Nigerian university libraries and the challenges of users’ service demands in the 21st Century: what university administrators should know

Abstract

The article focuses on the challenges facing Nigerian university libraries in meeting users service demands in the 21stcentury and the role of university administrators in assisting them in this regard. It identifies these challenges as non-application of technology to service delivery, increase in student intake with its attendant effect on the available limited resources, inefficient reference service, and competition from other service providers. The article recommends amongst others that knowledge and application of technology in service delivery in libraries is unavoidable in this century, quality service delivery in terms of selection and acquisition of appropriate materials should not be taken lightly, knowledge of human beings and human relationship is important, especially in reference service, library user education should be undertaken by library staff, staff training should be a continuous exercise, and university libraries should transform themselves into one-stop shopping centres for all information retrievals in the face of competition. The article concludes with lessons for Nigerian university administrators and advises that the administrators should fund the university libraries adequately and allow the university librarians to administer the fund without undue interference.