Search results

The paper seeks to examine age and exposure to computers as determinants of librarians’ attitudes towards library automation in Nigerian universities.

The paper uses a survey approach to determine the attitudes of academic librarians in Nigeria.

The investigation shows that an overwhelming majority of the librarians registered a high and positive attitude towards library automation. However, the two variables of interest to this study were found not to influence the librarians’ attitudes towards library automation. Also, several university libraries in Nigeria are yet to be automated due to some identified impediments like: financial constraints, shortage of IT personnel, irregular electric power supply, poor communication facilities, and absence of a national policy on information technology.

Generally librarians, system administrators, university authorities, IT researchers, and the National Universities Commission of Nigeria will find this paper useful. It enlightens them about the librarians’ positive attitudes towards library automation, poor state of automation in the libraries, as well as the lack of relationship between attitude of librarians and the two variables of interest to this study.

The paper offers new insights in the area of IT use by academic librarians in Nigeria. This study differs from others because it established that, even though the librarians registered a positive attitude towards library automation, their age and exposure to computers do not determine such an attitude.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the dissatisfaction of library users and the manager of each federal university library vis‐à‐vis the complaint of the librarians working in those libraries on inadequate funding, lack of promotion, poor condition of service and lack of recognition which affected their career commitment.

Questionnaires were used to gather data from a population of 381 librarians in the 24 federal university Libraries in Nigeria. A total of 363 of them responded and their questionnaires were found to be valid for analysis. The response rate achieved was 95.3 percent.

The study found that job satisfaction has significant influence on career commitment of librarians working in the federal university libraries (F (9; 352) = 11.058, p < 0.05). The study also revealed that demographic variables and job satisfaction accounted for 20 percent (adj. R² = 0.2000) in variability of career commitment of the respondents.

The study ought to have generated data on demographic variables and job satisfaction as they affect career commitment of library paraprofessionals (library officers, library attendants and assistants) since they all carry essential library function.

It is recommended that the library administrators and the managers of the university libraries should consider the demographic variables and job satisfaction of librarians when planning and making decisions on their career commitment.

The library managers and administrators in federal university libraries in Nigeria should formulate job satisfaction policies such as adequate provision of working facilities, provision of conducive working environment, work incentives (car loan, housing loan, study leave allowance, etc) for improving career commitment of their librarians.

The paper provides valuable information on the career commitment of librarians in federal university libraries in Nigeria.

The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of online learning on university librarians’ professional development and library services.

A mixed-methods study through an explanatory research design was applied to address the study’s objectives. Quantitative data were gathered from 341 librarians working in 221 universities, while qualitative data were gathered from 27 experts working in 21 different universities of Pakistan.

The findings of the study revealed that online learning has a significant positive impact on the professional development of university librarians. Results revealed that online learning assists in the provision of sustainable, innovative library services in university libraries.

The study has offered a model in light of the study's quantitative and qualitative findings. It contributes to theoretical understanding by expanding the existing knowledge base. It offers managerial insights, enabling the development of policies that foster the professional development of library personnel and the implementation of smart library services.

The objectives of the study were to identify the effects of blockchain technology (BT) on the university librarians, the impact of BT on the university library services and to reveal the challenges to adopt BT in the university libraries.

A systematic literature review was applied to address the objectives of the study. Around 25 studies published in peer-reviewed journals were selected to conduct the study.

The findings of the study revealed that blockchain technology (BT) has positive effects on the university librarians as it assists them in digital resources management, provision of integrated library services, effective records management and continued professional development. The study also displayed that BT has a positive impact on the university libraries through effective information management, user privacy, collaboration, technological innovation and access control. Results also revealed that technical issues, financial constraints, security problems, skill issues and sociocultural issues created challenges to adopt BT in the university libraries.

The study has offered theoretical implications for future investigators through the provision of innovative literature on the prospectus and challenges associated with blockchain in the context of librarianship. The study has also provided practical implications for management bodies by offering recommendations for the successful adoption of blockchain in the university libraries. Additionally, a framework has been developed to adopt BT successfully in the university libraries for the delivery of smart library services to library patrons.

This study aims to examine the status, explores the hurdles and identifies the prospects for developing a union catalogue of university libraries in Lahore, Pakistan.

Following a quantitative research approach, a questionnaire was developed from literature and authors’ experience. After ensuring its validity and reliability, data were collected from librarians after the census. A total of 105 librarians were approached, of whom 73 (71%) responded to the survey.

University libraries in Lahore are well organized, have adequate collections and information technology-literate staff, are well automated, have good internet connections, are equipped with integrated software, follow cataloguing rules and MARC standards; however, the absence of standardized software, lack of funds, absence of uniform policy, professional workload and absence of standardized vocabulary are significant challenges. Private-sector librarians reported facing more challenges. Librarians consider all prospects vital for developing a union catalogue. These prospects include the availability of relevant information, incentives to librarians, coordination with librarians, a realization that sharing is caring, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan taking initiative and librarians’ training.

University librarians in Lahore are ready to cooperate with the development of a union catalogue; however, they seek support from higher authorities, professional library associations and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first of its kind that examines the status, explores the hurdles and identifies the prospects for developing a union catalogue of university libraries in Lahore. It would lead to the development of a union catalogue of university libraries in Pakistan.

Motivation of the employees is extensively considered as an antidote for the overall success of the organizations. This study primarily aims to investigate the impact of motivation on the job performance of university librarians in Pakistan.

Quantitative research design followed by a survey method under an extended theory of motivation was applied. Data were collected from 123 professional librarians of 79 university libraries in Punjab province, Pakistan. The study tested hypotheses having used regression statistical test through Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (Version 26).

Results of the study revealed that motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic), the expectation of benefits, satisfaction of meta needs and challenging situations have a strong positive impact on the optimum job performance of university librarians.

This research has theoretical implications for the researchers and practical insights for human resource managers to get maximum outcomes for organizational development. The results of the study may be generalized to the university libraries of other countries having similar socio-economic and cultural situations.

This study developed a framework based upon empirically tested hypotheses that might be used as drivers for different motivation practices to augment employees’ commitment to the organizations.

The study aims to investigate the level of awareness and use of Web 2.0 tools by librarians in university libraries in Nigeria.

A questionnaire was used to collect data from 176 librarians in 49 university libraries in Nigeria.

It emerged that the librarians were more familiar with social networking sites, instant messaging, media sharing sites, blogs and wikis. The popularity of these Web 2.0 tools made them the most frequently used by the librarians. Web 2.0 tools like Flickr, RSS feeds, podcasts, social bookmarking, were among the least used. The study revealed that librarians use Web 2.0 tools mostly for reference services online, library news/events, training resources, and image and video sharing. Lack of facilities such as computers with internet access, lack of skills, and lack of time were indicated as some of the barriers in the use of Web 2.0 tools by librarians in university libraries in Nigeria.

These research results can be consulted by interested librarians as they plan to implement Web 2.0 applications in their libraries.

This study draws an overall picture of Web 2.0 applications in Nigerian university libraries and attempts to provide helpful information to better understand how librarians elsewhere are utilizing Web 2.0 technologies in rendering library services.

This study aims to determine the extent of virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) adoption in university libraries in Indonesia and identify librarians’ views of library readiness. The assessment centers on two crucial dimensions: library readiness, gauged by commitment and efficacy, and librarian readiness, appraised through cognitive and affective aspects.

The research features a survey-based quantitative method. A sample of 259 librarians from university libraries, all members of the Indonesian Higher Education Library Forum, responded to the online survey.

Indonesian university libraries, especially in Central Java, express strong interest in VR/AR despite low current adoption. Librarians believe in their commitment and efficacy for adoption, with improvements needed in budget procurement and human resources. Librarians are optimistic about innovating academic activities with VR/AR, despite concerns about collaboration, data governance and human resource insecurity. The research underscores the simultaneous influence of librarians’ and libraries’ readiness on VR/AR adoption, emphasizing their interconnectedness and mutual support within library management.

There are practical implications for library institutions in Indonesia in terms of understanding the attendant opportunities and challenges when preparing organizational ecosystems. These findings provide a broad overview of VR/AR adoption in university libraries in Indonesia and contribute to understanding the specific needs and interests of universities in Indonesia considering adopting VR/AR. In addition to preparing adequate infrastructure, libraries should ensure the availability of adequate human resources.

In the Indonesian context, this study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, makes the first attempt to examine the librarian’s view as part of library management to face the dilemmas that may arise during the adoption of VR/AR despite university libraries’ commitment and efficacy to enable this technology. This research also identifies librarians’ cognitive and affective readiness as individual characteristics and resources able to influence adequate adoption.

This paper aims to measure the perceptions of librarians about information literacy (IL) instruction, their current IL practices and the problems they face while offering IL instructional programs in public and private sector university libraries in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan.

A quantitative research design was adopted, and a survey was carried out for this study to collect the data through an online questionnaire for the university librarians. All librarians (a total of 120) were approached to collect the data, of whom 92 (76.6%) responded to the survey.

The findings reveal that the librarians working in the university libraries of Islamabad are aware of the significance of IL instruction to fulfil the information needs of their library users. A majority of the librarians indicated having adequate skills to offer IL instruction. Moreover, the majority of the librarians are offering IL instruction to users at their respective universities. However, some of the barriers affecting IL instruction programs were also reported including the absence of IL instruction courses in the library and information science (LIS) curriculum, a shortage of trained library professional staff to provide IL instruction, a lack of commitment among librarians for IL instruction, a lack of training opportunities for librarians and a lack of interest from library users. These obstacles have a negative effect on IL instruction in the university libraries of Islamabad. Therefore, this study suggests that librarians are needed to take several necessary steps to overcome these obstacles to achieve the best results in IL instruction programs.

This study presents a picture of the status of IL skills, current practices and barriers to offering IL instruction in the university libraries of Islamabad. This research bridges the gap in the existing literature and will help to create awareness about the importance of IL skills among LIS professionals in Pakistan. Moreover, the findings of this study will help encourage librarians for the enhancement of IL instruction services in university libraries of Islamabad in particular and Pakistan in general.

This paper aims to investigate the level of awareness and use of Web 2.0 tools by librarians in university libraries in Africa.

A questionnaire was used to collect data from 140 librarians from 16 leading university libraries in Africa.

The study revealed that librarians in Africa are mostly familiar with Web 2.0 tools such as social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), blogs, instant messaging and wikis. It was also found that the most frequently used Web 2.0 tools by the librarians in university libraries in Africa are Facebook, instant messaging, blogs, Twitter and wikis. The study revealed that the librarians use the Web 2.0 tools for the purpose of announcing library news/events, online reference services, training resources, blogging and image and video sharing with users. Finally, lack of skills, power failure, lack of facilities such as computers with Internet access, lack of time and lack of interest were mentioned by the librarians as some of the challenges to using Web 2.0 tools.

These research results can also be consulted by interested librarians when they plan to make Web 2.0 applications in their libraries.

This study draws an overall picture of the Web 2.0 applications in university libraries in Africa and attempts to provide these libraries with helpful information to better understand how their colleagues elsewhere are utilizing Web 2.0 technologies in rendering library services.