Online Scientific and Technological Information in Nigeria: Prospects and Possibilities.

N

7

Access to Information; Communications; Computer Networks; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; Information Technology; Internet; Libraries; Online Systems; Optical Data Disks; Research and Development; Researchers; Sciences; Technological Advancement; Telecommunications; Union Catalogs

Nigeria is faced with developmental problems, most of which can be solved with the aid of scientific and technological information contained in books, journals and patents, largely obtainable from the advanced countries. There are academic and research institutions generating information that could enhance the economic development of the country but they are not sharing information. A few of them have computerized and they can form the nucleus of some national networks. The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology has commissioned a science and technology databank project to bring together the databases in the individual research institutes into a network. The university libraries are currently receiving assistance from the World Bank and it is hoped that part of the aid will be used to produce a networked computerized union catalog. Telephone lines in Nigeria are inadequate qualitatively and quantitatively. Digitalization of the lines is in the progress. These are as yet no public-switched data lines with packet switching supports to make online information cheap and affordable to researchers. Dial-up access to the Internet is not yet possible and has to be done through service providers outside the country. (Author)

1998

ED411846