AbstractThis paper discusses the reasons for the taking of a US$120 million World Bank credit facility by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) for universities. It points out lapses in the project’s implementation and assesses the degree to which the credit facility has solved long–standing university library problems, like small quantity and poor quality of library collections, lack of library equipment, and training of staff. The impact of the credit on information supply in Nigerian third–generation university libraries — with special reference to the University of Agriculture, Makurdi Library — is examined. It concludes that the FGN should put in place fiscal measures to sustain the gains made, and asserts that the credit facility serves more as a palliative than a panacea to the problem of information needs of Nigerian university libraries.
The global oil glut of the 1980s seriously influenced the financial fortunes of Nigeria, resulting in dwindling financial allocations to universities. By 1985, the academic and physical decline of the universities had became alarming. To stem this trend, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) had to seek funds from outside to arrest the decay of the entire university system. The FGN was granted the sum of US$120 million by the World Bank (WB) as a credit facility for the structural adjustment of the federal universities. The loan is called the Federal Universities Sector Adjustment Credit (FUSAC). Twenty FGN–owned universities benefited from the loan as follows:
The credit facility was to be used for the procurement of books, journals, and equipment; staff development; and, the Nigerian Expatriate Supplementation Scheme (NESS). The fund was disbursed by the National Universities Commission (NUC), as shown in Table 1 [1].
| Table 1: Available Foreign Exchange for Credit Funds by Age of Universities (US$ Million) | ||||
| Expenditure Subheading |
1st Generation | 2nd Generation | 3rd Generation | Total |
| Library books and journals |
17.5 | 13.9 | 5.7 | 37.1 |
| Topping of expatriate staff |
1.7 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 8.6 |
| Staff Development | 2.5 | 6.7 | 8.9 | 18.1 |
| Maintenance and spare parts |
11.9 | 10.45 | 1.85 | 24.2 |
| New equipment | 2.2 | 5.8 | 16.2 | 24.2 |
| Library equipment | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| Total | 37.5 | 41.95 | 37.05 | 116.5 |
The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the WB credit facility on Nigerian university libraries. It points out general lapses in the implementation of the project. The paper then takes a look at the state of Nigerian university libraries before and after the credit facility, and examines the impact of the loan on information supply in university libraries, with special reference to the University of Agriculture, Makurdi Library. It suggests that the FGN should have in place some enduring fiscal measures to sustain the gains FUSAC has made in revamping the universities. The paper concludes that using the gains made so far as a yardstick for measuring the success of the project, the credit facility serves more as a palliative than a panacea to the problem of information needs of university libraries.
State of University Libraries Before the Credit Facility
Nigerian university libraries after the oil boom of the 1970s have had to contend with numerous problems that affect the quality of library services. Prominent among these were the poor budgetary allocations to libraries and the seemingly low priority accorded libraries in the academic programme. It was becoming impossible for university libraries to contribute effectively to the quality of university programmes. They had reached a stage where they could neither afford to purchase new books nor renew journal subscriptions, even locally. Over the years, library collections had been depleted as a result of constant purloining, with the remaining collections becoming relatively obsolete. The university library, once dubbed the heart of the university, was perceived as just one more ancillary service. The grave situation called for coping strategies.
During the 1987 seminar organised by the Academic and Research Libraries Section of the Nigerian Library Association, participants dwelt on strategies for the survival of Nigerian academic and research libraries during austere times. They failed to find a solution for the creeping resources crunch in academic library services [2]. In a library survey on trends in collection growth of Nigerian university libraries by Womboh [3], it was discovered that the total library collection of universities established before the 1970s and 1980s in Nigeria was 948,632 volumes. Judged by acceptable library collection standards, including that of the Committee of Nigerian University Librarians, Womboh’s findings show that the collection growth rate of Nigerian university libraries is not impressive. Alarmed by this trend, Ozowa [4] asserted that no Nigerian university library is likely to attain the status of a “self–renewing library” in the near future.
Many Nigerian university library collections are only in book form, and some libraries are not able to carry out traditional library services and operations. While “the complexities and rapidity of change that stem from new technology and information systems have forced a pace that shows no promise of abating” [5] many Nigerian university libraries still lack basic library equipment. What little library equipment is seen is out–of–date and in different stages of disrepair.
Unlike the first– and second–generation universities, third–generation universities are specialist universities (technological and agricultural universities) that need special budgetary support. Most of their staff members are from conventional older universities. Many of them lack the necessary technological skills for the new role they are expected to play in specialist universities. The staffing situation is worse in libraries where subject specialist librarians in the sciences should ideally be employed. Such librarians are hard to come by because there are few of them in Nigerian university libraries. Most of the librarians are generalists who need adequate exposure in well–established science libraries within Nigeria, and in developed countries, to prepare them for their new roles.
To take advantage of the golden opportunity offered by the WB lifeline to improve on this state of near hopelessness, the universities made every effort to meet the stringent eligibility criteria imposed by the NUC for the credit facility.
Lapses in the Loan Disbursement
The FUSAC Project, like many improvement strategy programmes in Nigeria, was well intentioned, but its implementation was unfortunately stifled by bureaucratic procedures at the NUC. Idachab [6] describes it as a programme that “is more renowned for its mountains of centralised NUC bureaucracy and endless paper work than for the effectiveness of the loan disbursement.” The eligibility criteria for the loan, for example, were so stringent that more time was spent by the NUC in enforcing the criteria than in disbursing the loan. At the end of the project, only the first phase of the project was embarked upon (instead of the planned three phases), and only US$43.4 million out of the US$120 million credit was drawn. A closer look at the implementation of the project shows that university libraries fared well insofar as books and journals of high quality were procured in large numbers after a very long delay. Most of the books ordered were out of stock, and it was difficult to place orders for alternative titles because of the lack of bibliographical tools. A general complaint in university libraries was that books were supplied in multiple copies far above the number ordered. It would have been a better return for hard currency if alternative titles had been supplied.
Even though librarians are accorded academic status in Nigerian universities, and the FUSAC Project Training Scheme was said to favour mainly academic staff in the sciences, only three librarians out of a total of 267 academic staff benefited from the Training Scheme.
Out of a total sum of US$16.570 million committed to the supply of teaching and research equipment, the only equipment supplied to university libraries consisted of PCs and CD–ROMs which, incidentally, came from the NUC. Not one item on the long list of equipment requested by libraries was supplied, because of conflicting directives from the NUC regarding the separation of library equipment from other equipment orders. The sum of US$4.3 million earmarked for this purpose has not been drawn. This benign neglect of library equipment needs is, to say the least, counter–productive, as it is bound to affect teaching methods in the universities.
State of Libraries After the FUSAC Project
FUSAC came at a very auspicious time. At no time in the history of Nigerian libraries have university libraries received at one fell swoop the quantity and quality of books and journals that they did in the first phase of this project. All the federal universities which benefited from FUSAC received — as a whole — a total of 214,233 volumes of books (worth US$.965 million), and journals (worth US$9.870 million.) [7] Out of a total sum of US$16.578 million expended on research and teaching equipment, however, only PCs and CD–ROMs were received by libraries. FAX and on–line computer systems are still a rarity in Nigerian university libraries. Out of 350 staff who have benefited from the FUSAC training programme, only three were librarians. University libraries for a long time to come will have to cope with staff who are technically obsolete. Unfortunately, their recognized status and treatment as “other academics” in the university scheme of things is likely to persist.
Impact of FUSAC on Information Supply in UAM Library
The authors deliberately limited their study of the impact of FUSAC on university libraries to third–generation universities because of the uniqueness of these universities and their libraries. They are specialist institutions, being technological and agricultural universities with unique needs for research and teaching equipment; highly, technically qualified staff; and comprehensive library collections. Again, the authors have chosen the UAM library as representative of other third–generation university libraries because it mirrors the circumstances of these libraries.
Womboh, in his collection revision study of the UAM library collection in 1993, pithily presented his findings thus:
A comparative analysis using local and international standards revealed that quantities of relevant resources were far below the Committee of University Librarians of Nigerian Universities (COLNU) Standards and American Standards. [6]
His findings clearly show that the UAM library collection falls below established standards. In the case of UAM, as in other third–generation university libraries, the quantities of relevant resources are inadequate because of the dearth of publications obtainable locally in the sciences, and the lack of foreign exchange to place orders abroad; and, because the fortunes of Nigerian university libraries wax and wane with the level of funding. Agbool [9] and Nwafo give a true picture of the situation in their respective papers.
The findings so far, in an on–going quantitative study of the UAM library collection, indicate that resources have improved tremendously. As with other third–generation universities, this assertion is based on the quantity, quality, and currency of new additions of books and journals received during the first phase of the Adjustment Project. A total of 6,283 volumes of books and eighty–five core journal titles have been received, bringing the total library collection to 29,100 volumes. There is a remarkable increase in interlibrary loan (ILL) requests, people shopping around for books, ready reference, research materials, and the day–to–day undergraduate curricula offerings. The library has increased holdings in the areas targeted for growth, and an effort is being made to build a comprehensive collection to support scholarship. However, some expectations of the library clientele remain to be met. They want materials in multi–formats, but the UAM library lacks the necessary hardware for non-book resources. There are some, especially research scholars, who want not only conventional literature, but also a comprehensive stock of grey literature, such as technical and unpublished reports. The Document and Research Collection Unit of the library is trying to satisfy some of those needs.
Information supply in the UAM library is hampered by the non–availability of information resources in formats other than books, the lack of access to on–line information databases, a poor stock of journal back issues, and the near absence of telecommunication technology. The problem is compounded by the location of Makurdi vis–à–vis other agricultural universities and special institutional libraries. Queries from library users both within and outside UAM are directed under the ILL Cooperation arrangement to other libraries. The turn around time for such requests is about six weeks by post. It is impossible to reach other libraries by telephone, as the UAM library has no direct outside telephone link. The university library courier service of the 1980s has stopped due to lack of funds.
The library caters to a student population of 2,250; 290 academic and research staff; and, 40 technical staff. With seven librarians, there is a ratio of one librarian to 321 students instead of the recommended standard of 1:200. With seven librarians and a total number of 61 library staff, the percentage ratio of librarians to total library staff is 11.5. This is low when compared with the 23.1 percent ratio recorded at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, also in Nigeria
The quality of the staff in any library can affect the quality of information supply and demand. For example, of the seven librarians in the UAM library, only one has an undergraduate subject background in agriculture, and another in geography/mathematics. The others have undergraduate degrees in library science. There is an urgent need for librarians with science backgrounds, and a need to send others to serve time in well–established agricultural libraries within and outside the country, to up–date their knowledge and enhance their performance. Even though UAM had the highest number of beneficiaries in the FUSAC Training Scheme (23), not one librarian was considered for training.
The FUSAC program is a realistic response to turn around the academic and physical decline of the university system in Nigeria. Bottlenecks have been noticed in the disbursement of funds by the NUC. Consequently, a large part of the adjustment credit has still not been used at the end of the project implementation period.
However, university libraries are now in a better position to support their academic programmes. Amid the vicissitudes, the adjustment credit has succeeded to certain extent in the wide information gap, caused by the absence of current information resources in Nigerian university libraries.
Despite the gains universities have made, there are concerns over whether the momentum can be sustained— such as those expressed by Ocell [11]. To allay such fears, the FGN should develop sustainable funding plans instead of depending upon the insufion of capital. The universities, on their part, should strengthen linkages among themselves and with research institutes, in order to promote regional and international collaboration, especially among their libraries. For any meaningful impact to be made on libraries, collaborating bodies should take to heart Allen and Katris’ advice:
While it may be human nature … to attempt to help the weakest, more may be achieved by directing aid to those libraries which have basic facilities but need some assistance to lift themselves over the threshold of minimal adequacy. [12]
This is not to say that third–generation university libraries needing more assistance should be abandoned. It is hoped that the planned investment credit of the unused two–thirds of the original adjustment credit would be used to sustain the gains already made. If so, the need for library equipment and investment in human capital might be addressed. It would be fair to assert that FUSAC has served more as a palliative than as a panacea for the problems of the information needs of Nigerian university libraries.
1. “National Universities Commission,” NUC Project News 1&150;1 (1994): 1–16.
2. Lawani, S.M., et al., eds. Proceedings of the National Seminar on Strategies for Survival by the Nigerian Academic and Research Libraries during Austere Times (Ibadan, 9–11 November 1987): 119.
3. Womboh, B.S.H. “Trends in Collection Growth in Nigerian University Libraries,” Third World Libraries 3–2 (1993): 62.
4. Ozowa, V.N. “Effective Library Cooperation in Nigeria: An El Dorado?” Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery and Information Supply, 4-1 (1992): 35–44.
5. Woodsworth, A. “Getting off the Library Merry–go–Round: McAnally and Downs Revisited,” Library Journal 114–8 (1989): 35–38.
6. Dachaba, F.S. Convocation Address by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture Makurdi, Professor F. S. Idachaba to the 3rd Convocation of the University Holding at the Convocation Square, 9 April 1994 (1994): 1–25.
7. “National Universities Commission,” NUC Project News 3–1 (1996): 1–16.
8. Womboh, B.S.H. “The Library and Information Resources of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi Library, Nigeria: A Self–Study,” IAALD Quarterly Bulletin, 38–1 (1993): 9–14.
9. Agboola, A.T. “Agricultural Information Services in Nigeria: The Challenge for University of Agriculture Libraries,“ Lagos Librarian, 15 (1994): 24–33
10. Nwafor, B.U. “Funding for University Libraries in the Third World,” Third World Libraries, 1–1 (1990): 23-27.
11. Ocelli, S.A. “Varsities’ World Bank Credit Facility: How Sustainable Is the Programme?” NUC Project News, 3–1 (1996): 10.
12. Allen, G.G. and P. Katris, Report on the Project to Access the Acquisition Needs of University Libraries in Developing Countries (Perth: Curtis University of Technology, 1992): 31.
V.N. Ozowa is Seniro Librarian, University Library, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria.
N.N. Sule is Collection Develoopment Librarian, University Library, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria.
©1997 V.N. Ozowa and N.N. Sule