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The call for value addition to library products and services has tremendously increased over the years worldwide. In Zimbabwe, that call has also been echoed in various forums and in support of that, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset) pointed out the importance of value addition. The education sector has not been spared as it is responsible for producing graduates who feed into the labor market. This chapter seeks to explore how the libraries in institutions of higher learning have added value to education in support of the research, teaching, learning and community activities that are undertaken in higher education. A case study of Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) Library was done. A qualitative study using interviews was carried out and content analysis was used to analyze the data. It was discovered that BUSE Library plays a pivotal role in adding value to the learning, teaching, research and community activities that take place in institutions of higher learning. The author recommends that libraries should move along with technological changes that are taking place so as to remain relevant in adding value to institutions of higher learning. It is also important to continue building the capacity of librarians in higher education institutions to ensure that they continue to add value in academic institutions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the various innovative support strategies rendered by academic libraries in support of e-learning in Zimbabwean universities. This was necessitated by the change in nature of learning and services provision in universities as a result of COVID-19. Despite the crisis caused by the pandemic, users of libraries still expect services to answer their information needs.

A quantitative study was done to unpack the role of digital library services in supporting e-learning in universities in Zimbabwe. An online questionnaire was developed using survey monkey and distributed to 50 professional librarians in both private and state universities in Zimbabwe. A total of 34 librarians responded to the questionnaire and the data was analysed and presented thematically. Data were presented using descriptive statistics in the form of figures.

The findings revealed that academic libraries play an important role in supporting e-learning in higher education institutions by providing electronic information resources, which are key in research, learning and teaching. The libraries provide a one-stop shop for accessing electronic resources through the digital library. Patrons have benefitted by accessing and using digital library services during the COVID-19 lockdown period. It was also discovered that libraries should ensure that they are prepared to always offer their services despite the closure of physical buildings because of the pandemic.

The study used an online questionnaire only as the data collection instrument, as it was the most suitable one to get data from librarians working from home and also because of the COVID-19 health guidance such as maintaining social distance. The other methods were not used because of financial constraints.

This research showed the importance of digital services in e-learning environments, especially in developing countries. The work revealed how university librarians in Zimbabwe are coming up with practical solutions in supporting e-learning in times of crisis. The research therefore becomes handy for higher education institutions and authorities in crafting e-learning frameworks and positioning academic libraries at the centre of teaching, learning and research activities.

This paper provides useful insights into how libraries can support learning especially during a pandemic. The paper details how libraries support communities by offering correct and reliable information from scholarly information sources. It also chronicles how libraries play an important part in the support of researchers in higher institutions in the fight against COVID-19.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this research is one of the first done in Zimbabwe on strategies that libraries are using in the COVID-19 era to support e-learning. The findings presented in this study are helpful for higher and tertiary education authorities and other policymakers in improving e-learning and digital libraries.

This study aims to demonstrate how librarians in Zimbabwe are promoting library and information services in a digital environment.

An online questionnaire administered using SurveyMonkey was used to gather data from the participants who comprised 14 academic, one public, three school and three special librarians.

The study confirms that there is competition for the attention of the citizens who have social media, television, social life, work, family life, education, and so on before them. Despite the challenges being faced, librarians in the country are prepared to promote their services and are therefore using a number of strategies to promote the use of library and information services.

Promoting library and information services is important considering the waning reading culture in Zimbabwe. The paper recommends possible ways of promoting reading culture in the digital age through the use of library and information services.

The paper aims to focus on the current state of open access (OA) initiatives in Zimbabwean universities. The paper specifically reports the initiatives at Zimbabwean universities regarding institutional repositories that promote OA and other digital OA collections.

A qualitative research methodology was adopted. Questionnaires were used as the primary data collection method for this research. The research sought to address the following specific areas: the state of institutional repositories and open access in Zimbabwe, the discoverability of content, open access policies and mandates, the benefits of open access in Zimbabwe, and future plans for institutional OA. A total of eight out of 12 universities responded to the questionnaire. The data provided by the universities involved in the research were summarised to give a general picture of the open access landscape in Zimbabwe.

The current initiatives in the universities involved in this survey indicate that most universities in Zimbabwe are going to have institutional repositories that promote open access to information. Most institutions in Zimbabwe are already working on putting open access policies in place in a bid to promote open access.

The research will shed more light on the status quo of open access initiatives in Zimbabwe, particularly with regards to institutional repositories, open access policies and open access mandates.

The chapter focused on quality assurance and marketing of library services and products at the Midlands State University (MSU). The chapter's main objective was to identify the quality assurance mechanisms at the MSU Library. The major findings of the research were; the MSU library was practising quality assurance, staff was trained on the latest trends in the profession, the collection was multidisciplinary and in different forms, and that there were Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) used in enhancing service provision. The researcher recommended that the library needed to continuously train librarians on issues to do with quality, improve the infrastructure, introduce Research Data Management to enhance the Research Support Services and improve on the Information Literacy Skills training programmes. The author identified some areas for further research and the major one was that there is need for clarification on the concept of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

This study aims to examine the use of social media by academic librarians at universities in Zimbabwe with particular focus on the application of the four key constructs of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model. This study assesses the degree to which academic librarians in Zimbabwe believe that using social media enhances service delivery, the extent to which academic librarians perceive social media as easy to use, the influence of peers on social media use among academic librarians and the extent to which facilitating conditions influence social media use.

A pragmatist worldview in which both quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted, this multiple case study used face-to-face interviews, self-administered questionnaires and content analysis for collecting data.

Academic librarians in Zimbabwe perceive social media tools to be useful and easy to use in the provision of services. Social influence had a moderate effect on academic librarians’ use of social media for service delivery at universities in Zimbabwe, but they feel that their supervisors do not provide enough help for them to use social media.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no similar study has been done previously in Zimbabwe. This multiple case study presents useful findings on the acceptance and use of social media by academic librarians in Zimbabwe.

The chapter discusses the importance of capacity building and need for continuous professional development for library and information science professionals in university libraries. The changing dynamics in higher education, information and communication technologies and the shift in the learning landscape has led to more demands for skills and competencies of library and information professionals. The need for training is more urgent than before. If University Libraries are to remain relevant in the 21st Century, they need to constantly adapt and have professional staff who are able to cope with such rapidly changing environments enabling them to deliver resources and services efficiently and effectively. The chapter, therefore, document the importance of capacitating staff in university libraries.