Entrepreneurship Skills Development of Library and Information Science Professionals in the 21st Century

Richard Iorver Tondo^1* and Terlanga Ugba^{2 *}Correspondence: Richard Iorver Tondo, Department of Midwifery, Benue State School of Midwifery Makurdi, Nigeria, Tel: 8065067151, Email:

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Introduction

Library and information science is a discipline designed to produce information professionals that will completely serve different stakeholders for development. The graduates of library and information science need to be empowered through practical entrepreneurship skills. They ought to be given core entrepreneurship training in relation to library and information services so that upon graduation, they can become self-employed and self-reliant instead of depending wholly on paid jobs. That is to say, the potential graduates should be adequately trained in theory and practical knowledge of the profession as well as entrepreneurship skills so that upon graduation they will be self-employed.

Today, unemployment is one of the major economic problems in our contemporary society. Institutions of higher learning on yearly basis graduate millions of graduates who are pushed into the labour market without corresponding jobs. It is therefore, imperative for library and information science graduates to acquire the necessary entrepreneurship skills that will help them fit in and remain relevant in this complex and changing society.

Entrepreneurship is very important in library and information science as it concerns library and information science graduates among the unemployed [1]. Entrepreneurship is not an easy task; it requires risk taking, dedication, innovation and creativity. Risk taking is a part of cooperate life, and one cannot do without it. There is the phobia that, the rate at which library schools are admitting students in the library and information science, by the time they graduate and go to the labour market, there may be problems if they do not know how to create and employ an entrepreneurial mindset [2].

Umunadi attests that, the world is witnessing a wave of entrepreneurship happening with millions of people seeking for self-employment and business ownership. Entrepreneurship is now a key driver of our economy because we are in an entrepreneurial age where entrepreneurs are driving a revolution that is transforming and renewing economics worldwide which library and information science profession is not exceptional.

Similarly, Oteh points out that, people are now willing to be innovative, creative, identify, establish and run their own venture, rather than waiting for the government alone to provide jobs for everybody. This shows that, entrepreneurship skills development is a catalyst for library and information science graduate employability as it improves quality, number and variety of job opportunities.

Mangla suggests that, library and information science programmes should be designed to equip students with, knowledge and techniques to handle the immediate job requirements in an efficient manner. However, curriculum planners should be able to offer broad based, flexible and diversified library and information science curriculum and training programmes that can suit manpower requirements in different sectors of economy. With this, Omekwu and Echezona observes that, library and information science schools must seek ways of providing their students with quality of skills to operate in the technological platforms within the framework of entrepreneurship [3,4].

Department of library and information science in Nigerian universities have also come up with library and information science related entrepreneurship courses [5]. The author further explained that, although the course descriptions of about 25 approved library and information science programmes in Nigerian universities indicates the entrepreneurship courses peculiar to the field are hardly offered presently, apart from the general course. Among the few library and information science departments offering entrepreneurship courses related to library and information science are those at the university of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello university, Zaria, Babcock university, Ilesha and a few of them. According to Umerah, the university of Ilorin in library and information science programme offer LIS 402; entrepreneurship in information. In its justification for offering the course, the department stated that, it is intended to circumvent unemployment of librarians in the public and private sectors, thus, encouraging their graduates to be self-employed and create employment for others as well. This chapter therefore focused on entrepreneurship skills development and library and information science employability in the 21^st century [6].

Objective

The objective of this pepper is to educate library and information science students and professionals on the:

• Benefits of entrepreneurship education to library and information science professionals.
• Entrepreneurship skills required by library and information graduates in anentrepreneurial environment in the 21^st century.
• Entrepreneurship opportunities for library and information science entrepreneurs in the21^st century.
• Challenges hindering entrepreneurship skills development for library and informationscience graduate employability in the 21^st century.

Literature Review

Conceptual clarification

Concept of entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship is a word derived from the French word “entreprende” which means to “undertake”. An entrepreneur can be defined as an innovating individual who has developed an ongoing business activity where none existed before [7]. Meredith cited in Arogundade, defined an entrepreneur as a person who possesses the ability to recognize and evaluate business opportunities, assemble the necessary resources to take advantage of them and take appropriate action to ensure success. Entrepreneurs are people who constantly discover new markets and try to figure out how to supply those markets efficiently and make profit. He is a person that searches for change, responds to change, and exploits change by converting change into business opportunity [8].

To Casson, an entrepreneur is someone who specializes in making judgmental decisions about the coordination of scarce resources. This means that, the entrepreneurs is an individual. Also, the term judgmental implies that, the decision cannot be simply a routine application for a standard rule because the perception of opportunities is subjective, while opportunities are objectives [9].

Entrepreneurship is therefore, defined as the activity that involves the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of opportunities within the framework of an individual opportunity nexus [10]. Entrepreneurship is also defined as the activities and processes undertaken to discover, define, and exploit opportunities in order to enhance wealth by creating new ventures in an innovative manner. The key concepts of entrepreneurship are innovation, market orientation and system change.

There are two types of entrepreneurship viz: Necessity entrepreneurship and opportunities entrepreneurship. Aces distinguish the two types of entrepreneurship. According to the author, “necessity entrepreneurship”, has to become an entrepreneur because you have no better option, while opportunity entrepreneurship is an active choice to start a new enterprise based on the perception that an unexploited or under exploited business opportunity exists. The author went on to explain that, necessity entrepreneurship has no effect on economic development while opportunity entrepreneurship has a positive and significant effect on economy. Since discovery, evaluation and exploitation of opportunities is central to entrepreneurship, understanding why, when and how opportunities come into existence is very important.

Concept of library and information science

Library and information science is the academic and professional study of how information and information carriers are produced, selected, acquired, organized, evaluated, managed and disseminated. Library and information profession serves the information needs of a democratic, progressive technologically sophisticated and culturally diverse society. A key focus of the profession is enabling people to connect with the world of information, interacting with and utilizing information in all aspects of their lives. The profession fosters lifelong learning, personal fulfillment, improved decision making, knowledge development, innovation, imagination, creativity and cultural continuity [11]. People who work in the profession have specialized knowledge and skills of producing, selecting, acquiring, organizing, evaluating, managing and disseminating information resources and services.

Concept of employability

Employability can be defined as a set of achievement, skills, understanding and personal attributes that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy. It also enables students to acquire the knowledge, personal and professional skills and encourage the attitudes that will support their future development and employment.

According to Knight, the term employability refers to capability of getting and keeping satisfactory work, getting work from somebody for pay or state of being employed. More comprehensively, employability is the capability to move self-sufficiently within the market to realize potential through sustainable employment. In simple terms, employability is about being capable of getting and keeping fulfilling work.

Employability of an individual depends on the knowledge, skills and abilities they possess. Library and information science students should be aware of competencies and skills required for getting a job. The major competency and skills required by library and information science student for getting a job upon graduation in this information age is entrepreneurship skills development which guarantee self-employment [12].

Benefits of entrepreneurship education to library and information science: The role of entrepreneurship in library and information science is very essential such that entrepreneurship can be defined as solving problems in library and information science profession using entrepreneurship skills, skill acquisition, self-employment, marketing of library and information science products and many more. Entrepreneurship skills development would be of great benefits to graduates of library and information science in the following ways:

• Entrepreneurship empowers library and information science graduates to create job forthemselves and be self-employed as well as self-reliant.
• Entrepreneurship equip library and information science graduates with diversifiedknowledge and creative abilities to initiate, establish and run business that willcontribute to national development [13].
• Entrepreneurship provide library and information science graduates with additionalskills that empowered them to transform their ideas into visible ventures.
• Entrepreneurship promotes innovation by introducing new products and services aswell as market strategies to library and information science graduates to becomeoutstanding entrepreneur [14].
• Entrepreneurship is an effective method of bridging the gap between science and themarket place creating new enterprise [15].
• It helps to develop innovative skills in potential librarians and information scientists.
• Entrepreneurship prepares library and information science graduates with the necessaryskills to create and successfully operate business ventures.
• Entrepreneurship reposition library and information science graduates so that they cansucceed and remain relevant in this entrepreneurial economy.

Entrepreneurship skills are simply business skills which an individual acquires for him to function effectively in the turbulent business as an entrepreneur or a self-reliant.

Entrepreneurship Skills required by Library and Information Science Graduates in an Entrepreneurial Environment in the 21^st Century

Various skills are required to be merged and used for successful entrepreneurial ventures. In order to identify these desirable skills, it is necessary to group them into different categories required to demonstrate these skills in variety of students. Igbo cited in Umunadi identified four major categories of competencies or skills needed for success in entrepreneurship.

• Managerial skills: These include ability to communicate effectively using oral andwritten skills, knowledge and method of conducting effective meetings, ability to dolong and short term planning, knowledge of factors involved in overhead control,knowledge of inventory control and turnover, acquisition of management andsupervisory skills, ability to manage time and meet job schedule, good humanrelationship, knowledge of need for employee growth and development, ability todetermine personal salary.
• Accounting and financial skills: These are knowledge of account, knowledge ofcosting, ability to interpret financial statements, ability to understand payroll andvarious deductions, ability to know gross and net profit, ability to know source offunds; ability to know how to obtain loans, knowledge of factors involved in decisionto grant loan by financial houses, knowledge of business laws, knowledge of safetyrules involved in own types of business, awareness of existence and use ofprofessionals like lawyers, bankers, advert using agents etc. Knowledge of the use ofinsurance, knowledge of total business or industry being entered, awareness ofmanufacturing and production method; knowledge of importance of space, traffic flow,site of business, parking lot and convenience.
• Marketing and sales skills: These include knowledge of seasonal fluctuation ofgoods, ability to determine the effect to which products will sell, familiarity withvarious aspects of sales and salesmanship, ability to budget and forecast, ability todetermine current and future trends in sales of products, knowledge of how todetermine availability of good materials for production and storage of finished goods;ability to determine and interpret factors which indicate extent and strength ofcompetition; ability to determine what customer need, knowledge of advertising.
• General business skills: These skills according to Umunadi include:
• Knowledge of typing/ownership of business (sole proprietorship, partnership,corporation, etc.,)
• Understanding basic steps involved in starting a business.
• Awareness of facilities available for supplying information on starting small business(governmental agencies, trade association resource).
• Familiarization with purchasing of fixtures, equipment and furnishing.
• Ability to assess facilities and equipment required.
• Knowledge of building and space utilization.
• Ability to judge performance of employees.
• Ability to find out source of capital to start business.
• Knowledge of how to determine employee wages and allowance.
• Know-how to hire and fire employees.

Hisrich (2002) also listed the following skills required in entrepreneurship:

• Technical skills: Writing, oral communication, monitoring environment, technologybusiness management, technology, interpersonal, listening, ability to organize, networkbuilding, management style, coaching, being a team player.
• Business management skills: Planning and goal setting, human relations, marketing,finance, accounting, management, control, negotiation, venture, managing growth.
• Personal entrepreneurship skills: These include inner control/discipline, research (tofind relevant information), risk taking, innovative, charge oriented, persistent, visionaryleader, ability to manage change.

Umerah stated that library and information science students need to acquire skills and experience in the aspect of entrepreneurship. Those skills according to the author include:

• Information technology skills: These include networking, library automation anddigitalization, web based services, database creation and management systems, content development, desktop publishing, internet, presentation, reprography, micrographs, facsimile, video text, tele text, hardware and software skills, and rational databases including the ability to create data structures which facilitates the indexing and retrieval of information. Other skills include, network administration, efficient use of search engines, use of social media tools such as blogs, Facebook, twitter, etc., to provide information services, web cast and search skills.
• Information literacy skills: This is the ability to recognize when information isneeded and locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. Also, includedhere is the marketing of information products and services, information resourcemanagement, information processing and organization, video conferencing, multimediaand e-mail.
• Knowledge management skills: This is required for managing organizationalknowledge to solve the organizational problems.

Entrepreneurship opportunity for library and information science entrepreneurs in the 21^st Century

• Information brokerage: This involves supply information to users for a fee. In thisinformation age businesses, individuals, and commercial organizations have becomeconscious of information as a resource. Therefore, the services of information brokersare employed for faster response to their information needs. An information broker isan individual who searches for information for clients by using various resources suchas online and offline. An information broker is thus an information consultant whoprovides professional information for a fee. An information broker must know wheninformation is needed, be able to formulate an effective search strategy in a variety ofsources. He should be able to critically evaluate content, its accuracy and source andthereafter effectively use information to meet the client’s goals. This implies that,library and information entrepreneurs should have the skills to generate, or createinformation, organized or classify and summarize information in a way that it can beaccessible to users for a free.
• Publishing: This is the process of producing books, films, computer programs,records, newspapers, magazines, discs, bulletins and periodicals, etc., fordissemination, reading, studying, searching and entertainment/relaxation. The publisherassumes the responsibility for the issuance of a book to the public. The publisher isdifferent from a printer and the binder who manufactures. The publisher maintains thestock of copies and handles sales to wholesaler and retailer bookstore as well asindividual purchases. The publishing sector is a viable option for library andinformation science entrepreneurs. Library and information science graduates will bebetter disposed to undertake ventures in publishing because of the professional trainingthey received on book production and publishing.
• Production and sale of library equipment: Production of library equipment isanother option available to graduate of library and information science. Graduates oflibrary and information science can involve in the production and sale of equipmentthat is used in library and information centers. Such equipment includes, cataloguecards, catalogue cabinet’s book stand to mention but a few.
• Book selling business: Library and information science graduates can involvethemselves in book selling business. With their professional knowledge, library andinformation science graduates are better disposed to serve the various libraries bysupplying books to them and as well liaise with the management of tertiary institutionto sell books to their students.
• Indexing and abstracting: This is another area that can attract entrepreneurship. Forexample, book indexing and abstracting.
• Compilation of bibliographies: This is another area where library and information graduates can make impact through entrepreneurship.

Discussion

Challenges hindering entrepreneurship skills development for library and information science graduate employability in the 21^st century

A lot of scholars have identified challenges hindering entrepreneurship skills development for library and information science graduates. Horstall identified lack of capital, bad business decision, economic crises, poor market demand, technology/ICT skills requirements, lack of managerial functions and knowledge/ entrepreneurial mindset and poor education and training as challenges associated with entrepreneurship for library and information science graduates. Other scholars such as Umerah identified non-challant attitudes of students, lack of functional workshops and laboratories, and unavailability of funds as challenges of entrepreneurship in library and information science in Nigeria.

The following are challenges hindering entrepreneurship skills development for library and information science graduates in the 21^st century.

• Lack of ICT skills: In this digital age, where virtually every aspect of humanendeavour is ICT driven, it goes to mean that lack of ICT skills is a limiting factor toeffective development of entrepreneurship skills by library and information sciencegraduates. The practical approach to entrepreneurial opportunities is not possiblewithout basic ICT skills.
• Non-inclusion of entrepreneurship course related to library and information science inlibrary and information science curriculum. Umunadi asserted that, the government in2006 directed that entrepreneurship education be incorporated as a mandatorycomponent of all programmes run in Nigeria institutions. The aim of this according tothe author is to produce crops of graduate with appropriate entrepreneurial skills andattitude for creativity, innovation and enterprise. However, the only entrepreneurshipeducation received by library and information science students in library schools is thatwhich is been taught at general studies. This means that, entrepreneurship education isnot incorporated in library and information science curriculum. The one taught asgeneral studies is not related to library and information science. This hinders thedevelopment of entrepreneurship skills by library and information graduates.
• Lack of lecturers that are entrepreneurial conscious: Most lecturers in libraryschools are not entrepreneurial conscious. This according to the author affects theirmode of teaching. This apparently affects the overall objective of entrepreneurshipeducation.
• Lack of funds: Behind any successful project is availability of funds forentrepreneurship education to be fully incorporated into the library and informationscience curriculum and achieve its objective, fund ought to be available. If there is nofund, how will the library schools manufacture the necessary equipment needed toimpact the right skill to students?
• Lack of functional workshops and laboratories. Most of the Nigerian library schoolslack functional workshops and laboratories. According to Umerah a visit to thoselaboratories will reveal that Nigerian library schools lack the standing focus to teachentrepreneurship. In actual sense the available workshops cannot empower effectiveteaching.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship skills development plays a vital role in library and information science graduate employability and supports economic development. Library and information science as a discipline should ensure full incorporation of entrepreneurship skills development in the training of library and information science practitioners both in theory and practical. If this is done, library and information science graduates with apply the acquired entrepreneurship skills in library and information science practices as such a new breed of library and information science professionals will emerge. This will affect the society in a way that poverty, unemployment and underemployment in the field of library and information science will be no more.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are made:

• Acquisition of ICT skills by library and information science professionals.
• The library and information science curriculum in Nigerian library schools should bereviewed to ensure that entrepreneurship education courses are incorporated into theprogramme. And the teaching of entrepreneurship courses to library and informationscience should be handled in the department of library and information science. Thiswill enhance the customization of the programme to reflect the specific needs of libraryand information science.
• Innovative training and re-training in entrepreneurship among library and informationscience educators to meet students need.
• Provision of funds by the various stakeholders in our educational system for acquisitionof relevant equipment as well as training of lecturers.
• Upgrading of workshops and laboratories in library schools.

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