Lagos — The National Virtual Library is now on and running, and available for the use of Nigerian universities. Performing the launching at the premises of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja, last Thursday, the Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, commended the NUC for according the Virtual Library project an unwavering support.

Ezekwesili, who was represented by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Sayyadi Abba Ruma, said, "The (purpose-built) facility in its take-off form, has over 1.3 million international collections with rich archival resources and valuable documents, as well as 1, 200 locally published journals with 10, 500 high quality journal artless published by Nigerian scholars and which should be of great interest to all users."

She also stressed that the library deserved the support of all stakeholders, especially local and international donor agencies. "The needed support is not only critical"', she said, "but a sine qua non for the sustainability and consolidation of the modest achievement recorded so far."

The Minister also charged the Board and Management of NUC to ensure that the library, which they have worked so hard to actualise remains active, focused on serving Nigerian educational institutions and research institutes remains the pride of the nation which it is intended to be and offers qualitative digital resources for the development of Nigerian an the African continent as a whole."

Chairman of the NUC Board, Chief Abiola Ayimonche remarked that the launch "marked the end of death and the beginning of life." According to her, "life everlasting is knowledge. When you have knowledge, you cannot die. We should all seek it." While acknowledging that the library should have been the operational a long time ago, considering the pace at which the rest of the world is moving in terms of ICT, Mrs. Ayimonche said it was never too late. She therefore called for "more funding to put the library properly on its feet."

Immediate past Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Peter Okebukola, who demonstrated how the library functions, shortly before handing over to his successor, Prof. Julius Okojie, said the project was one of several strategies devised to bolster the quality of teaching, learning and research in Nigerian educational system.

The library was designed to be implemented in three phases. The first, where it is now, will involve all Nigerian universities. The second phase (medium term) is expected to cover the Colleges of Education and Polytechnics, while the third or long term phase will address the needs of libraries at other levels of the educational system, as well as public libraries.

As its name implies, the delivery of the library is basically through the Internet, CD ROM and Wide Area Network (WAN) while the contents include books, journals, theses, databases, maps, photo and video, as well as periodicals. The user enjoys the benefit of accessing library resources in a distant library without any physical movement. More information about how it works can be obtained at www.nigerianvirtuallibrary.com although a user name and password is needed to gain full access.

Okebukola thanked the federal government and the Education Trust Fund for the support that saw the project to its present state.

Amongst the dignitaries that attended the launch was Nigeria's Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Prof. Michael Omolewa, whom Okebukola thanked for his support for and commitment to education in general and the work of the NUC in partcular.