LIBRARY MAKERSPACE: SUPPORTING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL SYSTEM IN NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

¹Maalla Ajemasu; ²Yusuf Mohammed Inuwa; ³Yusuf Saad; ⁴Abdullshi Adamu Jumba

¹Muhammadu Wabi Library, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi

^{2 & 3}AbubakarTatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi

⁴Bauchi State Library Board

Email: madallajemasu@gmail.com; Yunuwa80@gmail.com; yusufsaadazare@yahoo.com  abdullahiadamujumba@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

The unemployment situation in Nigeria is at the alarming rate. It has eaten deep into the nation’s fabric. Graduates in Nigeria suffer the most because they make up the highest number of people in the country. This unemployment situation has caused macroeconomic distortions in the country. This calls for training of the graduates to be entrepreneurial and self-reliant so that the nation can overcome the issue of unemployment as well as become more prolific. The library has a role to play in inculcating the skills of entrepreneurship in the youth. To this regard, the concept Library Makerspace, Justification for a Library Makerspace as a tool for supporting an entrepreneurial system as well as different library making activities were discussed. Such activities include, Computer workstations, 3D printing, Photo editing, Video editing, video and audio capture, large format printing, Computer programming/software, Scanning photos to digital, Creating a website or online portfolio, Digital music recording, Electronic music recording and programming VHS conversion equipment, and so forth. Furthermore, the Entrepreneurial Skills Required by undergraduates/youths have been discussed, andthe challenges faced by the Nigerian libraries in facilitating these entrepreneurial programs have been identified and solution proffered. Lastly the author’s suggested ways of Planning a Successful Library Makerspace.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, youths, unemployment, library, Nigeria