Five Decades of Nigerian University Library Buildings

Abstract

This paper discusses Nigerian university library buildings from 1948, when the first university institution was established, up to 1998. Through the use of a questionnaire, study visits to 12 of the 31 university libraries, interviews with library staff and review of the literature, it was found that all Nigerian university libraries started from temporary sites. While all five first generation universities had their first permanent library buildings erected within the first decade of their establishment, only five of the eight second generation universities have moved into their permanent library buildings after over 25 years of existence. Of the 15 third generation universities established in the 1980s, only five have erected and occupied their permanent buildings. Library buildings of the first generation universities were found to be very standard and grand in design while the same cannot be said of most of their second and third generation counterparts. For libraries with permanent structures, the designs were mostly modular. The paper recommends that library buildings be given priority in universities' physical development plans and that realistic library building standards be formulated with the co-operation of the National Universities Commission, the Nigerian Library Association and the Committee of University Librarians of Nigerian Universities (CULNU).