NATIONAL LIBRARY OF NIGERIA AT 30 - ITS HISTORY AND PROSPECTS FOR THEFUTURE

A record of efforts of setting up a national library forms part of the general information on the development of libraries in any country. T he Ford Foundation, the Nigerian Library Association, and the 1959 lib rary advisory committee of the West African Library Association, Niger ia's pre-independence federal parliament and government made varying c ontributions to the establishment of the National Library of Nigeria. Three decades after the establishment of the Library, its operations, personnel, working facilities, status as government parastatal, annual budget allocation, management patterns, and statutory instruments hav e improved or changed. Whereas the cardinal objective for establishing the library remains dynamic in view of the influence of new media tec hnologies or modern library services, this study captures the emerging historical trends, examines salient problems of the Library, and proj ects into its future. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.