Public libraries are established by the government to provide social services by way of acquisition, organisation, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge to all classes of people through books and non-book materials.
In Nigeria, public libraries are often situated in state capitals and local government areas’ headquarters to serve the people under the supervision of the state library boards.
Along with the National Library, the state libraries are expected to meet the citizens’ needs on different topics such as education, information, culture and entertainment.
A public library is expected to function as the information powerhouse which assists and guides its clientele in their choices of reading materials. Therefore, it affords members of the public and students, in particular, an opportunity to acquire knowledge at little or no costs.
Experts believe that public libraries are designed to uphold their users’ reading interests via special exhibition of library materials — both print and electronic — in line with the demands and the needs of different categories of users.
In all, public libraries are established to improve the citizens’ literacy by supporting continuous education programmes and promoting constructive utilisation of the people’s leisure time.
The Enugu State Library, located at Market Road, Enugu, was established in 1959 by the defunct Eastern Region Library Board with the assistance of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The library later became the first pilot project of UNESCO in Africa.
Fifty six years down the line, observers moan that the Enugu State Library is now in a derelict state, wondering how it has been able to cater to the growing needs of its clientele who throng the library complex on daily basis.
The deplorable conditions of the complex are worrisome, as the library users are now forced to read under agonising conditions, while those who cannot endure such conditions, resort to reading under mango trees in the adjoining grounds.
Mr Harrison Eze, a student in one of the state-owned tertiary institutions, said that there were no modern books on the library’s shelves, while its chairs and tables had become dilapidated.
“We only come here because we find the environment relatively conducive for reading. We come with our own books because the library has no new books on its shelves, as the shelves contain only old and out-dated books,” he said.
Besides, Eze said that users of the library were compelled to read under mango trees in the premises because of the unfriendly nature of the reading hall.
“We also read under mango trees because the hall often gets stuffy due to lack of space, ventilation and incessant power failure. As you can see, the hall cannot accommodate a reasonable number of people,” he added.
Eze pleaded with the authorities to upgrade the facilities in the library, while equipping it with modern books and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities.
Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Victor Ibe, who is also a student, said that he had never found any relevant books on the library’s shelves over the years.
“I only come here because of the serenity of the environment. Nothing is working here; the fans are bad, the roof leaks and the lighting system is also bad,” he said.
Ibe said that those who patronised the library have no other option than to make use of what they could find within the complex.
Mr Fred Eze, the Director of Library Services, Enugu State Library Board, who commented on the state of the library, conceded that the board was facing myriad of problems, including paucity of funds.
He, however, noted that the problems weu× not peculiar to the library alone, insisting that many public libraries across the world were also facing similar funding problems.
“Public libraries, the world over, appear to come into focus when every other expenditure has been met.
“The truth is that public libraries are part of the education sector but they usually suffer funding problems because most governments do not give the libraries the priority they deserve,” he said.
Eze noted that that reading space in the Enugu State Library was grossly inadequate, as the structure was constructed 56 years ago to accommodate only 300 persons.
“This structure was erected when the entire readership in south-eastern part of the country was not up to 500 and it is still the same structure that still exists here today.
“The library complex was designed to take not more than 300 persons but now, we have an average of 500 to 600 readers thronging the place on a daily basis.
“That is why you see many of the readers reading under the trees due to the dearth of reading space,’’ he said.
Moreover, Eze said that the library complex could not support electronic facilities due to the epileptic power situation in the city.
“The building is properly ventilated but the main problem is that public power supply has become erratic and most of the times, the fans do not work. We don’t have an electricity generating set to keep the atmosphere inside the reading hall cool,” he said.
The director also said that the library board had no funds to equip the library’s shelves with modern books, adding that book donations from individuals and groups had also reduced drastically.
Eze admitted that the morale of the staff of the board was low, as the parastatal agency had been facing some challenges on how to meet up with its obligations regarding staff salary and welfare.“The Library Board is a parastatal agency that renders social services, it does not generate revenue. Our monthly subvention is a one-line route meant for salaries, pensions and everything.
“If the subventions do not come regularly, staff salaries will not be paid regularly and the result will be low productivity,” Eze said.
The situation at the National Library, located at Independence Layout, Enugu, is by all means not different.
The Assistant Chief Librarian, Mrs Rachael Nebo, said that although the institution had been at the forefront of efforts to promote readership across the country, the prerequisites of a functional modern library was still lacking therein.
“Our e-library facilities are not working due to the erratic power supply and there is no money to buy fuel for our generating set. We equally need skilled manpower and an ICT operator for our facilities,” she said.
The glaring challenges facing public libraries in Enugu State notwithstanding, it appears that the priority focus of the state government’s library development policy is on developing and equipping the libraries of public secondary school.
The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Chris Okoro, said that the government was making tangible efforts to equip the school libraries with relevant modern books.
“We are supplying books to our school libraries. Libraries are no longer very big due to the computerisation of the system; with computerised libraries, you do not need volumes of books,” Okoro said.
Observers, nonetheless, underscore the need for the state government to attend to all the needs of the state library because it serves a greater number of publics, including students of tertiary institutions and out-of-school users.
They insist that if the challenges facing public libraries are not properly addressed, they will frustrate the government’s efforts to develop the education sector in a pragmatic way. (NAN)
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