The study is the assessment of secondary school library utilization and its impact on academic performance of students in Oshimili South Local Area of Delta State. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was three hundred and forty-six (346), comprising 338 students in SS3, and 8 principals in the 8 public secondary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. The entire population was used as the sample. This was due to the manageable size of the population. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, using both interview and questionnaire as research instruments. Questionnaire was used to gather data from the students, while interview method was used to gather data from the school principals. The data collected were analyzed using frequency, mean and standard deviation. In all, 233(69%) of the students and 5(62.5%) principals responded to the study. The findings revealed low rate of library use due to lack of current books and other information materials/gadgets in the library; that materials like computers, fiction and non-fiction books and reference materials are available but identified non-availability of modern technology/resources such as; internet, projectors, audiovisuals; which is an indication of lack of modern trends in these libraries. It was further revealed that a conducive environment with fully resourced library materials can motivate library use among students. It was also found that library usage among students has a general positive impact on academic performance of students. Inadequate infrastructure, negligence of the relevance of school libraries by government authorities, apathy on part of the school management, lack of fund for school library development and services were some identified factors militating against school library development in Oshimili South Local Area of Delta State. The study concluded that the role of school library in fostering the academic performance of students in secondary schools is quite immeasurable. Thus the government at different levels (federal, state and local government) must see the establishment of functional school libraries (in accordance with the established standard) in all public institutions as a matter of urgent concern if the goal of secondary education must be achieved. The study recommended direct budgetary allocation for school library development and services, the government and the educational authorities should show serious commitment to the implementation of its policy on school library development in other to facilitate quality education in basic schools in Delta State.
Otubelu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.