ROLE OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The paper explores concepts and roles of education and academic libraries in National Development. It also explores the concept of education in relation to the structure, system, and literacy as an indicator to national development. It highlighted the roles of education in national development to include knowledge acquisition, dissemination and use; provision of labour/workforce, national integration, relationship among people and political development. The mission of institutions of higher learning in Nigeria is to provide teaching, learning, and research and community services. Academic libraries are established to support the attainment of these goals. The general roles of libraries in higher education include provision of learning opportunities, encouraging functional literacy, continuing education, cooperation and collaboration, and knowledge acquisition, dissemination and use. Roles of academic libraries in higher education were critically examined to include complimentary role, information literacy, integration of information and communication technology (ICT) to library services, resources verification, and program accreditation; information service delivery, community services, human resources development, orientation services, training ground for students-in training and mobile library services. Challenges to academic libraries in executing their roles in higher education in Nigeria include; funding, attitude of library staff, library automation, misplacement of societal priority, poor reading culture among students and absence of functional public and school libraries. The conclusion was that the quality of higher education can be achieved through well-equipped academic libraries complete with adequate funding in Nigeria. The paper recommended amongst that: government and stakeholders in education sector and information professionals in Nigeria should ensure adequate funding, strict compliance to professionalism, functional public/school libraries, change in attitude of library staff, while librarianship should be in the priority list of government in Nigeria.