• At National Library, we’re running programmes to promote reading nationwide, says manager
By Kehinde Aderemi
Reading is as old as the hills. It is an integral part of human capacity development. All over the world, reading is one of the most important activities for the development of the mind.
This perhaps is one of the reasons government at all levels, educational institutions as well as private organisations and individuals establish libraries as part of efforts to sustain reading and develop the mind.
But in Nigeria, many believe that the reading culture is dwindling and dying, especially with the advent of the internet and the social media, which many believe is a major factor killing the reading culture.
Mrs Medessou Olayemi Janet is a teacher in one of the private schools in Lagos. In her opinion, the reading culture has reduced drastically among students of nowadays.
Citing the social media as being among factors responsible for the drop in the reading culture, she advised parents to educate their wards on the best way to use the social media.
Her words: “It is very sad when you see children of nowadays glued to their mobile phones. They use the phones as if their lives depend on the devices. Rather than reading their books, you see them using their phones chatting unnecessarily.
“In my school, for instance, the use of phones is prohibited and it attracts severe punishment. As teachers, we always monitor their involvement in any social media activities,” she said.
Also speaking, Head of Branch for the National Library, Lagos State Chapter, Mrs C.O Onuorah, said the national library is doing the best to sustain the reading culture in Nigeria.
She added that the National Library has been engaging in various public awareness programmes aimed at educating the parents on the need to imbibe a reading culture in the young generations of today.
She said the National Library extends such programmes to various institutions of learning. She advised that all hands must be on deck to support government’s efforts at sustaining the reading culture in the country.
“Our efforts at sustaining the reading culture are yielding results. Parents should continue to monitor their wards in order to sustain this effort. The various institutions, including the libraries, as government agencies, must come together. Reading culture is dwindling, no doubt, but it is not dead,” she said.
“As far as I am concerned, the internet and social media platforms have turned out to be a blessing because it brought about speedy transition between the past and the present. It is our responsibility to accept that as the reality of our times. In spite of this transition, people still visit the library and enjoy reading in a serene environment. However, children of nowadays need to be monitored because there are a lot of distractions around them.
“From our homes, you know it is very difficult for them to read. There are a lot of distractions everywhere. The televisions are there, the telephones are there and even the video games are also there. So, the children have a lot of distractions. But in my view, parents must begin to teach them early.
“For instance, you might not deny them the use of the social media entirely. But you must begin early to monitor them. And as they imbibe those habits, they would not go away from such.
“There is a lot of good stuff that you can get on social media. For instance, if you go to Google, you get a lot of information on any subject. There are a lot of things you can learn on YouTube. Teach yourself skills you can get on YouTube.
“The social media is not as bad as people believe; it depends on what they are doing on the platforms. I am not the kind of person that will say the social media has affected reading. It has not. It has even complemented the culture, depending on what you are doing with your smart phones.
“But as parents, there is the need for us to limit the use of phones for the children because they are young and wouldn’t know when and where to stop if nobody guides them. At times, teachers will give them assignments in school and they will need to use the phone, so it is up to the parents to guide them as they use the social media. Even with the electronic library, the children get distracted so easily. But we usually guide them,” she stated.
Onuorah mentioned the readership promotion campaign, an annual programme organised by the agency that usually come up in all the 34 branches across the nation.
“The 2019 edition of the campaign was with the theme: ‘The ability to catch them young.’ During the programme, we visited pregnant women in the various hospitals and we sensitised them on the need to read to the children and even the unborn babies. We started with that because we believed when you begin to read to the unborn babies in the womb, you will see them imbibing the reading culture when they are born.
“Research has proven that when you read to unborn babies in the womb, by the time they are born, the tendency that they would love reading is very high.
“That was why we at the national library visited maternity homes throughout the federation to sensitize them on the importance of imbibing reading culture in the babies and we teach them how to do it.
“We also took the campaign to motor parks. We told them that when you are in the motor park waiting for your vehicle to move, take a book and read. Even while you are on the journey. That is how to build a reading culture. Once it is part of you, it will be difficult to stop.
“It is very important to start from home. It is important for parents to form that habit. It is not every time that they celebrate their birthdays that you buy all the things for them. They are good, but we must minimise it.
“You can buy books, or take them to libraries. Take them to bookshops and also to book fairs. Let them begin to have that contact with books. Even if they are not reading the book, we must let them have that contact, we must encourage them, and with that, they will be building that culture.
“The literacy centre is another big initiative at sustaining the reading culture in Nigeria. Three years ago, we established the literacy centre. Our focus here is to encourage the adults who didn’t have the opportunity to learn how to read while they were young. The young ones are reading, but for the adults that don’t have the same opportunity when they were young, we take them into consideration.
“Here in Lagos State, we started the literacy centre at the mechanic village in Mushin. We also went to Makoko to sensitise them. We equipped the centre and from time to time we monitor them.
“At times, we get volunteers that also partner with us in driving this initiative. For instance in Mushin, we worked in collaboration with the local government to ensure that the literacy centre came to life.
“The National Library provides the equipment, books and other reading material for the take off. It is a partnership arrangement with the local government and it is yielding the results for the public.
“We visit the centres regularly to see how we can assist to get things done properly. The Makoko centre is in progress. We have got the land and we are taking off once we get the volunteers. The National Library is doing its best to sustain the programme.
She also spoke on the efforts made by the agency to partner with public and private institutions.
She made prominent mention of the support and partnership with the Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries (ZODML), a non- governmental organisation founded in order to promote environmental literacy among children.
She pointed out that efforts should be made to involve the private sector in driving the initiative, noting that the Green Library at the Lagos branch was named ZODML. She said many children enjoy the facility on daily basis.
“With our experience with the green library, you’ll know that children still read. Immediately after school hours, you see them coming on their own and in their numbers to use the library. This is possible because we created the awareness. Once they know that the facility is available, they will come.
“The adults are also coming. But as I said, our main interest is to catch them young. We are concentrating more on the young ones,” she noted.
How rich is the collection of the National Library, especially, now that everybody seems to be glued to the Internet? Her response: The National Library is very rich in books and other reference materials.
“One thing that makes us unique is that the law establishing the agency specifies that any book published in this country must be deposited to the National Library of Nigeria free- of- charge. That alone builds our stock on a regular basis and makes our stock richer, relevant and up to date.
“Even though we buy books, especially foreign books, journals and other material, we have access to materials published by Nigerians in Nigeria. If you are not a Nigerian and you write about Nigeria, the law still mandates you to deposit the book to the National Library. So, the materials at the National Library, serials and non-serials, are updated, very rich and current,” she informed.
She described the National Library as a national treasure.
She said: “With the introduction of the Information Technology, our materials are being upgraded and digitalised. Every material has a life span. We have materials as old as pre-independent Nigeria, and we have those and post independent Nigeria.
“The need to digitalise all these materials is there because every physical item and material has a lifespan. So if you don’t digitalise them, you may lose them.
“For the past few years, the National Library has taken digitalisation very seriously. We have digitalised all the sensitive materials with us. It is an ongoing process.”
One of the challenges in the country is lack of electricity supply, but the National Library has a better option. The facilities, including the electronic library, the green library, are on solar, which provides an alternative to power.”
Adewole Titilayo is one of the readers that visit the National Library. She told the reporter that she had used the facility a number of times, noting that the experience had been wonderful.
Abdul Rahman Ismail, a student of the Yaba College of Technology, (YABATECH ), also spoke with the reporter. He said he was at the National Library to do a research for his project.
Said he: “I have ben
“ I have been coming to the library twice in a week in the last one month and my experience has been amazing. Materials for research are available and the workers here usually cooperate with those that come to use the library. My experience has been amazing.”
He urged the Ministry of Education to continue to work on the facility, so as to sustain the reading culture in the country.