Summary of the Paper: Implementing a National Virtual Library for Higher Institutions in Nigeria.

Name: Nwobu, O. E.
Course: LIBS 883 - Online Information Industry
Number: MIM/EDUC/00444/2008-09

Summary of the Paper: Implementing a National Virtual Library for Higher Institutions in Nigeria.
By Ezra Shiloba Gbaje

The purpose of a Virtual Library is to support learning and acquisition of Knowledge, to provide a more solid basis for education and to enhance quality of life by drawing on digitally available (preferably on-line) books, materials and journals via ICT –based tools. A virtual Library provides remote (on-line or CD- Rom based) access to a variety of national and international content (e.g. curricula, learning materials, books, journals, magazines, newspapers) services traditionally offered by libraries and other information source. Virtual Library thus, combine on- site collections of materials in electronic format with an electronic network which ensure access to and delivery of those materials. Virtual Library then, is an interactive environment where people can access information and share information with one another.
Following a request by the President of Nigeria during the 31st General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in October 2001, the organization agreed to refocus its Special Plan Action programme for Nigeria towards establishing a Virtual Library for higher education institutions. The idea was that given the low capacity of the higher institutions to stock their libraries with relevant books and literature, it was imperative to exploit information and communication technologies (ICTs) to provide solution to this problem. This change was also necessitated by the report of the earlier mission of the Special Plan of Action, which identified the need for virtual library test bed as urgent and important in addressing the crisis of quality of education in the country.
The virtual library is an opportunity to address the paucity of teaching and research materials in the libraries of institutions of higher education in the country. It would also allow the institutions and local researchers to share their own research outputs with the global community. It would also ensure the preservation of our cultural heritages in a more durable form. To kick start the effort at establishing the virtual library, UNESCO and Nigeria got a funding from the Japanese Fund in Trust to conduct a Feasibility Study for the virtual library in Nigeria. This Feasibility Study commenced with a study mission from UNESCO Headquarters to the country in September 2002. The mission held discussion with various organizations in the country and established a firm commitment on the need for the virtual library. It also recruited a National Professional Officer (NPO) who is to coordinate the Feasibility Study in the country. To its credit, rather than commissioned consultants to undertake the Feasibility Study, UNESCO decided to involve the various stakeholders and professionals in a participatory approach to develop the content of the study. Thus, it brought together the various stakeholders in a workshop to deliberate and write the content of the feasibility report. The workshop, which held from the 25th to 29th August at the Conference Hall of the NIT, Kaduna was attended by representatives from all the sectors of the tertiary institutions, libraries and IT professionals, educational administrators as well as IT companies that are operating in the electronic library sector. There were also representatives of donor organizations such as the Mac Arthur Foundation, which has been funding support on IT capacity in four universities in the country, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), which has electronic database subscriptions for many libraries in the country and the US Public Information System.
Working through eight syndicate groups, the workshop produced an eight-chapter document covering various aspects of the virtual library. These include infrastructure and connectivity, content management, capacity building and funding and sustainability and growth. Others were administration and management, legal, copyright and payment issues, implementation plan and costing as well as funding sources.
But unfortunately, years after the National Virtual Library Project was initiated and despite all the achievement enumerated by NUC and the series of training, workshops, none of the University pilot centers for the first phase of this project has begun its operation which is now funded by the Education Trust Fund (ETF) with researcher sought to view some of the problems that had hindered the development of the national virtual library. It identify that some of the problems are from members of the team in the project, they cited lack of Funds, Lack of competent personnel with the technical knowhow of virtual library and lack of local resources for digitization.
For a way forward, Librarians with web technology skills will be required to facilitate skilled information retrieval, and to intervene between the user and the information to help users evaluate what they retrieve. The selection of materials for the virtual Library is the sole responsibility of the Librarian. The government must make a deliberate effort to provide funds for policy implementation, provide necessary technology training for Librarians, and develop national information infrastructure or else the advantages associated with virtual library will continue to elude us.