Search results

The purpose of this paper is to determine the state-of-the-art assistive technologies (ATs) developed for people living with visual disability and those that are used in academic libraries around the world as a way of proffering solution to the challenges faced by visually impaired students in accessing information.

The data used for this paper were derived from website of companies that specialize in ATs for people living with disability and the library website of the top 14 universities in the world based on the 2020 QS world ranking of universities.

This study found that foremost academic libraries in the UK and the USA have integrated various ATs into library services as information access mechanism for students living with visual impairment. The study found that the most commonly used screen reader software is the Job Access With Speech (JAWS). The study also found that one of the institutions has a mission statement on their website, clearly stating support for people living with disability.

This study was conducted using only the 2020 QS world ranking of universities. It would be interesting to see results of academic libraries from Africa based on their ranking.

The paper provides highlights on trends that may inform academic libraries in the quest to providing ATs for students living with visual impairments. This paper may assist academics libraries who are at the brink of decision-making on use of ATs as information access mechanism to the visually impaired students.

This paper is the first to provide librarians with ideas and innovations on specific ATs used by leading academic libraries in the world.

The purpose of this paper is to present the alignment of disruptive technologies into library and information science (LIS) and libraries as virtual learning spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown as alternative trajectories to end the disruption caused by the COVID-19; however, the educational systems are still facing challenges in achieving these lofty objectives.

A living-lab methodology was adopted for this paper as an innovative approach, in which technologies that are in the development stages or full deployments are integrated with social research design to test the viability of such technologies for the intended purposes.

The LIS alignment of virtual learning technologies showed that disruptive technology could benefit academic libraries, with minimum training of staff. However, internet bandwidth, digital divide and lack of built-in functionality on the Zoom, compared with Moodle, for assessment and grading are huge setbacks. Nevertheless, library platforms must be mobile-response and agile software algorithm to include voice-over and voice recognition search functionality to access all the databases.

For this paper, use of disruptive technology was limited to virtual online learning, Zoom and Moodle; however, the alignment of blockchain and big data and the libraries services was not covered.

This paper showed that the LIS could mitigate the COVID-19 global pandemic with disruptive IT alignment with learning management systems (LMS) and for the libraries to remain open during the coronavirus lockdown.

Academic libraries can deploy disruptive technologies as virtual library spaces.

Disruptive technology alignment with LMS as virtual library space was posited for the academic librarians to mitigate the effect of COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings of a study conducted to determine eReadiness status of public university libraries in Malawi to use mobile phones in the provision of library and information services.

The researcher carried out in-depth semi-structured interviews with university/college librarians and information and communications technology (ICT) directors using interview guides. Students were also administered with a survey questionnaire that contained closed- and some open-ended questions. Proceedings of the interviews were recorded using a tape recorder whilst backup notes were recorded in a notebook. Qualitative data were transcribed and analysed using NVivo software whilst quantitative data were analysed using SPPS.

The study findings revealed that institutions studied had the ICT infrastructure necessary for offering library and information services on the mobile phone platform. Moreover, students had mobile phones which were connected to internet to facilitate their access to services offered. However, the institutions covered by this study did not have operational ICT policies to govern the operations of library and information services offered through mobile phones although draft ICT policies were available. The study further concluded that though the human resources required to manage the provision of library and information services through mobile phones in the institutions studied were available, they did not have the necessary skills and numbers to provide quality services. Other findings revealed that attitudes of library staff and students to the offering and access to services through mobile phones were positive. The study also revealed that there are some factors that could impact the offering of library services through mobile phones.

Although Malawi has four public universities, this study only focused on three of them. Moreover, academic staff is another important user group of academic libraries. In this case, findings reported in this paper only focus on students. This implies that library’s readiness to offer services through mobile phones to this group remains unknown hence may have to be covered by future studies. Much as the study incorporated a quantitative strand in addition to the qualitative one, it neither involved theory testing nor confirmation as is the case with other related studies. This implies that the two theories used in this study (the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and the technology-organisation-environment) were not used in the strict sense, which is empirical at the core, but rather to put the problem studied in the context of other related studies.

The findings have practical implications in that they can be used for planning the implementation of library and information services through mobile phones in public university libraries in Malawi. Other related institutions can also use the findings as a reference point in planning the implementation of similar services.

Studies relating to the use of mobile phones in the delivery of library and information services have not been conducted in public universities in Malawi. Findings of this study will, therefore, inform researchers intending to conduct similar or related studies not only in public universities in Malawi but other related institutions as well.

This paper aims to present results of a study which examined students’ collaborative information behavior (CIB) in comparison with behavioral patterns illustrated in Wilson’s (1996) model of information behavior.

A total of six groups of undergraduate students; four from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and two from Ardhi University (ARU) were purposively selected. Data were collected using semi participant observation, critical incident interviews and focus group discussion methods.

Results indicate that students’ CIB is mainly shaped by collaborative learning environment, learning tasks objectives and requirements. Despite its wider applicability in different domains and contexts, Wilson’s (1996) model is partially appropriate in modeling students’ group-based learning information behavioral activities. Person(s) in context and active and passive information seeking are aspects of the model which are observed to be relevant in students’ CIB.

The study has implications on teaching and learning practices in higher learning institutions.

The study provides new insights on how students exhibit different information behavioral patterns during collaborative learning. The study fills a gap on how solitary models of information behavior can be used to model students’ information behavior in team-based learning.

The aim of this paper is present findings of a study conducted to find out the current state of providing and accessing library and information services in public university libraries in Malawi through mobile phones.

The researcher carried out in-depth semi-structured interviews with university/college librarians using interview guides. University/college librarians were purposefully selected for the interviews because they are overall managers of their libraries, hence in a better position to provide information that addressed the study objectives. Proceedings of the interviews were recorded using a tape recorder, whilst backup notes were recorded in a notebook. Data were transcribed and analysed using Nvivo software.

Findings revealed that only one library in this study had fully implemented the offering of library and information services through mobile phones, whilst the rest were moving towards the same. Both user and reference service offering through mobile phones included e-journals, Facebook, WhatsApp, Online Public Access Catalogue and SMS. The institutions in this study had institutional repositories, e-journals and e-books, among others, which they could offer through mobile phones. High cost of accessing services through mobile phone, vandalism of Information and Communications Technologies infrastructure, shortage of skills and network congestion are some of the factors that may affect the offering of library and information services through mobile phones.

Malawi has four public universities. However, this article reports findings of a case study of three of the four constituent colleges of the University of Malawi (College of Medicine, Kamuzu College of Nursing and Polytechnic), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Mzuzu University. By virtue of being a case study, it means that the findings made are only applicable to the five institutions covered.

The study findings have practical implications in that they can be used as a model for planning the implementation of library and information services through mobile phones not only in public university libraries in Malawi but also other related institutions locally and internationally.

Use of mobile phones in the delivery of library and information services is receiving a lot of attention from researchers the world over. However, this is not the case in Malawi, as studies of this nature have not been conducted in the public university sector or in other related sectors. Findings of this study will, therefore, inform researchers intending to conduct similar or related studies not only in public universities in Malawi but other related institutions as well.

The paper discusses the current status of information technology development in Kenya and assesses how the public universities along with their libraries in the country should respond in order to compete effectively in the new technological dispensation and become part of the global information society.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implication of copyright on access to electronic and print information resources by people with visual impairments in university libraries. The paper examines the extent to which electronic and print information resources in university libraries are accessible to people with visual impairments; the extent to which existing national/international copyright laws facilitate or hamper access to electronic and print information resources by people with visual impairments; examine challenges facing people with visual impairments in accessing electronic and print information resources; and how these challenges can be ameliorated.

The paper is based on review of empirical and theoretical literature and is underpinned by Oliver’s (1990) social model of disability.

The findings reveal that many university libraries the world over lack the capacity to offer an effective information service to people with visual impairments. Furthermore, the stringent copyright laws and licensing regimes for purchasing or transcribing content from one format to another make provision of information services to people with visual impairments difficult. In-university libraries are faced with various challenges in accessing electronic and print information that include among others copyright and licensing restrictions, and system design issues. Assistive technologies (ATs), enabling policies, skilled staff and facilitative copyright regimes can help ameliorate some of these barriers.

ATs, enabling policies, skilled staff and facilitative copyright regimes are key to unlocking the barriers that hinder people with visual impairments from effectively accessing print and electronic resources in university libraries. Protection of the basic rights of persons with disabilities including visual impairments, the elimination of social discrimination and bridging the accessibility gap are integral to social inclusion. This paper provides the basic information to university libraries for addressing challenges associated with access to electronic and print resources by people with visual impairments.

Access to information to all including people with visual impairments in society is a basic human and moral right that every human being must enjoy. The Sustainable Development Goals’ 2030 agenda for sustainable development envisages a world of universal respect for human rights and human dignity […] equality and non-discrimination, an equitable, tolerant, open and socially inclusive world in which the needs of the most vulnerable are met (United Nations, 2015), and inclusive rights such as education, access to services (including information) and employment for people with disabilities.

This paper builds on existing literature and contributes to the growing body of knowledge on access by people with disabilities predicating on World Summit on Information Society principle and agenda 2030 on sustainable development goals.

This paper reviews the challenges facing library associations within Eastern, Central and Southern Africa with particular attention paid to the Botswana Library Association (BLA). The challenges occasioned by information technology and the future outlook in the SCECSAL region are analysed in the context of the implication for libraries. The paper looks at how the BLA could prepare strategies to deal with the paradigm shifts occasioned by information technology in order to participate in the global information arena.

Libraries in the university environment in Eastern and Southern Africa are making efforts to join and participate effectively in the information revolution. However, these efforts continue to be hampered by many problems both internal and external. This paper reviews information technology (IT) developments in the university environment in Eastern and Southern Africa, and illustrates what university libraries can do to meet user expectations and remain relevant. The current scene in the region is assessed and analysed through selected literature reviews, the author’s personal experience working in the region, visits to some universities, other key institutions such as the Telkom telecommunications and Eskom electricity companies of South Africa, and discussions with professional colleagues in national seminars and regional conferences.

This paper reports on a study to determine the use of cybercafés in Gaborone, Botswana. The study involved questionnaires, interviews and observations of the management and users of the 13 cybercafés in Gaborone. The results showed that the majority of cybercafé users were students, workers and business people. Cybercafés were used largely for communication, entertainment, meeting other people, and for education. The study made recommendations to enhance Internet uptake through cybercafés in Botswana. Privacy and diversity of other services were reasons cited by users for their preference for using cybercafés rather than libraries to access the Web.