It is a concept that encourages a new generation of library services geared towards the needs and expectations of today’s library users. Essentially, the library is a repository of knowledge that strongly supports the intellectual growth of individuals within the mainstream of the academic learning environment. The provision of an organized collection of printed and non-printed materials is specifically intended to support the university's teaching, learning, and research activities needed to stimulate learning, skills development, knowledge creation, reflective thinking, and, more importantly, allow independent self-learning among individuals.

Library vision: To have a transformative impact on the university community through the continual provision of resources and services to stimulate intellectual curiosity and to facilitate learning and research within the university.

Library mission: Positioning ourselves as a hub of collaboration, digital innovation, and intellectual scholarly research among our users by providing information in multiple formats and leveraging current technologies to facilitate effective teaching, learning, and research.

A BRIEF HISTORY

The library started at the mini-campus on March 1, 2011 with a holding of over 850 volumes of current books, and moved to its permanent site along Igbokoda road in 2017. Presently, the library collection has grown to 47,965 volumes of books with other relevant information materials, courtesy of philanthropic donors and Books2Africa, a UK charity organization that donated 40,000 volumes of books to Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Ondo State in 2020. The acquisition policy of the library permits the purchase of at least four copies of a title for the central library and the school libraries. Donations and bequests are reviewed before they are accepted.

In our collections we have current books, journals, monographs, reference works, annual reports, and electronic resources, etc. Our primary audience is the staff and students of the university. The library also serves as a reference point for information acquisition for other sister institutions around us and the community in general. All bonafide users of the library are expected to register with the library and present their library pass on demand.

OBJECTIVES OF THE LIBRARY

• Selecting, acquiring, and organizing relevant and up-to-date information resources in all formats appropriate to the information needs of the university.
• Providing resources to the university community and external users such as books and periodicals, films and videos, software and electronic databases, and specialized tools and equipment such as projectors and graphics equipment.
• Continuously conduct information literacy and orientation to users through a variety of methods in order to provide guidance on the use of the library’s collection and inculcate lifelong information skills.
• Establishing, promoting and maintaining a wide range of services and dissemination strategies that support the academic programmes of the university and encourage optimum exploitation of the resources of the library.
• To provide a secure and conducive learning environment for the use of library resources.

TRANSFORMING THE OAUSTECH LIBRARY THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

The challenges of the world's information structure provide opportunities for libraries to re-envision our future-a future that will redefine libraries and information professionals’ roles to create a stronger value proposition. To do so, we must reimagine and realign our role within both the university where we live and the faculties, scholars, researchers, and students with whom we collaborate. The OAUSTECH library is an integral partner in the university’s effort to achieve its core mission of teaching, research, and community engagement.

The library creates social media accounts for users in order to provide timely and useful information about service delivery. It aims to start a conversation with our users and educate them on what the library is capable of doing, such as projecting the library's image and e-reputation, forming discussion groups and collaborating on projects, and reaching out to a new audience of potential users. For instance, sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Hi5, and MySpace allow users to build and customize their own profiles and communicate with friends, such as, "Ask a Librarian."

STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Libraries and librarians must produce more manpower staff in the ICT era to generate information from both digital and physical forms for efficient and quick service delivery. Constant formal training and retraining of staff on computer skills is essential at both the local (seminars, conferences, and workshops) and international levels in order to keep up with emerging technologies. The OAUSTECH library staff are constantly given the opportunity to develop themselves within the budgetary support of the university.

 LIBRARY ACHIEVEMENT

The New Library
The new University Library building was commissioned on August 25^th by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu. This colossal edifice, known as the "Akinbo Adesomoju Library," can be equated to the best in the world. The library is supported by TETfund's intervention with shelves, reading tables, and chairs. There are also standing and ceiling fans, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other amenities in the library.

Books donated  to the library through UK Charity Initiative
The university received aid from a UK Charity Programme in acquiring relevant books for the university. This excellent program strives to help underdeveloped countries improve their information literacy and strengthen their growth. The books, totaling 40,000 titles were given to OAUSTECH in August 2020, during COVID-19's epic. Other libraries' collections were also contributed by friends of the library (booksellers) and philanthropies. From 4,569 to 47,750 titles, the library has grown at an exponential rate.

For its operational services, the library uses KOHA Library Management Software (the best practice in world knowledge management).  The university’s virtual library has 125 workstations, two servers, two projectors, coloured photocopying machines, and printers with functional CCTV. The e-library now has up-to-date e-resources on e-books and e-journals.

Research4Life offered OAUSTECH five (5) years of free access to its database (2020–2025) during the tenure of Prof. Ogunduyile's administration, coupled with the efforts of the University Librarian that paved the way for this benefit. They are as follows: (AGORA-Agriculture; HINARI-Health; OARE-Environment; ARDI-Law; and GOALI-Innovation and Technology). During that time, our institution will be bailed out of a five-year annual database subscription worth more than $8 million.

The library subscribes to EBSCOhost Databases Academic Search Premier Engineering Source with a password and username, which has e-resources in the fields of the School of Engineering, Agriculture, and Science and is rated highly during accreditation.

In May 2021, the National Universities Commission conducted resource verification for the take-off of postgraduate programmes in the university. The required machinery in the library was put in place to meet the National Universities Commission's standards (NUC). The library is fully committed to the PG service through a dedicated room for seminars, conferences, and workshops with interactive learning facilities and a public address system.

The library houses a research and development center of excellence. OAUSTECH is one of the recipients of this TETFund research and development intervention for 2019. The intervention aims to help scholars at the institution support and improve their basic academic research activities. It was also created to stimulate the publication of high-quality academic journals that include empirical research findings from lecturers as well as cutting-edge research that addresses issues that are important to the nation's socioeconomic demands.

Bringing library services closer to the faculty's doorstep informs lecturers and students about the resources and services that they may be unaware of. At the moment, we only have two (2) school libraries: the Engineering and Science libraries are equipped with shelves, tables, and chairs, but more will be added soon.

The university's Internet connection remains a priority and is regularly made available for users. The library also augments services through MTN Router by routinely subscribing to its data and using it for library work such as online cataloguing and categorization systems.

STAFFING

The library currently has 17 staff who are committed to supporting the university's growth. They are: four (4) professionals, including a University Librarian, Four (4) Library Officers, Two (2) Assistants Library Officers; one (1) Secretary; and six (6) registry junior staff who are not permanent in the library but have been redeployed to supplement the library's working activities.