Emma Elekwa
Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr. Law Mefor, has charged librarians in the state to retool, reskill and upskill to remain relevant in the fast-changing world of work driven by Artificial Intelligence and digital innovation.
Mefor gave the charge at the Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Library Association (NLA), Anambra State Chapter, held at the Kenneth Dike Library, Awka, themed: “Retooling Libraries and Librarians for Enhanced Services, Including Teaching, Learning, Research and Development.”
He said the future of work is changing dramatically and those who are not tech and innovation-savvy will have no happy place in the next 10 years, adding that “libraries must move from mere book depositories to dynamic learning commons and digital hubs, as reading culture has shifted from hard copies to shorter, soft copies.”
The Commissioner said Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo has a strong bias for education with massive investments that are yielding results, citing the recent Presidential Teachers’ Award where Anambra won nine out of 18 awards nationwide. He assured that the Governor, being a teacher himself, will not drop the ball on library development.
On the requests by the chapter, Mefor assured that government will provide office space for the association, either within the library complex or at the Ministry of Information, and urged the Exco to meet with him for immediate action. He also approved free use of Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) for a 30-minute children’s programme.
Earlier, the NLA State Chairperson, Dr. Ndidi Grace Nwankwo, had appealed for support to acquire a chapter bus and a secretariat in Awka, lamenting that over 300 members currently operate without an office, archive or means of mobilisation.
The Chairman of the occasion, Engr. Barr. Ndubuisi Fidelis Nwokporo, in his remarks, prayed for the success of the conference and urged members to sustain collective effort to grow the association from strength to strength.
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