Disaster preparedness at the state public library, Ilorin, Kwara state, Nigeria.
Issa, Abdulwahab Olanrewaju ; Aliyu, Mulikat Bola ; Adedeji, Adegboyega Francis 等
Introduction
There are many kind of libraries for different purpose. Unlike the
other types of libraries that are meant for specific group of users,
public libraries are not restricted to any group of users. They are more
or less a universal library; as some perceive them as the "poor
people's university"; expected to serve all kinds of people
including young children, the physically challenged and those who, for
one reason or the other, are incapacitated, such as the hospital
patients and the prisoners. Public libraries serve the general needs of
cities, towns, villages and some larger areas and are saddled with the
responsibilities of serving the entire group of users of a community
where they are located, regardless of age, sex, religion, complexion and
profession.
When the librarian accepts holdings into his repository, it implies
taking the responsibility for their custody. All this may be
jeopardized, if the library is damaged or lost as a result of a
disaster. Viewed from the point of view of the library, a disaster can
be anything or event which directly or indirectly affects the normal
administration of the library i. e. the disruption of services to
readers on either a short-time or a long-time basis. This is different
from the normal nature of events that are termed or described as
disasters. Natural events like earthquakes, flood, and volcanic eruption
are termed disaster because of the effects they have on human beings as
well as their normal way of occurrence. Also, man-made events like fire,
acts of war and terrorism, structural (building) deficiencies and
chemical spills are termed disaster; because of their effects on
materials and properties of the library. However, criminal acts, like
book theft and mutilation are also termed as physical disasters.
It can be argued that the classification of disasters into natural
and man-made has very little importance for the identification of what
actually is a disaster. Thus, an event becomes a disaster, only when man
and the environment he has created or lived in, are affected; whereby
the environment can be a nation, community, business organization,
office, museum, or library. The moment these settings are disturbed and
normal services are disrupted, the situation can be termed as a
disaster. Hence, a disaster as an unexpected consequences to the
holdings or materials in the custody of the librarians stressing that it
can be a small-scale incident or a full-blown emergency; even though in
both cases, the event or situation requires prompt action to limit
damages.
Alegbeleye (1993) defined disaster as an event that "results
in the sudden removal of records and documents from accessibility and
use"; stating further that the disaster can be regarded as an
occurrence that temporarily or permanently render information contained
in document inaccessible. A disaster can be seen as an overwhelming
ecological disruption occurring on scale sufficient to require outside
assistance. Indeed, disasters are exceptional events which suddenly kill
or injure large number of people and damage properties. Looking at
disaster in a generic information management context, it can be viewed
as any incident which threatens human safety; and/or damages or
threatens to damage a library's buildings collection (or items
therein), equipment and system.
There are varied causes and for that matter classification of
disaster. Alegbeleye (1993) agreed that the simplest and most common are
the grouping into natural and man-made categories. They stated further
that natural disasters are happenings, over which man has very little or
no control and are generally initiated by such events as floods,
earthquakes, storms, cyclones and hurricanes; among others. Man-induced
disasters include war-time destruction, bombings, rioting, malicious
vandalism, arson, negligence, power surges and failures. Irrespective of
sources of disasters, the destruction and devastation they cause or
threaten to cause to library resources and the provision of library
services remain a critical factor in the management of libraries.
Alegbeleye (1993) also mentioned two commonly recurring causes of
library disasters to include floods and fires. Anderson and McIntyre
(1985) however added vandalism, theft, earthquake, insect infection and
the effect of light and temperature to the list of causes of disasters
in libraries. Ngulube (2005) noted that although humankind tend to
associate the term 'disaster' with devastating floods,
hurricanes, earthquakes and other catastrophes, risks and hazards to
documentary materials, which include insects and rodents, mould and
humidity, tornadoes, forest fire, volcanic eruption etc. can occur
anytime without notice.
Meanwhile, a disaster plan, according to Lyall (1993), is a
document which describes the procedures devised to prevent and prepare
for disasters, and those proposed to respond to and recover from
disasters when they occur. The responsibility for performing these tasks
is allocated to various staff members who comprise 'the disaster
team'. The plan should be comprehensive enough to consist several
independent yet interrelated smaller plans, recognizing that every
disaster has three phases; before, during and after. A number of plans
is required to cope with each of the phases namely: 'before
phase', should encompass two types of plan viz: preventive and
preparedness; implying everyday routine operations. Whereas preventive
plans recommend actions to prevent most disasters; such as the repair of
leaking roofs, the improvement of maintenance and the upgrading of
security, preparedness plans aimed at ensuring that identified disasters
can be managed recommending actions such as the identification of
important items in the collection, the purchase of plastic sheeting, the
provision of freezing facilities and the training of staff to enable
them to respond to different disasters. The 'during phase'
requires a response to the disaster; the effectiveness of which is
hinged on the thoroughness of the preparedness plan. The 'after
phase' is where the recovery plans are implemented; though not in
details; given the unique nature of every disaster.
In each of the preventive, preparedness, response and recovery
plans, priority attention should be given to possible areas to be
affected by the disaster. These areas are:
1. personnel including staff, users and visitors
2. collections and records including all categories of archival
records, serials, monographs, manuscripts, maps, sound recordings,
computer discs, optical and video discs, pictorial materials, and their
related catalogues.
3. It is also important to consider the protection of the
institution's vital records. These are usually considered to be
those records without which the institution could not operate. All legal
documents, essential files and financial records are included in this
category
4. building and equipment including equipment, vehicles, air
conditioning plant, plumbing, electrical services and computers (Lyall,
1993).
The desired that the plan be prepared by a team and not an
individual is due to the fact that such a plan must naturally apply to
the building and all its contents, including people, collections,
records and equipment. Thus, preparing the plan involves five main steps
viz:
1. conducting a risk analysis
2. identification of existing preventive and preparedness
procedures
3. making recommendations to implement additional preventive and
preparedness procedures
4. allocating responsibilities
5. devising procedures to respond to and recover from disasters
(Lyall, 1993).
On their part, Newey, Lepschi & Croft (2008) identified the
objectives of the disaster plan as including to:
1. minimise damage to the collections;
2. recover and repair any damaged collection materials; and
3. return the library and archival services to normal.
These objectives are facilitated by the plan through provision of a
framework and guidelines for the following:
1. rapid and effective response to an emergency;
2. good communication;
3. ensuring staff are well trained;
4. ensuring appropriate equipment and materials are available; and
5. enabling assistance from outside organisations. Historical
Background of Kwara State Public Library, Ilorin
After the creation of Kwara State along with others in 1967, the
need for a public library service in it became pressing. The Northern
regional library, Kaduna was decentralized for the new States to
establish their own. The area court building was chosen as a suitable
place that could accommodate the new library, before it moved to its
location in October 1967. Apart from the inherited library materials
from the defunct northern region, a total sum of 300 pounds was released
to the Interim Administrative Council to purchase more books for the
library. On 1 April 1968, the Kwara State Library commenced services to
the public after which it was realized that the borrowed building was
quite unsuitable due to its closeness to the central market. The problem
of accommodation persisted for two decades during which the library
moved from one building to the other. The lack of a befitting
infrastructure was a setback to the library and frantic efforts were
made by many to secure a suitable and permanent building for the
library. In November 1987, the then military Governor, Lt. Col. Ahmed
Abdullahi laid the foundation of a purposefully-built library where it
presently occupies. The completed building was commissioned by the then
military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida on 21st November 1990.
Between 1990 and 2001, the teeming reading population in the State made
use of the library. Within a decade and half, the building got
dilapidated, its stock became out-dated and irrelevant to the
information needs of users. On assumption of duty as Governor, Dr.
Bukola Saraki visited the dilapidated library and promised it a
face-lift. Renovation started on 23rd November, 2005. The transformed
library building was commissioned and put back to use 1st July 2006
(Kwara State Library Handbook, 2006). Like other libraries, it comprises
the Administrative, Technical Services and Reader Services,
Acquisitions, Cataloguing/Classification, Circulation, Reference,
Automation, Children and Serials divisions as well as an Internet cafe.
Electronic resources are available through dedicated websites for the
library while it uses ALICE for windows for its automation and an
electronic device system for the security of its collection. The library
was established primarily to serve as local center of information that
will make all kinds of knowledge and information readily available to
its numerous users irrespective of their age, sex, race, religion,
nationality, language or social status. However, there is no total claim
to it that the library has fulfilled these service provision obligations
to its numerous patrons.
Statement of the Problem
Many archives and libraries fail to recognize the vulnerability of
their collections to loss. Collections can be threatened not just by
theft and vandalism, but by disasters such as fire, flood, tornado,
hurricane and earthquake as well as damage from careless handling or
poor environmental conditions. Thus, any repository seeking to provide
the best possible security for its collections must put in place
coordinated policies that address all of these threats. Providing the
best protection for building and collections from the most common causes
of loss is a basic principle of preventive maintenance. Public libraries
experienced difficulty in building good, adequate and relevant materials
even in the best of economic climes. The issue of disaster management
cannot be more relevant in our libraries, especially the public
libraries, than now; that their budgetary allocations have dwindled
substantially in the face of the global economic turn-down. Thus, it has
been observed that many libraries in Nigeria, especially the public
libraries, have little or no regards for disaster preparedness. Despite
the fact that these libraries recognized the need to protect their
holdings, it is assumed that proper measures are not in place against
such occurrence, which could serve to ameliorate the devastating
consequences of disasters. This study therefore investigated the causes
and management of both man-made and natural disasters that could
threaten the preservation of the library collections using the Kwara
State Library, Ilorin as a case in point. The broad objective of the
study is to examine the possible causes and prevention of disaster in
the Library and its preparedness towards ameliorating its consequences,
when it occurs inevitably.
Research Questions
The study sets out to provide answers to the following research
questions:
1. What are the possible causes of disasters at the Kwara State
Public Library, Ilorin?
2. What disaster prevention plans and measures does the library
have?
3. What other plans/measures has the library for the preservation
of its materials?
4. What amount of the library's budgetary allocation is meant
for disaster planning?
5. What are the problems militating adequate disaster preparedness
in the library?
History of Disasters
It is very important to provide an historical perspective on
disasters in the context of this study. The great library at Alexandra
established in the third century BC, was destroyed by fire first in 47
BC, during the time of Julius Caesar and then finally in 373 AD.
(Ngulube, 2004). The 1966 Florence flood destroyed 2 million volumes of
cultural objects in the Bibliotheca Nazionale Centrale (Feather, 1991).
The Public Records Office of Ireland was burnt down during the 1992
civil war leading to the loss of Irish Cultural Heritage from the Middle
Age to 1790. (Bohem, 1996). In November 1998, a tornado swept through
Colombia destroying some records of the University of Missouri (Morris,
2000). In 1999, the invading force of Slobodan Milosevic systematically
destroyed records pertaining to land, financial, citizenship and
genealogical entitlements of the Albanian community in Kosovo (Ngulube,
2005). On September 11, 2001, terrorists bombed the World Trade Centre
and the Pentagon libraries in the United States of America, destroying
records, books and other documentary materials (Buchanan, 2002). The
National Library and Archives, a priceless treasure of Ottoman
historical document including the Royal Archives of Iraq, were turned to
ashes in 3,000 degrees of heat on 14th April, 2003 during the United
State's invasion of Iraq (Buchanan, 2003). Fire caused extensive
damage to records of the Secretarial Office in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1939,
destroying a vital portion of the central government records.. Valuable
records relating to one of the major cities in Africa were destroyed. In
Pujchum town in Sierra Leone, 250,000 governments records were lost to
fire in 1991 just as a hurricane destroyed valuable records and private
manuscripts at the National Archives of Swaziland in 1984 (Alegbeleye,
1993). The Pretoria City Council in South Africa lost a range of records
dating back to the 1920s in a fire at its Munitoria building in March
1997 (Directorate, State Archives and Heraldic Services, 1998-1999) even
as flash floods hit Mozambique's districts of Xai-Xai, Chokwe and
Guija during the year 2000. These were the worst floods since 1850. Some
documents were swept away and some were destroyed. Rental documents and
pensions records were lost, such a lost obviously compromises good
governance, transparency and the ability to establish a just society.
The devastating fire at Norwich City Library in 1994, showed how
vulnerable collections are the great loss that can result. Fire
severally damaged the Cabildo in New Orleans in 1988; the Loma Prieta
earthquake damaged several San-Francisco's area museums and
libraries in 1989; smoke from an electrical fire covered collections
throughout the Huntington Gallery in 1985 and mould threat on Mount
Vernon's archival collections. Though it has been observed that
West Africa seems to be relatively free from disaster, Alegbeleye (1993)
highlighted prominent disasters within the West African region to
include the fire at the library of the Nigeria Institute of Policy and
Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos; the 1988 arson by students, which
destroyed books in the Nigeria Forestry Research Institute Library and
the destruction of documents in the National Library of Nigeria in 1990.
Similarly, records indicate that Ghana has experienced a series of
floods, earthquake, fire and arson related disasters over the years
(Pepra, 1998 and Adinku, 2005). Some of which include the earthquake of
1939, which destroyed the Aglion Library; the 1984 Agricultural
Development Bank Head Office fire, which resulted in the loss of
valuable records and the fire outbreak at the Ghana Broadcasting
Corporation in 1989 which destroyed the films, archives and the library.
Conclusively, large or small, natural or man-made disaster or
emergencies put an institution's staff and collections in danger.
Possible Threats to Library and its Resources
The greatest threats to the collections are considered to be from
fire and water. Physical damage is considered to be less likely. However
a worst-case scenario could involve all three hazards occurring
simultaneously. Staff should be mindful of any signs of problems arising
in these areas.
Fire
Fire could originate from either external or internal sources.
External sources include the risk of bush fire and lightning strikes.
Internal risks of fire are ever-present with our widespread reliance on
the use of electrical appliances, such as desk lamps, heaters,
computers, power boards and other equipment within the collection
buildings. Other possible sources of fire could include chemical spills.
Water
Water hazards can originate from either external or internal
sources. External sources include storms that could cause water leaks in
the building or localized external flooding that seeps into the
building. Storms could also cause structural damage to the building that
could provide a point of entry for water. The most likely external
sources of water damage from external sources are considered to be from
the roof when gutters are clogged with litter debris, when structural
damage has occurred or flooding in the basement area, when excessive
run-off cannot be handled by the outside storm water drains. This site
needs to be monitored in periods of heavy rain. Internal sources of
water damage include leaks or accidental discharge from internal
plumbing such as from the internal sprinklers, fire hoses, burst water
pipes and overflowing sinks.
Physical Damage
Physical damage to the collection could arise from damage to the
building (e. g. structural failure or storm damage) resulting in damage
to the collection, or from unauthorized entry leading to theft or
vandalism of Collection materials. Maintenance arrangements for all
large trees in proximity to the buildings minimizes the chance of damage
to the building from a tree falling on it during a storm. Security
arrangements at both sites minimize the risk of the unauthorized access.
However it should be noted that security arrangements are not fail-safe.
Systems failure is always a possibility and people should be cautious of
unauthorized people There also is the potential for the security system
to fail if it is impaired in some way associated with the disaster.
Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan
The natural disaster is likely to happen anytime and cannot be
prevented; but measures could be taken to eliminate or reduce the
possibility regardless of the many forms that a disaster may take. The
actual damage to collections is usually caused by fire or water, which
fall under the categories of man-made disasters. Even when they are not
the initial factors, fires and floods almost invariably occur as
secondary causes of disasters in libraries. Karen (2009) stated that
though an emergency does not have to become a full-fledged disaster,
many institutional staff often learn the advantages of emergency
preparedness through hard experience. He stressed that hazards can often
be mitigated or avoided altogether by a comprehensive, systematic,
emergency-preparedness program; which provides a means for recognizing
and preventing risks and for responding effectively to emergencies.
Morgan and Smith (1997) noted that library resources are very valuable
either for the information they contain or for their physical beauty.
The materials are meant to be a source of knowledge, pleasure and
assistance for generations to come. They stated further that the
libraries house and preserve materials, which by their very nature, are
very susceptible to disasters; as materials could be completely lost or
national asserts in information resources easily lost in a disaster. A
nation stands to lose greatly if there are no arrangement to prevent or
mitigate the consequence of disaster. The disaster problem is further
emphasized by Mathew (2005) who asserted that surveys have shown that
disasters in libraries are almost inevitable. Ngulube (2005) stated that
disaster preparedness and security are vital to the preservation and
protection of records and library. According to him, disaster planning
facilitates efficient and quick response to an emergency and security
protects items against theft or deliberate or unintentionally damage and
destruction. Lyall (1993) stated that disaster plan is a document,
describing the procedures devised to prevent and prepare for disasters
and those proposed to respond to and recover from disasters when they
occur. England and Evans (2007) noted that disasters strike too many
libraries, finding them unprepared for action. Aina (2004) stated that
it is necessary for the library to have in place plans that would
mitigate the effects of a disaster. For example, in case of fire
disaster, there should be an abundance of fire extinguishers at
appropriate places in the library and staff should be trained on how to
handle them in putting out the fire. He stressed that it might also be
necessary for a library to insure its holdings against such risks as
fire, flood and earth-quake. Beth (2008) noted that an increasing number
of professionals know that small-scale emergencies could be contained if
staff members are prepared to react quickly; even as damage can be
limited even in the face of a large-scale disaster. He cited the example
of cultural institutions in Carlson, South Carolina, which formed a
consortium focusing on disaster preparedness several years before they
were hit by hurricane Hugo in 1989. According to him, many of those
institutions sustained only minor damage because they were able to put
their early warning procedure into operation. There is no doubt that
disaster planning is complex and that the written plan is the result of
a wide range of preliminary activities. However, the entire process is
most efficient if it is formally assigned to one person, who acts as the
disaster planner for the institution and is perhaps assisted by a
planning team/committee. The Institution's Director may play this
role or delegate the responsibility, but it is important to remember
that the process is supported at the organization's highest level,
for it to be effective. The planner should establish a timetable for the
project and define the scope and goals of the plan, which will depend
largely on the risks faced by the Institution. When a member of the main
library staff encounters an emergency, the first response should always
be to contact the library's security office. When an emergency
occurs, the staff will either contact public safety directly or the
library's security office, depending on the nature of the
emergency. When the libraries are closed, disaster will be detected from
the outside; in which case, public safety will notify appropriate
library staff, since it maintains a list of emergency contact personnel
from the libraries.
Library Preparedness against Disasters
According to Newey, Lepschi & Croft (2008) Preparedness
involves:
1. identification of a disaster response team;
2. training of an emergency action team;
3. identification of recovery work areas; and
4. ensuring supply of equipment and materials.
When appropriate, libraries security staff should take steps to
limit potential damage while waiting for emergency personnel (public
safety or physical plant) to arrive. Such steps include making sure that
patrons and staff are not in danger. Safety of human beings comes before
protection of library materials. Libraries' security staff
themselves should not take unwarranted risks to save library materials.
Eliminating the source of the problem is also an important step to take
in an emergency. Libraries security staff are trained to use fire
extinguishers to put out the fire, if possible. In the event of water
damage, libraries' security staff will attempt to cut off the water
supply to the affected area. The next step is to get materials out of
danger. If the number of materials threatened by water is small, they
can simply be moved to a dry place. For large problems, plastic sheeting
can be spread over the stacks to shield them from water coming from
above. No clean up or salvage work should be attempted until the
situation is stable and a damage assessment has been made. It is better
to be prepared in readiness for disasters that could occur in the
library. Perhaps, the greatest threats to library collections are
considered to be from fire and water, as physical damages such as
earthquake, hurricane and tornado are not as common. However a
worst-case scenario could involve all three hazards occurring
simultaneously. It is therefore important that library staff should be
vigilant and mindful of any signs of problems arising in these areas.
Justification of the Study
Preparing for a disaster can reduce the fear, anxiety and losses
that it can cause. A disaster can be a natural disaster, like a
hurricane, tornado, flood or earthquake. It might also be man-made, like
a bioterrorist attack or chemical spill. Disaster planning or
preparedness is becoming an essential component of the overall
management plan for libraries and archives. The importance of an
effective disaster plan is regularly demonstrated in institutions which
are strongly committed to their plans. "An ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure" remains a valuable aphorism for disaster
prevention (Tennant, 2001). Everything that can be reasonably done to
avoid or lessen the impact of disasters by planning ahead of time is
certainly well worth the time, effort, and resources. Many disasters can
be avoided-or at least their impact minimized-by taking the time to plan
ahead. Since disasters are real and could happen anytime, therefore, all
these factors militating against library materials required effective
management of library materials against disasters. This will be quite
beneficial especially to the public libraries considering its myriads of
incapacitating challenges, which have rendered them largely unrecognized
when compared with the other types of libraries. Thus, this study's
justification.
Research Methodology
Due to the nature of this research project, case study research
design was adopted, while the main instrument used for data collection
was the interview, complemented with observation. An interview session
was arranged with the Head of Technical Section of the Library involving
a face-to-face interaction, where pertinent questions regarding the
subject of research were asked directly and the interviewee gave self
response.. An interview schedule comprising a total of 14 questions
derived from the Research Questions earlier on stated. The observation
is a checklist or enquiry of all possible behavior that occur during an
event in a particular situation. This enables the researchers to
participate directly in data collection exercise. Also, a day close
observation was conducted by the researchers, where the library
building, materials and security operatives were closely observed. The
descriptive method was used in providing the report of the interview
Findings of the Study
Reports of the Interview and the Observations
On what could be responsible for the occurrence of disasters and
possible ways of controlling them, the response indicated that
biological agents such as earthquake, floods, fires and leakage of roofs
are some of these. She stated further that the way the library was
sited, its obviously solid structure, well-channeled drainages and good
erosion-controlled environment/premises, served as control against
floods; while the wiring was done to safety standards. Thus, it is
assumed that the library's construction was done in compliance with
all local fire, electrical, plumbing, heating, and construction codes.
Beyond this however, it was gathered that the library has no disaster
planner team or committee in place; thus the library was expected to
attend to disasters as they occur, instead of monitoring and reviewing
the situation regularly in anticipation of possible occurrence of
disasters so as to ensure adequate preparedness. The library is said to
have no budgetary plans in preparation against disasters due to
inadequate funding; which reflects the general abject financial status
of public libraries in Nigeria. To this end, observations revealed that
there are no disaster management experts on ground in the library as
members of staff have little or no considerations for possibility of
occurrence of disasters. It was gathered that apart from the general
alarm that is meant to announce and alert occupants of the library in an
event of disasters, there are no such essential disaster detection and
prevention devices as smoke/fire detector, water sensing alarm etc. this
presumes that there could not have been the equally essential periodic
evaluation of the fire prevention system in use. The only visible
preparation against fire disaster was the ample provision of fire
extinguisher at every strategic place; precisely on every floor of the
library's two storey building. Though the library staff are said to
be trained on how to use fire extinguisher to suppress fire in case of a
fire emergency, there was no way to verify the state of the fire
extinguishers just as the ability of the library staff to handle them
effectively for the purpose meant could not be confirmed. Observation
also revealed that there are no posters within the library/its premises
prohibiting smoking by users and staff in the library as well as in the
records storage areas respectively. Also observed was the absence of
clearly marked fire escape routes and exits; even as no evidence of
regularly-held fire drills to practice emergency procedures existsBeyond
the good construction of the library as a measure against flooding,
observation also revealed that the library does not store its
collections in basements, under water pipes, or directly on the floor.
This is a good preventive step against possible flooding even though
that this does not overrule the possibility of flooding completely;
hence the need to look for any potential water hazards during routine
inspections of the plumbing, drains and water pipes. Also significant
for this report is that the library does not install carpet in records
storage areas. This is also a good preventive measure because, if
flooding occurs, the carpeting will retain water and prevent drainage as
well as create a problem in stabilizing temperature and relative
humidity in the affected area.
Conclusion
Considering the significance of library collections to the overall
success of the library's missions of effective services delivery,
the preservation of these materials as well as the library building
itself is quite imperative. This becomes even more so in the face of
global economic recession being experienced today, which compounds the
already worse financial situation of the public libraries in Nigeria.
This calls for concerted efforts on the part of the library authorities
to get prepared for disasters, which can happen at any time and
unexpectedly too. This is because the consequences of disasters
occurrence in the public library will be devastating, if not completely
annihilating. So, the findings of this study which pointed to the fact
that disasters preparedness plans are essentially non-existing in the
Kwara State Library is, to say the least, undesirable, calling for
urgent attention by all its stakeholders.
Recommendations
In line with the findings of this study and the conclusion reached
above, the following recommendations are hereby made:
1. The library should constitute a disaster management
team/committee, which will not only serve as disaster monitor within the
library but also as a liaison between the library and the agencies
concerned with disaster management in the community so as to be in
constant touch.
2. The fire extinguishers should be checked at regular intervals,
while the agency staff should be shown where to locate them and
demonstrate how to use them.
3. The library should mark, clearly, fire escape routes and exits
and also hold regular fire drills to practice emergency procedures.
4. There is the need for the library to install fire detector,
water sensing alarm and more fire extinguishers as well as regular
maintenance of drainage and plumbing system. There should be a regular
building inspection so as to remedy the factors which constitute
potential hazards.
5. The library should have comprehensive insurance scheme over the
library and its contents so as to reduce and share the possible risk of
lose.
6. Take special precautions during usual period of increased risk
such as building renovation.
7. The public library funding agency/parent institution should
provide more funds to the library being an essential component of the
community while prudent management of available resources is required
from the library authorities in return.
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Abdulwahab Olanrewaju Issa, PhD
Senior Lecturer
Department of Library and Information Science
Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences
University of Ilorin
Kwara State, Nigeria
Mulikat Bola Aliyu
Principal Lecturer and Head
Department of Library and Information Science
The Federal Polytechnic, Offa
Kwara State, Nigeria
Adegboyega Francis Adedeji
Principal Librarian
The Library
The Federal Polytechnic, Offa
Kwara State, Nigeria
Akangbe Bisilola Rachel
Director
Kwara State Library Board
Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria