Periscopic Survey of Current Library and Information Science Education and Practice in Nigeria

Abstract

The paper is theoretical, more of a firsthand experience of what the author has observed as the current trends in Nigerian library and information science education and practice. The trends observed are increased ICT component in library schools curricula, increasing resort to the use of ICTs, which has also given rise to the challenge for digitization, archiving and preservation of electronic resources; proliferation of opportunities for training and retraining, which the Librarians Registration Council of Nigeria has braced up to with quality assurance measures to ensure that quality assurance is neither compromised in library schools nor in the field of practice; and entrepreneurship education aimed at producing self-employed graduates. The other trends are collaborative librarianship through consortium building to ensure sharing of resources, which is made easier by ICT application; decreased funding of libraries and influence of librarians as principal officers due to their inability to fit into the internal politics of their institutions; and a possibility for 24 hours library service, which many institutions’ libraries are planning the groundwork for. The paper submits that with better operational environments, Nigerian librarians will be able to respond better to existing and emerging trends in library and information practice.