Library Automation Projects In Nigerian Private Universities: The Case Of Igbinedion University, Okada

Igbinedion University, Okada is the first licensed private university in Nigeria. It was born out of the dream of Chief (Sir) Dr. Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, the Esama of Benin kingdom, to bequeath to future generations of Nigerians, university education of international standard, where academic calendar is fully run without interruption. Efforts by the University library to fit into the world of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was met by a lot of challenges, the greatest of which is unavailability of fund. This paper reported the automation effort of Igbinedion university library, Okada, highlighting the various challenges that impede on the actualization of a full automated library system. Among the challenges identified are: Unavailability of fund, erratic power supply, inadequate professional librarians to execute the project, lack of Local Area Network (LAN), choice of software and absence of Maintenance and Support Agreement. Recommendations that will enable the library overcome the challenges were made. It is concluded that, library automation at Igbinedion University library, Okada, is still in its infancy. The University management should as a matter of urgency provide fund to compliment the effort of Chief Achike Udenwa for a full automated library system to be in place. Keywords: Library Automation; Igbinedion University, Okada; Automated Library System The Information Technologist Vol. 5 (2) 2008: pp. 19-2