The Chief Executive Officer, National Library of Nigeria (NLN), Prof. Chinwe Veronica Anunobi, has expressed worry over lack of compliance with its legal deposit obligation.
She spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a sensitisation workshop on legal deposit and international numbers utilisation with the theme, “Bibliographic Control in Information Resources Publishing in Nigeria.”
Quoting section four of the NLN Act 1970, she said at least three perfect copies of every publication from Nigeria or about Nigeria should be deposited.
“While the documentation of this history makes it possible for a society to trace its roots, it becomes easier to access and utilise the history for the diverse needs of the people if that history is collated and preserved in one central location.
“From our statistics, we collected a total number of 8,051titles in 2021, and in 2022 we collected 5,504 titles. You will agree with me that this cannot be the total number of publications emanating from Nigeria in the years under reference. There are still some that are yet to be deposited,” she said.
She urged authors and publishers, including ministries and agencies, to comply with the NLN deposit obligation.
