Transcript THE ACADEMIC LIBRARIAN IN A DEVELOPING SOCIETY: …

ZAMBIA’S PLACE IN AFRICA
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Located south of the Equator, this landlocked
country is positioned in southern Africa, and
bordered by the countries of Angola, Botswana,
D.R.C., Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania
and Zimbabwe
Population of just above 10million of which 1/5
live in Lusaka
Known for the worlds largest waterfall, Victoria
falls, locally known as the Musi-oa-tunya.
THE ACADEMIC LIBRARIAN IN A
DEVELOPING SOCIETY: challenges
and prospects of retooling academic
libraries
Mutinta Mweemba Nabuyanda, Librarian
National Institute of Public Administration, Zambia
INTRODUCTION
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This paper highlights the challenges
encountered by academic librarians in
developing countries, in this case Zambia,
in their endeavour to implement change
management in the provision of efficient
and effective information systems to their
clients.
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A sample of four academic libraries,
namely, the National Institute of Public
Administration (NIPA), Evelyn Hone
College of Applied Arts and Sciences, the
University of Zambia (UNZA) library, and
the Zambia Institute of Accountancy
Studies (ZCAS).
These libraries present a 66.6% of the
total membership of academic libraries in
the Zambia Library Consortium (ZALICO).
CHALLENGES
1.
Poor and inadequate Infrastructure
-Old dilapidated infrastructure (libraries built in
the 1960s)
-Limited space for expansion ( even with the
increase in enrolments)
-Limited number of users at any given time,
e.g. NIPA built to cater for 80 but currently 1,
236 users, Evelyn Hone built to cater for 150
but currently has 1,763 users
-Low funding levels
2. Poor reading Culture
-Inability to purchase books
-Reading to pass examinations only and
not for enjoyment.
- Introduction of alternative
entertainment, for example, Television,
video games and cinemas
3. Poor conditions of service
-Low salary scales for librarians compared
to other professionals
-lowly placed in organisational structures
-Working long hours without good
incentives
-High workload
-lack of opportunity for advancement
4. Low qualifications of library staff
-Under utilization of e-resources
-Poor service delivery
-unable to cope with major responsibilities
5. Poor Funding
-Low provision for purchasing new books
-low provision for infrastructure rehabilitation
-Economic challenges of the third world
a. Implications of exchange rates ( dollarisation
of world economy and fluctuations in the
exchange rates)
- limited modern equipment
-Reasons for poor funding
-lack of government support
-different priorities set by parent
institutions.
-limited sources of funding
TRADITIONAL OR MODERN?
Traditional
-conventional ‘book
only’ materials
-reading area only
-hard copies only
-manual catalogue
systems
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Modern
-e-resources
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-research facilities
-soft and hard copies
-automated catalogue
systems
Change management
-challenges of getting new ideas
implemented and appreciated.
-implemented through education and
communication
-advantages of Information
Communication Technology (ICT) need to
be explained
- undertake Orientation programmes
-selective dissemination of information (SDI) for
e-resources through e-journal alerts
-registration of internet protocol (IP) addresses
for the whole institute
-constant touch with academia and students to
get feedback
PROSPECTS
1.
Infrastructure Improvement
-expanding and building of new
infrastructure
-widening bandwidth for efficient delivery of
information
-research can be carried out in the
offices and laboratories without having to
physically visit the library
-Political will through the introduction of ICT
national policy
2. Training of librarians
-training in modern information
management systems
-deliberate training policies for staff
whenever a need is observed
-provision of post-graduate and Masters
levels within the country
-Introduction of need-based training
-upgrading of services
-Establishing and maintaining professional
bodies to monitor quality of training
(locally/international)
3. Funding
-lobby for higher budget allocations
-Taking advantage of availability of
low-cost editions of books
-lobby for assistance from cooperating
partners through the government.
-lobby for government subsidies
-Introducing and providing chargeable
services
4. Networking
-Institutional co-operation (locally)
-Formation of Zambia Library
Consortium (ZALICO)
-resource sharing (INASP-PERI)
programme in subscription
for e-resources
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Institutional co-operation (International)
-Webster University and NIPA
-Evelyn Hone College and Irish
Government
-ZCAS and Irish government/European
Union
CONCLUSION
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With the introduction of new technological
changes, it is imperative that the academic
librarian in the third world is empowered to
provide services which will help develop not only
the intellectual capabilities of the academia and
students but also contribute positively to
research issues touching on the very existence
of our economies. Only then will the contribution
of the academic librarian be looked at positively
as it will help foster economic development of
the country.