LIBRARY CO‐OPERATION WITH NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS

The article summarises the problems affecting newspaper collections management and the failure of library co‐operation with books in Nigerian libraries and proposes that the Federal Government creates a National Newspapers Project (NNP) which will set standards for the maintenance of the following bibliographic tools: newspaper directories, library lists of newspapers, state and national union lists of newspapers, indexing and indexes, and computerised data‐bases and also co‐ordinate and supervise newspaper acquisition, preservation, storage, joint research, joint publications, development of special collections, provision of reference facilities, inter‐library supply of photocopies and secondment of specialist staff. The NNP will augment its annual budgetary allocations with special grants from governments, foundations, firms, organisations and individuals. Finally, the article urges the Nigerian Library Association to persuade the Federal Government to create a National Newspapers Project.