FG commences digitisation of 57-year-old national library

The Federal Government has commenced the digitisation of the 57-year-old National Library of Nigeria (NLN) and the automation of its services in line with the global standard.

NLN was established by Act No. 6 of 1964, with the National Librarian/Chief Executive Officer of the Library, Professor Chimwe Anunobi, saying that some of the information resources in the National Library were already weak and deteriorated due to age and usage.

Anunobi, who spoke while briefing newsmen in Abuja, on some of her milestones to mark her one year in office, said modest progress has been made in the last one year in the efforts to reposition the National Library of Nigeria for effective and efficient services.

“My effort so far is considered as building bridges to connect the old and the new, leveraging on technology,” she said.

She noted that while digitization activities are ongoing, the development and deployment of the National Repository of Nigeria (NRN) is about 70 per cent completed.

The NLN boss said: “The National Library is about 57 years old with a consequential sixty years old information resources. Hence, it is not out of place that some of the information resources are weak and deteriorated due to age and usage.

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“To salvage and preserve them, we engaged in the digitisation of this weak heritage aimed at preservation, increased availability and wider accessibility leveraging information and communication technology.

“We hope to achieve completion and commissioning for public use by the end of November 2022. The NRN houses in electronic form, all Nigerian heritage that has been deposited from inception to date by authors, printers or publishers, in compliance with the legal deposit law.

“We have deployed KOHA library automation software for cataloguing and classification in National Library. On April 4, 2022, we launched our Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), the window for all the resources housed by the National Library of Nigeria.

“This will enable users to virtually check for the materials we have, and their exact location, without physically rummaging our shelves,” she said.

Anunobi further added that the NRN would be accessible by every Nigerian and beyond, regardless of status, qualification, or location, saying the digitization was not only designed to increase the visibility of Nigerian intellectual heritage but also to enable creators of this intellectual heritage have return on their investments.

She, however, appealed to media, newspapers houses particularly to deposit e-copies of their publications with the NLN to ease the digitisation process, explaining that the digitization of archival information would commence from the strong room in Lagos.

She noted that some newspaper houses have complied with this request as NLN awaits other media publishing companies to key into the initiative.

Anunobi disclosed that in leveraging technology, NLN under her watch has designed and developed a virtual library that is fully ready for deployment, which according to her would provide the reading public anywhere in the world, access to the National Library operations and services.

The headquarters of NLN is on rented apartment located at the Central Business District, FCT, Abuja, but the National Librarian told newsmen that following the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) would take over the completion of the abandoned headquarters building project.

She explained that TETFund has set aside fund and would through the Minister of Education present the estimate for the completion of the project to the President for approval and commencement of work on the site.

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FG commences digitisation of 57-year-old national library