A sense of satisfaction and pride was in the air at the fully-packed J.F. Ade. Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos (UNILAG) on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 as Professor Yetunde Abosede Zaid, first Professor of Library and Information Sciences, Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, UNILAG, delivered the 9th Inaugural Lecture in the 2023/2024 Academic Session.
The hybrid Lecture, held on a day marked by UNILAG Library as Library Lover’s Day, provided a platform for Professor Zaid, who is also the first UNILAG Librarian to be appointed as Professor, to share her knowledge and research discoveries in information service structure, knowledge organization and management, information literacy, and library services to persons with special needs including vision impairment.
What is Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander!
Delivering the lecture titled: What is Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander, with a sign language interpreter on stage, Professor Zaid who is also the first female Librarian Fulbright Scholar in Nigeria revealed that the title was borne out of her desire to address the marginalisation faced by students with vision impairment.
According to her, with the increasing enrolment of students with vision impairment in many universities in Nigeria, the need for libraries to attract and serve this category of students using appropriate assistive technologies cannot be over-emphasised.
Elaborating on the need for inclusive practices in libraries, Professor Zaid posited that “inclusion is far more than accessibility to a building but in changing the environment and service delivery mechanisms through the adoption of the principle of universal design”.
Professor Zaid stressed the need for an integrated approach to mainstream library service delivery for all category of users, regardless of ability or disability, and affirmed that such an approach is necessary in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4. She called for an urgent move for Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals to promote inclusive practices in order to ensure that no one is left behind in accessing and using library collections, facilities, and services.
While advocating for the establishment of campus-wide disability support services for students with any form of disability in order to promote equitable, accessible and inclusive practices, Professor Zaid also gave several insightful recommendations not limited to just students with vision impairment but to other categories of disabilities.
These recommendations include the need for university libraries to show more commitment to inclusiveness by institutionalising inclusive policies and procedures; promoting staff development and training; providing equitable access to facilities and equipment; and building a supportive library environment that enables students with vision impairment seamlessly use library resources, services and facilities to meet their information and academic needs.
Please click What is good for the goose is good for the gander (unilag.edu.ng) for the full text of the Inaugural Lecture.
Array of notable Guests
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, in her remarks before and after the lecture, expressed gratitude to the mammoth crowd of dignitaries that turned up to support Professor Zaid as she delivered her Inaugural Lecture. The array of notable dignitaries included Professor Francis Ayo Ogunye, former members of the University Management; Group Managing Director, Alpha Morgan, Mr. Ade Buraimoh; representatives of diplomatic community; senior colleagues; staff and students of the University as well as friends and family of Professor Zaid.
While congratulating Professor Zaid for her vast contributions to the body of knowledge, the Vice-Chancellor acknowledged her immense passion for the development of library services, and significant contributions to the establishment of the Bachelor of Science Programme in Library and Information Science at the Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences where she teaches as an adjunct lecturer on pro-bono public.
Who is Professor Yetunde Abosede Zaid?
Born on September 22, 1969, in Lagos, Professor Yetunde Abosede Zaid holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree obtained from the Ogun State University (Now Olabisi Onabanjo University) in 1992, as well as Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Library and Information Studies from the University of Ibadan, bagged in 1997 and 2011 respectively.
Professor Zaid is a Certified Librarian with the Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) and an alumna of the International Exchange Programme of the United States Government, having won the Senior Fulbright Research Scholar Programme in 2016.
She joined the services of the University of Lagos as a Librarian II on the 2nd of July 2002, and rose through the ranks to Librarian I in 2010; Senior Librarian in 2013; Reader Librarian (Associate Professor Cadre) in 2016; and the University Librarian, by appointment, on March 14, 2019. She was also promoted to the rank of Professor in 2021.
Professor Zaid is a member of many national and international associations including Nigerian Library Association (NLA), where she was elected as Chairperson of the Lagos State Chapter from 2013 to 2015; International Society for Knowledge Organization (ISKO); American Library Association (ALA); African Librarians Council (ALC); Reference and User Services of the American Library Association (RUSA); and African Studies Association (ASA).
She has presented numerous papers at national and international conferences, and has over 30 publications in top-notch Library and Information Science journals, indexed in Scopus, Google Scholar, and ORCID. Her scholarly works have been of immense benefit to scholars within and outside Nigeria.
Professor Yetunde Abosede Zaid is married and blessed with children.
Report: Bayo Salau
Photographs: Ayo Oloyede
