Surviving the austerity: the example of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Library, Bauchi, Nigeria
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129810198620 |
| Date | 01 February 1998 |
| Pages | 42-48 |
| Published date | 01 February 1998 |
| Author | S.A. Ogunrombi,I.I. Ekoja,S.E. Oji |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Introduction
Though Nigeria enjoyed an economic boom
in the late 1960s and early 1970s, its libraries
have always virtually lived with austerity from
the 1960s until today. The reason for this is
that libraries are given little priority in relation
to other economic and social services. This
situation may not be entirely true for universi-
ty libraries since they are usually better funded
than their public and, in most cases, special
counterparts. A close observation neverthe-
less still reveals that Nigerian university
libraries, even as they enjoy 10 per cent of
their parent-body’s allocation today, are not
adequately funded because of the rate of
inflation and the devalued currency. It is for
the above reasons that it becomes increasingly
necessary for university libraries to fashion
out creative ways of surviving austerity. As
Adimorah (1989) puts it…
…to survive (economic recession) library
managers must adjust all their operations to
inflation. It is a common fact that while most
library budgets dwindle, the number of their
users increases and the costs of books and non-
book materials escalate on daily basis.
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Library,
Bauchi which is the focus of this study was
established in 1981. The University has four
schools or faculties, namely, Agriculture,
Engineering, Environmental Technology, and
Science and Science Education. The academ-
ic staff numbers about 300 while that of the
students is about 4,000, out of which 350 are
postgraduate students. There are 16 profes-
sional and four paraprofessional librarians in
the library which has a stock of about 45,000
books, 1,277 serial titles, of which 137 are
current subscriptions; 6,000 in special collec-
tions; and a fast-growing audio-visual collec-
tion.
Literature review
In times of comparative sufficiency or com-
parative insufficiency, libraries have always
had to contend with the difficulty of acquiring
all the information materials and providing all
the services which their clientele need because
there is “ … always (the ever) present problem
of too little money” (Oboler, 1977). The
incontestable fact, however, remains that
libraries are more constrained in times of
comparative insufficiency (the land or
42
Library Management
Volume 19 · Number 1 · 1998 · pp. 42–48
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0143-5124
Surviving the austerity:
the example of
Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa University
Library, Bauchi, Nigeria
S.A. Ogunrombi
I.I. Ekoja and
S.E. Oji
The authors
S.A. Ogunrombi is Acting University Librarian, Abubakar
Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria.
I.I. Ekoja is Principal Librarian, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
University, Bauchi, Nigeria.
S.E. Ojiis Principal Library Officer at the Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria.
Abstract
This study uses official documents and interviews to
examine the creative ways that Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
University Library adapts to survive austerity. To circum-
vent the shortfalls in books and journal acquisitions, the
Library receives enhanced funding, uses UNESCO coupons
and actively solicits for gifts, exchanges, and repository
privileges. To sustain basic services and to have a steady
supply of stationery, the library has commercialised its
photocopying, video coverage, lamination, training
programme, and other services. The setting up of the
National Documentation and Information Centre has the
double blessing of attracting books and donations of
journals, and of raising funds for the running of the
Library’s essential services.
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