Libraries as indispensable agent for educational development

The paper discussed the library as a pre-requisite for sustainable development at all levels of education. It gave a typical breakdown of the types of libraries and their functions in bringing about educational development among the teeming rural and city population in our attempts at national growth and development. It emphasized the role of libraries through extension services and audio-visual aids, book exhibitions, pictures, newsreels, films, etc, for mass education. It also established that the libraries strengthen collaborative research among business, government and educational communities in the society and contribute to all life-long learning opportunities of all Nigerians. The library acknowledged the importance of a commitment to sustainable development to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future. As a way forward, the paper recommended that for education for all (EFA) to be a reality in Nigeria, government and policy makers in education should ensure that libraries are established alongside education and that all the libraries should be stocked with materials that are of immense contribution to the development of minds of the community and people in the environment which the libraries serve, which will in turn affect the country in general.