A postgraduate student in the Department of Plant Breeding and Seed Technology (PBST), College of Plant Science and Crop Production (COLPLANT) of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Famogbiele Ayomide, has won the first prize under the M.Sc. Category in The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL) Research Paper Competition, conducted by the Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA) and TEEAL projects.
Famogbiele bagged the first prize worth US $3,000 ahead of Ekum Iwada of the University of Lagos, who won the second prize worth US $2,000 while Oziohu Hauwa won third place worth US $1,000. The criteria used in selecting the winners include clarity of thesis development, methodology, quality of analysis, completeness and diversity of references, while a panel of distinguished judges, drawn from across various universities in Africa, reviewed all the research papers to select the top papers.
ITOCA is a capacity-building organisation, aimed at providing, promoting and building capacity for scientists, researchers and information professionals in the use of electronic resources in the Sub-saharan Africa (SSA). Established in February 1999, ITOCA aims at providing the research and academic communities with access to up-to-date, affordable and published scientific scholarly literature by developing the required relevant skills. It is also the digital library for excellence in agricultural research and education. The ‘Nimbe Adedipe Library, which conducts training on the use of TEEAL for Academic Staff and postgraduate students in the University, had announced the call for applications for the competition late last year.
In a similar vein, a delegation from the ‘Nimbe Adedipe Library has attended the 82nd General Conference and Assembly of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), World Library and Information Congress, which was recently held in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. They are: Dr. Fehintola Onifade, Dr. Fredrick Ajegbomogun and Mr. Jonathan Fatokun. IFLA is the international body that represents the interests of library and information services, as well as their users, by serving as the global voice for library and information professionals. It was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1927 and it has members in approximately 150 countries of the world.
In a related development, Dr. Onifade has paid an official visit to Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries, Oregon, United States of America, where she presented papers titled, “Academic Libraries and Librarians in Nigeria”, “Breaking Through or Breaking Down” and “Promise Session” alongside the President of the University, Edward Ray. It would be recalled that ‘Nimbe Adedipe Library and OSU Library have “sister” library relationship, under a collaborative agreement where the “sister” libraries are expected to participate in staff exchanges, exchange of reference and other library materials, as well as research projects. Members of the staff of both libraries have been participating in virtual seminars and academic meetings, while the coordinators of the “sister” library project are: Dr. Onifade and Laurie Bridges, a Librarian and Associate Professor at OSU.
Meanwhile, two members of staff of the ‘Nimbe Adedipe Library have bagged Doctorate degrees in Library and Information Science. They are: Dr. Olusola Bamigboye of the Media, Online and Library Resources Management and Dr. Bosede Ajiboye of the Records and Information Resource Management Units.