Compliments of an Inquiry
Dear Fellow,
Welcome to November 2023. I hope it has been a memorable ride into the eleventh month of this year for you—we are two months shy from a new year. You can still make 2023 a memorable year in these last days. Why not, especially if you have had one long stretch of a busy ride since January? I hope you figure out a way to significantly break away from your routine and be better for it.
Transitioning from October to November, I had significant moments of wonder.
On Monday, 30th October 2023, I was given two autographed books authored by Professor Stephen A. Akintunde. Yes, I told you about him in a despatch. He was the one who talked me out of including a keynote address on the programme for a book launch. He was assigned the role of keynote speaker for my book launch until he corrected it. He was the one I wrote about in that despatch when I said we spent twenty-two minutes on the first phone call I ever put through to him. He was also the one who said to me on the phone that day, less than a week before my book launch, “I commend your creativity and initiative. This is what the university is about—to foster learning and encourage creativity.” He was the university librarian at the University of Jos Library from 2014 to 2020.
The books I was given that Monday were a fulfilment of a promise he made during that phone call which lasted twenty-two minutes. He told me not to worry when I complained about not finding a comprehensive historical account of the University of Jos Library. He said in a month or two, I would have that need met. Right now, not only do I have a comprehensive account of the library’s history since its inception, but I also have another book which reads like a guide to becoming a university librarian myself someday. Both books were written by the university librarian: 1. Set on a Hill: History, Growth, and Development of the University of Jos Library, and 2. Scorecard: Vision, Mission and Experience of a University Librarian.
After meeting with him that morning, I was at the university library. I went there to pitch the idea of conducting a tour of the library for some readers of my book who have sent requests for it. After discussing the idea with the administrative officer of the library, I wrote an application. The letter got approved the next day. On Wednesday, 1st November 2023, we had a tour of the University of Jos Library courtesy of my book.
We were six on the same train touring the library together. We went from section to section, exploring the wonder of the university library. Five of us were students of the University of Jos. Only Feyisayomi Ayo-Akwe was an outsider. She came from Lagos to my city and decided to seize that opportunity to join the tour. I am glad she joined us because she added colours to the tour. Not only because she was from far away, but because she saw the library before reading my book—more so, because she supported the book from a distance, in kind and cash, relying only on my stories about the journey and not having to read the manuscript first.
My inquiry into the University of Jos Library began with the book. So far, my inquiry has evolved into many adventures—a book reading in the library, a library picnic, and a tour of the library. I have been rewarded by finding fulfilment in pursuing these adventures. Yet, the books from Professor Akinture feel more like a compliment to my inquiry into the university library. His word of commendation on the phone that day was enough. But when your thirst is quenched, especially when you never saw the possibility in a place and time, the feeling of gratitude goes beyond description.
At a point I felt like my book should be published next year—that is, after reading these by the immediate past university librarian. Set on a Hill satisfies my curiosity about the library’s founding, services and equipment, management and operations. Then, an additional piece I never expected—a memoir of service, an autobiographical account of someone leading the team managing one of the fascinating places for me on campus.
When I set out to explore the library, especially through writing my book, I did not see this moment then. All I had at the time was the possibility of doing something that no student had done about the story of the University of Jos Library. All I saw was the possibility of telling the story of the university library—a story of my interactions with people there and the services rendered. Today, I have gotten more than I ever imagined from the library. With these books, I may just be set on another adventure altogether—maybe write another book about the university library or begin on the path to becoming a university librarian someday. Whatever it will be, I do not know. But for now, my inquiry into the university library has been warmly complimented with the gift of these books.
This is to more discoveries, good Fellow. Thank you also for being there to follow up on the accounts of this journey—but for your presence there, I’d likely not commit to writing this extensively about this ascent. Thank you for joining my inquiry into the university library so far. Cheers to more discoveries, even in your sphere of inquiry, good Fellow.
Your LetterMan,
Tongjal, W. N.