World Libraries | Volume 11 | Numbers 1 & 2 | Dr. Bola Mebude Akinnigbagbe

Theft and Mutilation the Bane of Library Resources Development: Ramat Library Security Experience

Dr. (Mrs.) Bola Mebude Akinnigbagbe

Abstract

Highlights the implication of library security for the conservation of knowledge role of the academic library. The documentary and personal experience of the writer were brought to illuminate the topic. The category of the perpetrators, the motives for and the various methods employed by perpetrators of book theft and mutilation was discussed, focusing on the experience of Ramat Library from 1985 to date. The colossal loss was detailed. The writer concludes that prevention of crime is better than catching a culprit and so recommends that mechanical and electronic prevention measures be put in place to minimize book theft and mutilation in academic libraries.

Such measures include: provision of adequate copies of required books, submission of reading lists to the library to determine what would be put on short term loan system (reserved books) subsidized and efficient photocopying service, installation of electronic book detection device and video camera system, inventories, “conscience” exhibition of mutilated materials among others.

Introduction

Ramat Library at the University of Maiduguri in Nigeria was established along with its parent institution in 1975. It inherited the library resources including the building of the former North East College of Arts and Science (NECAS) Maiduguri. It has four branch libraries:

Harold Scarborough Medical Library
Aminu Kano Law Library
Agrovet
Arabic and Islamic Studies Library

Technical services of the library is done centrally. The collection was 19,000 volumes of books and 580 periodical titles in 1978. (Ifidon 1978) The building seats 650 readers at a time and the definitive library building is now ready for occupation. The student population has increased from 1,185 in 1978 (Registrar, University of Maiduguri 1978), to over 25,000 students spread over one college, eight faculties and a school of Postgraduate studies. (Mustapha 2001).

Nigerian University libraries are currently experiencing a crisis, as confirmed by Oyediran (1998: 14). “This is due to the economic down turn in the country, the hyper‑inflationary pressures and nose‑dive in the value of the naira vis‑à‑vis the values of the currencies of our major trading countries from where most library materials are procured.” Tamuno (1998: 195) went into greater detail on this issue when she said that the Committee of University Librarians in Nigerian Universities considered that 90% of books and journals required by university libraries are published outside Africa and they were concerned by the extreme difficulties encountered by libraries in trying to obtain foreign exchange to pay for books and journals. They were also dismayed by the growing inability of University libraries to effectively support teaching and research because of a lack of books, journals, and equipment.

Lawal (1986) enumerated some notable effects of the recession on libraries, such as deterioration in the quality and adequacy of the collections, substantial gaps in the journal subscriptions and the danger of obsolescence in the existing collections. The survey conducted by the (National Universities Commission) in 1990 confirmed, “The book stock of Nigerian University libraries can no longer support the academic programmes of the institutions.”

Tamuno (1998: 194) summed up the entire scenario when she said that it was “claimed that the image of Nigerian Scholarship ‘suffered’ a setback in the international arena because contributions from Nigerian scholars to international journals were allegedly returned because the currency of information in such articles was suspect.” An attempt to reverse the situation led to the introduction of the World Bank Federal Universities Development Sector Adjustment Operation, which became operational in 1990. This was meant among other things to inject life into the system and to procure current books and journals to stem the tide in University libraries in the country from obsolescence. Unfortunately, the scheme was truncated for political reasons, even before the total package of the first tranche was implemented. (Tamuno 1998: 203).

Statement of the Problem

The National University Commission (Nigeria) mandated each University to commit ten percent of its recurrent budget to library development. This runs into many millions of naira, the Nigerian currency.

The amount deducted from source and known as the Library Development Fund (LDF) is meant for the acquisition of library resources. Sixty percent of it is devoted to procurement of books and journals, while the remaining forty percent is for emolument of staff and perishables. If the University administration expends so much on the library, and from the background it was revealed how central the library is to the role of the Universities in achieving stated objectives, then more attention needs to be paid, not only to the retrieval and dissemination of knowledge but also its conservation, if the library is to remain a storehouse of knowledge.

Dipeolu (1998: 33) observed that many libraries have suffered heavy losses and heartless mutilation of library materials in recent years, partly on account of insensitivity on the part of library users and partly because of the scarcity of books in the market. Such losses, he affirmed become very unbearable in the face of difficulties encountered in buying new books or replacing lost or mutilated ones. This picture agitates the mind and gives room for concern.

In sum, the statement of the problem is, in view of the difficulties encountered by libraries in getting funds, foreign exchange, and the procurement of new library materials: what could the University administration, the security outfit and the library staff do to stem the financial drain caused by the problem of theft and mutilation as expressed by Dipeolu above so that the library can continue to render qualitative maximal services to their academic communities?

Methodology

This report is based on documentary research: evidence from library users who appeared before the library investigation panel on illegal removal of library resources, from security reports and from a report of an inventory carried out by the library was used personal experience of the writer as the Deputy University Librarian (Public Services), one‑time secretary and currently chairperson of the Ramat Library Committee on illegal removal of library materials was brought to bear on this paper.

Motives For Library Theft and Mutilation

Different motives have been established for library theft and mutilation, ranging from youthful exuberance to economic reasons. Abegunde (1988) suggested that reasons for book theft and mutilation in the library include:

(a) Poverty on part of the library users, the bulk of who are students, or economic reasons because the cost of tertiary books is beyond the reach of average Nigerians
(b) Prohibitive foreign exchange rate required to procuring the books from abroad
(c) Dwindling library budget
(d) Poor security system
(e) Anti‑social behaviour tendencies or a personality disorder

In addition to Abgunde’s reasons, other suggestions are:
(i) The influence of mass media crime or war films
(ii) Youthful exuberance or the inability to see the act as a crime since it is government property, and therefore, nobody’s property
(iii) The perception of the library as a government establishment that has the financial capacity to replace any lost or stolen library materials, and
(iv) Stealing to express anger aimed at symbolic targets of the government or the rich to average perceived injustice or a means of hitting back at the inequity and iniquity of society.

Category of Perpetrators

Bahr (1989) affirms that book theft is not restricted to hardened criminals. The hideous act is perpetrated by “respectable people that can include clergymen, lawyers, psychologists and most reputable professional researchers,” neither does it leave out the library staff, the security staff and their friends as shown in table 1 below. They, too, may also contribute their “quota” either by colluding with library users for cash or kind in order to make ends meet, or to get even with library authorities for a perceived injustice or delayed gratification. Gandert (1982) supported this view in his work when he stated that security officers agree that it is the person who is known to the staff and who is respected by them that is many times the greatest security risk.

In other words, every library user is a potential perpetrator especially when theft has been described as a crime of opportunity that takes place when the following four conditions are met:

(a) availability of the target object
(b) a ready or determined perpetrator who will execute the hideous act
(c) security situation is porous or loose enough that it will not deter the perpetrator and
(d) the actual removal or theft of the material

TABLE 1. Table of category of perpetrators of theft and mutilation in Ramat library and its affiliates
Year	Category	Items stolen
1984	Library Staff	Attempted to steal a radio cassette player
1985	Library Staff	Colluded with a student to take out of the library reference material along with other stolen books
1985	Student	Caught with a suitcase containing 23 library books including reference material
1986	Law Library Staff	Closed access collection of back set of New Nigeria Newspaper were discovered missing
Over the years	Students	Students apprehended and who appeared before the Ramat Library Committee on illegal removal of library books investigation panel
1990	Unauthorized person(s)	Stole 20 vols. of Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents 4^th edition
1991	Unauthorized person(s)	Stole 14 volumes of Atkins Encyclopaedia of Court Forms
1997	Unauthorized person(s)	Stole 20 vols. of Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents 5^th edition
1997	Unauthorized person(s)	Medical books
1997	Unauthorized person(s)	Reference Materials
1997	Student	Chemistry books
1998	Unauthorized person(s)	A lady’s handbag at the exit door where personal effects are kept
Over the years	Students and unauthorized persons	Personal effects such as calculator, handbags, purses, etc.

Source: Ramat Library Committee on Illegal Removal of Library Materials

Ramat Library Experience

Among the methods employed for illegal removal of library materials, as testified to by apprehended students during investigation conducted by the Ramat Library Committee on Illegal Removal of Library Materials, are:

(a) Students carried their own date due stamps with which they stamp any library book they want to steal so that when security staff see that the date was not yet due for the return of the material they would allow them to pass. The library then decided that staff should append their signature after stamping and the signatures of the staff at the circulation control desk were made known to the security staff.
(b) Borrowing one book legally and transferring the date‑due slip into another book they wanted to steal. This practice was rampant with Arabic language materials. Many expensive Arabic books were stolen and replaced by cheap ones through this method. After this revelation, the Arabic and Islamic Studies section was removed to a location where it was manned by newly appointed staff with a sound knowledge of Arabic language. This grew into the present Arabic and Islamic studies library.
(c) Students bring small bottles of spirits to the library to wipe off the library ownership stamps especially with Reference books that had no book pockets fixed on them.
(d) Security staff usually sit at the entrance / exit door on the ground floor, students get accomplices to wait outside to catch the library book that would be thrown to them from the stairs.
(e) Before the windows were meshed, students used to throw books out of the windows to be picked up by them later.
(f) Books were put inside trousers, jackets, and pockets of flowing robes “babanriga” etc. This last method is not gender sensitive.
(g) Students rush out of the library in the event of power outage (which can happen quite often) especially when only one security staff was manning the beat.
(h) They brought pairs of scissors or razor blade to the library to cut off pages of books that interest them.

When a new University Librarian was appointed in January 1985, he was determined to know the exact library holdings when he effectively took over the leadership of the library. So an amnesty month in which all overdue books were expected to be returned without any surcharge was organised. It was a tremendous success as many books that were long overdue were returned. Thereafter, a raid of student’s hostels was organized. About 1,000 illegally removed books were recovered. A final year student who had just finished his final degree examination was caught in the hostel with a suitcase filled with 23 library books including reference materials. After a thorough investigation, the student’s bachelor degree result was not released for several years, to serve as a deterrent to others. The library staff that signed the date slip for him to go out with the reference material was dismissed from service. Other students’ punishment ranged from payment for the cost of the material up to five times if the book was damaged to non admittance in the library for specified periods depending on the gravity of the offence.

Shortly after the raid, a library book inventory was conducted. It lasted from 15^th August to Sept. 1985.

TABLE II. Statistical Report of Books Discovered Missing from the library during INVENTORY exercise in 1985.
S/No	Call Number	Subjects covered by the shelves	Total Number of books on the shelves
1	A‑BP	Generalia, Arabic Philosophy and Religion	918
2	BP‑D	Arabic/Islamic Studies	4,148
3	D‑DY60	History, European	1,425
4	DT61‑E‑F	Africa History Oceania, Australia, New Zealand and America History	1,558
5	G‑GS GR‑HB	Geography, Anthropology Economics	1,752
6	HB‑HD	Economics	1,521
7	HD‑HF	Economics, Communication Commerce	2,566
8	HF	Accounting	1,120
9	HG‑HY	Finance, Sociology	1,658
10	HT‑HX	Social Science, Political Science	1,737
11	JS‑LB LB‑NX	Political Science, Education, Fine Arts	1,954
12	P‑PN	Philology, Modern languages, Russian, Asian and African literature	1,261
13	PN‑PR	French	2,264
14	PR	General Literature, English, American and Juvenile Literature	2,055
15	PR‑PZ	Literature, Science General and Mathematics	2,068
16	QA‑QC	Mathematics, Astronomy and Physics	1,510
17	QD‑QH	Chemistry, Biology	1,735
18	QH91‑QM507	Botany, Zoology and Human Anatomy	1,725
19	QM‑QRR S‑SR	General Medicine Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine	1,735
20	I‑VM	Engineering Technology	1,714
21	Z	Library Science Bibliography	1,453
22	K	Law Library	2,804
23	I	Medical Library	3,720

The result of the inventory (see Table II) was an eye opener. Of the 87,000 volumes of books at that time in Ramat Library, 8,071 volumes were missing. One shelf alone, P‑PN, had a loss of 488 titles out of 731 volumes. G‑GB and GR‑HB had a loss of 187 titles of 570 volumes. QD‑QH and HQ‑QM had a loss of 392 titles of 740 volumes and 291 titles of 716 volumes respectively.

Out of the 9,000 volumes of books in the Medical Library, 184 titles of a total 267 were missing, while 270 titles of 412 volumes were missing from the Law Library (Akinnigbagbe 1985). Both Law and Medical books were housed in Ramat Library until they were moved out to their present locations in 1985 and 1983 respectively. This was hardly surprising, as aesthetic consideration had a priority over security in the design of the library building from 1975 to 1982, the windows were not provided with wire meshing and students threw books out of the windows to their accomplices who were waiting outside to catch them. It was not until 1983 that the University authority then saw the wisdom in wire‑meshed windows for security reasons.

What is surprising, however, is that 63 titles of 103 volumes were missing from the Engineering collection, which was acquired only two sessions before the inventory and after the windows had been meshed.

A large number of volumes of mutilated materials were discovered during the inventory. A “conscience” exhibition of mutilated library material was carried out to attract the attention of library users with the hope that the exhibition would prick their conscience and so stop the practice. In 1984, a library staff member, who tried to steal a radio‑cassette player on a Sunday morning when the library was closed, was caught by the security staff attached to the library. He was later dismissed after a full investigation.

Over the years, many students were apprehended at the security checkpoint of the library. In 1986, several copies of back issues of New Nigeria newspapers were discovered to be missing from the Law Library when a lecturer wanted to consult them for his research. This was a closed access collection. After full investigation, the deed could not be pinned down to a particular staff, and all the staff were made to pay for the cost and processing of the newspapers.

In 1996, a security staff attached to the library was caught by another security staff with a bag of issues of journals at the university entrance/exit gate. After thorough investigation, the culprit was relieved of his post. Between 1998 and 2001, about six library books, which were illegally removed from the library by former students of the university, were mailed to the library by those who stole them. They claimed to have met Jesus Christ and were now born‑again Christians who were returning the books on the principle of restitution.

Admittance to the library was supposed to be strictly based on the production of the University identity card. Checking was usually perfunctory and so gave room to unauthorized people to enter the library. In 1990, 20 volumes of the 4^th edition of The Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents were stolen from the Aminu Kano Law Library when this writer was the Law Librarian. One library assistant who was re‑shelving consulted books in the morning discovered that only 4 volumes were left. The case was reported to the University security committee headed by the Vice‑Chancellor. The case was still dragging on when in 1991 another thief came from Jos, a distance of 591 kilometres to steal 14 volumes of Atkins Encyclopaedia of Court Forms. He wore a jacket and stole 2 volumes at a time tucked inside his jacket. He went to a hideout where he left his traveling bag and stole 2 volumes on each of the trips he made to the library. It was on his 7^th trip to the library that one library staff called attention to the man. He took the 13^th and 14^th volume and hid them in his jacket as he did the others. He was followed to his hideout where he “offloads” the stolen books. He was apprehended, prosecuted and convicted to a fine of two thousand naira.

In 1997, another Law Librarian was in charge of the Law Library then, when another thief came from the same town, Jos, and stole 2 volumes of the newly acquired 5^th edition of The Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents. He rubbed off all ownership marks and rebound the volumes ready to be sold. A lawyer who wanted to buy them insisted on buying a complete set of 24 volumes. The thief decided to come back to our Law Library to steal the remaining four volumes. He found the library locked up because all the library staff had been handed over to the police for interrogation in connection with the missing volumes. The thief decided to visit other branches and it was in the Medical Library that he was caught with a voluminous pharmacy book tucked inside his trousers. He was handed over to the police. He confessed to stealing the edition of The Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents for which the Law Library staff had been locked up. The police traveled with him to Jos to search his house and brought back the stolen Encyclopaedia. The house of his associates in Maiduguri was also searched and several books including reference materials from Ramat Library were recovered.

The Law Library staff was released, all the books were returned to the Library and the thief was prosecuted. In the same year, two students were caught with library materials. One hid the book in his trousers. Another student who saw him alerted the security staff but the thief had already passed the checkpoint. When the security staff pursued him, a fight ensued and he bruised the security staff’s face. Other security staff came round and overpowered the student. The student’s guardian later pleaded temporary insanity for the student. The student was, however, rusticated for a specific period.

Personal belongings of library users had been reported stolen in the library over the years. The items range from cash, calculators, handbags and personal books.

Steps to Reduce Theft and Mutilation in Ramat Library and Other Libraries

(a) Students who were apprehended at the library exit door with library books and were invited for investigation by the committee on illegal removal of library materials many times over said that efficient photocopying services at an affordable price would be the best option to reduce book theft. Ramat library photocopying service became paralyzed over a year ago when the two photocopying machines broke down. Attempts to replace them have been delayed by bureaucratic bottlenecks. Only a new book inventory exercise would reveal the extent of loss of library materials during this period. It behooves the library, therefore, to resuscitate the photocopying service as a matter of urgency and maintain a steady service by the added provision of power generating set in the event of power outage.
(b) The students also complain about the inadequate copies of core books for many courses. The library acquisitions policy during the oil boom era was four copies of every title procured excluding reference materials. The policy was reviewed in the face of the current economic crunch and reduced to two copies. This is in‑spite of the geometric rise in student enrollment. The acquisitions policy needs to be upwardly reviewed. In addition, Stopforth (1994) recommended that reading lists should be sent to the library because adding reading lists to the library system enabled the library staff to take decisions as to whether more efficient use of stock could be made by giving a shorter loan period to recommended texts. Furthermore, the Nigerian Government could get franchise from reputable publishers of tertiary books around the world and publish such books locally with a view to bringing the cost of such books down to the economic reach of the students and to enable the library to acquire adequate numbers of copies.
(c) The students also said they took advantage of the rush hour when there were too many students to be checked to take books out of the library. To this effect, a turnstile needs to be fixed at the exit door to allow a thorough search and to stop library users from rushing out of the library. This could cause human traffic hold‑up at the exit but the time and energy expended at this point is worthwhile.
(d) A “Conscience” exhibition of mutilated materials should be displayed once in a session.
(e) Inventory should be a quinquennial exercise and not once and for all.
(f) Periodic raiding of students’ hostels should be on a regular basis.
(g) Book amnesty should continue to be exercised to encourage users to return long overdue books because the fines would be waived.
(h) Only one door should be used as an entrance/exit, as against the two that are currently in use except during an emergency when the fire emergency doors could be used in addition.
(i) To guard against library users who steal library books by putting them in their trousers, pockets or jackets, the advice of Revil (1978) needs to be taken seriously. He said that the installation of an electronic system is probably the most effective solution. This is because books so sensitized cannot be shielded by any other device. This device may prevent theft, but not book mutilation and, as a matter of fact, mutilation may increase with the installation of the detection device. To combat the heinous practice effectively would require installation of a video camera system to complement the book detection one. The argument against this device is the prohibitive cost of the installation and maintenance especially in the period of economic squeeze that the Nigerian Universities are passing through. It would be a wise and worthwhile investment in the long run, however, and university libraries may propose implementation of the electronic device as a project for the National Education Tax Fund as part of their on‑going rehabilitation exercise. The other concern that may make people skeptical about this proposal is the issue of frequent power outages. The great improvement in electricity supply in the recent years coupled with the promise by the Presidency that power outage would be a thing of the past by December 2002 in Nigeria should allay the fear of librarians about installing an electronic device.
(j) Before the installation of the above, security policy for libraries needs to be developed or reviewed, where one is in existence, to meet the needs of the third millennium. Library staff should be trained to be vigilant and not to leave the security of library materials to security staff alone. They should adopt the watch me‑I watch you attitude.
(k) Ewing (1994) observes that security men were required to examine the identity of all library users before they were allowed to enter the library and to examine all books, but this is sometimes perfunctorily done, especially when there are long queues at the exit. This is equally true of Ramat Library. Physical search of all books and files must be thoroughly executed at the exit door. Security staff must adhere strictly to the policy of no admittance to the library without the university identity card. This will minimize the number of unauthorized people getting access to the library collections.
(l) Security personnel are both numerically and professionally deficient in their approach to security issues. They, therefore, need to be trained and retrained to enable them to control their beat effectively and more hands need to be hired.
(m) Security staff work hours need to be changed from the current two shifts, 1.e., 6am to 6pm and 6pm to 6am to three shifts, i.e.; 6am to 2pm, 2pm to 10pm and 10pm to 6am. It is humanly impossible to expect security staff to be alert and vigilant for twelve hours straight. Security men in mufti should also be trained in the art of patrolling the library without being noticed by library users, in order to deter mutilation and theft of library materials.
(n) The sanctions for library users caught with illegally removed library materials should be emphasized during orientation and matriculation of fresh students.
(o) Users should stop bringing their valuables to the library, as the library regulation clearly puts it that any personal property left is at owners risk. Users should also stop the practice of using their personal property to reserve seats in the library or leaving them unattended.

Dipeolu (1998) recommended the introduction of a closed access system to all the collections in the Nigerian University libraries to stem the losses and mutilation of library resources. According to him, the Bodleian, the Library of Congress and the Bibliothèque Nationale are all closed access libraries. This advocacy is to my mind counterproductive because the best library is the one that is well used not the one that is locked up and for this reason it should not be entertained.

Conclusion

Theft is said to be a crime of opportunity, so the best option is to prevent theft rather than to catch a thief. Prevention, said to be better than a cure, has been defined as “the anticipation, recognition and the appraisal of crime risk and the initiation of some moves or activities to minimize or eliminate theft.” So libraries should emphasize the preventative methods, be they mechanical or electronic as long as they help to make book theft and mutilation a high‑risk venture on the part of the intending perpetrators. Justice, however, must be done in cases of library users caught stealing or mutilating library resources because theft and mutilation affect the cost effectiveness and efficiency of the university library system. Prosecution will also serve as a deterrent to others.

Although it is often said that what man invents, man circumvents but the preventive methods will go a long way in minimizing book theft and mutilation even if they cannot completely eradicate the crime. As emphasis shifts from information ownership to information access, theft and mutilation of library resources is expected to reduce considerably and quality of service enhanced.

References

(a) Abegunde, J.A. “Security Needs of Typical Nigerian Academic Library.” Nigeria Library and Information Science Review, 6‑2 (Nov. 1988): 62‑66.

(b) Akinnigbagbe, B.M. “A Comprehensive Report of the Stock‑Take of Ramat Library Holdings from Aug. 15^th to Sept. 30^th 1985” 20p. (Unpublished manuscript).

(d) Dipeolu, Sesan, “Survival Strategies for University Libraries in the 21^st Century.” In Committee of University librarians of Nigerian Universities. Proceedings of the Ibadan & Ekpoma Seminars, 1992 & 1994. eds. Taofik M. Salisu and S. Olajire Olanlokun, 232p. Ibadan: CULNU, 1998.

(e) Ewing, David. “Library Security in the UK: Are Our Libraries of Today Used or Abused?” Library Management. 15‑2 (1994): 18‑26.

(f) Gandert, Siade Richard. Protecting your Collection. New York: Haworth Press, 1982.

(g) Ifidon, Sam. “A Survey of Library Services in the University of Maiduguri as at 22^nd Nov. 1978.” 10p. (Unpublished manuscript).

(h) Lawal, O.O. “The Effects of Economic Recession on Library Provision and Management.” Nigerian Library and Information Science Review, 4‑1&2 (1986): 9.

(i) Maiduguri University. Office of the Registrar. “Break‑down of Student Population by State of Origin and Course of Study 1977/78 Session.” (Unpublished manuscript)

(j) Mustapha, Abubakar. “An Address by the Vice‑Chancellor, University of Maiduguri, Prof. Abubakar Mustapha (mni) on the Occasion of the 22^nd Student Matriculation Ceremony held on Monday, 27^th August, 2001.” (Unpublished)

(k) Nigeria: National Universities Commission. “Situation Report on Libraries in Nigerian Federal Universities,” presented by B.A. Oni‑Orisan, Sam E. Ifidon and Inuwa Dikko. Lagos 1999, p36.

(l) Oyediran, A.B.O. “Nigerian University Libraries in the Twenty‑first Century: The Future Begins with the Present.” In Committee of University librarians of Nigerian Universities. Proceedings of the Ibadan & Ekpoma Seminars 1992 & 1994. eds. by Taofik M. Salisu and S. Olajire Olanlokun. Ibadan: CULNU, 1998.

(m) Revil, D. “Library Security.” New Library World 79 (1978): 75‑81.

(n) Stopforth, Carolyn. “Provision of Reading Lists Texts in an Academic Library.” Library Management 15‑3 (1994): 14‑20.

(o) Tamuno, Olufunmilayo G. “The Impact of the World Bank Loan Facility on the Nigerian University Library System.” In Committee of University librarians of Nigerian Universities. Proceedings of the Ibadan & Ekpoma Seminars 1992 & 1994. eds. by Taofik M. Salisu and S. Olajire Olanlokun. Ibadan: CULNU, 1998.

About the author

Bola Mebude Akinnigbagbe is Deputy University Librarian (Public Services) at Ramat Library, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.