REPOSITIONING LIBRARIES IN NIGERIA’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM FOR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

ABSTRACT This paper gives national and international perspectives of librarianship and examined the repositioning of libraries in Nigeria’s educational system to make them competitive in line with global best practices. Library leadership, training and curriculum content for professionalism and funding were looked at as devices for competitiveness vis-à-vis international university standards. Recommendations were made for leadership training and review of library school curriculums to reflect new trends in librarianship as well as promotion of reading culture, among others, for global competitiveness

STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES FOR PROMOTING DIGITAL INCLUSION AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: THE LIBRARY PERSPECTIVE.

ABSTRACT This paper examined the challenges and strategies of digital inclusion and inclusive development in Nigeria, with particular attention to the library perspective. The paper espouses the contribution of digital inclusion and libraries to inclusive development. It explicates the benefit of replicating these contributions in national development. The paper relied on qualitative techniques premised on empirical example from literature including case studies and success stories from around the world. The paper revealed that in spite of the positive contributions of ICTs to the development of Nigeria, especially in aspect of high digital penetration rate, and being one of the fastest growing in the world, there are still challenges including those of access, affordability, lack of appreciation of libraries and poor funding for them, militating against digital inclusion and inclusive development in Nigeria. The paper recommended among other things that taking a cue from success stories around the world, appropriate digital inclusion and inclusive development policies and strategies that will aid in revolutionalising and transforming Nigeria’s development be adopted. The paper is divided into five which includes introduction, conceptual framework, contextual discourse, conclusion and recommendations

Good Governance,Information Dissemination and National Development-The Nigerian Situation

ABSTRACT In the last few decades the relationship between good governance and national development has attracted keen global attention. The emergence of information as a vital factor of production in the knowledge economy has added a new dimension to it. This paper therefore aims at exploring the intrinsic nexus between good governance, information dissemination and national development. Relying on descriptive methods based on relevant literatures and empirical facts, the paper enumerated some inextricable indices of good governance, espouses its importance and the impetus information dissemination provides for national development. The paper clearly explained the notion of good governance in the context of the Nigerian milieu and links it with how information dissemination using the library as a platform can promote it in order to deliver national development. The paper provided evidence from around the world of the nexus between the three variables under examination. It revealed that Nigeria is yet to comply with the inextricable indices of good governance due to lack of committed leadership. The paper recommended amongst others that political leaders and institutions in the country must begin to show better and genuine commitment to policy implementation, and do more, faster and in quantum too to deliver good governance; fidelity of governance is ensured if there is flow of information between the governor and the governed; the library as a custodian of information can play its designated role in advancing national development if given proper attention in terms of investments; national development is achieved when all the ingredients of good governance are present in a society. The paper is segmented to include introduction, problem statement, contextual discourse and conclusion

Good Governance,Information Dissemination and National Development-The Nigerian Situation

ABSTRACT In the last few decades the relationship between good governance and national development has attracted keen global attention. The emergence of information as a vital factor of production in the knowledge economy has added a new dimension to it. This paper therefore aims at exploring the intrinsic nexus between good governance, information dissemination and national development. Relying on descriptive methods based on relevant literatures and empirical facts, the paper enumerated some inextricable indices of good governance, espouses its importance and the impetus information dissemination provides for national development. The paper clearly explained the notion of good governance in the context of the Nigerian milieu and links it with how information dissemination using the library as a platform can promote it in order to deliver national development. The paper provided evidence from around the world of the nexus between the three variables under examination. It revealed that Nigeria is yet to comply with the inextricable indices of good governance due to lack of committed leadership. The paper recommended amongst others that political leaders and institutions in the country must begin to show better and genuine commitment to policy implementation, and do more, faster and in quantum too to deliver good governance; fidelity of governance is ensured if there is flow of information between the governor and the governed; the library as a custodian of information can play its designated role in advancing national development if given proper attention in terms of investments; national development is achieved when all the ingredients of good governance are present in a society. The paper is segmented to include introduction, problem statement, contextual discourse and conclusion

STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES FOR PROMOTING DIGITAL INCLUSION AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: THE LIBRARY PERSPECTIVE.

ABSTRACT This paper examined the challenges and strategies of digital inclusion and inclusive development in Nigeria, with particular attention to the library perspective. The paper espouses the contribution of digital inclusion and libraries to inclusive development. It explicates the benefit of replicating these contributions in national development. The paper relied on qualitative techniques premised on empirical example from literature including case studies and success stories from around the world. The paper revealed that in spite of the positive contributions of ICTs to the development of Nigeria, especially in aspect of high digital penetration rate, and being one of the fastest growing in the world, there are still challenges including those of access, affordability, lack of appreciation of libraries and poor funding for them, militating against digital inclusion and inclusive development in Nigeria. The paper recommended among other things that taking a cue from success stories around the world, appropriate digital inclusion and inclusive development policies and strategies that will aid in revolutionalising and transforming Nigeria’s development be adopted. The paper is divided into five which includes introduction, conceptual framework, contextual discourse, conclusion and recommendations

REPOSITIONING LIBRARIES IN NIGERIA’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM FOR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

ABSTRACT This paper gives national and international perspectives of librarianship and examined the repositioning of libraries in Nigeria’s educational system to make them competitive in line with global best practices. Library leadership, training and curriculum content for professionalism and funding were looked at as devices for competitiveness vis-à-vis international university standards. Recommendations were made for leadership training and review of library school curriculums to reflect new trends in librarianship as well as promotion of reading culture, among others, for global competitiveness

A critical examination of the Librarians Registration Council of Nigeria Code of Ethics in the Light of International best practices in Library and Information Science Professions

This paper took a critical reflection on the Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria Code of Ethics vis-à-vis international standards. The paper explained that since information professionals play an extremely important role in society by linking society with information heritage, it is critical that they carry out this mission in an ethical manner. The paper noted that towards this end many organizations of information professionals led by the International Federation of Library Association and related institutions (IFLA) including the Librarians Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) have adopted codes of professional ethics. The paper analyzed these IFLA and related codes and the LRCN codes and discovered that there are grounds of commonality and singularly. Based on these discoveries the paper concluded that the LRCN and international codes were crafted to address same issues, but the LRCN is bounded with peculiar realities

COVID-19 pandemic and evolving library and information services: Lessons for Nigeria

Purpose: This paper examined the impact of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on libraries in the world with emphasis on lessons for Nigeria. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using secondary data and literature sourced from journals and the Internet, the paper gave a brief chronology of the emergence of the disease; the extent of the danger it can cause; its symptoms and safety measures. The paper reinforced the importance of the roles libraries are playing in order to mitigate the effect of the pandemic. They include promoting the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and resources, promoting media and information literacy, using information management to support health care and other social services, raising awareness of the disease and safety measures, and fighting  against misinformation on the disease. Findings: The findings of this study revealed that from the ecological view point there are endemic constraints libraries in Nigeria are facing, which have prevented them from innovating programmes and services like in advanced climes to effectively contribute to mitigating the effect of COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The constraints include poor reading culture, passive nature of librarians, negative disposition of the society towards library and information issues, poor funding for library education and library development, poor technologically driven library and information services amongst others. Originality/Value: The paper concluded by making recommendations and implementation strategies including the following: libraries in Nigeria must create more values for users, must become technologically innovative, government and stakeholders in the profession must act swiftly to ensure adequate policy framework for the effective functioning of libraries so that they are always in a good stead to cope with changing trends. Practical Implication: In any pandemic the roles of the library include promoting awareness by creating and disseminating information relating to preventive measures, supporting research by providing information regarding latest developments and meeting the information needs of the user community. More so, the proper documentation of all facts gathered before, during and after the pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19; Pandemic; Libraries; Librarians; Digital technologies, Innovations

The role of e-Government in overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria

Purpose: The article aims at identifying the challenges of e-government amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria and proffered recommendations to arrest the identified challenges.  This paper also examined e-Governance in selected countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada and how it has fared including Nigeria revealing its implications for Nigeria as a developing nation. Research Methodology: The article adopts a review study approach in analyzing the subject. Results: Some of the challenges identified by the study include but are not limited to inadequate technical know-how and ICT skills to drive and sustain e-government. Recommendations from the study include, the Ministry of Communications Technology and Digital Economy to build a backbone that will connect all States of the country and the upskilling of the workforce through the Ministry of Labour and Employment amongst others. Limitations: Insufficient quantitative data based on the subject under discourse Contributions: Identified possible areas that the Nigerian government could look into to improve e-government in order to promote inclusivity, awareness, and most importantly reduce the cost of governance