Nigeria, Thee I Hail

 Nigeria I hail thee

Great nation, noble land

Great people, gallant minds

Great God, the Father of all

Thou art blessed, oh nation!

Thy vast land, thy glory

The endless resources of the greatest worth

These are thy richly crowns

Thy abundant human resources thy pride

Swarming thy soil like bee the hive

In tongue, though they differ, in tone one they art

In thy children, the nations art blessed

Thy geography is great, thy location perfect

In Africa, though biggest, the head thou art

In the world, a force; yea, a voice thou art

Nigeria, thee I love, Nigeria, my pride thou art

Thy many tribes thy colour

Thy various tongues thy crown

North and south home thou art

East and west, nay, a stranger never thou art

Forbid me if I talk of thy different people

Thy unity in diversity still will I praise

Farther a thought is thy various nations

All I see is the one, virile Nation, Nigeria thee I hail!

Left Alone: A poem

Left Alone

You picked whom you know

You helped your very own

You left me alone

To walk in the cold untold

You scurried off your car

You left me by my heart

To ponder o’er your act

But my heart did its art

And sang a joyous chorus

Though the cold perilous

But walked with gaily pleasure

To reach my throne glorious

Open Access Walk at Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Nigeria

Open Access Walk Video

Here is a creative Open Access Walk we had before the kickoff of our 2016 Open Access Week programme at Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Nigeria.

https://youtu.be/-xK31fhIrJc

Happy viewing

Herdsmen: A Poem

HERDSMEN

Herdsmen or hard-men?

Who are these that slay without restraint?

Who are these that thirst for blood?

Who are these that plunder the land?

Their herds destroy our land

Turning fields of greens to grounds of ruins

And giving our farms the semblance of siege

As if to say the locusts had stricken

Their hearts abhor our princely heads

They disdain our natural rights to life

They rebuke with the whip of death

Our courage to query their heinous deeds

At their might miles of farmland were thrashed

In their hands many a soul have ceased to breathe

Villages were razed and races aborted

These are not herdsmen but hard-men, the enemies of mankind.

Welcome the 2016 IFLA/OCLC Fellows

https://vimeo.com/162367148/2d4f5cb3c2

Watch “IFLA WLIC 2016 Columbus” on Vimeo

https://vimeo.com/123093025

FORCE11 and The Future we can’t Avoid

It gives me much pleasure to come across the FORCE11 movement. I call it a movement as this represents our collective will to embrace the inevitable future we all must come to. It is better believed on time that it is not going to be business as usual as technology continues to emerge and ravage our modern world. So, we must all be proactive and be ready not only to accept the challenge technology will throw at us but to see how we can adapt to make it work for us. Although, the newer models of research communication are emerging yet the pace remains slow as traditional models still hold sway. The Open access movement is gaining momentum but there is still much to be done. In my opinion, part of that much left to be done is what FORCE11 has come to achieve, taking head-on the future of research communication and e-scholarship to the center burner of scholarly discuss. And we all must join hands; librarians, researchers, publishers and all stakeholders to do this.

Information and communication technology (ICT) continues to exact its telling impact on virtually everything. It has not spared scholarship. Doing research and communicating same has been hugely affected. Going are the days one had to wait twice a year to see the articles of a biennial journal or wait a whole year to see the next conference of a scholarly society organized. The e (electronic-) is taking over. E-conferences, e-seminars (webinars), e-journals and lots more are taking over to further underscore the impact of ICT. In fact, with Open Access and complementary technologies like the Institutional Repository (IR) libraries are even becoming publishers themselves. The social networking technology has also added a new twist to the whole show. Academic Social Networks (Mendeley, ResearchGate, Academia.Edu, etc) gaining strength from open access are also expanding the frontier of research communication in the digital era.

But one other emerging technology that should be considered for the great impact it will have on e-scholarship and research communication in times to come are the Virtual Research Environments (VREs). The VREs are other areas of technology I will like to direct our attention to as we consider the future of research communication and e-scholarship. The VRE is like an amalgamation of several technologies like wikis, blogs, and lots more. The VRE handles well every stage of the research process, from conceptualization to communication. The VRE, allows, within a digital environment the collaboration of researchers beyond the limit of physical borders. 

The VRE like HubZero, Open Science Framework (OSF) and others gives room for collective research. They are good platforms for research collaboration and peer review. In fact, you can see the contribution of every collaborator to the project or research work within a VRE. And real life sharing of research findings is possible within the VRE. This is what I will desire we consider, how the VRE can be used with growing emerging technologies to take us to the future we are envisaging for research communication and e-scholarship. 

I am a librarian with interest in emerging technologies and anything e. I am also passionate about open access. I am a member of the Open Access Week and regular commemorator of the International Open Access Week since I know about it. I am equally a PhD student with interest in Institutional repository. I have gone through the FORCE11 manifesto and convinced that I have a movement to join. Attending the conference will in no small measure grant me first hand information on the future of research communication and enable me to abreast of global efforts being taken in e-scholarship. It will in no doubt enhance my advocacy skill as a librarian with interest in emerging technology in scholarship. It will also empower me to mobilize support for the movement in Nigeria and Africa at large.

I hereby desire to be part of the FORCE2016 in Portland and future activities of the FORCE11 movement.

Kindly consider me for the Travel Fellowship as this will greatly enhance my participation.

The future we can’t avoid is really here; let’s go and consider the FUTURE of research communication!

Thank you.

2015 International Open Access Week: Elizade University at it Again...

ELIZADE UNIVERSITY, ILARA-MOKIN, NIGERIA

Celebrated 2015 International Open Access Week with a Workshop…

Theme: Emerging Research Tools: Focus on Google Scholar, Academia.Edu and Zotero

Date: Thursday, October 22, 2015

Time: 12noon

Venue: Performing and Film Theatre

Participants: All Faculty Members

It was exciting...
Visit http://openaccessweek.org/events/open-access-week-at-elizade-university-emerging-research-tools

National Poetry Day: An Ode to the Heroes

For their rights to place a demand

For their demand of what’s right

Today, 1976, Soweto wailed!

Tears streamed down the cheeks of mothers

When Regina could not save the boy

When the fathers gasped to cope with awe

The awe of children lost to bullets

Unkind barrels that fell the likes of Hector

Hectic moment in the life of a people

People of all colours the like of a rainbow

Who now bow to the wishes of a pardon

Pardon advanced by a “prisoner” of old

That reproached the horror the Isle bestowed

To become the prince of his people by grace!

Written and Dedicated this day, 16^th June, 2015 to the children lost to the 1976 youth uprising in Soweto

By Adegbilero-Iwari, Idowu @ Pretoria, SA. 

Carnegie CPD Programme

Enhancing librarians' ICT skills for research enablement in African universities: a Carnegie CPD programme  

The Department of Information Science, University of Pretoria, was awarded a grant by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to offer eight four-week residential continuing professional development (CPD) programmes for qualified librarians from Sub-Saharan Africa, for the period 2014 – 2016. 

The aims of the programme are to:

• Empower the next generation of library and information professionals within Sub-Saharan African countries with hands-on skills to apply current and emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs);
• Build capacity amongst library and information services (LIS) professionals to support and enable researchers.

Eligibility criteria and application process 

A.  Eligibility criteria

Academic librarians and LIS faculty in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda are eligible to apply for admission to this programme. Selection of candidates for this fully funded programme is highly competitive and is based inter alia on the following criteria:

• Current qualifications: at least a first degree in LIS from a government recognised and/or accredited tertiary education institution. Applicants with postgraduate degrees will also be eligible for selection if you comply with other criteria listed;
• Age eligibility 25 – 45 years;
• Work experience 5 – 7 years;
• Exceptions, for age and work experience, will be considered on a case by case basis when accompanied by a strong motivational letter from your manager or director;
• The availability of the required technologies in your current work environment or library;
• Past academic performance;
• Proficiency in English;
• Potential to explore and embrace emerging technologies;
• Willingness and ability to share what is learned with others in the profession;
• Demonstrated commitment of participant’s home institution to supporting sharing and future development activities;
• Willingness and ability to work as a team member;
• Interest in current international library issues.

B.    Application process

The following documents should be emailed to Joan de la Haye at Carnegie-cpd@up.ac.za: 

• A detailed CV (according to the specified template available here) which describes your work experience, current job description and responsibilities: involvement in ICTs combined with support of researchers will be a prerequisite. Also include a detailed description of ICT-related job responsibilities, knowledge of ICT technologies and programmes, and ICT-related training);
• A recommendation letter from your current employer / line manager, highlighting your current levels of technology skills;
• A commitment from your current employer that they will make time available for you to attend the four week programme as well as time to devote to your assignments after completing the programme;
• Academic documents and transcripts;
• Prospective students will be required to write an essay of approximately 1000 words explaining why they:
  • would like to participate in the programme, what they hope to learn from the programme,
  • should be selected for the programme and what they hope to contribute to the programme. 

Applicants should demonstrate the following in their essays:

• Potential to explore and embrace emerging technologies;
• Willingness and ability to share what is learned with others in the profession;
• Demonstrated commitment of participant’s home institution to supporting sharing and future development activities;
• Willingness and ability to work as a team member;
• Interest in current international library issues. 

Please note:

• Your application will be acknowledged within 72 hours. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please follow up.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• All participants are expected to comply with the requirements and adhere to the arrangements of the programme from the initial selection to the completion of the programme.

Grant conditions 

• Only participants from Carnegie countries namely Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, will be considered for the programme.
• The funding covers books and other academic expenditures, flights, accommodation, and a daily stipend while in Pretoria.
• Medical insurance for non-South Africans, is included.
• Visa applications and personal expenses (for example medicine, laundry, internet top-ups, phone calls, etc.) are excluded. The grant also does not make provision for ICT equipment such as laptops, modems, etc. 

CPD programme themes 

1. Setting the context: Libraries, ICTs and research 
2. Leadership and innovation
3. Advanced Information literacy and advanced information retrieval
4. Social media for research discoverability in an academic environment
5. Mobile technology and mobility
6. Managing and organising information
7. Personal Information Management
8. Open Scholarship and Open Science (OS/S) – Publishing
9. Open Scholarship and Open Science – Institutional Repositories.
10. Open Scholarship and Open Science – Understanding and using research data management
11. Digitisation
12. Evaluating website architecture
13. Cloud services and storage
14. Virtual research environments
15. The next generation librarian 

Programme details 

• The four-week CPD programme is offered only in English.
• The programme is divided into distinct modules offering different information and each presented in a different format. The intention hereof is to provide a variety of activities that will be able to stimulate individual and group participation. These include:
  • Formal presentations
  • Workshops
  • Leadership tools
  • External visits
  • Evening speakers
• Lectures and practical training sessions will take place in the training venues in the Merensky Library of the Department of Library Services and the Tswelopele Smart Venue of the School of Information Technology.
• Free Wi-Fi is available in all training venues.
• All participants will be assessed on inter alia a portfolio of completed exercises done during the four-week programme, a group assignment and presentation on the last day of the programme, and a post-programme assignment.
• A minimum average final mark of 50% has to be obtained in order to pass. A final mark of 75% or higher will merit a distinction.
• The certificate of competence will be conferred on a participant who successfully completes the programme. 

Important Dates

Applications open: 28th of September 2015
Applications close: 28th of October 2015
Successful Candidates will be notified by the 30th of November 2015 
The course will commence on the 27st of February 2016

Contact Details 

Carnegie CPD Administration:

Ms Joan de la Haye

Email:  Carnegie-cpd@up.ac.za

Telephone: +27 12 420 2887

Presented in collaboration with the Centre for African Library Leadership.

Funded by:

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