AREN LNL leads Training For Librarians from Two Universities in Nigeria

A one-day training workshop was organized for librarians on Wednesday, 9th April 2025 at the Donald E. U. Ekong Library, University of Port Harcourt. The workshop, titled "Preprints and the Current Research Landscape," attracted librarians from both the University of Port Harcourt (Uniport) and Rivers State University with the aim of enhancing their knowledge and engagement with emerging trends in scholarly communication.

The training was facilitated by Dr. Sotonye Orji, the AREN Local Network Lead (LNL) at Uniport, who guided participants through key topics including: understanding preprints and preprint servers, the benefits and limitations of preprints in scholarly publishing, navigating the current research landscape, choosing appropriate preprint servers and practical steps for engaging with preprints to enhance visibility and impact.

The workshop was formally declared open by the University Librarian, Professor H. U. Emasealu, of the Donald E. U. Ekong Library at Uniport. He emphasised the importance of continuous professional development for librarians in an evolving research environment. Participants were highly engaged throughout the session and expressed their appreciation for the insightful and timely training. At the end of the workshop, many requested that similar capacity-building initiatives be organized regularly to keep pace with global trends.