We need more libraries in Nigeria

We live in a world characterised by great flow of information, much more than ever before. Knowledge has gained so much importance that everyone must seek appropriate information. Information and knowledge are now crucial assets in the global economy.

Nations are creating strategies to ensure that information and knowledge are used effectively, shared and made accessible. In this information age, there is an exigent need to equip people with the skills and means to become information-literate and to enable them to locate, access and evaluate information. This is the basis for enabling people to participate as active citizens since they need to be able to make informed choices and decisions and to act on them.

All over the world, libraries are dedicated to providing free and equitable access to information, be it in written, electronic or audiovisual form. Libraries play an indispensable role in providing access to information, which has received widespread acceptance as the essential feature of production, consumption and exchange in this modern era. Thus, the types of libraries required in Nigeria in this 21st century, an information driven age, are those that will provide up-to-date information in both the print and electronic media to support teaching and learning at all levels of education so that the right calibre of people with the right stock of knowledge that would transform the nation can be produced.

Furthermore, libraries have been championing the provision of relevant information resources to different communities with the establishment of rural libraries that have the element of adult literacy as well as helping in the establishment of an informed society. This is one of the numerous reasons the developed nations of the world are investing massively in library development because they see libraries as  important institutions that provide access to a vast array of information resources which equip the minds of the citizens with profound knowledge.

Damilare Oyedele

FCT, Abuja.