What Is Good For The Goose is Good For The Gander
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Date
2024-02-14
Authors
Zaid, Y.A.
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Publisher
University of Lagos Press and Bookshop Ltd
Abstract
The development of libraries in Nigeria began during the colonial era with the establishment of a private library known as Tom Jones Library between 1910 and 1920. In 1932, the Carnegie Corporation of New York gave a grant of $6000 to the Lagos Book Club and it metamorphosed into Lagos Library in June 1932. Public libraries in the Western region of Nigeria evolved from Lagos Book Club in 1967. The first academic library in Nigeria was established in the Yaba Higher College (now Yaba College of Technology) in 1934 (Iwe, 2007). This was followed by the emergence of the University College Library in Ibadan in 1948 and other first-generation university libraries, including University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1960), Obafemi Awolowo University (1962), Ahmadu Bello University, (1962) and University of Lagos (1962), respectively (Anyawu, 2020). The number of university libraries in Nigeria has been increasing since the 1970s with the establishment of second, third and fourth-generation universities. As at January 2024, the number of approved Nigerian universities had increased to 262, consisting of 147 private universities, 52 federal universities and 63 states universities (National Universities Commission, 2023).
Library service provision has thus evolved, such that libraries are changing from traditional to cutting edge information delivery mode in terms of expanded vision, which can be observed in library collection, facilities, services, staffing, and deployment of free and licensed digital resources as well as spaces. In a modern library, information resources and services are provided to a heterogeneous user population. University libraries in Nigeria have been in a state of transition in an attempt to reflect best practices in information service delivery.
Madam Vice Chancellor, it is generally recognised that university libraries are service-oriented organisations that must, within the context of the institutional mission, meet the information needs of the populations they serve and thereby convert them into delighted library users. It is therefore the primary objective of any library to ensure that no segment of the population covered by the institutional mission is left behind in terms of access to learning resources. Unfortunately, studies have shown that discussions of the role of libraries in meeting the information needs of society tend to focus only on general populations - faculty, students and staff - and not on some of the so-called special populations (for example students needing remedial studies, international students who are disadvantaged in their ability to communicate in English both orally and in written form, and students with disabilities which could be in form of mobility impairment, hearing impairment, cognitive disability and vision impairment). This lecture therefore addresses one of these populations – students with vision impairment. The need for greater inclusion of their expectations in the planning and delivery of library services is the consideration underpinning the choice of today’s inaugural lecture titled: WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER.
Description
Zaid, Y.A. (2024). What is good for the goose is good for the gander. An Inaugural Lecture Delivered at J. F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos, Akoka.
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Citation
Zaid, Y.A. (2024). What is good for the goose is good for the gander. An Inaugural Lecture Delivered at J. F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos, Akoka.