Harnessing Innovations in Nigerian Academic Libraries: A Survival Strategy

Abstract

Academic libraries can no longer continue to assume that their services had such intrinsic merit that users automatically resort to them; neither can they afford to use yesterday's method to meet today's information needs. For academic libraries to do either of these is to prepare to go into extinction. Times have changed so much, and users and their needs have changed so much more. For the library to remain relevant therefore it has to change with the times and one of the authentic ways to achieve that is to innovate. This paper is about harnessing innovations in Nigerian academic libraries as a survival strategy. The paper defined key concepts, highlighted reasons for innovation in academic libraries, discussed harnessing innovations in academic libraries in general and Nigerian academic libraries in particular. Lack of awareness of benefits of innovation and the absence of innovation content in Nigerian library schools' curricula were among the challenges facing innovation in Nigerian academic libraries. Based on the challenges identified, recommendations were made to address the challenges.