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The study aims to examine the information technology used in cataloguing in Nigerian academic libraries.

To elicit the necessary information, a four‐part questionnaire was sent to cataloguers in 33 Nigerian university libraries: 22 were returned and found usable, constituting a 66.7 per cent response.

Analysis of the returned questionnaire revealed that 16 federal universities and two state universities have automated their cataloguing processes using the TINLIB software, while two others use the LC and CD‐ROM database to aid the cataloguing. Automation of the cataloguing process has increased the efficiency of the cataloguing processes in the Nigerian university libraries, which in turn has resulted in increased productivity. The high cost of maintenance of the TINLIB software was identified as the major constraint to the use of the software. Other constraints include poor computer literacy on the part of the librarians, incessant power‐cuts and lack of infrastructures.

The study recommends that librarians be consulted before acquisition of software by the government, retraining of librarians in software use, acquisition and wider use of the X‐LIB software developed by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council Library, Abuja, Nigeria and provision of standby electricity generators solely for library use.

Offers recommendations to improve application of information technology to cataloguing activities in Nigerian university libraries.

Education is a strong pillar to national development. It is vital to ensure sustainable higher education development (SHED) in a bid to facilitate global development. This study aims to investigate academic libraries, information and communication technology (ICT) use and SHED.

Descriptive survey research design was used for this study. The population of the study was 607 librarians in the 41 public university libraries in Southern Nigeria. Total enumeration and purposive sampling techniques were used for this study. The instrument of data collection was questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used for the data analysis.

It was found that qualified teachers and promotion of scholarship constitute SHED. The extent of contribution of academic libraries to SHED is high. Academic libraries face a number of challenges in their effort to provide information services for the actualisation of the SHED. The extent of use of ICT in SHED is high. It was therefore recommended that academic libraries and ICT should be adequately used to accomplish SHED in Nigeria.

This study will contribute to the body of literature on how academic libraries and the use of ICT can contribute to SHED.

While SHED is central to global development, the role of academic libraries and the use of ICT should be unanimously embraced by all the stakeholders in education industry.

SHED is inevitable in the contemporary era. This study reveals that academic libraries and ICT use are vital in achieving SHED.

Preservation is an essential component of library management that requires special skills and competencies. This critical area seems to have been neglected by management of university libraries in Nigeria. This paper aims to examine threats to library information resources and contributions of skills of library personnel to preservation management in university libraries.

Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. This facilitated the collection of data from large population of respondents. Questionnaire and focus group discussion were used as data collection instruments.

Preservation management is one of the core areas of library practice that requires special skills. The study revealed that university libraries in Nigeria are confronted with threats to their information resources. The study found that human, conceptual and technical skills of library personnel significantly determine preservation management in university libraries in Southern Nigeria.

The paper will allow the management of university libraries to appreciate the importance of personnel skills as the key factor for effective preservation management in libraries and accord it the necessary priority.

While literature is replete with different aspects of preservation management in university libraries in Africa, little has been written on personnel skills and preservation management in libraries. The paper presents one of the few empirical studies that focus on the relationship between personnel skills and preservation management in university libraries in Nigeria and Africa.

The place of circulation among other library functions is discussed and it is asserted that the reader′s sole interest is the immediate satisfaction of his/her reading need. The problems of collection development in Nigeria are analysed and it is concluded that economic difficulties and certain government fiscal measures have combined to make it impossible for Nigerian university libraries to keep their collections up to date. It is argued that as economic conditions seem unlikely to improve, the librarian′s major concern should be to preserve existing stocks and ensure their continued availability for use.

This study aims to investigate the extent of adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in university libraries in Nigeria.

Postal survey was the instrument used for data collection. Almost 60 per cent of the University Librarians out of the 29 university libraries surveyed completed their questionnaires.

The results of the survey show that only six university libraries are fully “computerized”, nine are “about to be computerized”; seven of the surveyed libraries have installed local area networks, five have online public access catalogue and only four libraries provide internet service. The major obstacles that influence effective adoption of ICT in university libraries are inadequate funds and the poor state of electricity in Nigeria.

The federal government should increase the present level of funding of Nigerian university to improve the library development fund, which is the major source of funding available to university libraries. The poor state of electricity in Nigeria should also be improved by the federal government for sustainable adoption of ICT by university libraries.

The paper proposes that computer networking of university libraries is feasible and recommends the development of the Nigerian university libraries network and academic libraries network.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the present digitization projects in Nigerian university libraries and the challenges they pose to effective information delivery.

The research method employs both qualitative and quantitative methods. The questionnaire is the major instrument used for data collection, with observation as complimentary instrument. The respondents constitute 40 professional and para‐professional staffers drawn from both universities.

The results from the paper reveal that the libraries lack written policy on digitization, inadequate ICT infrastructures and manpower, fund, and inadequate government support. Users are not given user education/digital literacy to enable them adequately utilizing the available digitized resources and services, thus posing challenges to effective information delivery.

The paper will make for a more conscious effort in institutionalizing digital library services, formulation and implementation of digitization policies, introduction of user education/digital literacy programmes and conscious staff training programme on ICTs for university libraries in Nigeria.

Software has played a crucial role in the management of library operations. Nigerian university libraries are embarking on automation by adopting different library software but many fail due to the wrong selection of software and improper management of the automation project. The paper aims to examine the selection and use of KOHA software in two private Nigerian universities.

Purposive sampling was used to select 255 respondents made up of two systems librarians, eight heads of library units and 245 faculty. Data were collected through questionnaire, interview and observation.

KOHA was selected because of integration, ease of use, accessibility, flexibility and feasibility study was carried out. The software was not maximally used in both universities (RU: 49 percent, BU: 64.3 percent).

This paper investigates the factors used for selection of the software, level of use and challenges to its use. It is relevant to university libraries because it emphasises the need to carry out in‐depth feasibility study before the adoption of software to increase the effectiveness of their libraries.

In this digital age, students and researchers are less and less dependent on physical libraries. Any university library without internet connectivity is simply cut‐off from the rest of the world. Because they cannot provide quality and timely services to its users, neither can they communicate or share knowledge with others globally. The purpose of this study is to investigate the availability of internet connectivity in university libraries in Nigeria, and to bring to limelight their readiness to render quality services and communicate with the rest of the world.

The study covered the 104 universities in Nigeria made up of federal, state, and private universities. Out of the number, 86 university libraries responded to the survey. E‐mail and telephone interview methods were used to elicit data from the university librarians and senior library personnel.

The study revealed that despite the laudable directives from the National University Commission (NUC), many university libraries in Nigeria are still operating without internet connectivity. They are mostly the state‐owned and private university libraries. This may be why many programs in the universities are either suffering from partial or no accreditation from the NUC Accreditation Team. Many of the university librarians and senior library personnel interviewed mentioned lack of fund, absence of technical staff to maintain the networks, and lack of maintenance culture as some of the factors hindering internet connectivity.

The paper will help decision makers plan for installation of internet facilities in their libraries.

The paper calls for proactive effort by the library administrators to lobby for fund and the technical staff to enable their libraries get connected to the rest of the world.

The purpose of this paper is to report on research that examined the issues of e‐journal subscription, subscription models and the future of print version of journals in Nigerian universities.

A survey study was used to collect data from the selected 30 universities that covered the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The questionnaire contained questions that are pertinent to the issues being investigated. The 22 responses (73.3 percent) received were processed, analyzed and results presented.

The study reveals that Nigerian universities subscribe to e‐journals, i.e. full‐text journals. They employ acceptable models for subscriptions, however, they use consortium more than any other model. Most libraries want to retain print format.

While the study is limited to 22 university libraries, it has applications to similar universities across Nigeria, be they public or private.

This research provides information on the status of subscription to e‐journals in Nigerian libraries methods, and policy issues. The data and findings may help provide ways to manage e‐journals better in Nigerian libraries to serve user needs.

At the time of the completion of this study no such work had been done before in Nigeria.

This study aims to examine the present trend of academic libraries consortia and the likely ways to improve on the development of consortia in Nigeria.

The study adopted the descriptive survey method. It covers four selected academic libraries in the north and eastern parts of Nigeria. A questionnaire entitled “Library Consortia in Nigerian Universities Questionnaire (LCNUQ)” was designed to collect data for the study.

The study revealed that academic libraries in Nigeria have not fully embraced library consortia, as only two out of the four academic libraries surveyed have functioning library consortia. The paper shows that none of the libraries surveyed have collection development policies on e-resources, as well as union catalogues and interlibrary networking. It also reveals some likely ways of improving library consortia to include: jointly budgeting, increased funding and collective and compulsory development of interlibrary networking and union catalogues among university libraries within the country.

The study will encourage librarians and library management in developing countries to embrace and facilitate the development of library consortia.

The paper reveals the present trend of library consortia in Nigeria. Therefore, the findings may be of help to librarians, university administrators and government to build and improve on the development of library consortia in Nigeria and other developing countries.