Library
LADIPO ADAMOLEKUN PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIBRARY
The Ladipo Adamolekun Public Affairs Library was commissioned on Thursday, January 26, 2006 by the Rt. Rev Bolanle Gbonigi, the retired Bishop of Akure Diocese.
In attendance were Chief Olu Falae, a former minister of finance; Dr. Bode Olajumoke, philanthropist, Chief Fasoranti, ag. leader Afenifere (Yoruba socio-cultural group) and many others.
The event received considerable media coverage.
The commissioning of the library also served as the maiden edition of the IJU Quarterly Public Affairs Forum (hyperlink to the relevant section below) and Professor Kole Omotoso, writer, lead a stimulating discussion on Establishing and Nurturing Democratic Societies in Africa: Some Lessons from South Africa. The session was moderated by Dr. Bode Olajumoke.
Background
About halfway through my career in academia in the late 1970s, I decided that a proposed bungalow to be built in my hometown would have the largest room serve as a library. A decade or so later, I resolved to build a stand-alone library. The architectural design was completed in early 1992 and construction started the same year. The building was completed within five years but I decided that it would only be commissioned for use after my retirement. The library has capacity for over 15,000 volumes and is called a public affairs library because the majority of the titles deal with different aspects of public affairs, covering the arts, social and management sciences. The library also has an office for the owner, a reading room for other users that can seat 12 persons, and space for a library assistant.
On Becoming a Bibliophile
My childhood interest in reading more than prescribed school texts was nurtured by the availability of senior siblings’ books in the attic of the family house in Iju. This early “love affair” with books and reading continued through the different educational institutions that I attended from the 1950s through the 1960s to the early 1970s.
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At Oyemekun Grammar School, Akure (“O” levels), I became a library assistant in my second year and in my fourth year, I was appointed School Librarian, a school prefect position normally reserved for fifth formers.
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At Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti (“A” levels), the Principal, L.D. Mason, granted me access to his personal library to meet my appetite for a wider range of books and references than those that were available in the school library.
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At the University of Ibadan, Ibadan (undergraduate studies), I was a regular in the University Library to take advantage of its excellent collection of books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
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During my years in the University of Oxford, England (graduate studies), the 24/7 access to the College Library was a great delight.
And during my years in the World Bank, I was on the list of staff members that regularly received information on new acquisitions in the Joint Bank-Fund Library.
Users of the Library
Although the library is primarily a private collection of books and other documents for the owner, there will be a limited public access for three categories of users.
(1) Researchers in tertiary and research institutions, especially those that are located within 40 to 50 kilometres of Iju. They will be able to use materials available in the library for between two and six hours in a day and return to their respective homes or institutions.
(2) Selected senior secondary school students from the six secondary schools in the area: three public and three private. The students to be selected will be those with potential to benefit from resources that would further stretch their minds beyond what textbooks and their own school libraries provide. An equal number of female and male students will be selected from each school.
(3) Members of the public from the same catchment area who would like to consult reference materials available in the library ranging from recent reports of development institutions like the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank to Encyclopedias and books on the Arts and Social Sciences.
Quarterly Public Affairs Forum Series
An extension of the library’s dedication to the “promotion of knowledge” is the decision to organize a Quarterly Public Affairs Forum (QPAF) series to be held in the vicinity of the library. The Forum will be held on the last Thursday of every quarter unless otherwise announced.
The other topics/speakers for the 2006 series are: “Perspectives on Africa’s Development Performance” by Dr. Victoria Kwakwa, “Reflections on the Politics of Leadership Succession” by Professor Alex Gboyega, and “The Political Restructuring that Nigeria Needs” by Mr. Dare Babarinsa.
Participation in the QPAF series will be either by invitation or through self-selection. Persons interested in any of the three remaining presentations scheduled for 2006 will be requested to inform the host by email or phone at least two weeks before Forum. Each QPAF will last two (2) hours only (11:30am – 1:30pm).