Motorparks, markets, touts, traders overwhelm reading space

Govt aware of situation; responding to chaos —Librarian

By Marie-Therese Nanlong, Jos

MANY things have taken the shine off what used to define Plateau State and make it stand out as a destination of choice. One of them is the Plateau Library that used to provide a serene, conducive and attractive reading ambience for scholars, tourists and the general public in the state. The library, originally embedded in the lush green vegetation and cool temperate zone of the state, provided succour for those who needed a quiet, comfortable and friendly place to relax and read and even pray. It was a cynosure to those visiting the place on account of its alluring beauty and appeal over the years.

But all that is gone with the winds of retrogression that now defines the once sought-after place for readers and tourists. In its place now stands a decrepit, non-descript and deplorable structure overshadowed by shanties and a chaotic environment that actively prohibits any form of study, reading or academic exercise of any kind. Apart from that, it has also become a popular haunt for criminal elements. Sadly, this deplorable situation is yet to catch the attention of the state government and the policy makers in the education sector of the state. The library that once dominated positive discussion and stood out as model for others, now wears the image of a rejected graveyard.

Established over 40 years ago and situated in the commercial hub of the city, the Plateau State Library is now a shadow of itself and a source of concern for those who used to savour its beauty and relevance in the educational sector. In place of the hundreds of people who used to visit the library daily, the place can hardly boast of a handful of visitors per day, no thanks to the declining state of the building and the environment it is located.

Currently, the place has been taken over by traders, motorpark and miscreants, who have turned it into hideout for anti-social activities rather than reading and studying. Passersby who are not familiar with the building may take it for a local government motorpark because of the large number of elements running up and down, scouting for passengers, dealing in varying businesses with attendant noise pollution.

But the unfriendly atmosphere there has not gone down well with the Acting Chief Librarian in the state, Mr. Simon Lapwak. Speaking with Arewa Voice, he lamented the increasing activities around the library and the effect on its work. Lapwak, a certified librarian in Nigeria, CLN, also blamed the decline in patronage of the library on the outbreak of the COVID-19 and the level of internet penetration in the state that have combined to keep some visitors away.

Lapwak, who recalled with nostalgia what the library used to be, said: “Before the COVID-19 period, the patronage of the library had been very low because of the internet and the social media which have virtually affected the patronage of this library. Ten years ago, people used to struggle in order to get a space to sit or even hang around the library; but all that is gone with the internet social media increase.

“Social media and the internet have adversely affected the reading culture everywhere. People hardly go in search of hardcopy for information; they prefer to surf the web even when some of the information is incomplete. The number of people patronising the library has reduced drastically. From our register, the number of people who come in everyday is between nine and 14 as against the crowd we used to contend with in the past.

This has affected our revenue; users of the library are expected to register with N500 and renew their registration each year with N300. We have books, journals and newspapers here but gone are the days when people used to come here for their academic work. These days, students want to go to passing centres because they don’t involve themselves in reading. In those days, during the JAMB registration, you would see O’ Level students, they would fill in everywhere because they were reading to ensure that they pass their exams but today, the reverse is the case.

“The funding of the library too has been a problem not just here but everywhere. If you go to some states, there are no public libraries. Staff are scattered in other MDAs and government says there is no money. We are supposed to have soundproof windows and air-conditioners because the books too need air-condition so that when those reading inside are insulated from the noise outside but it is not so.”

On the noisy environment due to legal and illegal motor parks and roadside markets operating in the vicinity, he said: “The state government is aware of the rowdy situation around the library here and we believe they are doing something about its relocation from here. We have been speaking with government to see how they can look for land somewhere in a serene environment so that they can start up a new library so that we won’t have all these kinds of things we are seeing around because this place is now in the heart of the city. We have been making several efforts to clear the illegal motor parks around the library because the place is no longer conducive for reading and learning.”

He however explained that some of those operating within the premises are adhoc staff of the agency deliberately permitted to generate some revenue for the government. Lapwak said: “Those selling within the premises are doing so in line with our local arrangement here to raise revenue. We recognise the need to raise internally- generated revenue so as to make some returns to the government and we also have some ad-hoc staff who are being paid directly by us and not on the government payroll.”

With a place set up to aid knowledge improvement, it is not clear if the purpose of the library will ever be met under this prevailing situation.