Assessment of corporate social responsibility practices in selected public libraries in South-West and North-Central, Nigeria

Abstract

This study explored corporate social responsibility practices in selected public libraries in south-west and north-central Nigeria. The study adopts multiple case-study design, and qualitative research approach. Interview was used to collect data from a total of fifteen (15) participants. The study found that the public libraries do not have written CSR policy. Results showed that the public libraries engaged in social support, social change, socio-cultural activities, and COVID-19 social support. Findings showed that public libraries provide charity through book donations/gifts and provision of information to library users. It was revealed that public libraries advocate for, and participate in, periodic environmental sanitation. Results showed that the libraries remove what the librarians consider as morally decrepit information materials from the shelves, which means they aid censorship. The study showed that public libraries adhered to the ethics and guidelines of Librarians' Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) to a minimum extent since the Council has partially failed in their supervisory role. The study concludes that public libraries have their in-house ethics and policies that guide the library staff, users, attendants, and visitors. The study recognized that public libraries provide economic viable information to users, which enable them get improve their career, secure employment, and learn vocation. This study contribute that public libraries are essential in ensuring and meeting sustainable development goals via responsible CSR practices.

Introduction

Public libraries are a category of libraries among the types of libraries. Practically, they have wider range and teeming users compared to other kinds of libraries. Their users range from the lettered to unlettered, young to old, physically challenged to able-bodied, and so on. It is on this premise that their services are also quite unlimited and could vary. They are very critical to the daily life activities of the populace, and their closure could affect people’s lives in a critical way (Hider et al., 2022). Meanwhile, being a library that serves the generality of the populace brings about social responsibility. Racelis (2018) urged libraries to accept accountability for how their actions affect society, particularly the underprivileged groups. It was stressed that libraries should not be lacking in involving themselves in such societal obligations. Here, it is argued that this may bring some sense of bond or relationship between the society and the libraries.

Libraries can cooperate with other institutions through the effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. The program has several forms, such as improving facilities and equipment, training of librarians, financial, and the latest books support (Istiqomah, 2019). It can create two-way benefits for both the library and the society. CSR activities were perceived to increase customer value (Green & Peloza, 2011; Mohammed & Al-Swidi, 2020; Hartini et al., 2022), corporate image, and customer’s/users’ loyalty (Gunawan et al., 2020). According to Srirahayu et al. (2020), CSR activities in libraries can improve service quality that increases satisfaction, a positive image, and the customer’s perceived value towards the library. Public libraries are regarded as a social institution saddled with the responsibility of knowledge acquisition and management should engage in activities that promote mutual relationship between librarians, publics and other stakeholders (Buckland, 2014).

Sitaram (2015, (p. 57)) noted that a public library should “protect and improve both the welfare of the society as a whole and the interest of the organizations”. Meanwhile, the dimensions of corporate social responsibility include environmental sustainability, ethical sustainability, philanthropic sustainability, economic sustainability, and social sustainability (Chufama et al., 2021; Stobierski, 2021). Libraries engagement in these social activities should be beneficial to all stakeholders, and libraries should serve as change agent in their community (Croxton & Moore, 2020; Nkiko & Iroaganachi, 2015; Reid & Howard, 2016). Moreover, Balapanidou (2015) advocated that public libraries should revise their traditional role by extending their educational, instructional and consultation services and activities, providing opportunities to aid self- and social development. The current era of competitive information environment, makes it more pertinent to implement CSR initiatives (Opara et al., 2021).

CSR must be seen as a part of the information service provision model that will enable libraries to differentiate themselves in providing information services. This will differentiate them from the products of ICTs that are now the first port of call for information by many information users (Soroya et al., 2021). More importantly, Balapanidou (2015) observed that there is “a growing interest in the social impact of what libraries can offer and how they can contribute to the social cohesion and development of their communities” (p. 32). The author also noted that public libraries have been originally established to produce social change and that they have a real and valuable role to play in community development. Okwemba et al. (2014) contends that, as the issue of sustainable development becomes more important, CSR becomes an element that addresses these issues. It is based on the foregoing that this study focuses on corporate social responsibility practices in selected public libraries in Nigeria.

Statement of the problem

In spite of the increasing efforts by public libraries to contribute meaningfully to the well-being of the communities within which it operates, there are some doubts as to whether these efforts to give back to society are driven by a desire to impact on the economic and social welfare prospects of the communities or the dissemination of information on these projects is actually a means of publicity aimed at gaining public sympathy towards these organizations (Aburge & Anlesinya, 2020; Hinson & Kodua, 2012). Over the years, studies in the area of CSR in the public libraries in Nigeria context suggest that many organisations in Nigeria disseminate information on CSR projects as a corporate strategy to improve their corporate image, which usually may not adequately address the needs of the beneficiaries (Aburge & Anlesinya, 2019). The practice of CSR in Nigeria is considered not to be living up to its expectation as many organisations seem to embark on CSR to disseminate ‘pleasant’ information’ for the sake of publicity (Rockson, 2021).

Information dissemination in CSR should usually be people-centered, thus, indicating that the identification, decision, planning and the execution of the projects are made by the organisations together with the beneficiaries (Damoah et. al., 2019). However, the problem is that, in spite of their increased efforts over the years to disseminate information on CSR to portray positive impacts, these CSR activities practice in Nigeria seem not to adequately address the needs of the beneficiaries (Kudiabor, 2011). CSR practice is becoming popular both in government and private sectors. Corporations around the world are struggling with a new role, which is to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the next generations to meet their own needs (Miluwi, 2013). Thus, this accentuates the importance of understanding the public libraries’ practices of corporate social responsibility. Hence, this underlines the need to explore the corporate social responsibility practices in selected public libraries in Nigeria.

Research questions

The following research questions will guide the study:

• 1. What are the social responsibilities of the selected public libraries?

• 2. What are the philanthropic responsibilities of the selected public libraries?

• 3. What are the ethical responsibilities of the selected public libraries?

• 4. What are the economic responsibilities of the selected public libraries?

• 5. What are the environmental responsibilities of the selected public libraries?

Scope of the study

This study investigates the corporate social responsibility practices in selected public libraries in Nigeria. The study is limited in scope to librarians in Kwara State Public Library Board, Oyo State Public Library, and Lagos State Public Library. The findings of the study are limited to the public libraries that were studied, thus findings may not be generalizable to other public libraries in Nigeria.

Review of related literature

Social responsibility practices in public libraries

Das (2013) noted that social responsibility practices projects should be carried out by public libraries with the support of private companies so that these institutions have sufficient financial resources to implement their social responsibility programs. The author states further that public libraries, acting as social and personal development agencies, can be a positive organization for change in society; contribute to the literacy of individuals in the community; or provide library services and information to people who are unable to visit the library due to physical or sensory defects or lack of transportation by playing the role of libraries without walls to. Kumar (2013) showed the relationship between social responsibility and public libraries, but in the sense that private companies can help libraries perform better for their purposes by funding the development of public libraries in line with meeting their social responsibilities.

Libraries cannot exist in isolation of the community it is located, which means they are expected to contribute to the development of that society (Enem et al., 2020). Their contributions can be in the area of proliferation of learning, recreational service, social support service, and other public-oriented information services (Gross & Latham, 2021; Wahler et al., 2020). Some of the essential dimensions public libraries need to consider in order to fulfill its social functions include collections, services provided, reading promotion, preservation of memory and culture, provision of information, learning environment and/or atmosphere, access to technologies, knowledge hub of the community, and library as a meeting place (Ferraz & Dumont, 2018; Eid & Hussin, 2023). Romero-Sanchés et al. (2019) present the dimensions of library’s social function characterizing them according to main objective, encompassing access, cultural actions, and sustainability. The authors noted that the social dimensions of public library include the encouragement of reading, citizen participation, use of space, knowledge of their duties and rights, preservation of local memory and their own history.

Machado et al. (2014) considered it necessary to take into account all the components of social, political, economic, and cultural setup when thinking about the public library in the information society. Racelis (2018) postulated that libraries could play a part of their social responsibility role by providing services to the poor. Allen et al. (2017) showed that socially conscious organisations entrench the feelings of identification and commitment among the employees. Glavas and Kelley (2014) revealed that the relational nature of social responsibility enhances the employees’ attitudes towards the organisations. Similarly, it has been shown that social responsibility has an impact on the attitudes of employees in an organisation (Allen et al., 2017; Glavas & Kelley, 2014). Meanwhile, institution whose orientation is to provide services that society needs and/or wants in order to ensure its perpetuation and growth (Singh & Trinchetta, 2020).

Balapanidou (2015) observed that there is an increasing interest in the social impact of what public libraries can provide and how their services can support social cohesion and development of their communities. The author also placed emphasis on the argument that public libraries were initially established to produce social change and that they have a meaningful and valuable role to play in community development. Akpom et al., (2020a, 2020b) showed that although, librarians are aware of the various CSR initiatives that can be provided in the university environment and have positive attitude towards the provision of CSR initiatives; the creation of CSR unit, formulation of formal CSR policy and partnering with NGOs should be adopted means of institutionalizing CSR in librarianship. They revealed that libraries can engage in the provision of information services that promote healthcare, and also disseminate information on how to eradicate poverty in the society.

Philanthropic responsibility practices in public libraries

Enem et al. (2020) revealed that opportunities open to libraries from participating in CSR include change in public perception of libraries, establishment of mutual understanding between the library and the community with librarians strengthening their value chain. Also, Benson et al. (2020) stated that SDGs can be actualized if libraries partner with other institutions to provide target-specific information services. Frimpong et al. (2014) established that the strategic integration of CSR into public libraries indicates that they can have a competitive edge among other public institutions and other categories of libraries. Thus, it is recommended for libraries to involve themselves in philanthropy and other charity acts. This can help public libraries ensure progressive development through competitive advantage (Motilewa & Worlu, 2015). According to Majumder and Saini (2016), the efficient and effective functioning of a community development system calls for the effective utilization of information resources as mandatory support to all the sphere of the life of a community.

Das (2013) showed that public libraries have been facilitating empowerment of communities by supplementing formal education, vocation education, adult education, self-learning and lifelong learning processes. It is imperative therefore that librarian in public libraries engage in activities that could foster development by acts of benevolence to their users and local community. Similarly, Ali and Ali (2011) found that there is a significant relationship between CSR and corporate reputation. The reputation may include acts of generosity and support for the library users. Also, Osisioma et al. (2016) revealed that corporate social responsibility was vital to organizational performance. They recommended that firms in Nigeria should endeavour to increase their commitment to corporate social responsibility by setting aside substantial amount of their income to social responsibility programs.

Stevenson (2007) revealed that library philanthropy practices can help to reduce digital divide and provide relevant knowledge that may benefit the local community. Majumder and Saini (2016) showed that public library can create awareness through information support and motivate the local community to take responsibility for their development. Similarly, Benson, et al. (2020) revealed that there is no significant difference in the mean responses of librarians in federal university libraries when compared with those in state universities in the areas of attitude towards provision of corporate social responsibility, what librarians perceived as viable means of providing charity and challenges to the provision of these gifts/donations in university libraries in south-east and south-south Nigeria. The study concludes that librarians in federal and state universities libraries in South-East and South-South Nigeria have a positive attitude towards provision of philanthropy.

Ethical responsibility practices in public libraries

Ethical responsibility of the library embraces the variety of norms, standards and expectations that mirror a concern for what consumers, employees, shareholders and the community look upon as fair, just or in keeping with respect for or sanctuary of stakeholders moral rights (Caroll, 2021). A library can concern itself with ethical responsibilities when it has met these basic conditions. Ethical responsibilities are those responsibilities that a library places on itself since its holders believe it is the right thing to do, not because they have an obligation to do so. Ethical responsibilities could comprise paying fair wages employees or reject doing business with oppressive countries (Masuku & Moyo, 2013). Hansson (2017) examined the value of professionalism and ethical self-regulation in the development of modern librarianship and found that the development of ethical codes is helpful for ethical self-regulation of professional behaviour among librarians.

Mbofung and Popoola (2014) showed that most of the practicing librarians in twenty-four (24) federal universities in Nigeria were aware of the ethical principles that relate to: enforcement of restriction permitted by law; selection of library materials representing all points of view, individual taste and void of interest; restriction of access or censorship involving use of filtering software; confidentiality, privacy and response to queries. Some others principles they were aware of include exclusion of materials because of race, nationality, political, social, moral or religious views or partisan or doctrinal approval or pressure; adherence to institutional policies and professional development. Matingwina (2015) found that the ethical issues cited by fifty-eight (58) Zimbabwean library professionals include equitable access to library materials; accuracy of information provided; protection of intellectual property; and protection of personal privacy and confidentiality. The study showed that the most prevalent ethical issues confronting the information professionals were protection of personal privacy and confidentiality (94%) and equitable access to library materials (94%).

Onoyeyan et al. (2014) showed that most (93.2%) of the professional librarians from three selected universities (Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye and Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo) in Nigeria were aware that librarians have a code of ethics they must follow. They identified the ethical issues faced by librarians in practice as intellectual property right issues, issues of information accuracy and selection decision. The findings of the study further revealed that most of the respondents (95.4%) had the perception that ethics should be learned like any other library skill, (88.7%) noting that copies of the Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) code of ethics should be given to licensed libraries free of charge.

Luo (2016) studied ethical issues in reference service through an online survey that yielded 212 valid responses from reference librarians in the United States of America. Results showed that more than 60% of the reference librarians indicated that they were either moderately or very familiar with the ALA’s code of ethics. This level of awareness could be the reason why they were able to recognize the ethical issues that they faced which included copyright issues and confidentiality and privacy issues, the two most common. Majority also noted that they became aware of these ethical issues through the MLIS courses they took on ethics. Other avenues of awareness are; continuing education on ethics, state training, self learning and professional influence of associations. Thus, it can be deduced from the review that the awareness of the ethical issues in library service delivery has been improving over the years.

Economic responsibility practices in public libraries

Being an essential part of their communities, public libraries are important in all the critical areas that enhance development of their communities. One of these areas is the effort towards bolstering the economy of a society. While there are limited empirical studies on the economic role of public libraries, there are several studies (Biswas & Mahato, 2020; Soliman & Wei, 2016) that have examined the influence of economic development on public libraries. Biswas and Mahato (2020) examined the role of public libraries in local economic development in West Bengal and proposes a re-focusing of public libraries towards the idea of an information centre, to contribute towards local economic development by satisfying the information needs of citizens, small businesses, new entrepreneurs and community institution. The new vision of the public library as an information centre creates greater links and integration between the public library and its local community.

Enem et al. (2020) revealed that libraries disseminate information on employment opportunities to unemployed graduates in the southern part of Nigeria. Soliman and Wei (2016) showed that public libraries have the mandate of promoting the knowledge enhancement and awareness building of local residents about economic propelling information. The national and local economic development on the other hand could directly impact the governmental public investment to the libraries and therefore could also affects their ability to deliver sufficient services either directly or indirectly. Therefore, it was indicated that there is a strong positive relation between the allocated budget to the libraries on one hand and the salaries and wages on the other hand, which explains how library staff and librarians are very likely to be affected by any budget reallocation, which is in turn affected by the economy development.

Opara et al. (2021) found that the corporate social responsibilities that public libraries in south-south and south-east should participate in ending poverty in present-day society by disseminating timely agricultural information, business information, economic information services that are target-specific in different areas; providing relevant information source and conducive environment for research to end hunger and achieved food security; partnering with health workers, stakeholders in the health sector and media houses to ensure optimal dissemination of health information to rural dwellers; and promoting equitable quality education are the corporate social responsibility activities that public libraries should participate to contribute to actualization of sustainable development goals.

Mandi et al. (2015) revealed that libraries have the ability to change lives by providing knowledge that can empower individuals and communities, providing opportunities for education, for employment, for establishing a small business and for encouragement. In another study conducted by Fine (2013) on the role of libraries in economic restructuring in American environment and further gave examples of economic development of Eastern Europe and their role of academic and public libraries in economic development of the region to include provision of economic benefits to business, financial well-being, and support the prosperity of the environment. Mansour (2020) concluded in the study that Egyptian rural public libraries have struggled to be part of the United Nations Agenda for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The libraries have tried as much as possible to integrate and adapt to the surrounding community in light of the common economic, political and social factors and conditions. Despite these challenges, these libraries showed a good response that is characterized as somewhat positive, though not sufficient, toward the achievement of these goals.

Ashley and Niblett (2014) revealed that it contributes to long-term processes of human capital formation, the maintenance of mental and physical wellbeing, social inclusivity and the cohesion of communities. This study further revealed the real economic contribution that public libraries make to the UK. The fact that these processes are long-term and that the financial benefits arise downstream from libraries' activities, the libraries make only a contribution to what are multi-dimensional, complex processes of human and social development, which suggests that attempting to derive a realistic and accurate overall monetary valuation for this is akin to the search for the holy grail and measuring libraries’ short-term economic impact provides only a very thin, diminished account of their true value. McClure et al.'s (2013) results indicated that public library users in the state of Florida in the US believed that libraries are important to provide economic benefits to business, financial well-being, and support the prosperity of the community.

Sharpe and Stierman (2007) prepared a comprehensive report on the economic impact of libraries in Indiana, in which the role of libraries in economic development of the region was identified. The study found out answers of three important questions measurable economic benefits of public and academic (university and college) libraries, active role of libraries which they are playing in economic development and how Indiana libraries can contribute more actively in economic development and business growth. The North Star Economics (2008) discussed the economic contribution of Wisconsin public libraries to the economy of Wisconsin. In that study, economic condition, economic contribution of public libraries services, return of investment of public libraries services, and library usage patterns and value of libraries, were also discussed in detail to analyze the overall role of public libraries towards local economic stability and growth.

Environmental responsibility practices in public libraries

Onuoha et al. (2015) described an environment as a set of circumstances and forces which surround and has direct or indirect effects on the library. Rubin and Rubin (2020) noted that environment of any library is an aggregate of all conditions, events, and circumstances that surround and affect the library. Environment can be described as the surroundings, particularly the materials and other influences which have an effect on the growth, development and survival of a living being or a library organization (Chu & Karr, 2016). Drawing from these scholars’ positions and perspectives, library environment extends beyond the immediate environment with respect to the domiciled surroundings of the library. In the context of this study, environment of a library concerns the surroundings that can influence library’s activities and services provision. Naturally, public libraries are domiciled in a defined setting that houses the various stakeholders of the libraries.

The role that public libraries play in relation to CSR has remained under-investigated in developing countries, as highlighted by UNIDO (2015) that the existing knowledge on CSR from an SME perspective is scarce and only partially existent. Consequently, there is no systematic framework to engage with issues on CSR from the perspective of environmental sustainability. Kiratli et al. (2015) pointed out that public libraries lack the capacity to collect and analyse useful data on CSR as they generally do not manage information in the same manner as larger companies. This lack of information on CSR affects the commitment of public libraries to be committed towards ensuring CSR. Also, Inyang (2013) indicates that there is very little literature currently available to enhance understanding about the involvement of public libraries in environmental responsibility.

According to Jamali et al. (2013), one of the main reasons for this limited knowledge of CSR in public libraries is that debate on this issue appeared to have reached a plateau between the years 2005 and 2006. As a result, few contributions have been made that go beyond the main researches already undertaken. In addition, Sharma and Mathur (2022) points out that although there have been calls for articles on researching about CSR and public libraries since the 1990s, the work to date has been limited and a huge amount of research is still needed. Looser and Wehrmeyer (2015) however, disagreed and state that the 21st Century has witnessed scholarly works published in the area of corporate social responsibility in public libraries. The authors added that this has been as a result of an appreciation of the huge impact that public libraries have on society and the environment.

According to Inyang (2013), public libraries lack adequate support services to guide them in adopting and implementing environmental programs. This results in a consistent prejudice by public libraries, which is that of regarding CSR as a concept only for large companies because most of the existing CSR guidelines and tools have mainly been designed for the large corporations and are of little or no relevance to public libraries. The perception still exists today, mostly in developing countries, that CSR is an initiative principally for large corporations (Basera, 2013). To this point, it is without a doubt that a greater number of institutions in developing countries have embraced the concept. Hanson et al. (2019) noted that these organisations have predominantly and undeniably played an important role in dealing with education, health, environment and sanitation concerns through their CSR interventions. However, there are limited empirical in the area of environmental sustainability – a gap this study seeks to fill. This is because public libraries as public institutions are participating in ensuring this symbiotic relationship with their library environment.

Methodology

Research design

This study adopts exploratory research design, which is considered appropriate for studies with without prior evidence or only few studies to draw evidence from (Sreejesh et al., 2014). Meanwhile, there are few or limited evidence on corporate social responsibility practices among academic libraries from the perspectives of social responsibility, economic responsibility, and environmental responsibility. Since the focus of the study is more than one public library, this study adopts multiple case-study, which involves focusing on more than one case study that has similar characteristics (Stake, 2013). The qualitative research approach used in this study is exploratory in nature, which is why it concerns non-numerical data (Saunders et al., 2015). Qualitative research approach was chosen in order to collect detailed and comprehensive data and information to address the research issues of this study.

Population of the study

Population can be described as a whole group of individuals with particular traits or features, which is not necessarily defined by geographical location (Thacker, 2020). For this study, the population of the study comprises the librarians in selected public libraries in selected states in Nigeria – Kwara State, Lagos State, and Oyo State. In other words, the population consists of the library professionals in state-owned public libraries in the selected states in Nigeria. The target population comprises all the librarians in these libraries that amount to forty-five (45), with twenty-five (25) in Kwara State Public Library, Ilorin; eight (8) in Lagos State Public Library, Ikeja; and twelve (12) in Oyo State Public Library, Dugbe. The accessible population for the study is eighteen (18) librarians, since some of the librarians were on secondment during the time of the study.

Sample and sampling procedure

Sampling technique is simply the method used to choose a representative sample of the studied population. Probability sampling and non-probability sampling techniques are the two main kinds of sampling techniques. While every component of the study population has an equal chance of being chosen for the study when using the probability sampling procedure; non-probability sampling technique, on the other hand, does not provide each component of the study population an equal chance of being chosen for the study (Taherdoost, 2016). Some of the examples of non-probability sampling techniques include purposive sampling, judgmental sampling, quota sampling, convenience sampling, and snowball sampling (Taherdoost, 2016). Purposive sampling technique was adopted for this study since the participants were selected because they are part of the demographics that could help answer the research questions (Etikan et al., 2016). The sample unit for this study is fifteen (15), which indicates that only fifteen librarians were interviewed, and this number (15) of participants has been considered adequate for qualitative study of this nature (Adeyemi et al., 2021).

Instrument

Some of the examples of instrument that can be used in qualitative research of this nature include observation checklist, document, audio-visual material, and interview (Creswell, 2009). Interview is the instrument that was used for data collection in this study. Creswell (2009) noted that there are different ways of conducting interview in research, which include physical interview, telephone, internet, and so on. This study adopts the physical approach, interviewing the participants face-to-face so as to enhance engagement. One member of the research groups was assigned to conduct the interview in Lagos State (BA) and Oyo State (AA) while two conducted that of the Kwara State Public Library Board in Ilorin (KI and HO), making four members of the research group (four interviewers) who collected the interview data for this study. The interview was a structured interview since Interview Guide was prepared before the interview session. All items on the Interview Guide were within the theme of the study, which is about corporate social responsibility practices. The interviewers ensured data saturation was achieved as responses of interviewee became similar (Fusch & Ness, 2015), especially for participants in Oyo State.

Credibility and trustworthiness

Since this study is qualitative in nature, the study adopts credibility and trustworthiness as the measure for the reliability and credibility of the collected data. Credibility and trustworthiness are to ensure the truth-value of qualitative research (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Creswell (2009) argued that the “canon of good science” is a popular cliché in quantitative research, but qualitative research should give consideration to repeatability, exactness, dependability, applicability, and credibility. For a start, the interview sessions were audio-recorded so as to ensure reliability of the study. This recorded.mp3 file was saved on CD-ROM to ensure repeatability and dependability. Triangulation, sustained participant involvement, member checks, and ongoing observation are a few of the techniques suggested to guarantee authenticity and trustworthiness (Kortjens & Moser 2018). In this study, sustained discussions with the participants were ensured and the transcripts of the interview were shared with the participants. However, only nine (9) of the participants gave feedbacks concerning the member check.

Data collection procedure

Interview was conducted with the librarians in the libraries of focus. Before the interview, the interviewers were advised to acquaint themselves with the literature with respect to corporate social responsibility practices in libraries. This is to ensure that robust data or information is collected from the interviewees to answer the research questions. Also, copy of the Interviewee Guide was provided to the interviewees in order to ensure that they can reflect on the necessary information to provide during the interview. The interview sessions were conducted in the offices of the interviewees and at their convenience. With the consent of the participants, the interview sessions were audio-recorded. Interview sessions lasted for a cumulative 2 h:23 min. Consents of the participants were sought before the interview was conducted. This means that all the interviews were voluntary without any form of coercion.

Method of data analysis

This study adopts the “a priori” thematic analysis method, which concerns extraction of codes based on predetermined themes of corporate social responsibility. The thematic analysis was carried out using the framework of Braun and Clarke (2006), which include familiarizing oneself with the interview transcript, extracting initial codes, generating themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and writing of report. Interview transcripts were read over time with the analyst keeping the research questions at the back of his mind. This guided the extraction of codes from the transcripts. Codes are significant words or short phrases. These codes were categorized under the preconceived themes since the study adopt “a priori” thematic analysis. In the data analysis, the anonymity of the participants was ensured with the nominal representation of Participants 1–15.

Results

This segment presents the analysis of the data and its interpretation. Meanwhile, a total of four hundred and seventy-six (476) codes were generated from the interview transcripts while the themes are six (6) were developed from the themes. Furthermore, data saturation was reached during the codes extraction at the thirteenth participant.

Social responsibility practices of selected public libraries

The data showed some social responsibility practices among selected public libraries in Nigeria. The findings showed that public libraries organize different programs to support the society, which include organizing events that encourage reading culture, hosting publishers’ and authors’ day, supporting schools through book donation and gift, organizing quiz and debate among schools, providing adult education, and providing mobile library services. This indicates that the social support from the selected public libraries concerns the provision of information services, local community education, and encouraging readership.

Participant 8:

“In many ways, though as a library, we have limited type of resources because we solely depend on government so we have our way of giving back to the society and is not only by gift, there are several other ways such as: a yearly program that we used to do which is reader service day to encourage them and most in book form to foster their reading habit; publisher and author day within Ilorin will come around to discuss way forward and current event happening in a publishing world in which schools are invited to witness what we are doing; and debate.”

Participant 1:

“We support the immediate environment by organizing a sort of adult education. Sometimes, like the one we had recently in one of our branch libraries, some of our immediate library users cannot make use of the ATM, some cannot also read and write, but through the effort of the State Governor and the SAE – Special Adviser on Education….”

Participant 12:

“……Also, the library and its divisions host an event called ‘LAGOS READ’ an inter-competitive quiz all over the five (5) divisions: Ikorodu, Epe, Lagos Island, Mainland, and Badagry. Public Schools are picked and made to compete against each other (sic). It is held to aid healthy competition and promote reading culture.”

Evidence from the collected data showed that the different programs organized by the selected public libraries are conducted through providing access to relevant information materials, engaging the users, and campaigns. This indicates that the selected public libraries ensured that they carry out their outreach programs with the necessary awareness among the members of the local community. This perhaps will enhance the attendance of such programs.

Participant 4:

“Definitely, our library supports immediate society and societal development by providing relevant materials for (sic) our students and users.”

Participant 15:

“Absolutely, our library actively contributes to the advancement of the local community and promotes social progress by engaging the users and offering them pertinent resources.”

The evidence from the data showed that the selected public libraries engage in socio-cultural practices, which include organizing annual cultural heritage event for schools, showcasing the culture of the local community, adopting local language to carry out readership campaign, and promoting cultural diversity in the community. However, there is funding challenge with respect to organizing the annual cultural heritage event as evident from the response of one of the participants. Participant 8:

“Like I said earlier, we use to have an annual event, cultural troops use to come around whereby students from different schools will come around to come and perform aside from the intellectual aspect of it, we do entertainment to showcase our culture like cultural dance. Those are the ways to promote our cultural heritage and the development in the society.”

Participant 4:

“We (librarians) go to schools and organize traditional dances and cultural day to inculcate into the students the modes of dressing and reckon them with their culture.”

Participant 3:

“During the World Book Day, the program is purely in Yoruba (a local language). Students from each division participate in Yoruba language.”

Evidence from the collected data showed that selected public libraries engage social change through character building, enhancement of reading culture, equitable access to information through e-library to enhance societal transformation, and providing holiday coaching for students of secondary schools. Participant 2:

“The library develops and builds the users and society individual character through our developed collections. Also, our collections provide relaxation for the users and also books that contain moral and values.”

Participant 4:

“The e-library is one of our services that enhance social change, because it helps users to access information quicker.”

Participant 12:

“The services are the programs that enhance the reading culture of the students.”

Also, it is evident from the collected data that the social services provided by the selected public libraries during the period of COVID-19 pandemic include provision of information on the COVID-19 disease, provision of academic information to secondary school students through online platforms, provision of hand sanitizers and nose masks, remodeled provision of information services (where users have to book online before physical attendance to the library), sensitization of the populace on the disease, and support of library staff. Participant 1:

“We (librarians) provide relevant materials that support the knowledge on how to take care of themselves and know the preventive measures to be taken. During that period, we sensitized the users because some of them come with nonchalant attitude. As an organization, we provided hand sanitizers and nose masks.”

Participant 2:

“The library was shut down during COVID-19, but a platform was created to interact with the students where they ask for information on a particular subject – and they are attended to through the platform.”

Participant 10:

“Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact was universally felt, including within the educational sector. However, a proactive approach was adopted to tackle and alleviate the effects of the virus. This included the implementation of a mandatory online booking system for library visits, thereby ensuring a regulated and secure environment for all users.”

Philanthropy responsibility of selected public libraries

It was generated from the collected data that the selected public libraries engage in charity like gift and donation of books to primary and secondary schools, constant educational support to students, educating market women about their business, and collaborating with NGOs to support the masses (e.g. wiki programs and support for the physically challenged). Participant 8:

“Charity? We have various people that gift the library like…………and it is not everything we can accommodate in our library, so there are some material that we deem fit that this material will not be useful in our library like primary school materials though there are some time we accept them, and we are moving from one school to another to share those materials and students are happy.”

Participant 1:

“We (library) partake in charity but sometimes the only charity we do is that we invite people to hold pep-talks to educate market women. From there, they gain knowledge as regards their businesses.”

Participant 2:

“In most of our programmes like (the) ‘World Read Day’, we give participating students and teachers free copies of books.”

Participant 9:

“The library involves in charity but not the library and it is through collaboration of some NGOs, they come with programs like wiki program, Wikipedia etc. Some go about helping the handicap with the collaboration the library.”

Moreover, the study findings showed that the basic philanthropic acts the selected public libraries engage in is the gift and donation of books. It was however shown that some of the libraries “rent out” their materials to organizations. Participant 12 notes that:

“In the aspect of philanthropic, we do not dispose weeded books. We give it to schools that need it.”

Participant 9:

“When we are talking about philanthropic act, sometimes if a user or an organization comes to the library, they can easily rent material and this part of being philanthropic.”

Ethical responsibility practices of selected public libraries

The study showed that the selected public libraries adhere with the ethics and standards as provided for librarians and other information professionals by Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN). However, results showed that the adherence is only to a minimal extent. It was however shown that the Council is weak in their oversight function to ensure that public libraries adhere with these ethics. Furthermore, it was shown from data collected that LRCN is not doing enough in determining who is a librarian as it was shown that some institutions employ individuals that are not qualified to be one. It was evident in the data and information collected that people without the relevant degrees are employed in public libraries if they are in a favourable political caucus. Participant 1:

“Yes, we do (adhere to LRCN’s ethics and guidelines) but in their own part, they are weak. They do not go round to see if libraries abide by the rules. It is funny because the library is now politicized. People who studied Economics are given professional posts in the library just because they know someone in the government. We are facing a lot of problems and this is giving a lot of librarians concern. There are a lot of omissions in the practice.”

Participant 2:

“Majorly, all the libraries in Nigeria are not doing much concerning that (adherence with LRCN codes and ethics). (This is) because you see a law librarian claiming to be a librarian. They employed them as librarians and most of them are heading a branch library. So, this problem is a general problem. We have not exercised that power and authority to affirm that a law librarian should not hold any position but most of the library does not abide by the ethical codes.”

Furthermore, evidence from the data collected showed that selected public libraries have their own in-house ethical codes they adhere with in the course of providing library and information services to their users and the library community in general. It was revealed that there are different ethics and conducts for library staff, attendants, and library users. Some of these principles include upholding the dress code for both users and staff, requiring librarians to shelve and shelf-read daily, requiring users to adhere to visitation hours, not lending books to unregistered users, requiring users to renew their registration annually, forbidding food in the library, forbidding bags to prevent theft of library materials, and responding to users' questions regardless of their background. It was shown in the study that ethical responsibility guides the librarians and libraries to do the right thing. Participant 8:

“Yes, we have (in-house ethics). We have rules for our staff. We have rules for attendants. We have rules for our users. We have time rules. We have dressing (sic) codes. We have working (sic) codes.”

Participant 12:

“Yes, we do (have internal codes and ethics)… It guides and directs us to do what is right. For example, in the circulation desk, it is a must to shelve and shelf-read every day. It is a guiding standard to achieve certain goals.”

Participant 9:

“Yes, we are following the ethical codes of libraries generally. For example, user should register to the library which are renew on yearly basis, foods are not allowed, bags are not allowed to avoid theft and mutilation of materials, staff must be easily engaged in attending to users.”

While it was shown that there is no much confidential information obtained from the library users, it was also revealed from the collected data that selected public libraries provide reading spaces that are private to the library users. This is to ensure that users have their time alone. It was however shown that library users’ privacy may be encroached if they are observed to be mishandling the library resources. Also, it was revealed that users’ information carried on library cards (visa to libraries) are confidential and are not shared to the public. Participant 8:

“One thing is that your visa to the library is your library card and that card is not transferable.....when coming to the library, they drop it. When going they take it along. So by doing that…..nobody will have any of their information because it (card) is private and if there is anything to address, we call them (users) individually and not general public to a particular office to address the issue. That is a way of respecting their privacy and their confidentiality.”

Participant 2:

“Well, when we say privacy of users. That is something between the librarian and the library users. I cannot really say much on that. It is a public library, apart from the services being rendered to them, there is no confidentiality.”

Participant 13:

“Absolutely, our library provides dedicated spaces where every user can enjoy the comfort of reading materials at their pace, according to their personal preferences.”

The findings indicated that there are various types of limitations and censorship in the selected public libraries, including the prohibition of lending out information resources that are only available in limited quantities, the requirement that library users be registered before accessing the library resources, and the exclusion of pornographic information materials and that which encourages violence, division, and evil. Meanwhile few (33.3%) of the participants noted that their libraries do not engage in any form of restriction or censorship. Participant 8:

“Yes, each library is supposed to have that (sic) some level of restriction, especially to your information material. For instance, for now, we don’t give out our library material because we are limited in terms of resources. So, the little we have, we should retain it.”

Participant 2:

“Yes, there is (restriction). We do not promote pornographic contents or anything that promote war, causes division or imbibe evil (sic) in the minds of the users.”

Participant 4:

“I don’t think so. Not really. Not at all.”

Meanwhile, findings showed that majority (80%) of the libraries did not have any experience of removing library resources owing to their race, nationality, political, social, and religious views. However, there are cases whereby information materials were removed owing to their pornographic contents. This means that the there are instances where information materials were removed owing to moral issue. The evidence suggests that majority of the selected public libraries in the study did not have any bias towards the kind of information they provide their users. Participant 8:

“I am not sure we have had that before.”

Participant 1:

“No, we go by Raganathan’s rule: All books are for use.”

Participant 2:

“When it comes to the resources in the library, there is censorship. In some countries, they promote pornographic contents. But here in Nigeria, it is not allowed. And so we censor and completely remove books on that.”

Economic responsibility of selected public libraries

Results from the data collected showed that there are different ways the selected public libraries support their local communities economically, which include providing relevant information to enhance users’ vocation, providing relevant career information, providing information sources on employment (newspapers), and organizing programs for farmers and other non-lettered users. Participant 14:

“Well, in several ways (economical support). Our host community is Ilorin, they come to the library because we are operating public library which is open to general public. So, that is our own contribution whereby people that come to the library read and acquire knowledge. The knowledge they acquire, they will make practical use of it in various aspect such as business, politics, science, law etc. This will surely enhance effect (sic) in whatever they are doing and in doing that they are improving the economy.”

Participant 12:

“There are people who come to source for employment in the newspaper through the advertisements on the newspaper. Through that, many people have gained employment.”

Participant 9:

“We support the economy. There are some time we organized a program for farmers on how they go about their farm (sic), programs on how to do business and with that there is changes (sic) in (the) economy.”

It can be seen from data collected that majority (66.7%, 10 of 15) of the selected public libraries do not engage initiatives to end poverty and hunger. However, some participate in the ending poverty and hunger by organizing seminar and workshop to a particular set of professionals to enhance their productivity, subscribing to CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation) to educate farmers, and supporting NGOs in their project that concerns fighting poverty and hunger. However, it was shown that it is difficult to measure how public libraries are providing economic support since most of the support they offer in enhancing skills and providing knowledge. Participant 13:

“This is a library and you need to give out information to the society and they say information is power. If you visit our library and read our journal, magazines, bulletin; from there, you will be able to be free from poverty and hunger with the type of information you acquire through the reading. For instance, you are a farmer; you can visit our library even if you can’t read. Library can organize a seminar or workshop where you invite farmers in order to teach them their aspect of farming e.g. how to use weeds, harvest etc.”

Participant 1:

“We subscribed to CTA; centre for teaching agriculture and fish farming, how to keep animals, and how to rear them. Through these, people who are involved in these aspects gain knowledge that boosts their business.”

Findings from the study showed that most of the selected public libraries are not doing much with respect to food security in their local communities. It was however shown that few (26.7%) of the respondents agreed that their libraries engage in trainings and seminars to educate farmers so as to empower them with respect to their farming activities. Participants’ responses regarding this was quite similar since all of the responses showing agreement that public libraries support food security were from staff of one of the three (3) selected public libraries. Participant 7:

“In the area of food security, the least we could do is to empower farmers with resources in terms of training – (both) online trainings and on-site trainings.”

Environmental sustainability of selected public libraries

Findings of the study showed that all (100%) of the participants agreed that their libraries engaged in environmental sanitation. Meanwhile, results from the study showed that some of the libraries have scheduled sanitation for first Thursdays of every month, some libraries chose last Thursday of every month, while some chose the last Saturday of every month. Meanwhile, library users are notified of this schedule sanitation activity. Also, results showed that some of the libraries employ cleaners to help them maintain clean environment and their staff members enlighten the populace on environmental cleanliness and hygiene. Participant 10:

“As everyone knows, cleanliness is highly valued in our society. Therefore, we dedicate the first Thursday of each month to general sanitation, acknowledging its immense significance.”

Participant 9:

“Sure, we do (sanitation) that on the last Saturday of the month. There are some staff members that do follow them to enlighten people on environmental cleanliness and hygiene.”

Participant 7:

“Yes, we do environmental cleanliness; we do for the library community. We have the particular day we do cleaning of the environment. We have people in charge of the cleaning. We also make sure the roads are clean and we have people who are there (in charge of cleaning). We have cleaners.”

Results of the study showed that the selected public libraries do not play any special role in the legislated monthly environmental sanitation that is observed in some Nigerian states (sub-national). It was shown that, before now, public libraries through the state government are mandated to clean their environment. However, due to transport cost, this has been put on hold but in-house sanitation is conducted at a periodic time. Participant 2:

“Formerly, in Lagos State, they made it mandatory that staff clean the environment on the legislated environmental sanitation day. But due to the transport cost, it has been stopped. But we hold environmental sanitation in our branch over last Thursday of the month.”

Discussion

Results of the study showed that public libraries support the society by promoting positive reading culture, hosting publishers’ and authors’ day, supporting schools through books donation and gift, organizing quiz and debate among school to stimulate healthy academic competition, organizing annual cultural heritage events, showcasing culture of the local community, adopting local language to carry out readership campaign, promoting cultural diversity, providing adult education, and providing mobile library services. This is akin to the findings that public libraries fulfill their social functions by providing collections, providing services, reading promotion, preserving memory and culture, providing information, ensuring learning environment and/or atmosphere, providing access to technologies, serving as knowledge hub of the community, and library as a meeting place (Romero-Sanchés et al., 2019). Das (2013) showed these libraries provide library services to users that cannot come to the library, which may be considered as mobile library service as found in the current study. Findings of the study showed that the public libraries provide access to relevant information, engage the users, and campaign about their programs.

Findings showed that the public libraries engage social change through character building, enhancement of reading culture, equitable access to information through e-library to enhance societal transformation, and providing holiday coaching for students of secondary schools. It was showed by Balapanidou (2015) that public libraries are initially established to promote social change, and that they have a valuable role in the society. The current study however revealed that funding challenge with respect to organizing the annual cultural heritage event as evident from the response of one of the participants. Das (2013) has recommended that public libraries should liaise with private individuals and organisations to address the funding and sponsorship concerns. Results of the study showed that social support services provided by the public libraries include providing information on the COVID-19 disease, providing academic information to students through online platforms, providing hand sanitizers and nose masks to the host community, remodeling the provision of information services, sensitizing the people on the disease, and providing financial support to staff of the libraries. This is same as the findings that public libraries’ contributions can be in the area of proliferation of learning, social support service, and other public-oriented information services (Gross & Latham, 2021; Wahler et al., 2020).

Results of the study showed that public libraries engage in charity like the donation and gift of books to both primary and secondary schools in their local communities, constant educational support to students, educating market women about their businesses, and collaborating with NGOs to support the masses (e.g. organizing wiki programs and supporting the physically challenged). This is similar to results of Das (2013) that public libraries have supported formal education, career education, adult education, self-learning, and lifelong learning processes to support socio-economic empowerment of communities. Also, Osisioma et al. (2016) showed that CSR is significant to organization performance and recommended that organizations should set aside fund for programs and event that concern CSR. The findings of this study may have cost implications; and thus it is advised that libraries should ensure they set aside some amount of money for such events. Majumder and Saini (2016) recommended that libraries should collaborate with information providing agencies in the society to cater for the information needs of the community through different programs. This study also found that public libraries lend their materials to individuals and organizations.

The findings of this study showed that the public libraries adhered to the ethics and standards of Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) to a minimum extent. However, it was demonstrated that the Council’s supervisory role in ensuring that public libraries follow these ethics is insufficient. Furthermore, it was revealed from the data that the LRCN is not doing enough to identify who qualifies as a librarian because certain institutions are employing people who are not. This is consistent with the findings of Hansson (2017) that the establishment of ethical codes is beneficial for the ethical self-regulation of professional behaviour among librarians, which concerns the analysis of the importance of professionalism and ethical self-regulation in the evolution of modern librarianship. The results showed that those without the necessary degrees can still find work in public libraries if they belong to the right political party or government. Results showed that public libraries have their internal ethical guidelines and codes which are meant for staff members, visitors (attendants), and library users. Mbofung and Popoola (2014) showed that librarians in Nigeria were aware of the ethical principles in the provision of library and information services.

Findings showed that the in-house guidelines include observing the dress code, requiring librarians to shelf-read and shelve books every day, requiring users to observe visitation hours, not lending books to unregistered users, requiring users to renew their registration every year, banning food in the library, prohibiting bags to prevent theft of library materials, and answering patrons’ queries regardless of their background are a few of these principles. Onoyeyan et al. (2014) showed that librarians have code of ethics they follow. This study demonstrated that ethical duty directs librarians and libraries to act morally. It was shown in the study that pornographic-carrying information materials are usually removed from the library shelves. However, library resources are not removed from shelves owing to their race, nationality, political, social, and religious views. This is dissimilar to the findings of Mbofung and Popoola (2014) that removal of library resources because of socio-political factors, moral, and religious factors are part of ethical principles. Results showed that library users’ confidentiality and privacy are ensured. This is consistent with the findings of Matingwina (2015). Also, findings showed that there are limitations in the use of the public libraries, which include not lending out books that are only available in limited quantities, not allowing access for non-registered users, and excluding of pornographic information materials and that which encourages violence, division, and evil.

Findings showed that there are different economic support the public libraries provide for their host communities, which include providing relevant career information, providing information on job adverts, providing vocational information, and organizing programs for farmers and other non-lettered users. By meeting the information needs of local residents, small enterprises, new entrepreneurs, and community institutions, libraries have been shown by Biswas and Mahato (2020) to contribute to local economic growth. Meanwhile, results showed that the public libraries do support the effort to end poverty and hunger in the local community by organizing workshop and seminar to professionals in order to enhance their productivity, providing information (subscription to CTA: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation), and supporting NGOs in their projects to end poverty and hunger. Public libraries have a duty to advance local inhabitants’ knowledge expansion and awareness building about economic information, as Soliman and Wei (2016) shown. This is similar to Opara et al. (2021). It was also showed that it is challenging to measure the extent of libraries’ support for economic development since it concerns provision of skills and information. Findings also showed that some of the public libraries support food security by educating farmers on their farming activities. In order to end hunger and attain food security, Opara et al. (2021) showed the importance of providing relevant information sources and a supportive atmosphere for research.

Findings of the study showed that all of the public libraries engage in environmental sanitation. Onuoha (2015) showed that environment has an indirect effect on libraries. Result showed that this sanitation is periodical and it is usually communicated to the library users. Since the library environment has a significant impact on the libraries’ development (Enudu, 2011), setting aside periodic time for sanitation is plausible. It was shown in the study that some of the public libraries employ cleaner to do the job for them so as to ensure a clean environment and by extension the society. Basera (2013) showed that environmental activities should not be for big organizations alone, which means that the public libraries are not leaving stones unturned with respect to their environment and hygiene. Results of the study showed that the selected public libraries do not play any special role in the legislated monthly environmental sanitation that is observed in some Nigerian states (sub-national). It was shown that, before now, public libraries through the state government are mandated to clean their environment. However, due to transport cost, this has been put on hold but in-house sanitation is conducted at a periodic time. Inyang (2013) showed that there was no adequate support for environmental programs.

Conclusion

The study concludes that the public libraries had corporate social responsibility initiatives, but they did not have any written CSR policy. This may make them to be inconsistent with their implementation of CSR initiatives. The study established that public libraries engaged in the social support and responsibilities, social change, socio-cultural support, and COVID-19 social support. The study recognized that the public libraries engaged in charity, but are limited to providing relevant information support to the local community, providing educational support to students of primary and secondary schools, educating marketing women on businesses and finance, and supporting NGOs in the implementation of their community projects. The study concludes that public libraries adhered to the ethics and guidelines of Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) to a minimum extent since the Council has partially failed in their supervisory role.

The public libraries have their in-house ethics and policies that guide the library staff, users, attendants, and visitors. Also, morally deficient information materials are removed from the shelves in some of the libraries. The study recognized that public libraries provide economic viable information to users, which enable them get improve their career, secure employment, and learn vocation. Moreover, the public libraries support in food security. The study established that the public libraries engaged in environmental sanitation periodically. CSR practices local public libraries can undergo include providing socio-cultural support, economic beneficial information, and support to the community during distress (not just being a place of reading/learning). Limited resources however may not make it easy for these libraries to undertake philanthropic support. The public libraries liaise with government to organize events that encourage reading and learning among secondary school students, and provide adult education. All these enhance the accessibility of social good deeds to the public.

Recommendations

Based on the study’s findings, the following recommendations are proffered:

• i. State government should provide funding support for programs and events that proliferates social cohesion, support, change, transformation, and development.

• ii. It is recommended that library management should provide charity support beyond the provision of information services as this would add to their value-image in the local community.

• iii. The Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) should improve on their supervisory functions to ensure that all the ethics and guidelines are fully adhered to by public libraries.

• iv. Management of the libraries should include in their CSR policy what constitute “pornography” or “morally deficient” so that some librarians will not subjectively removed information materials with prejudice.

• v. The public libraries, with relevant backing from the state government, should improve in their support of food security in the society.

• vi. By going to public places, like a market, to perform sanitation, library management and librarians may increase the awareness of environmental cleanliness.