Looking Back. Looking Ahead.
As we enter a new year, unsure of what it holds in store for us, I feel it is a good time to reflect on the past year and what we achieved.
2021 was a very difficult year for us as we grappled with the constricting effect of the pandemic. Our community library and offices remained closed during the first quarter of the year, this resulted in our cancelling our plans to establish libraries in more correctional centres across the country. We were however delighted to be able to reopen our community library in April, giving patrons the opportunity to meet in-person once more after over a year away.
We have always wanted to provide relevant resources and services at our community library and are pleased to have been able to enrich its collection with the addition of 2,289,653 digital resources from JSTOR and 151,000 from Research4Life. We are most grateful to both institutions for their generosity.
After extensive consultations in 2020 we concluded that we needed to phase out our previous work of establishing libraries in local government primary schools and serve a different demographic. Our efforts last year were consequently focused on developing a robust online library that would support the new direction of our work - the provision of free access to digital resources through which young Nigerians, particularly those attending public universities, may obtain information and learning tools to acquire knowledge and thrive in their studies and future careers. This shift to creating a significant online library catering primarily to public university students was concluded during the year.
Our new website housing the library went live in November with a collection of more than 300,000 books, journals, learning materials and other useful information. The impressive number of students that signed up to use the library by the end of the year showed just how needed an online library is.
We are delighted to have been recognised in the course of the year as an ‘education builder in Anambra State’ by the state government for the libraries we established in schools and correctional centres there.
Looking Ahead
We enter 2022 full of optimism. More than ever before our country needs thought leaders and change makers and we feel that we are poised to connect with the next generation and provide them with free access to an outstanding suite of learning tools, resources and information that will permit the realisation of their potential.
The continued presence of COVID-19 means that we will remain cautious and will not establish libraries in correctional centres this year until we believe it is safe to do so.
Our online library and its resources are important assets for anyone looking to acquire knowledge. Students in particular stand to benefit enormously from it. We will build on what we have so that we are able to offer much more to our users as we seek to establish a Nigerian population that strives for academic excellence and recognizes the value of self-driven learning.
I invite you to spare a little time to browse our website, download books and journals from our library and explore its many other resources.
Ifeoma Esiri,
Chair,
Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries
