Abstract: Considers the past and present status of professional library journals, 19 of which are cited. Although it is difficult to gather even basic information about the publications, it appears that only nine of the periodicals are still being published. The reasons for journal failure are numerous, but some of the major causes are the establishment of journals specifically as research outlets for certain academics; lack of financial security; rising costs of production, due in part to antiquated methods; and the general lack of interest in professional reading by Nigerian librarians. Some recommendations are made for amelioration of the situation.
To examine the status of publication of professional library journals in Nigeria, 19 current or former titles were identified. This was not an easy task because of the almost complete absence of bibliographic control for Nigerian journals. Most of the information that follows came from a visit to the Nigerian National Serials Data Center (NSDC) of the National Library of Nigeria, where new journals are registered and international standard serial numbers (ISSN) are assigned. It is quite possible that some relevant titles were not registered at the NSDC.
These are the 19 journals (an asterisk * indicates a journal that is still being published):
* African journal of academic librarianship ⁄ Ed. E. B. Bankole.— Lagos Standing Conference of African University Libraries, Western Area. v.1– . 1980– . Biennial.
* African journal of archives and information science ⁄ Ed. L. 0. Aina. — Ibadan : ArchLib. v. 1– . 1991– . Biennial.
ASUTLIB : journal of Nigerian library and information science / Ed. Ngozi Ene.— Enugu : Anambra State University of Technology, Library. v.1– . 1983– . Biennial.
Bendel librarian. — Benin City: Nigerian Library Association, Bendel State Chapter. [Dates not available; one year published.]
Bendel library journal. - Benin City : Bendel State Library. v.1. [Dates not available; one year published.]
Borno library journal. — Maiduguri : Nigerian Library Association, Borno State Chapter. v.1. 1983.
* Communicate : journal of library and information science ⁄ Ed. Sam E. Ifidon. — Ekpoma : Edo State University, Library. v.1– . 1991– . Biennial.
Kagobmiso library notes. — Kaduna : Nigerian Library Association, Kaduna State Chapter. [Dates not available; one year published.]
* Lagos librarian ⁄ Ed. J. A. Ugonna. — Lagos : Nigerian Library Association, Lagos State Division. v.1– . 1973?– . Frequency varies.
* Library scientist. — Zaria : Ahmadu Bello University, Society of Library Science Students.
v.1– . 1973– . Annual.
* Library waves ⁄ Ed. S. A. Osiobe. — Port Harcourt : University of Port Harcourt, Library. v.1– . 1986– . Frequency varies. [v.2, no.1 (1987) was issued in 1992.]
Nigerbiblios. — Lagos : National Library of Nigeria. v.1– . 1976– . [Ceased; dates not available.]
* Nigerian libraries ⁄ Ed. E. F. Elaturoti. — Ibadan : Nigerian Library Association. v.1– . 1964– . Biennial.
* Nigerian library and information science review ⁄ Ed. B. C. Nzotta. — Ibadan : Nigerian Library Association, Oyo State Division. v.1– . 1983– . Biennial.
Nigerian library and information studies. — Ibadan : University of Ibadan, Department of Library, Archival and Information Science. [Ceased; dates not available.]
Nigerian school library journal. — Enugu : School Libraries Association. [Ceased; dates not available.]
Northern Nigeria library notes. — Kaduna : Nigerian Library Association, Northern States Division. v.1–3. 1964–66.
* Nsukka library notes. — Nsukka : University of Nigeria, Library. v.1– . 1975– . Irregular (v.11, 1990).
Western Nigeria library notes. — Ibadan : Nigerian Library Association, Western States Division.
v.1–2. 1964–65. Annual.
It will be observed that two titles started publication in 1964, three in the 1970s, five in the 1980s, and two in the 1990s; the dates of the other seven could not be ascertained. Of the 19 titles, nine ceased publication after an average life of two years. Issues of these journals that were physically available were examined for their organizational structure. Some of the managing editors were interviewed, primarily to discover the factors responsible for the high mortality rate of Nigerian Library journals.
Of the 19 titles that provided the data for this paper, 11 were established by associations or societies; six by libraries and two by library schools. All the journals consider scholarly papers in the area of library and information science and related disciplines; all of them assess papers before they are accepted for publication; all of them are under the control of editorial boards which are assisted by editors; the post of the managing editors or chief editor is appointive rather than elective; each of the journals has its own editorial policy; in addition to articles, most of the journals feature advertisements, book reviews and notices of recent publications.
The majority of the journals are published biennially, but this frequency is hardly ever consistently maintained. In many cases, the frequency becomes irregular after the first issues, and two or three numbers are merged into a single issue. Such a merge is the sign of approaching death. There are several reasons for this early demise.
A number of obstacles inhibit the successful publishing of the journals. One such obstacle is finance. Sometimes journal publication subsidies are made by institutions and associations, such grants are usually for start up costs only, with the hope that thereafter the periodical will be
self–financing. In practice this rarely occurs, because sales are poor and other sources of finance such as advertisements, author payments for publishable manuscripts, and initial contributions from groups of people who want to establish new journals have their limitations.
By far the most important reason for the short life span of Nigerian journals is the short–sighted approach of most founders. About 99 percent of published articles are authored by librarians working in academic institutions. In such institutions, especially in some universities, research and publication are important criteria for appointment and promotion. Up to 1990 some Nigerian universities classified their librarians as academic while others regarded them as administrative. In universities where libraries were classed with administrative staff, research and publication were de–emphasized. Although advancement in such libraries was faster than in libraries where librarians had academic status, nevertheless, many librarians preferred to be in the academic category. Therefore, for three decades, between 1960 and 1989, there was a struggle for academic status by librarians who worked in university libraries. Finally in 1990 the National Universities Commission, wielding the power conferred on it by Decree 16, legislated that librarians in all Nigerian universities would have academic status. (By Decree 16, the National Universities Commission was empowered to play a supervisory role in both the federal and state universities.) One of the clear implications of the new unambiguous academic status conferred on librarians was that they had to publish or perish. This increased the number of librarians looking for publishing outlets. But because the majority of such librarians wrote on local issues of little appeal to foreign journals, their papers were hardly ever accepted by editors outside the country, unless by a few foreign journals that were willing to highlight the contrast in the state of the art between the first and second world countries on the one hand and the third world countries on the other. In their desire to advance, academic librarians are prepared either to pay substantial amounts for the publication of their papers — a situation not found with regard to library journals in Europe or America — or to get together to establish a journal for the main purpose of publishing their own research. As soon as that short–term objective is met, the enthusiasm to maintain a journal cools, and the demise of the journal approaches.
Another reason for the creation of new journals has been the increase of state divisions of the Nigerian Library Association (as the number of states has grown from 19 in 1976 to 30 in 1991); each division considers it important to publish its own periodical.
One reason not discovered for the establishment of a journal is the need expressed by potential readers. It is unlikely that any Nigerian journal has been initiated in response to the findings of a sound feasibility study, or other scientific indication of reader interest.
Closely associated with the selfish and short–term goals noted is the poor financial base of the journals. Originators of journals which are intended to be publishing outlets for their proprietors are prepared to contribute generous amounts to publish the first issue. It is a common experience to find 10 desperate academic librarians contributing N2,000.00 each to publish their papers. For subsequent issues the same group of librarians could decide to make their professional colleagues pay to get their papers published. It is true that only the authors of papers that have been assessed and found publishable have this type of demand made on them. But many authors may not be in a position to pay the prescribed fee. If this happens and the authors of secondrate articles can afford the fee, it means that high quality papers cannot be published. Naturally, this will shake the confidence of the readers in such journals and affect the sales of issues of the journal. This is one reason why subscribers, particularly individuals, are so few. Advertising is a source of additional income for a journal, but it does not provide enough to make any difference in the total financial picture. Indeed the only reliable source of financial support is a subsidy from a sponsoring body. However, when subsidies are given, the sponsoring institutions expect the journal to become financially independent in time, by bringing in money from subscriptions. But, as already noted, results almost never meet expectations.
Compounding the problem of inadequate financial support is the rising cost of production. The increase in printers' costs (excluding direct materials and art–work), reported by the Federation Management Accounting Department, was 38.1 percent between 31 July 1986 and 30 April 1991. To import printing materials is prohibitively expensive, since Nigeria has not signed the Florence Agreement, intended to facilitate such imports [1]. The basic substance, paper, is produced in Nigeria, but only by three firms: the Nigerian Paper Mill (Jebba), the Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Co. (Oku–Iboku), and the Nigerian National Paper Manufacturing Co. (Iwopin). The overall production capacity of those firms is far below national needs for newspaper and book production [2].
At the printing stage, no thought is being given to modern methods of producing journals. All the journals examined were prepared by printers who set their type manually. This is very slow and costly. One of the modern methods that should be explored is desktop publishing.
Even if all these problems of finance and production could be resolved, the situation of Nigerian library journal publishing might not be improved. After all, journals are media for disseminating current information and research findings. But the majority of Nigerian librarians do not read to update themselves. Their reading habit is utilitarian and examination–oriented. They cannot be expected to invest money for periodicals whose contents are remote from immediate needs.
What are the solutions? The following recommendations are offered for consideration:
[1.] David Bradbury, et al. "Barriers to the Flow of Books," Libri 48–3 (1990): 259–263.
[2.] Betty I. Ifidon, "Book Scarcity in Nigeria — Causes and Solutions," unpublished research paper, Ekpoma, 1992; Nigeria,Federal Ministry of Education, "Conference on the Nigeria Book Study," Lagos, 1990.
Sam E. Ifidon is University Librarian, Edo State University, Ekpoma, Nigeria. He has had over 25 years as a librarian in Nigeria, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He holds an M.L.S. from the University of Western Ontario and a Ph.D. from the University of Ibadan. Libraries in which he has worked include the University of Lagos, University of Western Ontario, Ahmadu Bello University, and University of Maiduguri; he has taught in several library schools as well. Dr. Ifidon has published three monographs (one of them, Collection Development in African University Libraries, was reviewed in World Libraries Vol. 2, No. 1) and numerous articles in such journals as Library Review, Libri, International Library Review, African Journal of Academic Librarianship, Journal of Academic Librarianship, and Nigerian Libraries. He is currently editor of Communicate: Journal of Library and Information Science.
© 1993 Rosary College
Organizational Structures