Title: Strategies for Preservation and Increased Access to Newspapers in Nigerian University Libraries
Abstract: Introduction Information is an essential commodity that is necessary for human and societal interaction and development. It is a must in all facets of human existence and development. Human beings must communicate and the essential ingredient of that communication is information. Institutions of learning, no matter the level, impart general and specialized knowledge through the provision of information to its students and the larger society. The level of human and societal consciousness and development to a large extent depends on the quality and quantity of information available and accessible. That explains why the society and institutions are structured in such a way that the level of academic recognition, prestige, responsibility and reward one gets is a function of the level of information one is enriched with through education, training and other exposures. That is also why schools and other academic institutions structure their recognition and award systems in various levels of merits i.e Diploma, first, second and doctorate degrees. One of the fastest means of transmitting current information is through the print media especially the newspapers. Newspapers A newspaper has been defined as a written publication containing news, information and advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, arts, entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns which express the personal or corporate opinion of the writers or publishers. Supplementary sections may contain advertising, comics, coupons, and other printed media. According to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance (1979), order to constitute a newspaper, a publication must conform generally to the following requirements: (i) it must be published in printed or written form at stated short intervals usually daily or weekly; (ii) it must not, either singly or, when successive issues are put together, constitute a book; (iii) it must be available for circulation to the public; (iv) it must contain matters of general interest and reports of current events'. The Department went further to state that 'notwithstanding the fact that a publication may be devoted to primarily to matters of specialized interest, such as legal, mercantile, financial, theatrical, religious, or sporting matters, nevertheless, if in addition to the special interest it serves, the publication contains general news, it is entitled to the classification of a newspaper. The printed newspaper as it is known today has a history of almost 400 years. During that span of time, over most of the world, the daily events that affect the lives of ordinary people have been written, discussed, photographed, satirized, praised and analyzed. It is a fascinating, first- hand source for not only history, but also fashion and art, commerce and values, culture, politics and thousand seemingly trivial things that people want to know about. In every language, the newspaper is an irreplaceable primary source not only for today's information needs, but especially for historians of every discipline (Ronan, 2005) Newspapers are still the most iconic outlet for news and other types of written communication. Newspapers record, print and publish stories of events that are of importance to the society at any given time. They are authoritative and credible records of the significant issues and events as and when they occurred. They provide excellent memories of a country's historical events and landmarks. They are sources of textual evidence useful to students, researchers, journalists, administrators, lawyers. Politicians, and the larger society (Nakiganda, 2007) Newspapers according to Onwubiko (2005) have been accorded a great deal of importance in the transmission of government policy, priority changes and even interest changes. …
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-06-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 4
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot