Abstract

This paper depicts the importance of collaboration of libraries in mitigating the challenges facing the Nigerian Library System. It explains that libraries are facing financial set back as a result of low subvention, currency devaluations, hiking prices of books, journals and databases and changing nature of the library users which always lead to increasing client expectations, changing technologies etc., and these threats can only be overcome through library collaboration. The paper examined three forms of collaborations that exist in Library system. The paper revealed areas for collaboration which includes cooperative acquisition, cooperative cataloguing, cooperative referencing, staff development, library exchange and librarian and library user networks, resource sharing and inter-library loan. The paper also stated the benefits of collaboration as increased human cooperation, exposure of librarians to global library practices and significant reduction in operational costs. The paper further enumerated the challenges of collaboration in libraries which are inadequate funding, proliferation of informal collaboration, high competition in library profession, leadership issues, lack of structured library development policies, among others. The paper therefore recommends that government through its agencies and library bodies such as Ministry of Education, Nigerian Union of Universities and Nigerian Library Association should enact and monitor favourable collaborative policies among Nigerian Library System. Again, library leadership should come up with alternative sources of library funding, also by engaging donor agencies and non-governmental agencies to support libraries.