The National Librarian/Chief Executive Officer, Professor Chinwe Veronica Anunobi has granted interview with the Nigerian Television Authority {NTA} where she vowed to improve services of the apex library of the nation through the application of the Information Communication Technology {ICT}, below is the extract:
NTA – We are talking of library and use of ICT, we all know what libraries are, what we don’t know is, how Nigerian libraries are doing?
NL- Yes for Nigerian libraries generally, they are making a lot impact as per as the use of ICT in the provision of library services, I want to believe that sometimes before now, towards the end of 2020 the Library of Alexandra in Egypt they contacted me to tell them what is happening in libraries in Nigeria as per as ICT is concern and I was able to give them a video looking at the history of libraries from the early 90s when they stated deploying ICT through University of Ibadan and before that time, our IT has started deploying ICT in the operations. Today all libraries can burst of deploying ICT using library operations and services, using one library operation or services or the other using ICT.
NTA- You have been at the helm of affairs at the National Library of Nigeria, what have you done to transform the Organization or improve its services?
NL- precisely on November, 23rd 2021 I was able to reel out my road map, eight point maps to enable us transform National Library services, before now it is traditional that is why many people are thinking that National Library relevant is going down, so in that road Map I mentioned that we are going to deploy ICT in everything we are doing , forthwith because of our mandate our mandate is to collect, process, preserve all materials about Nigeria, written by Nigerians or outside Nigeria or even before Nigeria and make them available to Nigerian public and global public, because everything was about traditional. In that my road Map I mentioned that we are to deploy ICT, starting from the collection of all the resources and preservation, that means we are going to be digital, to digitize to deploy ICT through automation and we are host virtual library services which we have not been able to do well because virtual library services is about transforming traditional library into virtual format. We are also trying to collect and build informed citizen by providing them access to these resources that are available in the National Library through open access or through virtual library services.
NTA- We cannot talk about the issue of virtual library without bringing the issue E-library. How do you intend to improve E-library services not just at the Headquarters but also at the State Branches across the Country?
NL- Well it depends on the angle from which you see E-library, many people tend to have misconception about E-library is all about. E-library is actually a library in electronic format and the only way deploy E-library is by providing a platform that is called the virtual library. It is in that virtual library that you can now all the services that we render, we now go to the National Library sitting in the comfort of their homes and offices, looking for information, looking for resources that are available at the National Library, like we render legal deposit services, go to the virtual library and say how I deposit and what are the condition for my depositing, like we render also ISBN, they provide them with the services, you ask the document, Gazette, Foreign resources, they go to the virtual library, because every information they need about Nigeria will be found at the National Library, this virtual library which you people call E-library and they ask who is the President of Nigeria, who is the Minister of Education or when was this Institution established, because these are kind of thing that people walk to the National Library to ask so instead of walking into the National Library you sit in the comfort of your home or offices and just click one click and you get what you want. So this is where we are going, we are trying to develop a platform, actually a committee has been setup made up of young stars that will brainstorm, because Nigeria is not an Island and we have national heritage at various Countries and our own will be different, we Are going to actually emulate because we are not independent of others are doing, we will see how we can render those services better.
NTA – In your assessment what is the level effectiveness of these operations and how successful is it?
NL – Before now it is not fully operational, you cannot measure the success but am telling you we are modifying the platform, it is only when you modify the platform and they see what do we want to give to users, what we want to give the reading public and the local community, when you have been able to answer that question and you now have to put them up there.
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