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This paper aims to examine the strides taken by academic libraries in Kenya to match the standards of modern library buildings while highlighting ensuing impact on user satisfaction. It will give an insight and provide a comprehensive comparison between Kenyan modern libraries and other modern libraries in the world which are considered best library designs, to show progressive development of library design and equipment.

The paper takes a viewpoint approach after studying the history and development of the current library buildings in Kenya. This paper will answer the following questions: How far are Kenyan university libraries in embracing open space and aesthetic reflections? What is the impact of artistic modern library designs to user satisfaction? What are the effects of colorful interior design and décor on libraries? In addressing these and other related questions, the design of new academic libraries in Kenya over the past eight years is traced.

Libraries in Kenya and other developing countries have stayed in the right path of revolution by adopting the modern library designs and giving library users more reasons to cherish their libraries as not only reading facilities but also destinations for relaxation, discussions and hangouts. The United States International University (USIU) Library has been touted as the pioneer modern library building, and its standards have been replicated and bettered by other libraries in Kenya today. This is a big stride for Kenyan libraries in the wake of dynamism in libraries.

The value of the paper is that it gives an insight on the development of library buildings in Kenya, providing a comprehensive comparison between Kenyan modern libraries and other modern libraries in the world which are considered best library designs, thereby showing progressive development of library design and equipment.

This study aimed to understand how parents and librarians describe their lived experiences in a modern children’s library that aims to create a triad bond through the organization of multiliteracy events and activities.

The study used a phenomenological case study approach using two semistructured interviews, the first with parents (n = 5) and the second with library staff (n = 5), to record their lived experiences in creating and attending literacy events and activities.

The findings indicated multiplicities of transformative and heterotypic spaces that juxtapose different yet compatible and vicarious experiences for librarians, parents and their children. The virtual and interactive features of the library fuel children’s curiosity and creativity and afford them authentic materials through a creative blend of local heritage and technology-mediated multimodal literacies. Moreover, the librarians engage in constant program evaluation and upgrades. The library environment creates a vibrant bio-network for disseminating literacy through creativity and ingenuity and affords an affinity space for community socialization.

This study has some limitations and delimitations. The data for this study were collected during the pandemic, which affected the sample size. Moreover, the children’s views were not considered, which could broaden our understanding of the phenomena. Furthermore, the study relied on interviews as the sole source of data; other sources, such as archival data and documents, could enrich the data and increase the study’s rigor. Finally, the study is confined to only one site.

The study found that a “living library” philosophy with an enthusiastic and attentive staff that caters to patrons’ interests draws parents and children to visit. Additionally, unexpected fun activities that occur when sufficient children are present keep them engaged and motivated to stay and learn more. The study suggests that librarians, architects, school leaders, policymakers and educators should consider how to conceptualize, design and experience a modern library space that prioritizes literacy activities and incorporates technology to inspire children’s innovations. The findings can be applied to both public and academic libraries.

The findings from this study could provide researchers, teachers, administrators, librarians and artificial intelligence with a viable orientation to envision new ways of reconceptualizing public and school libraries to create affinity spaces for the literate community, especially in a non-western context such as the United Arab Emirates.

The paper aims to establish the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in education and training of undergraduate library and information science (LIS) students in two selected Kenyan universities and suggest recommendations to improve ICT education and training in the country.

The study utilised a qualitative method. A survey research design was used to collect data from various categories of respondents in LIS including lecturers, undergraduate students, information professionals and employers. Interviews and document analysis were also used to collect data from the respondents.

Findings show that the graduates lack preferred ICTs knowledge, competencies and skills important in the modern information environment such as web technologies, information programming skills, software development, distributed systems, virtual libraries and digital information systems. Information sciences education in Kenyan universities and other institutions of higher learning need to review the curriculum and provide ICT education and training that address the needs and demands of the current job market and performance requirements.

The study was effectively carried out at Kenyatta and Moi Universities being the leading universities offering LIS programmes in Kenya.

In the twenty-first century and beyond, students can no longer be confined to traditional practices of LIS education. Information sciences programmes from around the global have recognized the importance to fully integrate ICTs education and training in order to meet the needs and demands of students and employers.

Present employment and career opportunities favour information professionals with intensive technological competencies and skills.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to make a contribution to the theoretical understanding of documents and documentary agency in society through examples from a defined institutional and professional setting; and second, to create an understanding for the role of ethical codes in the process of defining and developing modern librarianship.

This study analyses the role of documentation carrying content of professional ethics in the formulation of modern librarianship. This is done through a series of example documents of various kinds, such as founding charters, peer handbooks and ethical codes systematically analysed through the use of document theory and theory on institutional change.

The findings of this study suggest that documents pronouncing ethical self-regulation within librarianship play a primarily legitimising role in situations where new types of libraries emerge or when libraries adapt to social change. The study proposes legitimacy as a key aspect of documentality, thus supplementing the established understanding of the concept.

This study is the first to analyse the role of ethical codes in libraries using document theory. It brings new knowledge to the role of ethical self-regulation in librarianship over time and in different institutional contexts. In suggesting a developed definition of documentality, it contributes to the theoretical understanding of the role of documents and documentation in institutions and in society at large.

A university without an academic library is unimaginable since the library serves as a pivot for both learning and research. Freeman (2005), while talking about the importance of a library in academic life, stated that it holds a unique position, symbolizing the heart of the institution. A good library is not only one that stacks printed material or has portals to access online resources but also provides a flexible learning space with reading rooms, facilitates discussion and encourages collaborative learning and scholarship. With limited resources, it is increasingly difficult for universities to allocate funds to re-design library spaces. Modern academic libraries have to respond not only to pedagogical changes but also to technological changes, accommodating them in the library space design and management. Modern libraries are trying to integrate features of the traditional form of learning as well as the digital form. This book will present case studies and empirical evidence discussing the changing face of libraries. It will talk about re-modeling of existing libraries with the help of new architectural design to utilize the space and inculcate the digital literacy development. Scholars discuss, in the chapters, how they meet users’ needs and how they use in stakeholders’ inputs to design innovative library spaces.

The purpose of this paper is to subject the potential of Internet of Things (IoT) technology for libraries in terms of the possible scope and usage forms of this technology in public and academic library services.

Based on analysis of the subject literature, the main areas of IoT applications in commercial institutions were identified, then an analysis of Library and Information Science English-language literature from the years 2010 to 2015 was conducted in order to create a profile of modern library services. The range of activities of commercial and non-commercial institutions were compared to ascertain if areas in which commercial entities using or planning to use IoT could also be an inspiration for libraries. In this way, a theoretical model of IoT use in library activities was developed.

The research showed that IoT technology might have the potential to be used in library services and other activities, similar to how it is implemented in the commercial sector.

The aim of the paper is to determine the possible, not the actual, scope and forms of using this technology in public and academic libraries’ services.

The results can be widely used in libraries as an inspiration for the use of IoT technology in modern library services.

The use of new technologies in libraries can help to improve the image of these institutions in the eyes of users, especially the younger generation.

The use of IoT in libraries is a new issue that has not been studied much yet. The issue of using the potential of this technology for the needs of libraries has, in recent years, been raised at international conferences, become a subject of interest to librarian associations, and been widely discussed in the blogosphere, thus proving that this topic is important to practitioners. It is difficult, however, to find any scientific, comprehensive studies of this topic.

The purpose of this article is to examine and critique the dominant new public management (NPM)‐mode of thinking in library development.

The authors examine the Danish Library Act from 2000 and a library policy from the municipal library of Aarhus in Denmark in order to show how they respectively display new public management thinking and handle pathologies of recognition.

The Danish Library Act from 2000 reflects an economic discourse which makes it hard for libraries to develop any normatively grounded agenda. The library policy from the municipal library of Aarhus reveals that it intends to deal with handling recognition but actually does the opposite.

The context surrounding libraries and library development is becoming more political than ever. User groups are more diverse than ever and some do not even feel as being part of society. If libraries are to cope with this situation, they must try to work with the concept of recognition as an explicit part of their library activity. Otherwise libraries stand in danger of being considered a party closed to all but a selected few which would then contribute to a lack of recognition for those who are not being invited to the party. The forms of recognition can thus be used to structure library policies and library development

The analyses provided in this article show that libraries should be aware of how they describe and see their activities and practices.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in handling and supporting information services and activities in Kenyan university libraries.

The study utilized a survey research design to collect data, ideas, opinions, views and suggestions from the respondents drawn from various university libraries in Kenya. Collecting data and getting in‐depth information from the respondents was done using a web‐based structured questionnaire, document analysis and participant observation.

The findings from the study show that few university libraries in Kenya are using radio frequency identification technology to handle and support information services and activities. The study also found various problems hindering the adoption of the technology, such as a lack of information communication technology (ICT) policies, lack of a business approach, limited market opportunities, lack of lobbying or negotiating skills, inadequate funding and budgeting, and lack of ICT competencies and skills. The study recommends that library ICT professionals, information professionals and other stakeholders should make tireless efforts to implement and use RFID technology with the view to building, strengthening, improving and supporting information work and activities in university libraries.

The study involved RFID technology, a relatively new and emerging innovation in university library and information systems, especially in the Kenyan context. The study also involved university libraries in Kenya that provide and support the fundamental functions of their respective universities.

Fundamentally, library ICT professionals, information professionals and other stakeholders need to take appropriate measures to address issues affecting the use of RFID solutions. There is a need to empower university libraries and information professionals with the right mix of ICT knowledge and skills necessary in the modern information environment.

Across the world, university libraries are increasingly adopting and implementing RFID solutions in order to handle and support information work and activities. Of critical importance to the discussion is the extent to which university libraries in Kenya are using this technology to handle and support information work and activities effectively and efficiently. Proper management of library operations and services is necessary in university library and information systems.

The focus of the study was to assess the extent to which university libraries in Kenya are adopting and using RFID systems in information work and activities. This research is useful in providing a point of reference for university libraries and information professionals, increasingly going for similar solutions in Kenya and Africa in general.

IF we count the University of Strathclyde School of Librarianship as a “new” school—rather than simply an old school transferred from a College of Commerce to a university—then four “new” schools were established between 1963 and 1964, three of the four in universities and the other closely linked with a university, though remaining independent. All four schools have their special features but I consider the more significant of Belfast's features to be its right, from the outset, to conduct all its own examinations for graduates and non‐graduates. Queen's was also the first British university to provide non‐graduates with courses in librarianship. (Strathclyde is the second.) All successful students are eligible for admission to the Register of Chartered Librarians (ALA) after they have completed the prescribed period of practical experience.

LIBRARIES have come impressively into the public picture in the past year or two, and seldom with more effect than when Their Majesties the King and Queen opened the new Central Reference Library at Manchester on July 17th. In a time, which is nearly the end of a great depression, that the city which probably felt the depression more than any in the Kingdom should have proceeded with the building of a vast store‐house of learning is a fact of great social significance and a happy augury for libraries as a whole. His Majesty the King has been most felicitous in providing what we may call “slogans” for libraries. It will be remembered that in connection with the opening of the National Central Library, he suggested that it was a “University which all may join and which none need ever leave” —words which should be written in imperishable letters upon that library and be printed upon its stationery for ever. As Mr. J. D. Stewart said at the annual meeting of the National Central Library, it was a slogan which every public library would like to appropriate. At Manchester, His Majesty gave us another. He said: “To our urban population open libraries are as essential to health of mind, as open spaces to health of body.” This will be at the disposal of all of us for use. It is a wonderful thing that Manchester in these times has been able to provide a building costing £450,000 embodying all that is modern and all that is attractive in the design of libraries. The architect, Mr. Vincent Harris, and the successive librarians, Mr. Jast and Mr. Nowell, are to be congratulated upon the crown of their work.