Advocacy for Benchmarking in the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Library, Lagos

Abstract

The paper gave a general overview of benchmarking and its novel application to library practice with a view to achieve organizational change and improved performance. Based on literature, the paper took an analytic, descriptive and qualitative overview of benchmarking practices vis a vis services in law libraries generally and with a particular reference to the Apex Law Institute in Nigeria – Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS). The paper highlighted the rationale for the establishment of benchmarking viz; The position of the Institute’s library in the dissemination of legal information in Nigeria and the challenges of the 21st century library and law librarianship; subjects of benchmarking, process of benchmarking and the implications of the adoption of the benchmarking strategy. The paper concluded that library services in general and particularly in Nigerian special libraries are poor and below international best practices. The paper provided an insight into the expediency of the establishment of benchmarking procedure in NIALS library as a tool of improving library business performance.