Editorial

NigeriaThis issue is largely devoted to Nigeria, and the issues that pertain to libraries and access to information that many must deal with there. Articles focusing on topics pertinent to Nigeria have been intermittently included in past issues of the Journal, but these three articles work well together in providing an overview of how information has been provided in the past, as well as how it may be provided in the future. However, while these articles examine Nigerian libraries specifically, if one steps back from them a bit, many of the ideas shared can be applied to any library, in any country. Even in more developed parts of the world, we have libraries that are grossly under-funded and struggling to survive.

Perhaps the most vexing issue in Nigeria is the struggle between their depressed economy and the knowledge that a lot of capital comes into the country from the sale of oil. The petroleum industry began in the early 1970s, with Nigeria joining OPEC in 1971. Revenue from oil was a boon to the economy,permitting the establishment of many intuitions of higher education, universal basic education, and libraries to support them.

Support for these initiatives, however, has changed with time. Questionable government practices, clashes over who controls the country’s petroleum and a population that desires more financial support for public programs are at constant odds for the revenues the government receives. Added to this mix is the falling value of the Nigerian Naira. All of which has left many libraries withering on the vine.

Under such circumstances, librarians are challenged to think in new ways to provide the services needed by their users, and how to pay for these services. These articles illustrate some of the various ideas that have been considered to cope with such dire times. From lobbying the government to levy new taxes on foreign companies reaping large profits from doing business in Nigeria and marketing library services to the public sector, to allowing the public sector to supply services entirely that libraries cannot afford themselves – such as access to the internet in cybercafes.

There is a strong desire from professionals and scholars in Nigeria to have informational access comparable to that found anywhere else in the developed world. This makes the library situation in Nigeria one to watch, as new and innovative solutions will likely be developed over time.

KudosOur congratulations go out to Bernie Sloan for being awarded the Illinois Library Computer Systems Organization’s Distinguished Contributor Award (8 October, 2004). Sloan was honored with this award for his article “Slicing the membership pie”, which appeared in the February,2000, issue of The Bottom Line (Vol. 13 No. 1).

Gordon M. Conable

It is with sadness that I report the passing of Gordon Conable. Conable was president of the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Foundation since 1998, an ALA Council member, and executive vice president of West Coast operations for Library Systems and Services (LSSI). He died suddenly of a heart attack on 12 January, 2005, at his home in Riverside, California. He was featured in the Journal’s “If you want my 2¢ worth” column which appeared in the Vol. 16 No. 2 (2003) issue. For more information on Conable or ALA’s Gordon M. Conable Memorial Fund, visit the ALA web site at: www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/othergroups/ftrf/relatedlinks/conablememoralfund.htm

Kent C. Boese