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Introduction
Good public relations is a panacea for any meaningful relationships between organizations and clients. There are many facets of librarianship, which have a universal application, and public relations is one of these. In whatever country one operates, in whatever type of library one serves, public relations is one aspect of our work in which we learn from each other. Good public relations is a prerequisite for the effective functioning of any library. The public services librarians in most libraries are the image makers, and indeed, the gateway through which people get in contact with the information rich environment of the library. This paper is an investigation aimed at ascertaining the effectiveness of public services librarians at Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library in discharging their mandate of information provision to the teeming population of its clientele at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) situated in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The University (formerly the University of Ife) currently has 13 faculties and two colleges - the Postgraduate College and the College of Health Sciences, administered in more than 60 departments. Currently, the total enrolment is over 30,000 (including about 3,000 postgraduate students). There are 1,343 academic staff, 1,626 senior supporting staff and 2,308 junior staff.
The library is situated in a centrally located area of the campus with easy access to all faculties and students' hostels. The library is also accessible to staff and students through its web site (www.library.oauife.edu.ng/). In May 1980, a proposal to name the library after Professor Hezekiah Oluwasanmi (Vice-Chancellor from 1966-1975) was made because of his abiding interest in the development of the library as a centre of learning and research and his personal official and moral support for the library, especially in its early days. The library was subsequently named Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library (HOL) on 12 December, 1980. The library currently serves some 1,343 academic staff, 1,626 senior supporting staff, 2,308 junior staff and about 30,000 students as well as others that are not members of the University community. The library's public services staff consists of three professional librarians and over 45 others. The library operates two shifts and there are at least about 20 public services staff on each shift.
Exploiting ICT in libraries
Libraries should provide public access to the internet/worldwide web...