional development opportunities significantly influence library service provision, with training programmes being the only component that had a positive and significant effect. However, major challenges identified include inadequate sponsorship, low internet bandwidth and obsolete resources. This study highlights the critical role of professional development opportunities, particularly training programmes, as key drivers of effective library service provision in public universities. It provides empirical evidence from South-West, Nigeria and underscores the need for university management to provide adequate support for librarians’ professional development to enhance library service provision.
Alawiye et al. (Thu,) studied this question.