AUN honoured by American Library Association

The American University of Nigeria has received the American Library Association’s Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Project Award during its annual conference in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
The prestigious award was formally presented to Amed Demirhan, AUN’s Library Director, by ALA’s President, Maureen Sullivan, at a celebratory dinner on July 1.
AUN was recognized for:
· “Creating a digital library model … that is affordable, sustainable and increases the availability of resources for users,
· Transitioning towards a digital library collection that is more cost effective and increases the number of resources available to students and faculty, and
· Emphasizing the importance of sharing resources by including digital open access collection in the online library that is accessible by other local and regional universities.”
The ALA said the award is an illustration of the organization’s mission to promote and share information about international librarianship.
AUN’s President, Dr. Margee Ensign, commended Director Demirhan for serving as the inspiration and driving force behind AUN’s innovative e-library.
“This award is wonderful news for the University and a great reflection of your outstanding leadership,” Ensign said.
Demirhan said: “The award is evidence of AUN’s commitment to excellence in higher education and to using digital resources in innovative ways.”
About 18,000 librarians and library staff attended ALA’s Annual Conference and more than 500 from more than 80 countries witnessed the reception and ceremony at which the AUN award was presented.
AUN was one of three recipients of the 2013 Presidential Citation.
AUN hosts the largest wireless network in West Africa and was the first to pioneer a transition to e-books in Africa.
The university’s e-library boasts a collection of hundreds of thousands of e-books as well as an enormous collection of online databases providing millions of e-articles from any location on campus and from anywhere they have access to the Internet.
Founded in 2003, the American University of Nigeria is Africa’s first development university, inspired by the vision of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that knowledge must be applied to benefit all people.
AUN is training young Africans to assume the leadership of their societies through a dynamic development process that is based on the enduring values of Africa’s vibrant cultures and rich past.