Library Consortia in Nigeria and the Place of ICT

Abstract

Library Consortia implies the coming together of two or more libraries in a formal agreement to share their resources. The essence is that no library can boast of acquiring all the published literature in the world to render effective and efficient services for their users. Islam (2013) cited Manan (1998) and explained that libraries have been cooperating and collaborating on collection building for many years, he further stressed that the aim of library consortia is to maximize the availability of and access to information and service at a minimum cost, consortia enables the participating libraries to leverage shrinking budget, learn from each others, build better tools together and serve their users better by taking advantage of one another’s collection (Borek, 2006). Obaro (2013) opines that resources sharing or Library consortia is a vital practice in every library especially academic libraries, this is as a result of the fact that no library can boast of self sufficiency; also knowledge has continued to grow over the years due to the high rate at which researches are conducted and their findings published for the purpose of educating people. Knowledge is growing at a geometric progression. The need for access to information to support academic activities in institution is so high that a single library cannot afford it due to finance, manpower, and space. As a consequence of the perception of this situation, libraries started organizing networks and consortia with the aim of resource sharing. Collaborative efforts among and between libraries have been documented as far back as the late 19th century.