Universal Bibliographic Control of Publications in Nigeria: The Journey So Far

Accessibility and use of written, printed and published records have become more imperative then ever before. It is natural, under normal circumstances that librarians should be inclined to suppose that greater orderliness in the production of bibliographic services would meet the demands of readers especially researchers. This calls for a pattern of effective recording and arrangement which result from systematic listing of the records of human communication. Researches on bibliographic control are essentially descriptive. They involve compilation of a defined set of materials (books, manuscripts, maps, audio-visual materials, serial, etc) so that they may be described, analyzed, classified or codified. Individuals, institutions, nations, and international bodies have made several attempts and great efforts to list all that is written on the face of the earth. Associations, nations and international organizations have held conferences to explore means of effective bibliographic control. According to Linder (1959:105) “from about the middle of the 19th century to the time of the world war 1, there was a strong resurgences of interest in universal bibliography the universal catalogue or international bibliography”. After the world war 2 (1939-1945), Nigeria has made some concerted efforts towards this direction which will be discussed here