The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Library

  • CSR: 3XM Ideas donates library to school

    The 3XM Ideas, an advertising agency founded by Steve Babaeko, has donated a library to Ikeja Senior High School as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The school is at Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

    Its Principal, Mrs. Ibidun Olawuyi, who complained about the absence of a library in the school, said: “Since I was posted to the school, having a school library has been a burden on my heart.”

    Mrs Olawuyi said prior to the new library, the school shared an existing poorly-equipped library with junior school and “this had made it difficult for an effective use of library by both the staff and students of the school.

    An SS2 student of the school, Josep Eunice also lauded the agency’s generosity and spirit of giving back to the society.

    Meanwhile, Babaeko said when the company started “one thing that we thought important was the need for corporate Nigeria to co-operate with the government, especially in the area of education”.

    “We are here today to show you young people that you can be anything you want to be in the future if you believe in it. The foundation starts from here, it starts from reading. I can’t even imagine a school not having an adequate library,” he said.

    The Tutor-General /Permanent Secretary, Education District VI, Lagos,  Anifowoshe Amidat  Abimbola, also commended 3XM Ideas’ effort.

  • Lagos plans digital library

    The Lagos State government has commenced work on an online knowledge database that would serve the needs of various levels of learners.

    Speaking on the digital library project at the Ministry of Education conference room last Thursday, the Special Adviser on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh, said the database would be accessible free of charge on computers and other digital devices with internet connection from all over the country.

    He said the portal, to be called www.educatelagos.com, would contain e-books, 1,600 videos covering English, Mathematics and Sciences for all levels of learners, 2,000 study aids for key subjects for secondary school learners, vocational training videos, history of Yoruba, Lagos and Nigeria, and online course on coding.

    He added that the first phase of the digital library project, which would include study aids, tutorials, instructional videos, the history and an online forum, would be launched in January, next year.

    “The governor has approved for us to start the digital library project. The portal would be called educatelagos.com and we are focused on providing access to knowledge for every Lagosian,” he said.

    Bank-Olemoh added that the government is renovating public secondary school libraries under its Project 350 (schools) Libraries so that pupils can also access the educatelagos portal from their schools.

  • What happened to our library culture?

    Sir, At a library in Port Harcourt the other day, I submitted an inquiry for a book authored by a late prominent writer, environmentalist – whose drama series ‘Basi and Company’ kept me glued to the television set in the ’80s.

    Surprisingly, the person to whom I was referred, and who is in charge of archival materials, said he had never heard of that book. Never? I was befuddled.

    Not long ago I met an ex-librarian in his 70s who could reel out names of books and their authors that I had never heard of, with copious narratives and even speech-marks from some of the books. It was nothing short of amazing!

    At the same library, I noticed that people who came to use the facility were few, through no fault of the management. But it would appear that our library culture is quickly dying away in Nigeria. Compare that to the number of people who love watering holes.

    Little wonder some librarians don’t see the need to be acquainted with the books they have in stock. Why it is that people don’t patronize our libraries like they used to do?

    Does the age of the Internet have anything to do with this? Aren’t our libraries with their culture worth preserving? The library in Sokoto when I was a lad was pretty far from the barracks and the few times I had cause to travel to use the facility, I announced with pride to my friends that I was going to the library in a cocky manner. Looking back and in sharp contrast with the practice I see now, I think I deserve an Earldom.

    It’s the same story in Kaduna and Abuja. In Abuja, I saw many folks come to read newspapers in the library and I took them seriously. I considered every woman I saw in the library as a very serious person. No disrespect to many who don’t. But only serious-minded people care something for the pains of research.

    On a visit to Ibadan not long ago and on my way to Jericho through Mokola, I saw a young lady busily looking for books (cheap paper backs) spread on the floor. I took her seriously and had to woo her for intellect’s sake. No regrets! How many people can submit such effort under the cloud of a scorching sun, when there is the alternative of watching a Kardashian or Telemundo under a cloud of comfort?

    * How do we protect our libraries from going into extinction, to be self-sustaining and encourage a reading culture?., ,

    * Maybe government needs to step up a campaign to not only promote a reading culture but also to build massive buildings in a secured environment owing to the security challenge in our country.,

    Libraries could be considered interesting places if they provide other services. For example, a daycare centre for tweens could be established to promote early childhood literacy.

    Again, all local government could be mandated to have a functional library which shouldn’t be only a repository for books but a place where all immunization services can be carried out.

    Rekindling the prospect of libraries being establishments of community focus has never been more urgent. At a time when there are too many self-professed academics, self-published authors, e-books and social media sites offering unadulterated drivel on the Internet, filled with grammatical errors, poor content, bad language and factual inaccuracies, change is needed.,

    • Simon Abah.

    Port  Harcourt, Rivers State.

  • Govt reopens Ilupeju Library

    The Ilupeju Public Library shut for renovation by the Lagos State Library Board since February 8, has been reopened.

    The library, refurbished by the Lagos State government with Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc, was inaugurated by the Special Adviser to Governor Akinwumi Ambode on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh and Mr Oyewole Oshin, Group Managing Director, Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc.

    Bank-Olemoh said the renovation was in line with the government’s desire to make Lagos work.

    He said all the 12 public libraries in the state would also be renovated.

    “We are upgrading our library set up in our secondary schools and we are also working on the teachers’ library and online library here in Lagos.  So what we have done here is call the Public Private Partnership (PPP).  This library is going to be maintained by Custodian Allied Insurance and it is a partnership that works.  What you see here is the first of many things we are going to do in the next three to six months,” he said.

    Oshin said besides physical books, the library was stocked with 83,000 e-books and 10,000 academic articles from 1,000 leading publishers in the world.

    The structure has fitting furniture, computers and power backups.

    Oshin said the firm partnered with the state because the initiative tallies with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy.

  • Gains of our library project, by City Profs

    A visit by the members of the Board of Patrons, City Profs Educational Foundation (CPEF) to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo provided an opportunity for the non-profit organisation to share its successes in enhancing literacy through its library and e-learning projects.

    Prof Grace Alele-Williams, who led others like Mrs. Oluwagbemiga Benson, Mrs. Agbowu, Mrs. Susan Omojokun, and Otunba Olayinka Lawal-Solarin to the vice president in Abuja, said the foundation established by Oluwole Oshiyoye, Bright Echendu, Collins Akpore and Babalola Olujimi to build e-libraries across the six geo-political zones of the country, had recorded significant achievements in its nine years of existence.

    It has established community libraries in Ijebu-Imushin and Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State, Kosofe, Somolu, Surulere, Ikorodu in Lagos State, as well as Ilara-Mokin in Ondo State.

    Mrs Alele-Williams said the libraries were made possible by the support of prominent members of the society, including Prof Osinbajo, who has been a patron since 2006.

    Through the library project, Mrs Alele-Williams said the foundation has been able to bring books, both physical and electronic, closer to young readers.  She also said the foundation pursued a literary programme with young children in Lagos, which was successful.

    Making reference to one of such projects undertaken in Akoka, Lagos, she said: “This discussion and change took place after the death of the founding patron and former Commissioner for Works, Lagos State, Funsho Williams. Williams had encouraged us to carry out some educational programmes in the school in Akoka, Lagos, before his demise.

    “The plan was to select a few children to learn, speak, read and write good English for two to three hours after every school day, and these were selected between Primary three and Primary six. This plan also provided some supervision for the children after school. They deliberately tried to ensure that the children were from underprivileged homes and also tried to interest teachers from schools that could devote some days out of every week to this project. The remuneration of the teachers was a small stipend, not a salary; it was just a token we could afford to give them for their selfless service.

    “To carry out this programme, we introduced more friends into the project who would help with donations and gifts in order to provide some funds to assist the remuneration to the teachers. We wrote several letters to public and private institutions explaining the objective of the programme. Several people responded in kind and cash and thus the CPEF was established as a non-profit organisation.”

    Since its inception, the foundation has enjoyed support from prominent Nigerians, such as Chief Earnest Shonekan; Anthony Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie; Dame Obafunmilayo Johnson; Mrs Abimbola Fashola.

    Responding, Osinbajo praised the Foundation’s governing board for its great work to humanity.

    “I had the privilege of attending one of the inauguration of the CPEF project in Lagos even before I became the Vice President and I am proud to be associated with the organisation as a Member of the Board of Patrons,” he said.

    Osinbajo also underscored the importance of e-learning to enhancing educational development.

    “With Tab devices, we would be surprised how many softwares can be downloaded to educate pupils on virtually all the subjects of life, including English Language, Mathematics, etc.  Hence, instead of the child to have access to few books, say five, he could have access to 50 or more books on e-platform. With the structural facilities of the CPEF we should be able to inculcate e-Learning system with work stations, at least starting with one,” he said.

    Osinbajo called on corporate organisations and government agencies to support the foundation’s drive to complement the Federal Government’s efforts to upgrade e-learning.

     

  • Refurbished Ilupeju Library reopens May

    The renovation of the Ilupeju Public Library, shut on February 8, has been completed.

    The library, which was refurbished by the Lagos State government in partnership with Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc, will open to the public next month.

    The renovations included an overall upgrade of the structure and provision of facilities such as computers and a solar powered inverter to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the facility.

    In a statement signed by Mr Tajudeen Lawal, Director,  Lagos State Library Board, Special Adviser to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh, noted that the pact with the insurance firm was in line with the government’s ‘Adopt A Library’ initiative, which is part of efforts to make knowledge accessible to Lagosians.

    He stated that the initiative falls under a tripod pillar of Access to Knowledge, which also includes Project 350, a public/private-partnership initiative to build and upgrade libraries and ICT Centres in secondary schools across the state; and the creation of an online library which will serves as an education portal and a repository of knowledge.

  • Rural school gets library

    Rural school gets library

    As big as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) might look with all the infrastructures scattered everywhere, one of the greatest challenges facing residents is the nonexistence of a standard library.

    Also one of the furthermost problems educationalists and stakeholders face is the decline in the reading culture of the younger generation whom now prefer learning about life over television and phone screens but in some cases, this younger generations are left with no options without libraries available.

    Most schools in the country, especially some government primary schools in numerous communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) do not have the semblance of a library structure talk more of a well equipped library.

    The only books that most of these children whom sometimes are unfortunately poor is just the few exercise and textbooks in their possession, some of them can never imagine what a library looks like or imagine themselves using it and sometimes they can bearly read but finally succour will be coming the way of some of these communities in the FCT as Light Consult Ltd, a Human Resource (HR) Consulting and capacity building firm in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Arts centre have taken it upon themselves to make a change in these communities.

    Financial and HR Manager, Lyght Investment Group, Adenike Aloba explained that the group has adopted the Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School, Durumi, behind Pape, a school whose classrooms have no doors and windows which they planned to convert to a library for the children.

    The group is now working on painting the structure, putting up doors and windows and furnishing the structure with library furnitures, before setting up enough books and a few computers for the village children.

    The effort which will be the first of its kind in this community will greatly improve the reading culture of the children and equally educate them on the use of computers. Lyght consult explained that What started the initiative is that for them is that they noticed the slack in the reading and learning culture in the country, realising that one can hardly force adults to read either because they are too busy to read or trying to make money, they realized that the best way to improve the reading culture is to take it to children and to the grassroots.

     

     

  • Corps member honoured for donating borehole, library

    Corps member honoured for donating borehole, library

    A National Youth Corps member Okeke Stanley Chima has been conferred with the chieftaincy title of Ozo Ogbenye 1 of Igbudu-Ekka community for sinking a borehole in Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

    Chima also stocked a library at the Community Secondary School, Nkomoro in the council.

    Chima said the projects were part of his Community Development Service (CDS), a core part of the NYSC.

    He said the initiative was informed by a need to solve a problem as he saw it upon his posting to the community. Chima said the need became an obligation considering that  he was accepted and cared for by the people.

    He added that the only way he thought he could impact on their lives was through such projects.

    He urged the benefit-ting communities to continue to extend the same hospitality showed him to other Corps members that would be posted to the area.

    Daisy Girl Foundation, a Lagos-based non-governmental organi-sation whose cardinal objective is to support the development of future national and world leaders, sponsored the two projects.

    Mrs Marilyn Maduka, the founder of the foundation said they identified with the Corps member  because his CDS initiatives were in tandem with the core objective of the foundation.

    She said the foundation was interested in developing education and values especially in the girl-child in Nigeria and beyond.

    She urged the communities to make use of the projects as the foundation would visit in near future to inspect and  do more projects for them if they could maintain the existing ones.

    In their remarks on behalf of Igbudu Ekka, the community Head, Mr Ogbaigbo Emmanuel Ugbala and the youth President, Ogwale Matthew who lauded Corps member and the  Foundation said the new borehole has ended the scarcity of water hitherto facing the community.

    They said the project was going to unite the people more and prayed God to reimburse them in double fold.

    The Principal of community Secondary School (CSS) Nkomoro, Mr Ugama C. C, who commended the Corps member and the foundation said the library was the first of its kind since the establishment of the school in over two decades.

    He said the Library would inculcate reading culture in the students and pledged to ensure judicious use of the library.

    The member representing Ohaozara East state constituency, Hon. Augusta Udeh who commissioned the projects said he was impressed to be associated with such laudable achievement and thanked the Corps member and the Foundation for the humanitarian services.

    Hon. Udeh appealed to the community not to discriminate among themselves on the use of the borehole just as she admonished the students and teachers of CSS Nkomoro to make proper use of the Library.

    The state Coordinator of NYSC in Ebonyi state who was represented by Mr Kingsley Ndukwe commended the Corps member for the initiative and urged other corps members to emulate him.

    Highlight of the event was the distribution of items such as clothes, beverages, shoes, cream, etc to widows and other villagers by Daisy Girl Foundation.

     

  • FUTA names library after Ilemobade

    FUTA names library after Ilemobade

    The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) has named its library after its former Vice Chancellor, the late Prof Albert Adeoye Ilemobade, who was murdered by his domestic workers.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adebiyi Daramola, announced this at a commendation service at the university’s new auditorium yesterday.

    Daramola said the former vice chancellor deserved the honour because of his many contributions to FUTA’s development and education.

    The VC said: “It is, therefore, my delight to announce that in recognition of Baba’s scholarly contributions to FUTA’s growth and sustainability, the Governing Council has granted the approval to immortalise Baba Ilemobade by naming the university library after him.

    “Henceforth, the library shall be known and called Prof. Albert Adeoye Ilemobade Library.”

    In his homily, Ven Emmanuel Laseinde, pioneer chaplain of the University’s Interdenominational Chapel (Chapel of Faith), admonished all to prepare for eternity.

    He extolled the don’s virtues, saying he left his footprints on the sands of time.

    The late Ilemobade’s son, Adesola, said despite the circumstances of his death,   the family chose to celebrate his father’s life and contributions to humanity.

    He thanked the university for the honour, saying the family would forever cherish the gesture.

     

  • VC donates books to library

    Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Akii Ibhadode has donated books and  journals worth over N500,000 to the school library.

    The donation was made after the 30th meeting of the school’s  Governing Council.

    Ibhadode donated 50 copies of his book titled: Introduction to Manufacturing Technology, published by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for 200-Level and 300-Level engineering students.

    He also donated 32 copies of Volumes one to six of International Journal on Engineering Research in Africa (JERA), which he published in Switzerland for research.

    Presenting the books, Prof Ibhadode said the gesture was to show appreciation for the opportunity given to him to serve, noting that he has a vision to lift the school to the top 500 universities in the world.

    The Chairman of Council and Pro-chancellor, Senator Nimi Barigha-Amange, praised the VC for the donation, saying that the council was justified by its choice of Ibhadode as the school’s helmsman. He described the VC as a dynamic and focused leader.

    Other books donated included 18 copies of Advanced Materials Research (AMR) on Advances in Materials and Systems Technologies.