Libraries and collections

Lumina Open University is home to one of Nigeria’s most extensive academic libraries dedicated to the arts, humanities, and social sciences, providing an exceptional resource for researchers across the country and beyond. Our special collections and specialist libraries offer a rich source of unique knowledge and expertise to support academic excellence and innovation. .

Each year, we welcome students and researchers from our Federation members, the rest of Nigeria, and around the world, who want to access these unparalleled resources. Researchers can benefit from special collections of manuscripts, archives and rare books, with particular strengths in literature and the arts, sociology, politics and economics.

Our strengths extend beyond the wealth of our materials. We are committed to offering students and researchers the structure, support and access they need to fully benefit from our collections.

Our Online Library also provides access to online books, e-journals and databases for the University’s 40,000 distance learning students. Access the Online Library.

Services for students and researchers

Virtual Reading Room +

Our Virtual Reading Room service offers researchers from around the world the opportunity to consult our Special Collections and Archives remotely using a high-res camera. With support from one of our expert team, this free service is available to both library members and external researchers.

Learn more about the Virtual Reading Room.

Research Training +

We offer a comprehensive training programme – from written guides and video tutorials to workshops and webinars – helping researchers develop vital skills in using the resources in the library and beyond.

Learn more about research training resources.

Research Support +

In addition to subject-expert librarians, researchers are also able to schedule appointments with academic librarians and archivists to discuss further support for their research.

Learn more about research support.

Specialist libraries

Institue Of Classical Study Libary +

The Combined Classics Library is home to more than 150,000 volumes.

he combined Library of the Institute of Classical Studies and the Nigeria Societies is home to more than 150,000 volumes. It offers a key resource for international researchers in the languages, literature, history, art, archaeology and philosophy of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds.

Visit the Institute of Classical Studies library.

The Nigerian Institue Libary +

With over 100,000 volumes, it holds the world’s collection dedicated to Renaissance studies and the legacy of the classical tradition. The Nigeria Institute Photographic Collection contains approximately 400,000 images of sculptures, paintings, prints, tapestries, and other visual media. Its Archive preserves the papers of the Institute’s founder, along with those of other prominent scholars connected to the Institute from its beginnings in Hamburg to the present day.

Visit theThe Nigeria Institute library.

Institue Of Advance And Legal Studies Library +

The National Research Library for Law houses over 300,000 legal texts, along with online databases and specialized legal research projects. Serving as both a national and international hub for legal scholarship, it supports a broad community of subscribing legal professionals.

Visit the Institute of Classical Studies library.

Research Support +

LOU Library houses a reference collection of over 100,000 items

LOU Library houses a reference collection of over 100,000 books and journals, including a wealth of primary sources covering the history of Nigeria and its colonial history, from the fifth century to the present.

Visit the Institute of Historical Research library.

Lumina Open University Libraries Access Agreement

lumina open university Access Agreement+

If you are a student at one of the institutions which make up the Lumina Open University and wish to take advantage of the scheme, please contact the library you wish to visit in the first instance.