By Meletus EZE
The Principal Librarian, Kwara Library, Mrs Qudirat Muritala, has called for installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) to reduce theft in Nigerian libraries.
Muritala made the call on Thursday in Ilorin while speaking that there were library users who were fond of removing useful pages from books inside the reading rooms.
”Such users are too desperate to steal library materials; they only come to steal and not to research.
”That is why we need to upgrade security measures to monitor users activities inside the library.
” Strategic placement of cameras is needed urgently to monitor users’ movement.
”CCTV and security code machine is needed to save Nigerian libraries from becoming empty due to consistent theft of books,” she said.
The Librarian advised users to desist from stealing library materials for the sake of future researchers.
She called on government at all levels to stock their libraries with current collections in order to meet up with global standards of research.
Muritala, however, advised governments to invest in automated library as the world had become a global village.
” We need to copy from advanced countries by investing on e-library; it will make things much easier and perfect for us as a nation.
”Education is key and deserves special attention,” she said.
