National Library rolls out strategies to improve’ reading culture

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

National Library of Nigeria (NLN) has identified key areas of focus to improve the reading culture of Nigerians.
National Librarian, Prof. Lenrie Aina, who spoke in Abuja on the National Readership Promotion Campaign scheduled for next month, said “a lot of hidden treasures are in books but it would take one who is studious to unravel them and be better off among contemporaries.”
He said the NLN has mapped out strategies to continuously work with interested private and public stakeholders to build and equip physical and e-libraries in Nigeria, in addition to maintaining and updating the existing ones.
He said other strategies to be adopted for the campaign would include erecting billboards in places with messages that would encourage reading, in addition to conferences on reading-related activities as well as inter/intra-school reading competitions.
He added that parents would be encouraged to inculcate and support the culture of reading in their children, as that would help them gain expanded knowledge.
While thanking government and private individuals for their support, Aina listed the challenges of the NLN to include poor budgetary provisions, limited power for libraries to engage school children in reading promotion activities, unavailability of reading materials, absence of well-designed reading activities in schools and homes, shortage of trained staff to monitor reading programmes and ineffective evaluation of previous readership promotion campaigns.

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