NAME: - SUZANAH DOUGLAS ZAKI
NO: - MIM/EDUC/05890/2008-09
COURSE: - LIBS 883/ONLINE INFORMATION INDUSTRIES
IMPLEMENTATING A NATIONAL LIBRARY FOR HIGHER INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA
A virtual library is defined as a library that provides access to tools such as databases, electronic journals, alerting services, electronic references and quality- vetted e- resources. It is considered as a library that consists of both digital and electronic library, it cannot function as a digital library.
The inability of Nigerian government to stock libraries in the academic institutions with relevant information resources has great implications for learning, teaching, research and development. Realising this, the Nigerian government has been making efforts through the National Universities Commission to implement the National Virtual Library Initiatives, which will enhance access to locally – available resources and international library collections for sharing with university libraries all over Nigeria using digital technology. However, six years after the project was initiated, the virtual library is yet to be functional.
To facilitate the development and implementation of the national virtual library, the NUC convened a stakeholder work in Abuja in July 2001 where the blue print for the project was developed and subsequently approved by the federal executives’ council in January 2002. Eleven universities were selected as pilot centers for the first phase of the project unfortunately, six years after the national virtual library was initiated and despite all the achievements enumerated by the NUC and series of training workshops, none of the eleven universities pilot centers has began operations and National Virtual Library which is now funded by Educational Trust Fund (ETF) is yet to be fully functional. The Nigerian government approved a national information technology policy in March 2001.
Numerous recommendations were made far away forward to actualizing the National Virtual Library project in Nigeria.
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The fact that only 11 universities out of over 80 were choosen meant that even if the project had succeded only a very few number of students wolud have benefited from it. And what were the plans for intergrating other schools that were not in the initial 11 schools?
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