Marketing of Library Products and Services for Increased Reading Habits Among Nigerian Secondary School Students.

The purpose of the paper was to advocate for the marketing of library products and services to increase the level of reading habits among secondary school students in Nigeria. This is imperative to the development of a reading culture among the students in society and is far better imbibed in them at a very tender age. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and used a structured questionnaire and observation checklist to collect data. A total of 150 respondents, made up of 120 Senior Secondary (SS) school students and 30 teachers, purposely filled out the questionnaire across the three geographical zones in Nigeria: south-west, south-south, and south-east. Five questions guided the research, while the observation checklists were filled out by the researchers at the sight of the collections. The collected data were analyzed using percentages, the mean, and the standard deviation. Major findings revealed that Core TextBooks, e.g., English, Maths, Geography, etc., Study Guides, e.g., Key Points, Past Question Papers, Revision Books, Professional Development Materials for Teachers, and other Information Books were available, while materials that were not available include youth fiction, adult fiction, journals, newspapers, films, sound and video recording, CD-ROMs, games like puzzles, scrabbles, building blocks, e-books, and audiobooks. Challenges encountered in increasing reading habits include home factors (parents not having time to support their children's reading habit) (3.27), school environment factors such as busy academic schedules and time constraints (3.12), poor learning environment (2.75), lack of functional library (3.07), inadequate supply of reading materials (3.01), poor reading campaign (2.97), problem of students' lack of interest to read (3.23), poverty (2.92), digital distractions (3.01), and reading difficulties (2.88). Possible solutions to this, according to the study, include mainly encouraging the government to improve the physical learning environment by providing comfortable seating, adequate lighting, and a quiet atmosphere conducive to reading; identifying students who are struggling with reading and providing them with extra support; providing training for teachers and librarians on how to promote reading and literacy; and integrating reading into the curriculum to create a culture of reading in the schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]