SHUAIBU USMAN
The Nigerian Library Association is set to provide capacity building programme to its members across Nasarawa State Chapter of the association scheduled to hold from Monday 5th February to 9th February, 2024.
Delving into critical issues concerning the depleting skills and place of the librarians in the 21st century, the capacity building suggests areas of improvement such as data analytics, smart librarianship, Artificial Intelligence, government-public library development, skilled librarianship among others to impact on the library landscape of tertiary institutions across the state.
Presenting a paper at the Federal University of Lafia, on theme of the 4-day workshop for Nasarawa librarians entitled: The 21st Century Librarianship and Evolving Role of Academic Librarians in the 21st Century, State Chairman of the Association, Dr. Nurudeen Maifata said librarians had to reverse the trend by acquiring cutting-edge skills in librarianship to meet up with the current realities, suggesting that such would make them more relevant and indispensable in their chosen fields of profession.
Dr. Maifata said bracing up with contemporary developments side-by-side with evolutions across the world was necessary to keep library services effective in the delivery of knowledge and the preservation of information resources.
Harping on the commitment to train librarians in the state, he added that the seminar would hold across various educational institutions across the state with a key focus to cover a broad spectrum of topics geared towards improving the quality of services provided by librarians in the state.
He explained that the seminar would be extended to secondary and primary schools to encourage reading culture and strengthen awareness about the vital societal responsibility of students and staff for more effective learning.
He encouraged the participants to foster the culture of practising efficiently to deepen professionalism and protection of their rights and privileges as librarians, calling for responsible management of public finances in library development to compete with advanced nations of the world.
Participants at the workshop including Yerima Akilu, a former State Chairman of the Nigerian Library Association, Joshua Kayode, a 400-level student of Library Science with the Federal University of Lafia and Mustapha Jamil, a staffer of the library, lauded the innovation of the NLA in Nasarawa State to significantly enhance the knowledge of its members for optimal productivity, encouraging management of institutions to provide enabling environment for better services in libraries.
The seminar will hold daily across tertiary institutions at various senatorial zones of the state with competent resource persons to present different topics.