THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NIGERIA LIBRARY: A PROFILE

Abstract

The term special library has been variously defined and connoted in recent times that there seems to be many definitions as there are authors. However, the definition which appeals to the writer most is that provided in L.M. Harrod's Librarian's glossary and  quote: "A library maintained by an individual, corporation, association, government agency or any other group for the collection, organisation and dissemination of information and primarily devoted special subject and offering specialised services specialised clientele"' I have underlined what consider the operative words in this definition and which per se characterises special libraries. There is abundant evidence to conclude that special libraries, as contended by Mr. E.T.A. Oguara were the first species of the 'library animal' to appear in the Nigerian library scene. However, tracing their genesis and reconstructing their historical development pose much difficulty. Their pattern of development and growth is interesting but that is not the subject of this paper. Suffice it to say that there is hardly any consensus as to the exact date of the establishment special libraries in Nigeria or which was the first to established. It is widely accepted that the Law Library Federal Ministry of Justice, Lagos with a history dating back to 1900 if not earlier, is the oldest special library in the country. Mr. E. 8. Bankole"* writing on special libraries in 1966 gives the names of the older special libraries as the Secretariat, the Medical Research Institute Libraries (both in Lagos), the Agricultural Department Library, Ibadan and the Geological Survey Department Library, Kaduna. This profile on the Geological Survey of Nigeria (GSN) Library will be based largely on the above chosen definition which is all embracing from the writer's point of view The Geological Survey of Nigeria Library is the oldest of its kind in the country. Besides, it has the singular reputation of having the richest collection in the earth sciences in this country. Earth scientists in Nigeria appreciate the service offered by the library and have called on the Federal Government to make it a legal deposit Library for all literature on the geology of Nigeria.