The Effects of Economic Crisis on Libraries and Information Centers in Nigeria

Nigeria global economy has experienced a steep crisis that is affecting all sectors of Nigerian society. Nigeria officially entered a recession in May 2015 that made public spending cuts inevitable. Libraries are particularly vulnerable to changes in the world economy because of their reliance on highly-priced globally-sourced information products and dependence on expenditure allocations from parent institutions that are heavily dependent on public funding. An investigation of initial and anticipated effects of the crisis on libraries in Nigeria higher education was examined. Provision and Utilization of information resources and services are particularly indispensable to most Nigerian university students in view of its special importance. The provision of access and use of information resources and services to students is the functional role of the university library to make them independent and efficient in their search for materials to satisfy their information needs. However, the situation becomes worsened due to the economic crisis as a result mismanagement/mal administration or lack of interest of Nigeria leaders towards Library operation. Nigeria is a developing economy where the money for essential services is inadequate. Library development is affected by various economic conditions within the country. This serves the purpose for which the study was investigated, to determine how the economic crisis has affected library and information center development in Nigeria. The study uses documentary sources and observation to investigate its collection of facts