IFRA Library

Introducing the IFRA-Nigeria Research Library

Please note that the library is currently closed due to the current pandemic.

The library is located on the ground floor of the Institute of African studies, University of Ibadan, next to IFRA-Nigéria general office. It opens from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm every working day.

The library has a full-time librarian in the person of Mrs. Rachel Fabunmi, a graduate from the Department of Librarian and Archival Studies, the University of Ibadan (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

The main goal is to enhance scientific research by providing researchers with adequate reference materials in the Social Sciences and the Humanities.

Basic information

There are about twenty sitting places. The library includes over 5000 books. About 25% of the books are in French. It maintains a computerized database (CDS/ISIS, a software package, developed by UNESCO).

A new inventory has been prepared in 2011 and a new system of classification adopted for easy retrieval of library materials. Researchers are advised to acquaint themselves with this scheme in order to be able to locate books on the shelves.

Registration Process

The IFRA-Nigeria library is open to graduate students and faculty members only.

Registration is free.

For students, a letter of introduction from their supervisor/Head of Department is requested for registration together with a valid student ID card. For lecturers and researchers, a valid professional ID card with the affiliated institution is accepted. Researchers are advised to arrive early as space in the library is limited. Sitting space cannot be booked in advance.

All categories of users are required to sign the special register each time they use the library.

Press Cuttings

The press cuttings are currently selected from three Nigerian newspapers: The Guardian, the Punch and the Nigerian Tribune. These cuttings are classified following a classification scheme formulated by the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (FNSP) and modified by IFRA-Nairobi Press Library. Further modifications have been made by IFRA-Nigeria to suit its purpose. The scheme applies the principle of development from the general to the most specific. The cuttings are put in files and arranged in a chronological order.

The cuttings start from January 1st 1991 and files on many of the topics designated in the classification scheme have already been created. These files provide information on political, economic and social questions in Africa and developing countries, but the emphasis of the documentation is on Nigeria. A reflection is on-going to digitalize the collection of press cuttings.

Press cuttings’ main topics are: Government, Parliament, Political Activities, Public Order, Law and Justice, Calamities, Information, Mass Communication, Foreign Affairs, Military Affairs, OUA, Ecowas, Military affairs, National Sovereignty, Education and Intellectual Activities, Intellectual and Artistic Activities, Social questions, Professional groups and Unions, Social and Security Insurance, Working Conditions, Working relationships and conflicts, Labour force, Constructions and (Urbanism) Town planning, Demographic Problems, Economic Issues, economic Policy, Agriculture, Energy, Industry, Transport, Distribution interior commerce, Price, Revenue, Foreign Economic Relations, Finance, History, International Law.