World Library Day: We treasure library resources to keep abreast with current information, trends and international best practice — NCC

By Eyo Nsima

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO), Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, has disclosed that the Commission treasures library resources to keep abreast with current information, trends, and international best practice.

Speaking Wednesday, June 23, 2021, when the Commission joined the rest of the world to celebrate the 2021 Library Day with the theme: “Welcome to Your Library.”, he also said that it was the first ‘Library Day’ celebration holding since the establishment of the Commission’s library in 2003.

He said as an administrator and a professor with many years of experience in academia, he fully appreciates the role of a modern library in enabling research and new knowledge for organizational success.

He added that the NCC’s library was established to provide the necessary literature and knowledge materials to facilitate access to learning and dissemination of information.

“The NCC library is 18 years now and it is a cutting-edge repository of knowledge and information with over 1,000 technical books in hard and soft copies aside from other materials serving both internal and external stakeholders.”

“It is a reflection of who we are, where we are and the library stock is an indication of the diverse areas of specialization, expertise and operations of the Commission,” the EVC said.

While pointing out that various efforts have been made, over the years, to reposition the library to meet international standard, Danbatta noted that remarkable improvements have been made in uplifting the standard of the library not only in stocking it with the latest useful books but also in terms of automation for easier accessibility.

“The NCC has leveraged the power of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide the electronic section to enhance the library information system by migrating from analog to digital, thereby enabling access to remote databases electronically. It is a learning resource that has varieties, currency, quality, and content of the stock,” he added.

He emphasized the need to reinvigorate the passion for learning, which he said, will lead to new and better ways of doing things as well as better collaborations in carrying out assigned responsibilities.

Danbatta noted that the library is critical to realizing his dream of sustaining the culture of the Nigerian Communications Commission is a respected learning organization with best-in-class employees.

The Library Day celebration promotes the idea that libraries extend far beyond the four walls of a building and that everyone is welcome to use their services.

At the event, goodwill messages were received from the President, Nigerian Library Association (NLA), Prof. Innocent Isa Ekoja, represented by the NLA’s National Secretary, Omoh Atesenokhai, and a representative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Isaac Olubisi Ajibola.