Improving Service Delivery for Information Gatekeepers: Report of a Workshop at the World Bank in Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose

To present a report on a one‐day workshop entitled “Improving Service Delivery for Information Gatekeepers” held in the World Bank office, 21 December 2004 for participants drawn from selected Ministries and Government parastatals. The World Bank convened the workshop to sensitize the Information Gatekeepers on the expectations of the public; encourage them to sit together, identify knowledge gaps, discuss the issues on ground and map out strategies to meet the challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper combines narrative with some analysis and opinions of the discussion.

Findings

Presently, the ability of Information Gatekeepers to respond to requests when Nigeria’s Freedom of Information (FOI) bill becomes an act of parliament, is largely uncertain. The writer opines that about 50 percent of Information Gatekeepers in Nigeria’s Judicial system have no direct access to a computer, 65 percent have little direct or indirect interaction with the internet, while nearly 85 percent had not been following progress on the FOI bill.

Practical implications

It was mooted that the next steps to follow would be to scale up the workshop and incorporate Information professionals in other government ministries as well as members of the academic/university circuit.

Originality/value

This paper is of interest to library and information management professionals.

Citation

Chukwuemeka Onyekatu, C. (2005), "Improving Service Delivery for Information Gatekeepers: Report of a Workshop at the World Bank in Nigeria", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 16-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/07419050510593344