WIZLIBRARIAN

Many a time, graduates of library and information science (LIS) complain of a lack of employment opportunities. Sometimes, they even criticize other non-LIS graduates for taking up their jobs in the library. This trend may not be limited to only librarianship. What this implies is that every tree that bears fruit would not escape stoning. However, our trained graduates deserve better. But, my dear graduate of LIS, nobody will bring an employment letter to your doorstep. You have to go out and get it or even fight for it. Ask those who are employed in libraries, and they will tell you about three or four of their colleagues who have resigned, and whose positions were not filled. Therefore, there are vacancies in libraries. But they get filled by anointed candidates. Anointed candidates are people with strong connections, such as the son of the vice-chancellor, cousin of the registrar, or acquaintance of the principal officers. Even politicians send people who will be employed in the lib

    In library schools, some life and research skills are taught, and these skills are only taught in library schools. However, later in life, we tend to forget, underrate, and neglect these skills, focusing solely on the library's official routines.   Beyond the official library work, librarians can earn extra income by engaging in profitable activities such as indexing and abstracting, consultancy services, operating a bookshop, printing, photocopying, lamination services, and running a general business center. Other opportunities include publishing, proofreading, research assistance, organizing workshops and seminars on research writing skills, establishing private libraries, blogging, vlogging, and more.   As a librarian, you are a certified indexer and abstractor, having learned these skills in library school. Sharpen your skills and commercialize them. Leverage information and communication technology (ICT) to work smarter and produce excellent results within a few ho

 Library rules and regulations could be one of the impediments to the use of its resources. Students are concerned about the limitations they experience due to stringent library rules and regulations.  In the 21st century, libraries have competitors in ICT tools. It's high time library professionals revisited the archaic rules that prevent users from maximizing the potential benefits offered by libraries. One such rule is the prohibition of eating and drinking in the library. Reading is a mental exercise that drains and dehydrates library users during the process of studying.  Therefore, users need to stay hydrated to sustain concentration while reading. But in a situation where library users travel the extra mile to drink water, this obstructs the flow of information and truncates comprehension. Though Western libraries provide water dispensers within the library and sometimes coffee corners and microwaves, among other gadgets to ease light consumption, concentration, mental stabi

  If money were not a problem, would you still choose to remain a librarian? Often, we complain about people's attitudes towards librarianship. We lament how the parent institution neglects its role towards the library. We complain about how university management only remembers the library during NUC accreditation. We lament how library apathy grows among users. But have we stopped and asked ourselves how much passion we put into our work? Librarianship is a caregiver profession where we prioritize the information needs of our clients. We are expected to give our best to satisfy our users. And in extreme cases where the information cannot be met, we refer them to knowledgeable individuals and follow up on it. Do you do all this with your patrons? How strong is your passion for librarianship? How many books do you complete in a month? Librarians are living polymaths who know something about everything. This is not magic; to achieve this, you have to be a bibliophile and a habitual r

The place of the library in the university environment is now being discussed due to concerns about the low quality of university graduates, research output, and the lack of critical thinking among scholars, as well as the loss of philosophy in PhD programs.  The key responsibility of the library is to provide, disseminate, and preserve scholarly information in the university environment.  In the 21st century, library services have evolved beyond their physical space to cater to the needs of the "Z" generation, who live in a digital world. Libraries provide access to digital resources around the world through institutional repositories, subscribed electronic databases, and aggregator search engines.  Academic libraries have invested significant resources to meet users' needs, but some scholars, professors, and undergraduates still question the relevance of the university library in their pursuit of career development, promotion, and academic success. The library is a jewe