znt. Libr. Rev. (1975) 7, 93-l 13

(6) Bibliographical Services in Nigeria: a Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences

C. C. AGUOLU *

The problem of bibliographic control goes back to ancient times. Baby- lonians kept catalogues of cuneiform tablets and Egyptians lists of papyri. For many centuries the idea of the encyclopaedic man persisted and only took wings with the invention of printing. Millions of graphic records-periodical articles, books, pamphlets, serials, conference papers, as well as private letters, theses and other forms of unpublished material are produced annually. Knowledge is proliferating and breaking down into more minute compartments and specialities.

The most logical institution for the preservation of these graphic records for any country is the national library which should also be responsible for compiling the national bibliography. This should attempt to record all books, serials, official publications and theses, to say the least, published by natives of that country or written by foreigners, on that country. In short, as Hans E. Panofsky, Curator of Africana North- western University Library in the United States, has observed, “National libraries are usually the source of the most comprehensive bibliographies prepared in a country. Indeed, the most significant function of a national library is to prepare the national bibliography.“1

Most African countries do not have national libraries, but their university libraries tend to act in that capacity for them. In Nigeria, although the National Library was founded in 1962, but opened to the public in 1964, it did not assume its proper role until July 1970 when it assumed responsibility for issuing the National Bibliography of Nigeria (former Nigerian publications), carried out voluntarily by Ibadan University Library since 1953. The survey conducted for the Inter- national Conference on African Bibliography in Nairobi 4-8 December 1967 listed only 10 national bibliographies (for Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria, Rhodesia, Senegal, South Africa,

* Doctoral Student, School of Librarianship, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A. 1 Jackson, M. M. (Ed.) (1970). Comjwatim and Zntmational Librarianship: ZGsays on 77umes

and Problem. P. 230. We&port, Corm. : Greenwood Publishing Corp.

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Sierra Leone and Tanzania) .r Another study by Samuel Kotei of the Department of Library Studies, University of Ghana, identified 32 current national bibliographies for 1969.2 Different criteria may have been used to determine what constitutes a national bibliography and these may account for the great discrepancy between both studies.

Nigeria laid the foundation for the effective bibliographic control of its local publications by its enactment of the Publications Ordinance of 1950. Compliance with this law was, of course, another matter. It stipulated that two copies of every book published in Nigeria be deliv- ered within a month of its publication to the Secretary of the Govern- ment and two other copies to the Ibadan University College Library. The legal definition of a book included “every part or division of a book, newspaper, magazine, review, pamphlet, sheet of letterpress, sheet of music, map, plan, chart or table, separately published”.3

No clear line, however, was drawn between a publisher and printer, both of whom often operate as one. Besides, local authors are often their own publishers new to the publishing business. Even some publishers who knew their legal responsibilities feigned ignorance. Thus there were, and still are, many depository evasions. Some local publishers regarded the law as unnecessary bureaucratic interference in their business and the deposition of the book as an unjustifiable bureaucratic imposition. The Deposit Library itself seemed to be more pre-occupied with other problems rather than worry over law enforcement.

John Harris, Librarian of the University of Ibadan for two decades and now Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Nigeria, has stated that %is law was directed exclusively towards acquisition of material. No onus was placed on the Deposit Library, not even the responsibility to preserve the works deposited, let alone make them acces- sible. The Ibadan University Library, however, voluntarily assumed these latter responsibilities.“4 He attributes publishers’ non-compliance with the deposit law not to recalcitrance or deliberate evasion but to their professional inefficiency and ignorance of legal deposit respon- sibilities. He also discovered that persuasion and diplomacy, while keeping the publishers continually aware of the law, proved more effective than a legal threat. Unfortunately, many publishers, especially obscure ones, do not realize that their books gain more publicity by

1 Pearson, J. D. and Jones, R. (Eds) (1970). The Bibliography of Africa. P. 1. London: Cass. s Kotei, S. I. A. (1971). Some notes on the present state ofnational bibliography in English-

speaking Africa. Afniana Libr. J. II 14. 3 Ngerian Publication 1965 (1966). P. ix. Ibadan. Ibadan: University Press. 4 Harris, J. 1970 National Bibliography in Nigeria. In Pearson, J. D. and Jones, R. (Eds)

Bibliography of Africa. P. 35. London : Cass.

NIGERIAN STUDIES 95

their deposition as required by the law, through their listing in the national bibliography or in other published bibliographies1

The problem of legal deposit is one that plagues all countries. In such advanced countries as Britain, France and the United States with centuries of publishing tradition and with well-defined deposit or copy- right laws, there are still many evasions. Not even the U.S. Library of Congress, the Biblioth&que National of France or the British Museum can claim to receive all books published locally. Sam Oderinde, a librarian at the University of Tbadan long associated with the National Bibliography, suggests making printers responsible for depositing copies of books they print, since publishers ignore the law.2 It is not clear how such a transfer of responsibility would necessarily lead to a change for the better since both printers and publishers, one may say, are equally infected with the same bibliographical disease.

Before the promulgation of the 12-state Decree of 1967, the problems inherent in the deposit law were aggravated by regional publications laws which, in effect, nullified it. The Eastern Nigerian Publications Law passed in 1955 required that two copies of all books published in that region be deposited with the Ibadan University College Library and four copies with the Regional Premier. The Western Region’s Publications Law of 1957 stipulated that two copies of every book pub- lished in Western Nigeria be deposited at the Ibadan University College Library and two copies with the Regional Government Office. Under the Northern Nigeria’s Publications Law of 1964, Ahmadu Bello Uni- versity Library received two copies of every book published in that region and two other copies were sent to the Regional Government Office. Ahmadu Bello University Library began to issue mimeographed lists such as Books and Pamphlets Receiaed During 1965 and Northern Nigerian Publications 1965. Surprisingly, the Legal Notice 112 of 1965 instituted by the Federal Government designated the Lagos University Library instead of the National Library as the sole depository for the publications in the Federal Territory. Thus the deposition of books at the Ibadan University Library was limited to Western and Eastern Nigeria, and the recognition of the Library as the National Bibliographic Center was in effect withdrawn by the Federal and Northern Nigerian Govern- ments. The compilation of the .NationaZ Bibliografihy, usually based on the deposited books, hung on the precarious co-operation and munificence of some publishers who sent complimentary copies of their books to the Library, which sometimes purchased copies of other books to be listed in the current national bibliography.

1 Ibid., p. 38. 2 Pearson, J. D. and Jones, R. (Eds) (1970). Z% Bibliography of Africa. P. 1. London: Cass.

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The division of Nigeria into 12 states added further confusion and the secession of the Eastern Nigeria left only the Western State publishers to deposit their books at Ibadan University Library. This anomalous and confused situation was only clarified by the important National Library Decree 1970 (Decree No. 29).

This requires every publisher to send three copies of every book pub- lished in Nigeria to the National Library of Nigeria at Lagos, one of which is then sent to the Ibadan University Library. Every Federal Government Department is also required to send 25 copies of its pub- lication to the National Library while departments of a State Govern- ment should deposit 10 copies unless the Director ofthe National Library prefers a smaller number. For the first time, this Decree which is partly a revised version of the 1950 Publications Ordinance provides a more specific definition of the term “publisher”. The promulgation of the Decree itself is an unmistakable recognition by the Federal Government of the importance of good national library services and of the fact that a free Nigerian society depends on its access to accumulated knowledge organized to facilitate learning and scholarship. It also restored to the principal depository library its recognition as the National Documenta- tion Center, first withdrawn by the Publications Laws of the Northern Region and the Federal Territory, and then by the Eastern Nigerian secession.

It is remarkable that the Ibadan University Library should continue to receive depository copies of books published in Nigeria, when the actual responsibility of preparing the national bibliography has been transferred to the National Library. Equally remarkable is the fact that the Ibadan University Library could for 17 years provide the country with its national bibliography in spite of many legalistic and constitu- tional problems arising from the depository law and regional publica- tions ordinances.

The composition, powers, and functions of the National Library Board are also noteworthy. The first National Library Board established in August 1965 under the National Library Act 1964 was composed of 12 representatives drawn from the entire spectrum of the country, but could not meet before it was overtaken by the political events of 1966. A reconstituted Board in February 1966 served only as a stopgap measure and did not abide by the provisions of the National Library Act 1964, which was itself hamstrung by its inherent constitutional and admini- strative limitations. In fact, the Act itself applied solely to the Federal Territory of Lagos. As Chief Anthony Enahoro, Federal Commissioner for Information and Labour, noted in his address to the new National Library Board in 1971, the previous Board, although it tried to stimulate

NIGERIAN STUDIES 97

library growth in other parts of the country, “was always conscious of its constitutional limitation and this restricted the Board’s ambitious programmes.“r Nor were there any compelling specifications or any provisions in the 1964 Act concerning the powers of the Federal Govern- ment to insure that publishers deposited copies of their books with the National Library.

The advancement of that Library was an outcome of the exhaustive study made by Dr Carl White, former Dean of the Graduate Library School, Columbia University, while he served as Library Adviser to the Nigerian Federal Government 1962-64. His 59-page report, entitled The National Library of Jvigeria: Growth of the Idea, Problems and Progress, was published in 1964 by the Federal Ministry of Information at Lagos.

The composition of the present National Library Board reflects di- versified interests. Each of the 12 states is represented by a member. Included are the Director of the Library who is also Library Adviser to the Federal Government, and a representative from each of the following organizations : the Nigerian Library Association; the Nigerian Bar Association; the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Mines and the Trade Union Organization.2 Omitted is a representative from the Nigerian Publishers’ Association. Two of the major functions of the Board are “to make recommendations and give advice on library development or organization to any department or agency of the government of the Federation or a State or to any local government authority” [and] “to be responsible for the development of the National Bibliography of Nigeria and national bibliographic services, either in a national bibliographical centre or elsewhere.“s The Decree in effect invested the National Library with all the paraphernalia of a National Bibliographic Centre. Today, it contains a union catalogue of the holdings of the National Library, and of the Libraries of Ahmadu Bello University and the Universities of Benin, Ife, Lagos and Nigeria. However, the effectiveness ofthe National Union Catalogue as a national bibliographic resource is seriously undermined by the omission of the holdings of Ibadan University Library-the largest library in the country.

The compilation of the National Bibliography is based primarily on legal deposit, and each issue attempts to list all books, pamphlets, serials and official publications published in Nigeria, on Nigeria or by Nigerians

1 (1971) The National Library of Nigeria: inauguration of the new National Library Board. .Niger. Libr., VII, 62.

2 Ibid., pp. 5940. 3 Jvational Library Decree 1970 (Decree No. 29), supplement to Oj%aE Gazette, LVII, No.

27 (May 14, 1970). Part A [Section 14 (2)]. p. A 132.

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physically received by the National Library. Divided into two main sections-works in English and works in the vernacular languages-the entries which have full bibliographic data are arranged by author or issuing agency. Since 1955 it carries a section for new defunct serials, thus supplementing Mgerian Periodicals and Newspapers, 1950-1955 ( 1956). It is published weekly with quarterly and annual cumulations. The 1967 and 1969 annual volumes include a list of printers and publishers in Nigeria with their addresses. Its unclassified arrangement without a subject index reduces its value as a source of information on any specific subject. Consequently, the proposed 20-year cumulated subject index which is still on paper will be extremely valuable, if implemented. The compilation of the bibliography has been accurate, and efforts are made to give the full names of the authors. Its inclusion of cross references and occasional subject tracings is a useful feature.

It is paradoxical that despite the excellent work done by the Ibadan University Library from 1953 to June 1970 in its production of the current bibliography, the Federal Government never recognized its voluntary but invaluable services to the country by giving it any financial support or even verbal encouragement. Yet the Library is a part of the university which is a Federal institution. 1 Much credit should be given to John Harris who remained undaunted by the Federal Government’s apathy and persisted in the production of the bibliography which he implicitly believed was in the best interest of the nation.

A comparative examination of the bibliographic activities in some other African countries helps in the understanding of the status of the Nigerian bibliographical services and the problems.

Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana was among the first African politicians to recognize the significance of a good national library and effective bibliographical services in African societies. On the opening of the George Padmore Library (later the Research Library on African Affairs) on 30 June 1961, he remarked that “a good national library is at once the repository of a nation’s culture and wisdom and an intellectual stimulant”,2 and longed for the day “when a unified bibliography of Africa outlining the progress and achievements of the African peoples will be made possible.“3 However, Ghana was only able to issue its first national bibliography in 1968 covering material published in 1965 and its compilation is based chiefly on the holdings of the Research Library on African Affairs, on material deposited with the Ghana Library Board

1 Pearson, J. D. and Jones, R. Eds., op. cit., p. 36. a Evelyn J. Evans. (1964). A Tropical Library Service; the Stosy of Ghana’s Libraries. P. 134.

London : Deutsch. 3 Ibid

NIGERIAN STUDIES 99

under the Book and Newspaper Registration Act 1961 amended in 1963. Although there are depository evasions as in Nigeria, the problem in Ghana is compounded by lack of specificity and precision in the definition of the terms, “publisher” and “book” in the legal deposit clause. Even the amended 1963 Act excludes government publications with only a vague proviso, “except as directed by the Minister”, but includes all reports of commissions and committees of inquiry. The Research Library on African Affairs at Accra serves as the national library.

In Sierra Leone, there is a statutory body-the Sierra Leone Library Board-financed by the Government to provide national library services. Since 1962 it has been issuing the Annual Sierra Leone Publications: a List of Books and Pamphlets in English, received by the Library Board under the Publication Act 1962. Most of these items listed are official publica- tions. It does not seem that Gambia has either the size or the economic strength to afford a national library. However, it has six independent journals published in Barthurst, with an extremely limited circulation. The British NationaE Bibliography is Gambia’s source for current publica- tions in English. The University Libraries in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in Nairobi, Kenya, and in Makerere, Uganda, carry out the functions of a national library for their respective countries. The first issues of the Tanzania national bibliography, Printed in Tanzania, 1969 and Printed in Tanzania, 1970 were published in 1971 by the Tanganyika Library Services Board, based on items deposited with Tanganyika Library Services Board and the University of Dar es Salaam Library. But the development of independent national bibliographies in East Africa seems to have been retarded by the publication of the quarterly Accessions List, East Afica by the office of U.S. Library of Congress in Nairobi, since January 1968 and also by the East African bibliography series issued by the Program of Eastern African Studies, Syracuse University in the United States.

S. I. A. Kotei has outlined several impediments to national biblio- graphy in English-speaking Africa. There is a shortage of manpower and even where there are trained personnel to do the bibliographical work, politicians are apathetic, and do not recognize the significance of good library and bibliographical services. The provisions of legal deposit are generally imprecise and ambiguous, and librarians and archivists tend to be lukewarm about enforcing the law. Indigenous publishing is still in its embryonic state and acquisition of locally published materials is handicapped by lack of any organized local book trade. There is in- adequate financial support by the Government, and librarians, although they may realize the need for bibliographic work, turn their attention to other “priorities”. Some countries simply feel that the present output

100 C. C. AGUOLU

of local literature is not sufficient to justify a national bibliography which could very well be taken care of by the National Gazette. Lack of a specific institution designated to serve as a national library or national bibliographic center leads to the perpetual deferment by librarians of the responsibility for compiling a national bibliography.1

The factors that determined the development of library and biblio- graphical services in Nigeria are the establishment of the University of Ibadan and the concern demonstrated by the British Council, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, UNESCO and the former West African Library Association.

The University of Ibadan founded in 1948, as the University College, Ibadan, was the first Nigerian university. Affiliated with the University of London until 1962 when it became autonomous, it provided the country’s first research library based on the acquisitions of two private library collections by the Federal Government. The first was the Henry Carr Collection of some 18000 volumes, the largest private library ever assembled in West Africa. Dr Carr was a noted Nigerian educationist who rose to become Deputy Director of Education in the Lagos Colony. His bibliophilic and catholic interests were unmistakably reflected in his library, which provided Nigeria with the only reference collection of any research value, upon its acquisition after his death in 1945. It was strong in the humanities and social sciences.

The Dyke Collection, the second private library acquired by the government, was scientific, rich in journals, reprints, but included also works of history, biography and contemporary affairs.2 Frederick Montague Dyke was a British expert in tropical agriculture who donated his library to the university and later “the Dyke Library became the nucleus for the scientific research collection of today. It provided as much for the pure scientists as for agriculturists on the fauna and flora of West Africa, on the chemistry of tropical products, on tropical biology and ecology.“3

Several other personal collections of West African material were also purchased by the University Library. These included those of Herbert Macaulay, father of Nigerian nationalism, who died in 1946, leaving a collection rich in pamphlets, memoirs, newspaper clippings and note- books. The Library of Alec Cowan, friend of King Jaja, containing about 1000 volumes of rare items, and the Cockin Collection of 185 volumes of Africana were also purchased.

1 Kotei, S. I. op. cit., pp. 13-14. 2 Harris, J. (1965). Ibadan University Library: some notes on its birth and growth. Libr.

Assoc. Rec. LXVII, 256. 3 Ibid., p. 258.

NIGERIAN STUDIES 101

Two post-war British Parliamentary Commissions led by Cyril Asquith and Walter Elliot stressed the importance of good research libraries in the universities in the British Colonies.1 The establishment of the univers- ity colleges in Legon, Ghana and Ibadan, Nigeria in 1948 was the immediate outcome of these commissions.2

The interest of the British Council and UNESCO was primarily focused upon the public library development. The former and the Lagos Town Council opened the Lagos Municipal Library in August 1946; but the entire management of the library was taken over by the Town Council in 1950. It is interesting to note that in Ghana the library development has followed a centralized pattern under the aegis of the Ghana Library Board charged with national library services, but in Nigeria before the civil war, apparently owing to its political structure on a regional basis and its size, the public library development was purely regional. Since the end of the war, the states have been res- ponsible for public library services.

Regional library services in Northern and Western Nigeria were the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. In Eastern Nigeria, there was a statutory body-the Eastern Nigeria Library Board-established by the 1955 Library Ordinance which was amended in 1958. Legal responsibility for Regional Library Services lay with this Board. On the whole, it was discovered that library services under a statutory board were more efficient than under the political umbrella of the Ministry of Education, as in Northern and Western Nigeria. Following the UNESCO Seminar on Development of Public Libraries in Africa, 27 July-21 August 1953, a UNESCO pilot public library was opened at Enugu in Eastern Nigeria in March 1959, known as the Regional Central Library. Under the able and dynamic Kalu Okorie, Fellow of the Library Association (Great Britain), the library underwent an astonish- ing growth. It had a fine collection of Nigeriana and a good record of regional publications; it served as a regional center of bibliographical information and research while co-operating with other libraries of the nation through inter-library lending and co-ordinating the activities and development of public and special libraries in the region.3

The creation of the West African Library Association in 1954 was an immediate outcome of the 1953 UNESCO Seminar on the Development of Public Libraries in Africa. Limited to the English-speaking West

1 Asquith, J. (1945). Report of the Commission on Higher Education in the Colonies. London: H.M.S.O.; Elliot, W. (1945). Report of the Commission on Higher Education in West Africa. London: H.M.S.O.

a Jackson, M. M. (Ed.) op. cit., p. 117. 3 Okorie, K. (1959). Problems of public library development in Nigeria. Libr. World, LX,

161-5.

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African countries, the Association helped to foster the interest of the Federal Government in library development. Its official organ first, West African Libraries, later W.A.L.A. sews was superseded partly by JVigerian Libraries, and partly by the Ghana Library Journal, as was the Association itself by the Library Associations of Ghana and Nigeria.

Various library surveys on Nigeria or on West Africa in general have been conducive to library development and bibliographical work. The generous financial support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York is unique in the library growth of West Africa. Some $6000 given to the Nigerian Colonial Government by the Corporation was used to establish a subscription library at Lagos in 1932. In 1939 the corporation appointed Hanns Vischer, Joint Secretary of the Advisory Committee on Education in the Colonies and Margaret Wrong, Secretary of the International Committee on Christian Literature for Africa, to study and report on the expansion of the West-African libraries. Another study was made in 1940 by Miss Ethel Fegan for the Corporation but limited to the Gold Coast. Its outcome, however, was the establishment of the first library school in West Africa at Achimota College in September 1944. The school was opened by Miss Fegan with an enrollment of 12 students, including six from the Gold Coast, five from Nigeria and one from Sierra Leone.

A study sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation involving all the British West African colonies was conducted in October-November 1957 by Harold Lancour, then Associate Director of the University of Illinois Library School in the United States. It was designed “to carry out a broad reconnaissance survey of library conditions in West Africa to provide background material upon which the Corporation could eval- uate the requests for assistance for libraries coming from those countries, and as a basis for initiating projects designed to further library develop- ment.“r With the aid of the Carnegie Corporation, a library school was opened at the University of Ibadan in 1960. The library needs of Northern Nigeria were studied by F. A. Sharr, State Librarian of Western Australia, in 1963.2 A comprehensive survey of the Lagos City Library was made in 1963-4 by Irving Lieberman, Director of School of Librarianship, University of Washington, Seattle, while he was the Advisory Director of the Institute of Librarianship, University of Iba-

1 Lancour, H. (1958). Libraries in British West Africa: Report of a S’umy for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, October-flovember 1957. 32 pp. Urbana; University of Illinois Library School. (Occasional Paper, No. 53); (1958). Impressions of British West Africa. ALA Bull. LII, 419-20.

a Sharr, F. A. (1963). The Library needs of Nor&m Ngeria: a Report Prepared under the Special Commonwealth Aftican Assistance Plan. Kaduna: Ministry of Information, 242 pp.

NIGERIAN STUDIES 103

dan.1 The Ford Foundation of America has been chiefly associated with the National Library of Nigeria, and has provided considerable financial support and help in the training of the personnel, right from its planning stage.

A survey made by John Harris and published in 1970 shows that Nigeria lags behind Ghana and Sierra Leone with regard to the number of professional librarians per capita and the ratio of volumes of book stock to population. Data gathered on the three countries for 1961-2 were compared with those of 1967-8. However, Nigeria improves at a little faster rate than Ghana, and Sierra Leone has shown a phenomenal advance due to the growth of its National Library Service.2

Mrs Ogunsheyes and Harris4 have also explored illuminatingly the problems of bibliographic services in Nigeria. They have noted the lack of any comprehensive general retrospective bibliography, depository evasions, lack of co-ordinated bibliographical activity, deficiency in abstracting and indexing services, and lack of organized local book trade and Government’s apathy towards libraries.

The National Library of Nigeria has fortunately recognized the urgency of indexing services, especially for serials. It has issued the Index to Selected Jvigerian Periodicals, 1968 (1968) ; Index to Nigeriana in Selected Periodicals, 1967 (1970) ; Subject Guide to Periodicals in the .National Library of Nigeria; A selected and Annotated List (1970). Subject bibliographies are frequently compiled. These include 18th and 19th Century Afiicana in the National Library of Nigeria (1967) ; Lagos Past and Present; an Historical Bibliography, 2nd ed. (1970)-first published in 1968, comprising over 150 unannotated books, government publications, theses and portraits of former Lagos kings ; Books in Nigerian Languages : a Bibliography ( 1968)) a classified 12-page listing of some 16 Nigerian languages; Arts in Nigeria: a Selective Bibliography (1968) ; A Bibliography of Biographies and Memoirs on JVigeria ( 1968).

When Nigeria gained its independence in 1960, it had no single com- prehensive general retrospective bibliography, but depended on a list of inaccurate references which appeared as an appendix to the Nigerian Handbook (1953). Sierra Leone had Harry Luke’s A Bibliogruphy of Sierra Leone (1925) containing some 1103 items dating up to 1924. It was

1 Lieberman, I. (1964). A Survey of the Lagos City Library: Com/dete Refiort. 104 pp. Lagos: Lagos City Council.

2 Ha&s, J. (1970). Patterns of Library Growth in English-speaking West Africa. Legon: Dept. of Library Studies, University of Ghana.

s Ogunsheye, F. A. (1969). Problem of bibliographic services in Nigeria. Mger. Libr., V, 62-8.

4 Harris, J. (1970). National Bibliography in Nigeria. In Pearson, J. D. and Jones, R. (Eds). The Bibliography of Aftica. Pp. 3444. London. Cass.

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recently continued by G. J. Williams’ A Bibliography of Sierra Leone, 1925-1967 (1971) -a classified listing of some 3047 items in the arts and sciences.

At independence Ghana had A. W. Cardinall’s A Bibliography of the Gold Coast (1932), issued as a companion volume to the Census Report of 1931 by the Gold Coast Chief Census Officer. It lists over 5000 items of a great historical value, covering the period from the first European arrival in West Africa to the ultimate control of the Gold Coast by the British. This was continued by A. F. Johnson’s Bibliography of Ghana, 1930-1961 (1964), with 2608 numbered items in the sciences and the arts.

John Harris’ Books about Nigeria first published in 1959 was the first real but modest attempt to produce any sort of general retrospective work specifically devoted to Nigeria. It was limited to works designed for the general reader in the first four editions, but it is very much ex- panded in its present fifth edition, including scholarly works with brief critical notes for many entries. It does not attempt to include periodical articles (there are periodical titles), pamphlets or unpublished material such as theses, Margaret Amosu’s Nigerian I/zses (1965) is a compre- hensive list of theses done by Nigerians or on Nigeria by non-Nigerians, unlimited by language or geographic area. It is classified by subject with author and subject indexes. The National Library of Nigeria and the Ibadan University Library also occasionally publish Theses and Dissertations Accepted for Higher Degrees in Nigeria.

There is effective bibliographic coverage for Nigerian linguistic, ethno- graphic, anthropological and sociological studies in West Africa, General Ethnography, Sociology, Linguistics (1958) compiled by Ruth Jones of the International African Institute in London. The most important work in this area is N. 0. Ita’s Bibliography of Nigeria: Survey of Anthro- pological and Linguistic Writings from the Earliest Times to 1966 (1971). It is an authoritative work; in scope and profundity immense; it includes 5411 items, many of them annotated. It has author and ethnic indexes and an index of Islamic studies.

The most ambitious project so far undertaken by the Ibadan Univers- ity Library is its compilation of the monumental two volume work. African Catalogue, published by G. K. Hall in 1973. It is an author catalogue covering not only items in the Africana section of the Library but all works in the library referring to the African continent. It is based on some 34000 cards photolithographically reproduced. Emphasis is on West Africa, with particular attention to Nigeria. Full bibliographic data are given, but serial publications, unless they appear in mono- graphic form, are excluded.

NIGERIAN STUDIES 105

J. 0. Dipeolu’s Bibliographical Sources for Nigerian Studies ( 1966), a classified listing of some 130 annotated items includes published library catalogues; general and special bibliographies on Africa as a whole; and bibliographies that have appeared at the end of textbooks and biblio- graphies devoted specifically to Nigeria. A regional work-Mger Delta Studies 1627-1967 (1970) by J. A. Ombu is a significant contribution to Nigerian retrospective bibliography, containing some 1724 items. The author is currently working on a Bibliography of Benin. J. C. Anafulu’s supplementary bibliography on the Igbo life, classified by subject, and partially annotated with emphasis on ethnographic, linguistic and artistic studies fills the gap considerably for Igbo studies.1

Although Nigeria lags behind Ghana and Sierra Leone with respect to general retrospective bibliography, it is the best equipped with individual subject retrospective works. This is chiefly due to the constant demand by Nigerian scholars and graduate students for comprehensive bibliographies on specific subjects. Works on economic development have the best coverage, partly due to an early interest shown by the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research at Ibadan. Since 1963, the Institute has issued annually A List of Books, Articles and Gouern- ment Publications on the Economy of Nigeria. Entries are classified by topics with general sections for official publications and bibliographies. Indi- vidual works include A. 0. Ike’s Economic Developnent of Ngeria, 1950- 1964 (1966) and Adetunji Akinyotu’s A Bibliography on Development Planning in Nigeria, 1955-1966 (1968).

With regard to art, besides the National Library’s series publications, there are three works of importance. The first is A Bibliography of Yoruba Sculpture (1964) compiled by Herbert Cole and Robert Thompson; it is not comprehensive. The second is Paula Ben-Amos’ Bibliography of Benin Art (1968) which contains many other items of great historical and anthropological importance. The third is Oyeniyi Osundian’s Biblio- graphy of Nigerian Sculpture ( 1968), which includes some 500 items sub- divided according to specific kind of sculpture. Ruth Perry’s A Preliminary Bibliography of the Literature of Nationalism in Nigeria (1955) is valuable for the study of the early development of nationalism. There are extensive and useful references at the end of such books as James Coleman’s Nigeria : Background to Nationalism (1958) ; Richard Mar’s Nigerian Political Parties (1963) ; Frederick Schwartz’s .Nigeria (1965) ; and Walter Schwarz’s Nigeria ( 1968).

Despite many archaeological excavations in Nigeria, there is only one

1 Anafulu, J. C. (1971). I&o life and art: Igbo language and literature: selected biblio- graphies. Conch, III, 181-203.

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recognizable bibliography on Nigerian archaeology: namely A Biblio- graphy on .Nigerian Archaeology (1969) by Thurstan Shaw and Joel Vanden- burg. It contains over 745 unannotated entries, divided into two parts -topical and author-and includes items on related studies. Extensive references are available in Thurstan Shaw’s Igbo-Ukwu : an Account of Archaeological Discoveries in Eastern Nigeria ( 1970).

What is the bibliographic situation with regard to serial publications? Many newspapers and magazines are published in Nigeria, but many also quickly cease publication for various reasons, usually financial. The newspaper industry is not new to the country. During the early develop- ment of nationalism in the 192Os, newspapers served as the springboard for nationalist agitation. Even as far back as 1863, a newspaper Anglo- African, was founded in Lagos by Robert Campbell, a West Indian who came to Nigeria from Sierra Leone.1

According to the study made by John R. Harris of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, there were in 1965 four nationally distributed newspapers in Nigeria and more than 15 other newspapers aimed at regional and local markets.2 This is a very con- servative estimate for there were many more newspapers of limited circulation that remained unnoticed. Indexing and preparation of biblio- graphies of newspapers and periodicals are, though very challenging, of paramount importance today. It is all the more so in the scientific field where the scientist must keep abreast of new theories and methodologies. Preparation of a good index to scientific journals calls for librarians and bibliographers with science backgrounds. A knowledge of foreign lang- uages such as French, German and Russian is invaluable.

In 1956 the Ibadan University College Library issued Nigerian Periodicals and flewspapers, 1950-1955, which has been updated since then by the supplements in Nigerian Publications. The Library, however, has issued a comprehensive serial bibliography, Nigerian Periodicals and Jvkws- papers, 1950-1970 (1971) containing over 1000 entries of titles received by the Library under the Publications Ordinance from 1950 to 1970. There are also Serials in Print in Nigeria, 1968 (1969), compiled by the National Library and the List of Serials Cm-en.@ Received in th IbadQn University Library ( 1967)) compiled by T. 0. Odeinde. Nigerian serials are well covered in Sub-Saharan Africa : A Guide to Serials ( 1970), published by the U.S. Library of Congress, Hans Behn’s Die Presse in Westafika (1969)) and Africa: A Guide to Newspapers and Magazims (1970)) by Fritz Feuereisen and Ernst Schmacke.

1 Omu, F. I. A. (1966). The Anglo-African 1863-65. .Niger. Mug. 206-12. 2 Harris, J. R. (1968). Nigerian Enterprise in the printing industry. Niger. J. &on. Sot.

Stud. X, 215-27.

NIGERIAN STUDIES 107

Another problematic area is the recording of works in the vernacular languages. There are over 250 ethnic groups speaking different lang- uages. English is the official language, although the Hausa language spoken by over 40% of the people in Northern Nigeria also has an official status. Most of the local publications in the country are in English, but in recent years works in the indigenous languages have been appearing at a remarkable rate. Ethnic pride and nationalism determine this trend, for many educated Nigerians want to write in the language that can reach the man in the street who may have no knowledge of English. Educational curricula in elementary and secon- dary schools in the individual states are being restructured and Nigerian- ized to reflect the national needs, and the study of the indigenous languages, long neglected, is gaining much prominence in schools and in most cases has been made compulsory. Consequently, many books, news- papers and magazines are being published in the vernacular languages. Research in Nigerian languages goes on at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and at the University of Ibadan.

Kenya and Tanzania lead black African countries in the publication of works in indigenous languages. In Nigeria, works in the vernacular languages recorded in .hfigerian Publications, make only a modest com- parison with those in English. For example, in 1966 there were only 132 entries for works in indigenous languages out of the 786 entries; in 1967, 79 out of 682; and in 1968,84 out of 684.1 There is no comprehensive bibliography of works in Nigerian languages whether classified by subject or by language, or even a comprehensive bibliography devoted to any specific Nigerian language. Mrs Ogunsheye’s A Preliminary Biblio- graphy of the Toruba Language, in progress since 1963, may be the first to do so when completed. N. 0. It& Bibliography of Nigeria: a survey of Anthropological and Linguistic Writings from the Earliest Times to 1966 ( 197 1) is a notable contribution to linguistic studies; so also are R. M. East’s A Vernacular Bibliography for the Languages of .Nigeria published by the Zaria Literature Bureau in 1942 and B. Struck’s “Linguistic Biblio- graphy of Northern Nigeria.” Journal of the African Society (191 l-12), pp. 47-61; 213-30.

Apart from the usual problems of acquiring works in Nigeria’s multi- farious languages, there exists the ineluctable problem of accurate biblio- graphic description. The co-operation of librarians and bibliographers from different linguistic areas is needed for the production of an accurate, authoritative bibliography. Many publications appear today in these languages: Agatu, Akpa, Efik, Fulani, Hausa, Igbo, Idoma, Isoko, Nupe, Yoruba, Igala, etc. Many of these publications sometimes have

l Ogunsheye, F. A. op. cit., p. 65.

108 C. C. AGUOLU

no title pages, publisher, place or date of publication. There may be inadequate information concerning the authorship of institutional or society publications, and the bibliographer is confronted with hard decisions about length of time one should devote to these ephemeral items.1

It would be misleading to think that only librarians are responsible for bibliographical organization in Nigeria. Archivists have a very significant role to play, too, and in some ways the nature of their work may be more challenging. Personal papers, letters, notebooks and un- published manuscripts of those Nigerians who have made distinguished contributions to their country as well as the reports of the commissions, tribunals and Acts of Parliament and other forms of official publication that have a significant research value-all these should be deposited at the archives. Librarians and archivists need to establish close symbiotic links with each other, pooling their professional knowledge and sharing their experience, as they are equally concerned with the preservation, organization and retrieval of graphic records.

The National Archives of Nigeria with headquarters at Ibadan has made remarkable progress under the able and productive leadership of L. C. Gwam who died a few years ago. Today archival management is still a comparatively young profession in Africa, and archivists generally receive on-the-job training and may go to the United States and Britain for further study. L. C. Gwam compiled a two-volume work on Nigerian official publications, entitled A Handlist of Nigerian O#cial publications (Provisional), published by the National Archives at Ibadan in 1961. Volume 1 lists some 709 items, including reports of commissions, com- mittees, arbitrations, tribunals ofinquiry, policy papers and development plan. Volume 2 is concerned with federal and regional legislatures; Legal and judicial problems, general regulations, departmental and inter-departmental regulations. In 1964 Gwam also compiled A Biblio- graphy of the JVationaZ Archives Library divided into two sections: Africans and General Works.

Nigerian official publications have a measurable coverage in other sources. Each issue of .Nigerian Publications includes official publications and John Harris’ Books about Nigeria has an excellent selection of major official documents. The most comprehensive work is the U.S. Library of Congress’ Nigeria : a Guide to Oficial Publications (1966), compiled by Sharon B. Lockwood. It is a revision of Helen Conover’s Nigeria1 O#cial Publications, 1869-1959 (1959)) and lists 2451 items, mostly post- 1959 documents, issued by or on Nigeria from the establishment of the Lagos Colony in 1861 to the present day.

1 Ibid., p. 66.

NIGERIAN STUDIES 109

The trend today is toward more indigenous publishing, especially with regard to materials at primary and secondary school level in Africa, but the shortage of capital is perhaps the most serious obstacle confronting indigenous publishers. The Government could assist them with loans. John Nottingham, Director of the East African Publishing House in Nairobi, Kenya, has set out reasons for accelerated indigenous publishing and its problems. 1 It will reflect national needs as “books are still probably the most effective single instrument for the purveying of ideas in the developing countries,“2 and there will be considerable savings in foreign exchange. In Nigeria, as in other African countries, the major publishers are foreign branch offices of the parent firms in Europe, such as the Cambridge University Press, the Oxford University Press, Heinemann Educational Books, Evans, Longmans, Thomas Nelson, and Macmillan. These firms, however, employ many Nigerians at various levels of technical expertise.

Despite the problem of insufficient capital, indigenous publishing is growing; printers are often confounded with publishers and publishers with printers. It is certain that the output of Nigerian literature will increase paripassu with the increased Nigerianization of school curricula. This is also certain to discourage foreign publishers but it will stimulate “the growth of a healthy Nigerian publishing industry to satisfy this demand.“s Already there are such promising indigenous publishers as John West Publications Ltd., Jonala Publications Ltd., Gaskiya Corp- oration, Onibon-Oje Press, Tika-Tore Press Ltd., Nwankwo-Ifejika & Co. and the University Presses.

Over 900 titles of books are published annually in Nigeria, but that is only if one takes a book to be a work at least 60 pages long. This then excludes much of the valuable literature found in Onitsha Market that has become proverbial. Some bibliographers dismiss the Onitsha pub- lications as “chapbooks” or “ephemeral pamphlets,” but whichever description one accepts, the fact remains that, in Onitsha, today, (where the present writer lived for many years) the amount of literature turned out daily by local printers and publishers is of incalculable importance for research into the cultural values of the Ibos-their history, their political orientations and their social organization. One could also get a considerable knowledge of life in Nigeria from these publications.

The booklets which generally number between 20-60 pages deal with 1 Nottingham, J. (1969). Establishing an African publishing industry: a study m de-

colonization. Afr. Affairs, LXVIII, 139-4. 2 Ibid., p. 139. See Franklin Book Programs Inc., A Book Development project in .Nige&,

1964-1968. Final Report Submitted to the Ford Foundation the United States Agency for In&national Develo@nent. New York, 1969.248 p.

3 Armstrong, R. P. Book publishing in Nigeria: industry with future. Afr. Rej. 57.

110 C. C. AGUOLU

all conceivable subjects. They include plays, novels, manuals of conduct, political tracts, guides to letter writing and poetry. They are written either in the Igbo language or in English, but designed for local con- sumption. Their potential in shaping public opinion is prodigious. The number of copies of each publication printed at a time depends chiefly on the extent of its popular appeal, varying from 100 copies to 2000. They are usually written by primary and secondary school graduates and teachers, blending oral tradition with Western values. They may be didactic, satirical, fictional and written under nom.s de plume. Many of them have catchy and interesting titles, like Money Hard; The Sources of Love; Beauty is a Trouble; Man has no Rest in L;fe; Why I Don’t Trust Women; Dr <ik of Africa; Tshombe of Katanga. They are sold in open markets, in the sheds, on the bookshops that line the streets, or by small boys who carry them about on the streets and are given commissions on their sales.

This kind of publication is not limited to Onitsha. It is common in the towns of Southern Nigeria, especially in Ibadan, where many appear in the Yoruba language. Nigerian librarians and scholars have begun to emphasize the importance of these publications, and make serious efforts to acquire them. Valerie Bloomfield, Librarian of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London University, has fascinatingly ex- amined the problems of acquiring these publications in her paper presented at the International Conference on African Bibliography in Nairobi in December 1967.1 She has noted that “these go quickly out of print and become completely unobtainable before they appear, if at all, in bibliographies”.2 There are other perplexing problems facing a biblio- grapher working with them. First there is the question of authorship. Many of them, especially satirical ones, do not have the name of the author on the title page, if they have a title page at all. Second, the imprint is frequently defective; there may be no place, or even date of publication. The present writer once asked a friend who happens to be a printer why many of his printed works lacked dates. He was candid in declaring that the authors of the particular works in question, who also happened to be their own publishers as often happens, omitted the dates because people might not buy them after a considerable period of time if some copies remained unsold. This kind of literature is, as Nancy J. Schmidt puts it, designed for the “average man”.3

As for the uniqueness of the Onitsha Market literature, one may go back in history. Onitsha has the largest market in Africa; it is both a

1 Pearson, J. D. and Jones, R. (Eds). op. cit., pp. 223-29. 2 Ibid., p. 233 3 Schmidt, N. J. (1965). Nigeria: fiction for the average man. kljk. I?@. X, 39-41.

NIGERIAN STUDIES 111

commercial and educational center for the Ibos where traders from all parts of the country and from other African countries go for commercial transactions. Christianity-the Protestant religion-which reached Ibo- land in 1857 was first brought into Onitsha by a freed slave, a Yoruba Bishop, Samuel Adjai Crowther. Roman Catholicism arrived in 1885, and from this date Protestants and Roman Catholics began to compete for evangelical influence in Iboland with Onitsha as a base. Churches and schools were at once built by the two denominations and the town became an educational and proselytizing center. Today there are numerous schools and churches of various religious denominations. Thus these elusive and evanascent publications are only in keeping with the spirit of the time.

Two American scholars, Nancy Schmidt and Bernth Lindfors, have made use of the Onitsha literature in their doctoral dissertations. Nancy Schmidt examines the Nigerian fiction in English in its socio-cultural setting by analysing about 226 works, including novels, short stories, chapbooks. Lindfors evaluates the achievements of 16 novelists noting their literary influences, foreign and domestic, and surveys the develop- ment of the Nigerian fiction in English.2

The most important publication on this literature is Igbo Market Literuture (1970) compiled and published by the Black Academy Press in New York, whose Editor-in-Chief is former Ibo Professor of French Literature at the State University of New York at Buffalo. It is a five- volume work on the classics of the Igbo Market literature in more than 4000 original pages of drama, poetry and romance:

Vol. 1, The Book of Tropical Love. Vol. 2, The Art of Life. Vol. 3, All about Women. Vol. 4, The Tragedy of Politics. Vol. 5, Money, Women and Sex.

Another work of note is Andre Nitecki’s Onitsha Publications (1967), a 20 four-page compilation. From the critical point ofview, Dr Emmanuel Obiechina, a Lecturer in English at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has made the most outstanding contribution to the study of Onitsha market literature. His Literature for the Masses: An Analytical Study of Popular Pam..hleteering in Nigeria, an 84-page book published in 1971, is the only comprehensive critical monographic work yet published. In

1 Schmidt, N. J. (1965). An Anthropological analysis of Nigerian fiction. Doctoral Dis- sertation, Northwestern University, pp. 398.

2 Liidfors, B. (1969). Nigeria fiction in English, 1952-1967. Doctoral Dissertation, Uni- versity of California, Los Angeles, pp. 280

112 C. C. AGUOLU

1972, he also published Onitsha Market Literature, an 182-page work comprising selected Onitsha popular publications with a bibliography of such publications appended. The introduction to the work, pp. 3-30, provides a delightful, critical panoramic survey of this local literature. However, there are other noteworthy publications that have appeared in journals in the former articles written by Ulli Beier,r Donatus Nwoga,s Peter Young3 and Bernth Lindfors.4

The bibliographic control of Nigerian literature has two aspects. The first involves the production of a comprehensive bibliography of primary works : those written by Nigerians themselves-novelists, playwrights, poets and short-story writers, and essayists-from the earliest times to the present day. No country south of the Sahara is more prolific than Nigeria in literary production. The second needed effort is a biblio- graphy of secondary works-critical works on Nigerian writers, in- cluding those by foreign as well as Nigerian critics. The preparation of these bibliographies is necessary in the light of the steady growth of Nigerian literature. At present, one may rely, for the primary sources, on such works as Janheinz Jahn’s Neo-Ajican Literature from AJi-ica, America and the Caribbean (1965) ; and Pal Paricsy’s A New Bibliographr of Ajican Literature (1969). For secondary works there are such valuable works as Bibliography of Creative AJi.ican Writing (1971) compiled by Janheinz Jahn and Claus Dressler; John Ramsaran’s New Approaches to African Literature : a Guide to Negro-African Writing and Related Subjects, 2nd ed. (1970), valuable also for primary works. Barbara Abrash’s Black African Literature in English since 1952: Works and Criticism, and the ex- cellent work by Hans Zell and Helene Silver, A Reader’s Guide to Literature of Africa (1971).

The provisions of the National Library Decree 1970 are a clear evidence of the Federal Government’s interest in the library and biblio- graphical development in Nigeria. Bibliographic problems plague every nation in varying degrees, but they are more complex in African states, especially in the humanities and social sciences where there has been an exponential growth of literature in recent years. Professor H. A. Lorentz at a session of the League of Nations on an Intellectual Co-operation some 45 years ago made a statement that is still valid today and applies to all countries:

“The end to be attained is that no book or manuscript should be out

1 Beier, U. (1964). Public opinion on lovers; popular Nigerian literature sold in Onitsha Market. Black Orpheus, 14,4-16.

s Nwoga, D. (1965). Onitsha market literature. Transition, IV, (19), 26-33. 3 Peter Young. (1966). A note from Onitsha. Bull. ASJOC. Afr. Lit. 3740. 4 Lindfors, B. (1967). A Preliminary checklist of Nigerian drama in English. Afro-Asian

Thea&e Bull. II, 16-21.

NIGERIAN STUDIES 113

of reach-that we should be able to know where any book is to be found, and how it may be made accessible as easily as possible. You may think that is a little thing, but in reality it is a great thing.“1 This sounds idealistic but that is the whole idea behind bibliographic control.

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SERVICES IN NIGERIA

Strong financial support is needed from the Government, whether Federal or State. This could involve awarding more scholarships to prospective students in librarianship and the sending of professional librarians abroad for further training. Library schools at the University of Ibadan and Ahmadu Bello University should give more intensive bibliographic training to their students, who should be encouraged to gain some reading knowledge of at least French and German. Linguistic competence is very necessary in comprehensive bibliographical work which is international in scope. There should be greater co-operation among librarians from different ethnic groups and with different cultural backgrounds in the compilation of works in indigenous languages. The enforcement of the legal deposit is a sine qua non since the production of the current national bibliography depends primarily on the deposit of books with the National Library. There should be more effective inter- library co-operation and co-operation between the Nigerian Library Association and the Nigerian Publishers’ Association, a representative of which perhaps is needed in the new National Library Board. Finally duplication of any major bibliographical work should be avoided at all costs. Research is needed on the problems of the deposit law, and the Department of Library Studies, University of Ibadan, which has estab- lished advanced library degree courses, could take it up.

1 Downs, R. and Jenkins, F. (Eds) (1967). Bibliography: Current State and Future Trends. P 3. Urbana : University of Illinois Press.