Library users, especially students and academics in the South-South region, have called for the upgrade of libraries and improved service delivery.
A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in some cities in the region showed that poor state of libraries was a disincentive to their utilization by some students and academics.
The respondents also noted the overwhelming presence of old and outdated books and the absence of current books, journals, magazines and other materials.
In Uyo, Mr Samuel Etuk, said: “There are no current newspapers or magazines; some of the books are too old.
“I bring in my books to read here; though electricity is not constant, it’s always breezy here and it is always quiet,” Etuk said.
At the Ibom e-Library, one of the flagship projects of Gov. Godswill Akpabio, established three years ago, the situation was not better.
NAN reports that the library complex has been without electricity for months because the generator packed up.
The library officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the library was not connected to public power supply and had been operating on generator since inception.
“Our major challenge is lack of power supply. We rely on inverter to do everything here.
“Users find it difficult because of heat. Government should do something about power; we need constant electricity,” the officer said.
In Edo, some privately-owned secondary schools have good libraries while those in public schools were not well stocked.
Some students in public and private schools used the opportunity to appeal to the state government to upgrade public libraries in the state.
They said the action would attract them to use such libraries for research and examinations.
Miss Princess Odiase, a primary five pupil of Iwogban Primary School, a government-owned school, said: “I love reading novels and I usually borrow them from my neighbours.
“Most of my classmates also love to read novels but their parents cannot afford to buy for them.
“If we have a school library where we can easily go and read books, including novels, we will be very happy,’’ she said.
Master Peter Emeka, an SS 2 student of Edokpolor Grammar School, a government-owned secondary school, said that the library in his school was not functional.
“The library block is dilapidated; there are some books in the library but they are outdated.
“I don’t think there are still chairs and tables in the library.
“We want the government to renovate the library block, provide chairs and tables and also stock the place with recent books,’’ Emeka said.
The situation in Bayelsa was similar as some teachers and students expressed displeasure over the absence of a standard library.
They said that it had affected the reading culture among students as well as their performance in examinations.
Mr Ikechukwu Igboanugo, the Vice Principal, Community Secondary School, Swali, Yenagoa, said the school had no library.
‘’Our school is a community school; we do not have library; we are only managing the state-owned library; right now, we have plans to build our own library,” he said.
Mrs Veronica Agada, a teacher in a public school, said that the students in public schools relied on the state-owned library located in the Swali area of Yenagoa.
Mr Zomo Tony, the Director, Bayelsa Library Board, admitted that libraries in the state had enormous challenges.
“We have challenges of materials such as books for primary and secondary schools as well as tertiary institutions, standard buildings and chairs, among others.’’
According to him, libraries play a vital role in nation building, building human capacity as well as promoting academic excellence.
In Delta, students also expressed displeasure with the condition of state libraries in public and private schools.
A student of West End Mixed Secondary School, Uche Okafor, said that the library in his school was located in the Principal’s office.
Okafor said that students were not allowed into the library and as such they had long forgotten about the facility.
He said that the books were used to decorate the shelves as students had no access to them.
According to Opeyemi Ayeni, a student of Zappa Mixed Secondary School, the library in her school does not lend out books and library time was not observed in the school unlike in some other schools.
However, in Cross River, the story is different as the state government had made moves to improve libraries.
Mr Obaji Akpet, the Director, Library Services, Cross River Library Board, said the board had received 66,000 books from 2010 to date.
Akpet said the development followed a Memorandum of Understanding the board signed with a foreign book agency in the U.S.
He said that the state government had contributed generously by facilitating the transportation of these books from the U.S.
According to him, as part of efforts to promote reading culture in the society, the state library also distributed books to more than 27 secondary schools in the state as well as the University of Calabar.
The director, who said that the state library was inaugurated in 1988, added that the institution was located in a conducive environment free from industrial and market noise.
He said that the library which had children, adults and the advanced sections, received volumes of books yearly from foreign partners.
However, in Rivers, the situation was not so rosy as the Chief Library Officer of the state, Mr Yobe Lebari Dick, said the state library needed “serious updating’’.
“The premises is nice but the building is hot. The environment is not conducive for people to stay and read.
‘’It is like working on the farm. It is a challenge the board is facing. Most of the books have become obsolete.
‘’We are supposed to do weeding and remove some of the books.
‘’We are expecting the government to do something to alleviate the sufferings of the readers.
‘’The library building is a divisional library of the defunct Eastern Region and we are still agitating for government to give us more books,’’ he said. (NAN)
