Librarians seek legal backing compelling estate owners to build libraries

The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN), Prof. Michael Afolabi, on Friday, disclosed that the council is proposing a law through the National Assembly that would mandate all Housing Estate owners with over 500 tenants to establish a library.

Besides, Afolabi said the Council is advocating for the establishment of libraries and information centres in all the 774 Local government areas in the country, and that it would engage relevant stakeholders to achieve its aims.

Afolabi spoke in Abeokuta at the opening of a five-day LRCN’s workshop on “Entrepreneurship in Librarianship in Nigeria.”

In his view, the establishment of many libraries would not only widen people’s knowledge, but would also improve students’ reading culture, as information is vital to human development.

Afolabi said: “People are now willing to be creative and innovative and to identify, establish and run their own ventures, rather that wait for government to provide jobs. This clearly points to the fact that entrepreneurial development is a catalyst for economic, social and industrial development.”