The State Librarian of Oyo State Library Board, Mrs Adebola Akinlolu, has called on the general public to imbibe reading culture, because when one stops reading, one stops learning. This was said on an Online Television Programme called “COMMUNITY TODAY” at CEO Africa’s studio, No 24, Onireke, Ibadan.

Mrs Akinlolu said that library is crucial, it can never be relegated. “For any development to be carried out, citizenry must be well informed and educated. This is where the services of library comes in”. The library serves as a pivot for providing necessary information needed.

She emphasised the importance of library to investors, researchers, agriculturalists, entrepreneurs and so on. Investors can know about the country to be invested in, through information assessed through library. Researchers and publishers go to libraries to put in their published works she said.  

The state Librarian lamented about the lackadaisical attitude among the so called illiterate which has being a major concern.

 She said the board in it efforts to boost the reading habit, put a campaign programme up called the “READERSHIP PROGRAMME” to encourage people to come to library, cultivate the culture of reading. The library services are free but certain amount has to be paid for the whole year to have access to the library.

Mrs Adebola Akinlolu stressed the need for government to promote reading culture in schools. Although, the government cannot do it alone, entrepreneurs, businessmen and the alumni of schools can reach out to their schools by donating free books to encourage them.

Parents must be a good example to their children by reading books, giving out books as birthday gifts, when a child comes first in school and other occasions. It encourages them to read, Mrs Akinlolu stated.

She identified the achievement made by the Library Board in promoting reading culture through in-house training workshop for librarians to update their professions, mobile libraries taken to the rural areas and going out to bring students to the library to explain the importance of using it.