THE Information and Communication Technology (ICT) University, United States has donated a digital library to the Federal College of Education (FCE), Eha-Amufu in Enugu State.
The e-library has over 1.2 million educational materials in various academic fields, including journals of national and international standards.
Speaking during its inauguration, the varsity’s Board of Trustees President, Prof W. A. Mbarika, said the donation came through a partnership with the ICT University.
He noted that there was an interaction between the college’s Provost, Prof Benjamin Mbah, who sought the varsity’s assistance for the college’s staff and students to boost their reaserch and learning.
Mbarika, the founding Editor-in- Chief of African Journal of Information System, said with the advent of ICT, the era of building huge library stocked with books and journals was gone.
He stressed that the value of a library could not be determined by the largeness of its building, but rather its capability to provide the knowledge needed for research anfd learning.
He said: “The world is changing and moving faster. Even if our universities, colleges and other tertiary institutions refuse to move forward, the world will continue to move ahead and ICT is a major driver. Some institutions would prefer to build huge library with many books that could easily collapse into a small computer. These days, e-library is the easiest way to acquire knowledge and every institution should embrace it.”
He added that the library named after Mbah, was an extension of the relationship between the ICT University and the college. Mbarika observed that the university had established other areas of collaboration with the college, including opportunities on research and grants for academics, as well as diplomas and degrees in computer-related programmes.
He urged staff and students to make good use of the e-library.
According to him, no institution has the financial resources to fund research alone without partnering an agency that would give financial aid.
Mbarika pointed out that the ICT varsity’s interest was to promote good use of collaborative facilities.
He said: “Every year, we select, at least, five researchers from all over the world, including Nigeria, to be funded by our agencies. We want FCE in Eha-Amufu and other institutions in Nigeria to be part of the beneficiaries. Already, Covenant University is one those research institutions we are funding.”
He hailed the ICT Unit of the college, headed by Mr Sam Onyeidu, and Librarian, Dr Ezekiel Omeje, for their efforts toward making the e-library a reality.
Mbah expressed delight that the e-library was completed and opened two years after its foundation was laid. He noted that the e-library was opened when the college was concluding collaboration with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) to commence degree programmes.
Thanking Mbarika for his effort to the project, Mbah appealed for further assistance for the establishment of the Visual Laboratory, which, he said, would boost the e-library and make ICT programmes in the college complete.
He urged staff to make the e-library their companion to meet up with the global standard in research, teaching and learning.
The Registrar, Mrs Ngozi Nnebedum, asked the ICT University to assist the college in delivering ICT-compliant knowledge to students.
Mbarika was accompanied to the event by a Nigerian, Foluso Ayeni, an Assistant Professor, and Director of International Linkages and Collaborations at the ICT University.
