DONALD E. U. EKONG LIBRARY WEEKLY REPORT (MERGED) 2ND – 11TH APRIL, 2025

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DONALD E. U. EKONG LIBRARY WEEKLY REPORT (MERGED)

2ND – 4TH   APRIL 2025 REPORT

    1. On Friday, 4th April, 2025, two members of staff of the Donald E.U Ekong Library celebrated their 65th birthday which also marks their statutory retirement age from the services of the University. The staff members are Mr Frank Ordumah of Bindery Unit and Mr. Okwein Gad of Reference Unit.
    2. The American Corner Port Harcourt hosted the EducationUSA program on Wednesday, April 3, 2025. The programme had 12 participants in attendance
    3. The American Corner Port Harcourt has acquired a subscription to Chat Generative Predictive Text (ChatGPT) Artificial Intelligence. This AI is available for free at the AC-PHC for users
    4. The ‘Opportunity Fund’ Scheme from the American Consulate funding scheme for academically outstanding indigent students is still available. Registration is available at https://opportunityfundsnigeria.org. The fund only covers upfront costs (application fee, test fee, admission fee, among others).
    5. EducationUSA will be nominating students for the Second Chance program, which is designed to support students who have faced initial rejections or other challenges in their pursuit of studying in the United States. This initiative provides a second opportunity to apply to U.S. universities. If you know any high-achieving students who meet these criteria, kindly refer them to American Corner PHC.
    6. The ELibraryUdSA databases are available to users and provide remote access to JSTOR, ProQuest, PressReader, Libby App, BookFlix, and Kanopy. Users are encouraged to register at American Corner Port Harcourt for guidance on remote access registration.
    7. Upcoming programmes—The American Corner Port Harcourt will host the EducationUSA Programme on Wednesday, April 10, 2025. Staff members and students are encouraged to attend.
    8. The American Corner hosted two hundred and two users in the week under review.
    9. During the week, the library acquired daily issues of the following newspapers to keep the members of staff and students updated on local and international news: Guardian, Daily Sun, Punch, Vanguard, Telegraph, Business Day and This Day. The current daily issues are available at the Reference Unit of the library.
    10. The statistics for the week under review indicates 26% decrease in patronage from four thousand, four hundred and thirty-nine (4439) users recorded in the previous week to three thousand, two hundred and eighty-six (3286) users recorded in the present week.
    11. Donald E.U Ekong Library maintained two shifts which runs from 8.am -9pm on weekdays, and 9.am -5pm on Saturdays.
    12. The Knowledge Commons (for undergraduate students) and the Research Commons (for Post Graduate students) are accessible to students and researchers who wish to utilize the e-resources of the Library. Similarly, the Elsevier training laboratory on the second floor of the library has internet access to all subscribed databases and is accessible to faculty members.
    13. The library has received updated content in OnePro database https://onepetro.org/journals. This database furnishes registered researchers and faculty members with information on oil and gas exploration and production industry.
    14. The Library has received an update of its Scopus Database with the new content https://www.scopus.com/home.uri. This database provides registered faculty members and researchers with most extensive abstracts and cited database on peer-reviewed literature and information materials across disciplines.
    15. The library has received updated contents on AGORA database https://www.fao.org/agora/en/. This database furnishes registered researchers and staff with information materials, journals, audio-visual materials and other collections centred on agriculture and its related disciplines.

7TH – 11TH    APRIL 2025 REPORT

  1. The American consulate, through the Port Harcourt Corner, has programmes that aim to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous and highlight excellence in whatever America does. Staff and students are encouraged to register with the American Corner at https://forms.gle/fNmcMpyXqw7jULpa7 for this opportunity. Visit the corner after registration for onboarding. Registration is FREE.

 

  • The American Corner Port Harcourt hosted the EducationUSA program on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. The programme had 52 participants in attendance.
  • The American Corner Port Harcourt has acquired a subscription to Chat Generative Predictive Text (ChatGPT) Artificial Intelligence. This AI is available for free at the AC-PHC for users.
  • The ‘Opportunity Fund’ Scheme from the American Consulate funding scheme for academically outstanding indigent students is still available. Registration is available at https://opportunityfundsnigeria.org. The fund only covers upfront costs (application fee, test fee, admission fee, among others).
  • EducationUSA will be nominating students for the Second Chance program, which is designed to support students who have faced initial rejections or other challenges in their pursuit of studying in the United States. This initiative provides a second opportunity to apply to U.S. universities. If you know any high-achieving students who meet these criteria, kindly refer them to American Corner PHC.
  • The ELibraryUdSA databases are available to users and provide remote access to JSTOR, ProQuest, PressReader, Libby App, BookFlix, and Kanopy. Users are encouraged to register at American Corner Port Harcourt for guidance on remote access registration.
  • Upcoming programmes—The American Corner Port Harcourt will host the EducationUSA Programme on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Staff members and students are encouraged to attend.
  • The American Corner hosted two hundred and twenty-one users in the week under review.

 

  1. On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, the Donald E.U. Ekong Library Management organized a three-day in-house training programme titled “Empowering Librarians with AI Skills for Enhanced Faculty Collaboration and Research Support” targeted at equipping members of staff with the technological tools for their day-to-day activities and to enhance their service delivery. The training was declared open by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Owunari Georgewill, ably represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development), Professor Iyeopu Siminialayi. In his remarks, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (R&D) commended the initiative and reaffirmed the University’s commitment to supporting innovation and professional development efforts within the Library.

 

  1. The first training session commenced the same day with impactful training on Setting Barcodes for E-resources and Sending Bulk E-mails to Faculty Members, anchored by Dr. Jeremiah Ugwuelebo, and Practical Tips for Cataloguing by Dr. Nkiru Nwali. The participants comprised academic librarians from Donald E.U. Ekong Library and Cataloguers from Rivers State University Library. The training was well attended.
  • On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, the training continued with the focus on two key areas: Preprints and the Current Research Landscape and Basic Computer Troubleshooting, which were anchored by Dr. Sotonye N. Ndem and Mr. Uwem F. Ebong, respectively.

 

  • On Thursday, April 10, 2025, the in-house training concluded with a practical session on Research and Data Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence, which Mr Ezeonye N. Stanislaus delivered.

 

  • The statistics for the week under review portray a 97% increase in patronage from three thousand, two hundred and eighty-six (3286) users recorded in the previous week to six thousand, four hundred and seventy-six (6476) users recorded in the present week.

 

  1. During the week, the Library acquired daily issues from the following newspapers to keep staff and students updated on local and international news: Guardian, Daily Sun, Punch, Vanguard, Telegraph, Business Day, and This Day. The current daily issues are available at the Reference Unit of the Library.

 

  1. Donald E.U. Ekong Library has two shifts: 8 a.m.- 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

 

  1. The Knowledge Commons (for undergraduate students) and the Research Commons (for Postgraduate students) are accessible to students and researchers who wish to utilize the e-resources of the Library. Similarly, the Elsevier training laboratory on the second floor of the Library has internet access to all subscribed databases and is accessible to faculty members.

 

  1. The Library has received updated content in the OnePro database (https://onepetro.org/journals). This database furnishes registered researchers and faculty members with information on the oil and gas exploration and production industry.

 

  1. The Library has received an update of its Scopus Database with new content (https://www.scopus.com/home.uri). This database provides registered faculty members and researchers with the most extensive abstracts and cited databases on peer-reviewed literature and information materials across disciplines.

 

  1. The Library has received updated content from the AGORA database (https://www.fao.org/agora/en/). This database furnishes registered researchers and staff with information materials, journals, audiovisual materials, and other collections centered on agriculture and its related disciplines.

 

Supplementary Information:

The Library is a repository for diverse information. Therefore, staff and students are encouraged to take advantage of the innumerable resources available in the Library. For a real-time response to information about the Library and its collections, library patrons can access the virtual librarian Chatbot on the website of the Library as follows: https://library.uniport.edu.ng/.

 

The dedicated staff members are committed to rendering quality and efficient service delivery in the Library, which has a rich collection of books, non-book materials, and research materials. Please visit the Library at https://library.uniport.edu.ng/.

 

Donald Ekong Library Communication Channels for remote access are as follows:

Phone: +2349138269564
Website: https://library.uniport.edu.ng/
E-mail: library@uniport.edu.ng
Facebook: uniportlibrary
LinkedIn: Uniportlibrary
Twitter: @uniportlibrary
YouTube: Uniportlibrary

Signed:

Prof. Helen U. Emasealu, CLN
University Librarian