Mentoring and knowledge transfer practices among librarians for sustainable development in selected university libraries in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Librarians engage in mentoring and knowledge transfer to sharpen and sustain professional practice and stay abreast of new developments for sustainable development. This study investigates the mentoring and knowledge transfer practices among librarians for sustaining development in selected Sokoto State University Libraries, Nigeria. Three research objectives and questions were posed for the study. The research adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study consisted one hundred and three (103) librarians from Abdullahi Fodiyo Library, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and Inuwa Abdulkadir Library, Sokoto State University. The sample size for this study comprised of eighty (80) librarians as derived from research advisor table. Eighty (80) questionnaires were distributed and seventy-six (76) were returned indicating 93.75%. The data collected were analyzed using simple percentages. The study identified various methods used for mentoring knowledge transfer practices including supervision, meetings, conference/seminar participation, research collaboration, personal interaction and library routines among others. The study also revealed that library routines are the major strategy used for mentoring librarians. The study revealed that personal interaction was the major strategy used for knowledge transfer among librarians in the university libraries. Furthermore, the study revealed that mentoring and knowledge transfer practices were not effective among librarians. Lastly, the study findings revealed that poor research collaboration was the major challenge in mentoring and knowledge transfer among librarians. The study concludes that librarians strongly agreed that senior librarians in the university libraries do not promote mentorship and knowledge transfer. It was recommended that; motivational mechanisms be tied to mentorship and knowledge transfer practices by library management to encourage senior librarians to share knowledge and mentor younger professionals. Additionally, university and library management should promote effective mentorship through in-house training, conference/seminar participation, and research collaboration, among other strategies.