Library and Information Services For Change: Nigerian Perspectives

Abstract

Library and information services are major criteria for the social, cultural, economic and political development of any nation. This paper  proposes appropriate deployment of IT in Nigerian libraries especially the Internet as a cornerstone of information infrastructure that will  bring about changes in our information services delivery to attain competitive edge against our contemporaries in the developed  countries. The changes we make in this competitive world are the threshold of our significance. There are often significant gaps in  consistencies and duplication in knowledge resources within the libraries. This makes knowledge audit a critical necessity for any library  that is serious about managing its knowledge in a systematic manner. In supporting the analysis of community information satisfaction,  librarians must engage in talking to community and union leaders, teachers, contact groups and call an open meeting of all members of  the community, to know their feelings about services offered by libraries in those communities. From this knowledge, library managers  will be able to know where they have failed and where they need to improve, including in the enhancement of national security through production of jingles, creation and management of databases for security agencies and collaboration with local vigilantes. It is imperative  to apply the internet and other new technologies that are foreign to us, in our library and information services, for the  adoption of the required change, to address youth restiveness, promote indigenous knowledge, support communities in civic  engagements and participation in political processes, provide traditional and online skill acquisition services, promote reading culture  and instill a love of reading in the society.