Provision of sustainable development goals (SDG) information to Nigeria citizens through a collaborative approach: a proposal

Abstract

With the adoption of the new 17 SMART Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), access to government information becomes essential towards the actualization of the goals. This view has been corroborated by IFLA at its 2015 Cape Town Declaration. In Nigeria, the drastic reduction in the revenue accruable to the government following the sharp decline in the price of crude oil and the impact of same on the nation’s economy have made it imperative for citizens to insists on transparency and accountability in the activities of the government. Otherwise, the SDGs may end up like the much-talked-about MDGs whose records were unimpressive despite the oil boom of the era. Meanwhile, public libraries could serve as channel to provide government information to the public but for lack of the needed technical skills by its ‘managers’. Hence, the justification for considering how public libraries in Nigeria could provide access to the government information for its clienteles. The study employed the use of existing literature, international binding documents, observation as well as the wealth of experience of the researchers and their interactions with public librarians in arriving at the findings therein. It is recommended that the scope of the curricular of library schools in Nigeria be broadened to include the mandatory teaching of management of government information to budding librarians. Also, there should be collaborations between public and law librarians through observance of sabbatical leave; combined multi-disciplinary studies and the creation of endowment chairs, fellowships and exchange programs at public libraries for law librarians. Finally, while the collaborations would help provide more access to government information by the citizenry, law librarians would through their collaborations with public librarians, also learn and devise better skills on how to render more satisfactory services to their clienteles.

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