Igbeka and Ola, Part 9
Conclusion
Digitization is one of the newest concepts in librarianship. Optical character recognition, scanning and photocopying are activities that aid librarianship. Digitization is just an advanced step from these. An interface that makes the material being copied editable and possibly textual is introduced. The more we embrace new technology, the more we prospect in our desire and mandate to satisfy our clients.
Digitization of materials will help show the world the type of information available in Africa. This will enable the library to export information to users outside the country at a faster rate since it will be available online.
As desirable, beneficial, and important digitization is, it is not without its challenges, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. These challenges and inhibiting factors include a lack of conviction by the library managers, lack of institutional support, lack of funds, lack of adequate hardware and software for innovation creation, lack of required expertise, inadequate IT infrastructure, and lack of utilities like electricity.
Despite all these, it is becoming imperative that for any library to improve its collections’ availability, visibility and usage, it must necessarily go the way of digitization.
Information is power. The Africana Section of Kenneth Dike Library could be considered as containing information in form of explosives that need to be exploded but have no fire to ignite them.
Digitization of these materials will help explode and spread this information to everyone, thus helping to make Africa the producer of indigenous information and knowledge, thus empowering Africa within the global information sphere.