The Association of University Librarians of Nigerian Universities has called on TETFund and relevant government agencies to strengthen funding for Open Access infrastructure, digital repositories, broadband connectivity, and scholarly communication systems across Nigerian tertiary institutions, warning that the country's universities are falling behind in the global knowledge economy.

The resolution was contained in a communiqué issued at the association's 114th Bi Annual Conference and General Meeting, held under the theme, "Managing University Libraries in the Era of Open Access Publishing: The Role of Librarians." The document was counter signed by the association's chairman, Prof Angela Ebele Okpala, and its Public Relations Officer, Prof AbdulSalam Abiodun Salman.

The association identified inadequate ICT infrastructure, unstable power supply, insufficient funding, low digital literacy, weak institutional policies, and limited support for Article Processing Charges as the core challenges undermining Open Access Publishing in Nigerian universities despite its growing global relevance.

The communiqué recommended that Nigerian universities formulate institutional Open Access policies that support responsible scholarly communication, research integrity, and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in research and publishing. University libraries were also urged to prioritise digital literacy training, copyright education, Creative Commons licensing awareness, research data management, and responsible AI usage for both faculty and students.

"University Librarians should continually build competencies in emerging technologies, data stewardship, AI enabled library systems, scholarly publishing workflows, and digital knowledge management," the communiqué stated.

The association further recommended that Open Access publications, Institutional Repositories, Open Educational Resources and digital scholarship initiatives be recognised as critical indices during accreditation and research assessment exercises.

On professional standards, the group took a firm position against the appointment of unqualified persons into library leadership roles.

"The Association strongly recommends that only professionally trained and certified librarians registered with the Librarians Registration Council of Nigeria should be eligible for appointment as University Librarians and heads of academic libraries in Nigerian universities," the communiqué declared.

The conference also commended the National Universities Commission, TETFund, the National Library of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Library Association for their commitment to advancing academic librarianship and scholarly communication in the country.

Delegates resolved to deepen collaboration among Nigerian university libraries toward building sustainable Open Access consortia and shared digital infrastructure frameworks, stressing that university libraries must transition from traditional custodial roles into strategic knowledge facilitation centres to remain relevant.