Perspectives on university library automation and national development in Uganda

Academic libraries in universities store large volumes of research that can be used for development purposes to support teaching, learning, research, innovation, community outreach and partnerships. Library automation incorporates the adoption of integrated library systems. Effective adoption of an integrated library system enables broad-based access to global and local knowledge sources to solve local, regional and national development challenges. Using a sequential mixed methods approach in a case study of a Ugandan public university, Kyambogo University, this study investigated the perceptions of librarians, information workers and other university stakeholders with respect to library automation and the contribution thereof to national development. The results confirmed that the integrated library system improved library operations and played an important role in supporting national development. This study also highlights the continued challenges of adopting an integrated library system in developing countries such as Uganda, which, if addressed, could further improve information service delivery for a nation’s socio-economic transformation.

[1]  Paul Sturges.  Information 2.0: New Models of Information Production, Distribution and Consumption , 2013 .

[2]  C. Okello-Obura,et al.  Library and Information Science Education and Training in Uganda: Trends, Challenges, and the Way Forward , 2011 .

[3]  Nuria Lloret Romero,et al.  “Cloud computing” in library automation: benefits and drawbacks , 2012 .

[4]  Roxanne Missingham,et al.  Resource sharing in Australia: evaluation of national initiatives and recent developments , 2005 .

[5]  A. M. Cox.  Using Mobile Technology to Deliver Library Services: A Handbook , 2014, Program.

[6]  Syed Jalaluddin Haider.  Library Automation in Pakistan , 1998 .

[7]  John-Oswald Amekuedee,et al.  An evaluation of library automation in some Ghanaian university libraries , 2005, Electron. Libr..

[8]  Stephen M. Mutula.  IT developments in Eastern and Southern Africa: implications for university libraries , 2000 .

[9]  C. Borgman.  From Acting Locally to Thinking Globally: A Brief History of Library Automation , 1997, The Library Quarterly.

[10]  Patrick Mapulanga.  SWOT analysis in the planning of information services and systems in university libraries , 2013 .

[11]  Nkoyo Edem,et al.  Adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in academic libraries: A strategy for library networking in Nigeria , 2005, Electron. Libr..

[12]  Desiree Webber,et al.  Integrated Library Systems: Planning, Selecting, and Implementing , 2010 .

[13]  Monitoring.  Agenda 2063 : The Africa we want , 2018 .

[14]  Sara Wingate Gray.  Global Information Inequalities: Bridging the Information Gap , 2009 .

[15]  Michael Kaplan.  Library Automation , 2009, Handbook of Automation.

[16]  Mehtab Alam Ansari,et al.  Library automation software packages in India: A study of the cataloguing modules of Alice for Windows, Libsys and Virtua , 2007 .

[17]  A. Weil,et al.  Diffusion of Innovation , 2020, The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology.

[18]  Ibrahim Ayandare,et al.  The Challenges and Frustration Of Software Adoption in Nigeria Libraries: A Survey of Some Selected Libraries , 2013 .

[19]  Fiona G. Bradley,et al.  ‘A world with universal literacy’ , 2016 .

[20]  Lili Luo,et al.  A Comparative Study of Digital Library Use: Factors, Perceived Influences, and Satisfaction , 2011 .

[21]  Martin De Saulles.  Information literacy amongst UK SMEs: an information policy gap , 2007, Aslib Proc..

[22]  M. Patton,et al.  Qualitative evaluation and research methods , 1992 .

[23]  A. Healy.  12 – MedlinePlus Go Local: connecting at-risk populations with health care services , 2008 .

[24]  Egbert de Smet.  ABCD: a new FOSS library automation solution based on ISIS , 2009 .

[25]  Tom Storey,et al.  American libraries in 2016 , 2016 .

[26]  Stephen Mudogo Mutula,et al.  Library automation in sub Saharan Africa: case study of the University of Botswana , 2012, Program.

[27]  Jenny S. Bossaller,et al.  Sharing science , 2015 .

[28]  Richard T. Watson,et al.  A PhD in information systems for emerging economies: the Addis Ababa University model , 2012, Inf. Technol. Dev..

[29]  Paul D Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Leedy,et al.  Practical Research: Planning and Design , 1974 .

[30]  Rik Panganiban,et al.  The World Summit on the Information Society , 2004 .

[31]  Alyson Dalby.  Information 2.0: New Models of Information Production, Distribution and Consumption , 2013 .

[32]  William Saffady,et al.  Library Automation: An Overview. , 1989 .

[33]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models , 1989 .