Employ only certified librarians, council urges VCs

By Usman Shuaibu

The Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of Librarians Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN), Prof. Michael Afolabi, has called on the Vice-chancellors of the Universities and heads of the tertiary institutions in the country to employ only certified librarians.
Afolabi, made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to the Vice-Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Prof. Ignatius Akhakhia Onimawo.
He said: “This call became necessary considering the key roles that libraries play in the educational system. Books, journals, research materials in both audio and visual formats used in learning and teaching are preserved in the libraries.”
He noted that only qualified library and information science professionals could deliver services that would guarantee positive learning and teaching experience in the institutions.
He said the leadership of LRCN had written to the employers of labour in Nigeria to engage only librarians who had obtained the council’s certification.
The Registrar disclosed that the courtesy visit was colluded with the sensitization programme of the Library and Information Science Professionals in the South-South geo-political zone organized by the Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria in Edo state.
He said the purpose of sensitization programme was to bring the stakeholders together to brainstorm on the need to advance the librarianship in the nation, pointing out that stakeholders were briefed during the programme on the upcoming conference of LRCN in Ibadan on November, 2018.
Professor Afolabi, however, advised the participants of the upcoming event of LRCN in Ibadan to turn-up at the workshop.
Responding during the courtesy visit, the Vice-chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo state, Prof. Ignatius Akhakhia Onimawo, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-chancellor Administration, Prof. Jude Aigbe Agho, said an adequate strategy would put in place to ensure that all librarians within the system were certified.