Yaba e-library: More than books and literacy

Residents of the Yaba area of Lagos  now have an opportunity to use a modern library, with the recent inauguration of an e-library by the Lagos State Government.

But a lot of the materials there have the potential to attract more than readers and researchers from other parts of the state and beyond.

They include a copy of the Holy Bible described as one of the oldest in the country, an art gallery suitable for exhibitions, a reading session called the Herbert Macaulay Collections and the Code Lagos Centre, which is a hub of an IT empowerment initiative by the government.

Speaking at the unveiling of the library, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode  expressed the hope that it would increase access to all materials that would boost literacy, reading culture and ICT compliance in the state.

While the facility was formally known as the Federal Ministry of Education School Library, Yaba, it was upgraded by the state government in partnership with Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.

The governor noted that the administration was investing in all aspects of education because it believed that it had the key to development.

He said,  “We are returning this library to the public today. It is for the use of scholars, academics, non-academics, all and sundry.”

Also, the Managing Director, GTBank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, expressed delight at the success of the collaboration.

“The library, which is one of the oldest in the country, was renamed Herbert Macaulay Library by Alhaji Lateef Jakande in honour of the great nationalist for his good leadership in Nigeria. With this e-library, we hope it will mould great and future nationalists who will be change agents in the society,” Agbaje said.

The government had closed down the library in June 2016, with  the Special Adviser to Governor Ambode on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh, saying the Adopt-A-Library initiative if followed fell under a tripod pillar of Access to Knowledge.

This also includes Project 350, a private-sector driven initiative to build libraries and ICT centres in secondary schools across the state.