This study is carried out to examine changes in cataloging practices among cataloguers in Lagos State University (LASU) library.  A library collection that is organized according to standardized rules and practices should allow users to retrieve information in an effective manner, quickly, efficiently, and ultimately to maximize the usage of the collection anywhere in the world. Whether the retrieval system is a card catalogue or an automated catalogue   called   an Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), the basic procedures for the preparation of the materials are similar and certain standards must be followed. Some cataloguing and processing services are available commercially. As these operations are technical, time-consuming, and expensive to do in-house, library management and or personnel are encouraged to buy these services to maintain uniformity.

Most small, private, or classroom library collections do not need a formal system of library organization as the individual books can be easily located. As the collection becomes larger, access becomes problematic unless some method of grouping is devised. Many different systems address this problem. For most school libraries the international standard is the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) scheme and either Sears List of Subject Headings or the Library of Congress (LC) Subject Headings (for large collections). Descriptive cataloguing is defined by rules outlined in the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2). Refer to the latest editions of these resources to obtain the most current practices in cataloguing (Schultz, 1995).

Every item in the collection must be described using a standard format. The same basic components are contained in each description always cited in the same order; they must employ consistent punctuation. Such standardization of procedures enhances the local, national, and international exchange of bibliographic data and is essential in computerized systems. The exchange of bibliographic data or information can occur in a number of ways, one of which is participation in a Union Catalogue. Historically, union catalogues have progressed from manual card and paper files to on-line shared databases to catalogue records electronically linked via Internet. Union catalogues form one of the main building blocks of resource sharing or shared services such as interlibrary loan, Cooperative Cataloguing, Cooperative Preservation, and Cooperative Collection Development Activities. However, Standards must be used by libraries and library systems to participate in union catalogues so as to maintain uniformity of library collection.

For students and staff to make the most effective use of the university educational resources, the nature, extent, interrelationship, and location of these resources must be clearly identified.  Therefore, users should be provided with access to systems that are compatible with national and international standards. The process of standardized cataloguing and classification results in the creation of a library catalogue. The catalogue is a tool to list, according to a consistent plan, the print and non-print resources available in the library, described print and non-print resources, direct users to similar materials, record purchasing and publishing history, indicate the location of the resources, and assist students in obtaining the skills of information retrieval. In applying these standards, libraries which do not have centralized cataloguing have a number of options. They may do their own original cataloguing, obtain derived / copy cataloguing, purchase commercially produced cataloguing or use any combination of the above. Wherever possible, commercially produced or copy cataloguing should be attained.

The Lagos State University (LASU) was founded in 1983 and it is made up of four campuses: the main campus at Ojo Lagos and the College of Medicine in Ikeja, Faculty of Engineering at Epe, School of Communication at Surulere, all campuses are within Lagos State of Nigeria.  The institution has more than 39,000 students. The cataloguing section of the Lagos State University library is under the Technical Services Department of the library. This is where books and non-book materials are processed. In a move to automate its activities, the library adopted the use of ALICE for windows application software in 2000 till date.

Materials in the library are organized using the Library of Congress Classification Scheme except for Law books that are classified using Moy’s Classification Scheme and National Union of Medicine Scheme for medical materials. Holdings of the library are communicated to the public through the use of card catalogue (Author/title and Subject catalogues) and Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC). In 2007, the use of the Library of Congress online database and Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) for copy online cataloguing was introduced in order to enhance services rendered to their users. The total collection of the library is about 120,000 volumes including journals as at 2012.

LASU libraries do not exist in an information vacuum but are part of a growing information network. Today, internet is the major resource for librarians. Application of IT for library services has contributed to the improvement in provision of quick, quality services in the libraries. Another impact is remote access of variety of commercial and non commercial information sources, that is online full text databases, e-journals, e-books, library catalogue (OPAC) etc. The present day information seekers in LASU can access the worldwide information through internet on their desktop without any time limitation.

Statement of problem

The study investigates the changes in cataloguing practices in Lagos State University (LASU) library. LASU Libraries do not exist in an information vacuum but are part of a growing information network. Therefore, they should be provided with access to systems that are compatible with national and international standards. However, from the preliminary investigation conducted by the researcher, it was found that the cataloguers appeared to be apathetic and unhappy with original cataloguing practice.

The following statements may be adduced as the likely reasons for their unhappiness: The repetitive nature of having to catalogue from the scratch hence makes the task burden and strenuous in nature, cataloguers spend long hours misapplying rules may be responsible for their unhappiness. The desire to maintain uniformity for interproperability (interim of scheme used, class mark, call mark, use of cuter table, etc) may as well be responsible for their unhappiness coupled with the daily office chores of cataloguing process which tie them down to their offices from Monday to Friday with inadequate facilities and physical working condition. Most university libraries in Nigeria do not have experience with state-of-the-art library technology facilities. This may also be responsible for their unhappiness. 

This study therefore, attempts to ascertain the extent to wish changes in cataloguing practices can be used to promote library services  vis a vis strategies adopted for managing change, paraprofessional involvement in cataloguing processes, method for quality control, and resource sharing activities among the cataloguers of the Lagos State University library (LASU).

Objective of the study

This study was designed to assess the changes in cataloguing practices among the cataloguers of the Lagos State University library (LASU) Ojo Lagos Nigeria. In specific terms, the study examined the following:

1. Changes in cataloguing practices in Lagos State University libraries

2. Strategies adopted for managing copy cataloguing practices

3. Involvement of Para-Professionals in cataloguing practice   

4. Methods adopted to ensure quality control over non-professionals' involvement in cataloguing practises  

5. Resource-sharing activities as a way of managing change 

Research question

This study will be guided by the following research questions in order to achieve the fore- mentioned objectives:

1. To what extent will changes in cataloguing practices affect LASU library services

2. What strategies will cataloguers in LASU library adopt for managing copy cataloguing practices?

3. Will the involvement of para-professionals in cataloguing practice in LASU library has any effect on service provided?

4. What method(s) will cataloguers in LASU library adopt to ensure quality control over non-professionals' librarian involvement in cataloguing?    

5. Will resource sharing activities as a way of managing change(s) in LASU library has any significant effect on library services provided at the technical department?                                                                                                                                                                              

Scope of the study

This study is limited to cataloguers in Lagos State University (LASU) libraries. The researcher focused on how LASU library cataloguers manage change(s) in cataloguing and classification practices brought about by the recent trend in information communication technology deployed. The study also focuses on the extent to which changes in cataloguing practices affect LASU library services, strategies that cataloguers in LASU library adopt for managing copy cataloguing practices, the impact of para-professionals in cataloguing practice in LASU library and to ascertain if resource sharing activities as a way of managing change(s) in LASU library has any significant effect on library services provided.             

Significance of the study

The study will help to establish the status of LASU libraries in terms of effective cataloguing management system for service delivery. Recommendations that will be made as a result of the findings will hopefully help information organizations, library managers and cataloguers under consideration improve their productivity, service delivery, and for organization achievement. It is equally hoped that such recommendations could be generalized as to make them relevant to other information organizations in Nigeria. Moreover, the result of this study will be a significant addition to existing literature on enhancing cataloguing practices for achieving organization performance.

However, the online searching has become the preferred form of access. Now, most libraries and archives centers need to convert to electronic form, which is retro-conversion. Finally, the study is significant for researchers – library and information students, librarians / cataloguers and other members of the academia who are interested in how information is organized.

Libraries serve a critical function in any society. Among many roles, perhaps the most important remains their role as a repository and facilitator of the distribution of knowledge. As repositories of books, journals, electronic media, and other information sources, the library holds itself responsible for the organization of its acquired items. In order to access the vast material found in the libraries, a bibliographic record of each item must be prepared and integrated into a catalog of some sort (Schultz, 1995).

Cataloguing and classification is simply a way of organizing library materials in such a way that the retrieval will not be difficult for library users. Therefore, there is strong need to organize library collections for easy access for users because if the collections are not organized the collections will be useless. The acceptable way of organizing collections is what librarians describe as cataloguing and classification. Harrods (1990) defined “cataloguing as the compilation of list of documents or printed or non book materials according to a set of rules so as to enable the consultant to know what collections are available and from the class number or other means of identification where they may be found”. On the other hand, classification provides a means of bringing all books on the same subject together in a place. Therefore cataloguing and classification can be described as the index to all library collections.

Cataloguing and classification make retrieval of library materials easy for users. According to Adedibu et al. (2009), the purposes of organizing library materials are:

1. to make location of library materials easy

2. to save time and space

3. to facilitate easy accessibility to the materials

4. to enhance effective utilization of the materials

5. to make the library attractive to its users

In the past, cataloguing and classification were done manually which made the work very difficult, boring and time consuming. Recently, most university libraries in Nigeria have joined their counterparts in advanced countries in the use of computers for processing library collections. The use of computerized cataloguing and classification has made processing of library collections more accurate, interesting and faster. Cataloguing involves three major steps which are: allocating access points, subject headings and classification numbers.

The first step: cataloguing is descriptive which is done by allocating access points to the document. This entails the description of the essential parts of the publication such as the person or body responsible for the work, title, pagination, and publisher, place of publication, edition and series note. Several codes or rules have emerged using some parameters to denote a document in the catalogue. But the most popular code which is used all over the world is the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules 2 (AACR2) (2005). The code describes rules for each of the activities involved in cataloguing (sequence, punctuation, indentation, capitalization etc).

The second step:  cataloguing is assigning a subject to the document. To do this, one must first decide what the document is about (intellectual or subject content). The document must be examined carefully to get the required information from the title, sub-title, covers, jacket description, contents page, references and existing catalogue cards. Concepts which best describe the subject and which a user is most likely to search should also be identified.

The third step: is to find suitable and appropriate uniform headings which use alphabetical, structured controlled language and cross-referencing of related terms. Tool called subject headings should now be consulted the library of congress subject headings which are based or cutter’s rules for a dictionary  catalogue  and sears list of subject headings have been the most influential and popular ones used by libraries.

As library patrons have come to fully rely upon the online catalog, older government documents not found in most online catalogs have become virtually invisible and forgotten. Government documents librarians have, over the years, cataloged many pre-1976 items and a few libraries with small documents collections have cataloged all of their holdings. Therefore, many bibliographic records for pre-1976 government documents can be found in OCLC's WorldCat. This presents the opportunity for librarians to copy catalog most, if not all, older government documents. Copy cataloging government documents by using OCLC will further the library's function as a communicator of knowledge, ideas, and thought by making older government documents accessible to the public in the online catalog. Cataloging can refer to many different subdivisions: original, descriptive, subject, copy cataloging, etc. However, original and copy cataloging are the two main concerns of this paper.

What is original catalogue?

Cataloger Schultz (1995) describes original cataloging as "creating a bibliographic record without reference to other bibliographic records for the same item or different editions of the item. Original cataloguing refers to cataloguing an item by examining certain parts of it to obtain information needed to describe it. The following are the feature of original cataloguing:

1. No existing record for the edition in hand (guidelines published by OCLC)

2. Can build off an existing record or create from scratch

Need to meet national standards in creating the “master record”

3. Encoding levels identify whether “full” or “less than full” cataloguing

4. Others can upgrade or enhance with proper authorizations

Original catalogue problems

While original cataloguing allows for on-site, immediate, and locally applied cataloguing, there are some concerns/problems associated with original cataloguing. These include:

1. Original cataloguing is time-consuming for the cataloguer and the data processor/typist. The teacher-librarian’s time can be much better spent working with teachers and students. In addition, library technician and library clerk time in school libraries is usually at a premium.

2. Lack of library technician and library clerk time usually results in a backlog of materials which have not been catalogued or processed fully. These materials cannot be used by staff or students.

3. Inexperienced cataloguers spend long hours misapplying rules. Thus, the advantages of using a standard system are often negated and re-cataloguing is often necessary at a future date.

4. Cataloguing is an expensive process when done by unqualified personnel. If the hours spent by cataloguers and data processors/typists were cost out, it would become apparent that commercial cataloguing is more economical.

1. Library staff used to individually type catalogue cards. (And, yes, before even that write them by hand).

2. Locally, library staff had to file thousands upon thousands of catalogue cards on a regular basis.

3. There was a tremendous duplication of effort.

What is copy catalogue practice?

Derived or copy cataloguing refers to the process of cataloguing items by using existing bibliographic records obtained from various sources and altering those records to conform to local cataloguing standards. Cataloguing information may be found in cataloguing-in-publication (CIP) data found within the item book catalogues. Copy cataloguing could also be described as the process of copying bibliographic records from a source database(s) such as, Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) World-Cat, and the National Library of Congress has increased librarians’ efficiency by eliminating duplication of effort. One library creates a bibliographic record for an item such as a book and many other libraries can copy or migrate the data into their local online catalogue, thus saving each individual library the work of cataloguing the item and entering the data into the system. What cataloguers are looking for is the most appropriate record, using an exhaustive search process, while working independently. The goal is to recognize an appropriate record when they see it; this is what takes experience. What every library wants are perfect records, but they often settle for a compromise of sorts. Copy cataloguing is here to stay and libraries must have policies in place for the evaluation and acceptance of records.

There are currently many ways to get copies of cataloguing records to use in a library database. Cataloguers are to download them off the Internet or from a local catalogue. There are also CD-ROM products available such as the Library of Congress's Bibliofile, WLN's Lasercat, and the National Library of Canada's Amicus. Derived or copy cataloguing refers to the process of cataloguing items by using existing bibliographic records obtained from various sources and altering those records to conform to local cataloguing standards. The followings are the feature of copy cataloguing:

1. Cataloguing from “copy”; Adapting copy provided by others.

2. Not copying, but working from “copy”

3. The Goal is to accept records with as little editing as possible

4. Set criteria, elements to check

5. OCLC transformed copy cataloguing by making more copy available

6. cataloguing-in-publication (CIP) data found within the item

7. provision of book catalogues

8. provision of non-book catalogues (e.g., microfiche and CD-ROMs)

9. Copy catalogue also provides electronic catalogues (e.g., the Internet).

Copy cataloguing does result in definite cataloguing savings, both in terms of cost and time; it should be noted that catalogue cards still must be typed manually or cataloguing records must be entered manually into an automated library system. Furthermore, cataloguing standards and formats may vary from catalogue to catalogue. This will also affect the amount of editing required to meet locally established practices. Currently, OCLC offers the largest bibliographic utilities: Cat Express and connection. Both products provide bibliographic records in the Machine-Readable Catalogue or Cataloguing (MARC) format and allow the user to download these records for copy cataloging purposes. While similar products, connection permits more advanced functions and allows for original cataloging uploading.

Copy catalogue problems

Copy cataloguing alone is not generally considered “professional” level work, although some copy cataloguing such as upgrading and improving minimum level records does reach a level of complexity that rivals original cataloguing and is appropriate for a librarian to perform alongside original cataloguing. This is sometimes called advanced copy cataloguing. In many cases, CIP data is not AACR2 compliant. In such cases it must be made AACR compliant and the cataloguer must have sufficient reading knowledge of the foreign language material in order to analyze the content and provide appropriate subject headings and a suitable classification number for such advanced copy cataloguing MLS or equivalent Master degree is required. Other types of cataloguing include the following.

Commercial catalogue

Commercial cataloguing refers to cataloguing services now being offered by a number of firms. It may take the form of simplified cataloguing records for only certain titles to customized cataloguing for specialized collections. Care should be taken in choosing commercial cataloguing that follows national and local cataloguing standards. The advantages to purchasing commercial cataloguing include: requiring less expertise on the part of the librarian, converting a card catalogue to an electronic format enables the library to have it done by a commercial vendor, improving consistency, centralizing cataloguing, reduces time spent duplicating the cataloguing for the same titles, Libraries considering automation in the future will want to consider ordering MARC catalogue records along with card sets. This investment greatly reduces the amount of time required to complete the retrospective conversion of the catalogue.

Combination

Most libraries opt for a combination of commercial and original cataloguing, purchasing commercial cataloguing whenever possible, and doing original cataloguing for items in the collection for which commercial cataloguing is not available. Centralized cataloguing in a divisional or district processing centre can result in a union catalogue where the print and audiovisual materials of that network of libraries are known. Union catalogues achieve uniformity throughout the system, avoiding duplication of effort and promoting resource sharing.

Cooperative catalogue

Various types of cooperation started as soon as the application of computers emerged for library activities. Cooperation between group of libraries viz. regional libraries, specific type of libraries i.e. academic or special or public libraries, took place rapidly. Use of CIP data or regional and national bibliographies like INB or BNB etc. was done to create local catalogues of individual libraries. Computer based catalogs were developed by libraries and shared between the groups of libraries and later between groups of libraries on co-operative basis using different types of computer network facilities viz. LAN, WAN, intranet, internet etc.

Cooperative cataloguing made the librarian’s task quite easier to cope up with backlogs for online catalog.

Union catalogue

Union catalogue is one of the important bibliographic tools which are widely used in library cooperation activities. Library catalogue provides bibliographic information of a collection of a particular library where the Union  Catalogue  provides the  bibliographic  information about the collections of range of libraries with the physical location of information. Union Catalogue is available in different types such as local, regional, national and international. Among these types National Union Catalogue is the most significant type due to its objectives, goals, format and specially the coverage of geographical area.

Conversion of catalogues

The online searching has become the preferred form of access. Now, the major challenge most libraries and archives face is the need to convert to electronic form all the finding aids and catalogues, that is retro-conversion. This challenge has in recent years received priority attention. It will be many years before it is fully met. In the conversion of earlier finding aids (catalogues), it is usually desirable to upgrade the content, to bring the data in line with current standards of description and to ensure the consistency which enables cross-searching of related resources. These catalogues may be the subject of further improvement as opportunity and resources permit. Some of the existing standards are- MARC21, Anglo American Cataloging Rules-2 (AACR2) for rendering information, Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) for assigning Subject Headings, ALA-LC Romanization Tables – For entering the records in roman letter, Indian Standards - Indian script code for information interchange - ISCII. New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standards, 1991. (IS 13194: 1991)

Impact of online catalogues

Online cataloging has greatly enhanced the usability of catalogs and the rise of Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) standards in the 1960s. Rules governing the creation of MARC catalog records include not only formal cataloging rules like AACR2 but also special rules specific to MARC, available from the Library of Congress and also OCLC. MARC was originally used to automate the creation of physical catalog cards; now the MARC computer files are accessed directly in the search process. OPACs have enhanced usability over traditional card formats because: The online catalog does not need to be sorted statically; the user can choose author, title, keyword, or systematic order dynamically. Most online catalogs offer a search facility for any word of the title; the goal of the grammatical word order (provide an entry on the word that most users would look for) is reached even better. Many online catalogs allow links between several variants of an author name. So, authors can be found both under the original and the standardized name (if entered properly by the cataloguer). The elimination of paper cards has made the information more accessible to many   people   with   disabilities,   such   as   the visually impaired, wheelchair users, etc.

Issues in cataloguing practices

Schultz (1995) defines copy cataloging as "preparing a bibliographic record by using or adapting a bibliographic record already prepared by someone in another library or organization. Therefore, original and copy cataloging share a hierarchical relationship. Before an item can be copy cataloged it must previously have been cataloged. Items that have been cataloged under the MARC standard format for bibliographic control can easily be copy cataloged and downloaded into a local Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) via a bibliographic utility.

The extent of the use of library resources depends greatly upon the quality of the library catalogue. Most libraries have moved away from manual cataloguing as they have embraced the new technologies. Mohammed (1997) is of the view that information technology is rapidly transforming the content and services of libraries. Mason (2004) observes that libraries are a classic example of how automation has impacted on the traditional ways that work is done, particularly in cataloguing departments changing how, and by whom, the cataloguing is done. Ajibero (2003) also notes that as a result of the impact of ICT on technical services, the roles of cataloguers have completely changed. Their roles now involve operations that have become integrated. He further asserted that cataloguers have become inter-dependent in their pursuit to provide bibliographic control and access.

The introduction of para-professionals to cataloguing is one of such changes. Para-professionals in the library can now perform conveniently tasks solely meant for cataloguers. Nwalo (2003) states that para-professionals in libraries can now effectively perform much of the duties that hitherto were the exclusive preserve of professionals. The California Occupational Guide (1996) describes how automation has in many cases changed cataloguing of routine materials from being primarily a responsibility of the librarian to a para-professional responsibility for employees assigned to the cataloguing department.

Copy cataloguing activities is another very notable change being currently experienced in cataloguing. It helps to save cost and reduce to the barest minimum, duplication of efforts in cataloguing. Nwalo (2003) notes that copy cataloguing is of immense benefits to libraries and their users as it makes information more readily available, saves costs and prevents duplication of effort.  Many Nigerian Librarian and library users have been unable to find effective ways to use technology in their libraries or any other aspects of library services need for their teaching, learning and research purpose in life. The possible explanation for this lack of success by patrons and librarians is that the use of technology based library services has not been encouraging and librarians are not well trained in using ICTs in handing library services as a means for education sustainability (Olulobe, 2006).

Notwithstanding the specifications in national policy of education by the Federal government of Nigeria (1998, 2004) Nigeria as a Nation came late and slowly into the use of ICT in all sectors of the national existence more especially in library service and attendant transformation. This is as a result of chronic limitations brought about by economics disadvantages and government policies.

These factors have direct consequences on the nation’s educational development. In a recent study conducted by the Global Information Technology (2005), the report used the Networked readiness index (NRI), covering a total of 115 economics in 2005-2006, to measure the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefit from ICT development. Nigeria was revealed 90^th out of the 115 countries surveyed. United States of America topped the list, followed by Singapore, Demark, Iceland, Finland, Canada, Taiwan, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom and soon. Also, Nigeria was ranked 56^th out of 104 Countries surveyed in 2004 (Global Information Technology, 2004). This shows a decline in Nigeria preparedness to participate in ICT development globally.

Descriptive survey method was adopted for the study. The target population of the study are all the cataloguers who are currently serving or have served in the cataloguing section of the Lagos State University library. The sample consisted of the entire thirty-seven professional and para-professional cataloguers purposively selected and used for the study. A self developed twenty three (23) questionnaire item was used to collect data so as to elicit the views of cataloguers as to how they have been able to manage changes that have occurred over the years in cataloguing. The researcher distributed and retrieved all the 37 copies of questionnaires because of close monitoring and follow up. The questionnaire is divided into three (3) sections. Section “A” deals with the respondents' Biodata; while Section “B” contains items measuring changes in cataloguing. The Cronbach's alpha Co-efficient (r) was used to test the reliability of the instrument. The Cronbach's alpha returned a correlation coefficient of 0.79 which indicates that the instrument is reliable enough for the conduct of this study.

Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The completed and returned copies of questionnaire from the various LASU libraries under study are as reflected in Table 1. Out of 37 copies of questionnaire distributed to various respondents, 35 representing (99.5%) were duly completed, retrieved and used for the analysis.

Table 2 depicts that 19(54%) of the respondents are males while 16(46%) represents females. This is expected  as  there  is  a  greater  dependence   of   male cataloguers librarians compared to their female counterparts in Lagos State University.

Table 3 shows that majority of the respondents have a work experience as cataloguers ranging from 1-10 years representing 32(91%) percent of the total sample.

The responses confirm that there have been remarkable changes in copy cataloguing over original cataloguing practices among the librarians in the libraries under study. These changes as reflected in Table 4 are the use of Cataloguing-In-Publication (CIP), online cataloguing using the databases of other reputable libraries, involvement of non-professionals in copy cataloguing, cataloguing of internet resources and other electronic files, the presentation of catalogues in an electronic format known as Online Public Access Cata-logue (OPAC) among others. Fatiu Ademola Akesode (LASU) main library at Ojo ranked (70%) online cataloguing as a major cataloguing changed with (30%) original cataloguing of materials without CIP or local publications, while colleges of medicine, engineering, and communication libraries engage in copy cataloguing of information resources catalogued from the main library (100 percent), (48 percent) involvement of non-professionals library staffs in copy online cataloguing was also recorded. Fatiu Ademola (LASU) main library in Ojo still maintains sanctity of cataloguing as a core assignment of professionals. These findings recognize a departure from original cataloguing to already prepared bibliographic records. This finding is in-line with Donohue Group (2008) and Omekwu et al. (2007) and Nwalo (2003) notes that copy cataloguing is of immense benefits to libraries and their users as it makes information more readily available, saves costs and prevents duplication of effort.

Table 5 shows that cataloguers in the Lagos State University libraries under study adopt several strategies to cope with cataloguing practices. The application of ICT is ranked as the most frequently used strategy by the institution, followed by sponsorship of staff to attend conferences and workshops. Staff exchange was hardly employed as a strategy. The relative and comparative ranking of different strategies by this institution library are as presented in Table 5. The finding is consistent with literature as reported by Nwachukwu (2005), Nwalo (2003), and Atinmo (2007).

Table 6 clearly indicates that the involvement of LASU Para-professionals library staffs in cataloguing practices is fast becoming a reality. LASU main library Ojo (74 percent) affirms to the involvement of para-professionals. This agrees with the findings of Mason (2004) and Oketunji (2007). However, Table 7 also shows the measures adopted by the university to ensure quality control over the involvement of Para-professionals. These include: Close supervision (70 percent), training the non-professionals in copy cataloguing (48 percent).

Table 8 depicts very little or no resource-sharing activities among cataloguers in the library under study. LASU Ojo main library (43%), LASU Ikeja medical library (17%) LASU Epe library (11%) and LASU Ikorodu library (28%) indicated that there is marginal resource sharing activities among cataloguers as a way of managing change. This is not a healthy situation as ICT ought to propel collaboration among professionals. The way forward for Lagos State University and the library in particular could be that international funding agencies, NGOs, the UNESCO, the educationists, trust funds, school managements, philanthropists etc, should be involved in the general development of ICT for resource shearing activities to complement the efforts of the Lagos State information society and be at par with libraries all over the world using digital technology. It is therefore hoped that the librarians would adopt the new approach and forge ahead in the dissemination of information.

Changes in cataloguing practices in LASU have witnessed radical transformations over the years as a result of the introduction of ICT in library services and operations. The changes are reflected in both information sources and new tools in managing cataloguing records. These include; computers, internet, CD-ROMs, online databases, electronic files, metadata structures, and library software packages, Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) as well as creation of hyperlinks. Cataloguers in the Lagos state university library have responded positively to changes in cataloguing as the study revealed several strategies adopted to cope and attempts at mainstreaming the cataloguing practices to international standards. Globalization of information networks puts a serious demand on all professionals including cataloguers.

Funding is central to the standardization of library practices especially as it relates to the application of ICTs to cataloguing. Lagos State University libraries should adopt a strategic approach that would generate required fund to procure software, internet facilities, bandwidth and other peripherals needed in a modern setting. The institution must actively engage the corporate world to assist through their social responsibility initiatives. Private-public partnership is inevitable in this direction.

Resource sharing in an ICT-era is made possible through uploading institutional catalogues to the internet. It is therefore recommended that Lagos State universities libraries should ensure that their bibliographical records are visible on the web. This forms the basis for the crystallization of true virtual library that the Lagos State University (LASU) library proposed.

The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.