Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between information management practices and service delivery in special libraries in Rivers State. The study was guided by three specific objectives, three research questions and three hypotheses. The design adopted for this study was the correlational survey research design. The population of the study was 75 staff from 18 organizations in Rivers State. Given the manageable population of 75 library staff, the census enumerative sampling technique was employed for the study. The instrument used for data collection was two structured questionnaires titled "Information Management Practices Questionnaire (IMP-Q) and Service Delivery Questionnaire (SD-Q)". Instruments were subjected to face and content validity by three experts in the Library and Information Science Department of the Faculty of Education at Rivers State University. The reliability coefficients of 0.82 and 0.78 for IMP-Q and SD-Q respectively were obtained using Cronbach Alpha. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) analysis was used to answer the research questions and test the null hypotheses of the study. The findings of the study, amongst others, show that there is a significant relationship between organization, storage, retrieval, dissemination of information, knowledge sharing, staff skill and service delivery in special libraries in Rivers State. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended amongst others that special libraries should prioritize implementing robust organizational systems to include categorizing resources logically, using standardized metadata, and employing professional cataloguing techniques. Maintenance and updates of organizational structures should be put in place for swift access to information.