Library activities in the face of economic recession

Abstract

The world economy is witnessing a gradual steep in recession as this has affected all facets of the economy which has eaten deep into the nation as its growth and development has been hampered. This paper examined economic recession as a factor inhibiting library activities. Also, it is also tailored towards examining the effect of the current economic decline in Nigeria and its impact on library activities. The causes of economic recession were identified which included, corruption, lavish spending, poor policies, poor funding to the educational sector, fall in Gross Domestic product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP). In furtherance, the paper also x-rayed the adverse effects of economic recession on library activities which included; reduction in wages, low turnover rate, high interest rate, reduction in consumers’ confidence, insecurity, poor quality service deliver and lack of fund for staffing. To overcome the effect of economic recession on library activities, it was revealed that in other to enhance access to information infrastructure there should be a digital revolution. In light of these findings, it was affirmed that government and institutional libraries should develop policies to ensure that library operations are not disrupted by the dreaded economic recession, which, if poorly handled, may cause the library to become moribund. It was recommended that in stabilizing and improving library activities during the economic recession, it is expected that librarians should on their part do more of service publicity to show case their services and how it could have a positive effect on the growth and education and the whole economy at large.