AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR EFFECTIVE LEGAL SERVICE DELIVERY IN JUDICIAL LIBRARIES IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the availability of information resources for effective legal service delivery in judicial libraries in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 157 Lawyers in judicial libraries in Anambra State. The 157 Lawyer was utilized in the study, employing a census sampling technique, as the entire population is relatively small and manageable. The instruments used for data collection were an observation checklist. The instrument was validated by three experts from the Departments of Library and Information Science, Science Education, and Educational Foundations (Measurement and Evaluation unit) at Nnamdi Azikiwe University. The KR-20 formula (Kuder-Richardson) was used to determine the reliability of the observation checklist, yielding coefficients above 0.75 for various clusters. The researcher, along with five research assistants, collected data for the study using the direct approach method, and a 96% return rate was recorded. Frequencies and percentages were used to answer the research questions. The study's findings revealed, among other things, that 81.4% of print resources are available in judicial libraries for effective legal service delivery in Anambra State. It was also found that the majority, which is 65.7% of e-resources, are unavailable in judicial libraries for effective legal service delivery in Anambra State. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among other things, that more funds in the budgets of the judicial system should be allocated for the acquisition of electronic information resources to facilitate effective legal service delivery in Anambra State.