Speaker
Description
Johnson, P. A. O.
Federal University of Education, Kontagora
olumide.akanmidu@gmail.com
Track: Digital Transformation in Higher Education
Academic Libraries in Nigeria stand at a critical crossroads in the evolution from traditional book repositories to dynamic digital knowledge hubs. This empirical paper examines the prospects and challenges of bridging the digital devide within Nigerian academic libraries, drawing on evidences from recent studies conducted between 2023 and 2026. The analysis reveals that while digital technologies have transformed library services through Online Public Access Catalogues (OPAC), Digital Repositories and Electronic Information Resources, Yet, significant barriers still persists. For an instance, In Nigeria, epileptic power-supply remains the most serve threat to digital libraries sustainability in the country. Followed by inadequate internet bandwidth, frequent equipment breakdowns, limited digital literacy skills and academic integrity among the library users. Nonetheless, promising developments including the emergence of solar-powered digital libraries are in the heat "as a boon" to the society, growing adoption of open educational formats to facilitate fast learning and teaching, targeted information literacy programmes, have given us the seemed lost glory of the digital sustainable in the country. Therefore, the paper concluded that Nigerian academic libraries are uniquely positioned to facilitate digital inclusion across the Three critical dimensions: Digital Acceptance, Digital Literacy Information and Digital Accessibility. However, achieving this potential requires, Coordinated investment in infrastructure, skills development and sustainable funding. The funding have the implications for policymakers, University Administrator and library professionals seeking to navigate the complexities of digital transformation in a resource-constrained environments.
Keywords: Academic Libraries, Digital Divide, Digital Information Literacy, Nigeria.