SUMMARY AND CRITQUE OF THE CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING A NATIONAL VIRTUAL LIBRARY

 

SUMMARY 
The idea behind the establishment of the national virtual library is to establish an online network among Nigeria universities where access to tools such as database, electronic journals, alerting services, online reference and quality selected web resources that improves the quality of teaching and research can be obtain. Unfortunately this initiate has become a mirage.
The virtual library is expected to provide value-added solution for all higher education institution and facilitate online access to an enormous current volume of academic information.
Amongst other things, the virtual library is expected to 
(i) Improve the quality of teaching and research in institution of higher leaning in Nigeria through the provision of current books, journals and other library resources.
(ii) Enhance scholarship, research and lifelong learning through the establishment of permanent access to shared digital archival collections etc 
Digitization, acquisition and collection development and enabling technology all form the bedrock of a successful virtual library. Unavailability of basic information infrastructure, poor policy implementation, lack of web technologies skilled digital system librarians, information technology policy and technological challenges are the hindrance to the implementation of a National virtual Library in the institution of our higher learning. Aside from these, there is need for a librarian with web technology skill who will be able to facilitate skilled information retrieval and to intervene between user and the information, to help user evaluate what they retrieved.
It is not totally a lost hope for the actualization of the virtual Library if only the following steps can be taken:
(i) An improvement in the basic national infrastructure
(ii) Librarian and information professionals to be trained in information and web technology skills.
(iii) The virtual library should provide access to electronic resources free web based resources, heavily digitized resources and open access resources.
(iv) They should seek more grants and other source of funding to upgrade, etc.

In conclusion, since the aim of the virtual library is to provide networking amongst universities for the purpose of sharing resources online, the government should try as much as possible to make available every necessary materials that will make this a reality.

CRITIQUE  
This work cannot be condemned as the write has help in identifying the challenges the implementation of the National virtual library is presently facing and the way out of it.
A very good work I must say.

NAME: OLUGBENGA S. AJAYI
REG NO: MIM/EDUC/07812/2008-2009