Indigenous Knowledge Preservation in Nigeria, An Outlook of Public Libraries' Efforts in Kwara State

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge which has been passed from generation to generation orally is in danger of being lost, unless it is documented formally and preserved. This study examines the preservation of indigenous knowledge in public libraries in Kwara State. The study has generated four research questions and it has adopted survey research design. The population includes 202 staffs of public libraries in Kwara State. Total enumeration sampling was used. The study used self-structured questionnaire as a tool for data collection and frequency counts tables and simple percentages mean and standard deviation were used for data analysis. The study has found out that indigenous knowledge materials available in the libraries are of local agriculture, traditional medicine, religion and health care, while others like conflict resolution, local entertainments, housing and traditional security  system are not as copiously available and there are lapses in the preservation methods. The study recommends that government should make funds available for the running of the public libraries and the libraries should cooperate and work closely with their host communities, most especially the indigenous knowledge practitioners who are custodians of unpublished records.