The Librarian of the Mountain Top University, Ogun State, Dr. Helen Akinade, has advised the Nigerian government to invest in and refurbish libraries across the country.
Akinade, in an interview with The PUNCH, said information was power, adding that the mobile library was another avenue to promote literacy and use of the library.
“Our government right from the local level needs to invest in the library. If at the local and state levels you have public libraries that are well equipped for people to consult for information, definitely there will be more enlightenment, society will become better,” she said.
She explained that the MTU library was a hybrid library that had both electronic and hardcopy resources.
“By nature, the MTU library is hybrid. The hybrid library is a kind of library that has both electronic and hardcopy resources. Our e-library is a place created in the library that the users comprising of staff and students can have access to electronic resources of the library. You have in the e-library a set of computers which have the electronic version of the facilities we have in the library. We have e-journal, e-textbooks, e-copies that the users of the library can easily access. Through the e-library, the users can easily get to other institutions’ databases,” she explained.
Akinade that the government had not shown commitment to funding, refurbishing libraries around the country.
She said, “With my work experience in the public libraries, we discovered that the budget would just be on paper but that particular amount will not be released to the institutions concerned to make use of it. That is why if you go around to the local governments they will tell you they have a space for a library if you enter there, you will see that there is nothing there. The government needs to pump money and equip the libraries, they need to prioritise their libraries if they are interested in getting Nigerians to be learned and have the consciousness of seeking and getting this information.”
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