By Ovat Abeng
The reappointment of Prof. Chinwe Veronica Anunobi as National Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of the National Library of Nigeria has been described as a strategic move to consolidate ongoing reforms in the nation’s knowledge sector.
Prof. Anunobi, a Professor of Library and Information Science and former Deputy University Librarian at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, was first appointed in September 2021. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has now renewed her tenure for a final five-year term.
In the last three years, under her 8-Point Agenda, the National Library has recorded significant progress in digitization, automation, and public access. Over 6,000 weak materials have been digitized and uploaded to the National Repository of Nigeria. The Virtual Library platform was also launched, providing access to 23 open-access journals and 432 monographs.
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Other achievements include the automation of library operations with Koha software, now cataloguing 69,812 volumes, the automation of ISBN application and verification, and the development of a Newspaper and Magazine Locator covering 62 titles in 28 branches.
To expand access, the NLN reached 104 hard-to-reach communities through its Readership Promotion Campaign, established 102 literacy centers, and recorded over 615,000 user footfalls between 2022 and 2024.
Infrastructure upgrades were carried out in branches in Kwara, Niger, Sokoto, and Calabar, with a prototype completed in Bayelsa. Starlink internet was also deployed to Lagos, Kaduna, and Abuja branches.
Globally, Prof. Anunobi serves as 2nd Vice-Chair of CDNL, Chairperson of UNESCO’s IFAP in Nigeria, and was recently elected to the Governing Board of the ISSN International Centre.
The Coalition of Young Nigerian Librarians said the renewal would ensure stability for key projects including the National Repository and the new National Library Headquarters in Abuja.
