Lagos to upgrade 21 school libraries

THE Lagos State government on Sunday said it would undertake the upgrade of 21 secondary school libraries across the six educational districts in the State.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh, who disclosed this in a statement, also said the construction of the State Digital Library earlier announced by the administration would commence this year.

According to Bank-Olemoh, the state government’s Private-Public-Partnership initiative, tagged Adopt-A-Library was “geared towards transforming the state public libraries into modern, ICT-enhanced knowledge centres.”

He also disclosed that some state-owned public libraries were recently upgraded by the government in partnership with private enterprises.

The Digital Library, which, according to Bank-Olemoh, would contain “E-books on numerous topics, 1,600 videos covering English, Mathematics and Sciences for all classes, 2,000 Study Aids in Key Subject areas for secondary school subjects, quality research papers from Lagos State Tertiary institutions covering a wide variety of topics to be digitised for the platform, vocational training videos, creatively presented history lessons as well as online course on coding.”

He said the first phase of the digital library project would be launched in January 2017.

“It would also be designed to ensure optimal user experience for the designated community, which includes producers of content, publishers of approved school text books, Lagos State Library Board content providers, external content providers, and external providers could include individuals who want to self-publish, providers of study materials who provide their resources for a fee and other third parties.

“One of the key mandates of His Excellency is that we solve problems and create value. In creating the digital library, we are committed to ensuring that we are not just setting up ‘another online portal’ but providing a solution. We will approach the project… and continuously seek feedback from end users and other stakeholders to ensure the content and features provided are value-adding, timely, and innovative.”