Public libraries as facilitators of information services

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinashe Mugwisi ◽  
Glenrose Velile Jiyane ◽  
Madeleine C. Fombad
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Information Services ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Adults And Children

Public libraries are important institutions to support access to information services. Many communities, especially in rural areas, cannot afford to access information services and rely on free libraries in their communities in their quest for information services. The need for libraries to serve multicultural information users should therefore be reflected in their attempts to provide access to information services in their communities. This article reports on a study of libraries as facilitators of access to information services in a developing context. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 24 conveniently selected librarians from 9 public libraries in Northern Library Region in the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. Interviews were further conducted with 98 diverse information users who were randomly sampled during data collection. Findings indicate that public libraries provide diverse information services to learners, parents, general workers, students, women and young adults and children in their different age groups, occupations and general activities performed in their role of facilitating access to information services. These diverse users have diverse information needs, which create some challenges in the provision of information services. It was found that limited funding, shortage of skills and knowledge, technology and time, among others, are challenges limiting provision of information services in these libraries. Recruiting potential users, contesting for increased funding, lobbying for support, facilitation of technological training of skills are some recommendations made by this study.

Role of Librarians and Medical Information Experts in Response to Covid-19 in Iran

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 300-304
Author(s):  
Nasrin Aliasghari
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Information Services ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
The World ◽  
Terrestrial Life ◽  
Knowledge Brokers

Human being has always faced different critical situations and unpredictable events such as floods, earthquakes and terrible infectious diseases such as cholera, plague, tuberculosis and influenza. However, it is believed that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) has been the most shocking pandemic that led to destructive effects in all geographical areas of the world and all aspect of terrestrial life. The governments increasingly enact quarantines, curfews, closures, and other restrictive controls against the countries, citizens, and institutions and deploy their facilities to tackle the infection and prevent its spread (1). Amid the anxiety of lock downs and the cancellation of educational programs around the world, researcher support has not stopped, and a group of knowledge brokers, led by librarians and medical informantionists, are constantly providing information services. Information is an urgent and essential commodity in any crisis. Therefore, librarians and information experts have to be always prepared to meet the information needs of society and provide the users with access to information.

UNDER-GRADUATE STUDENTS AND THE ROLE OF E- LIBRARIES TO UPLIFT THE QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (26) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dharambeer Singh
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Multiple Access ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
Brick And Mortar ◽  
Education Status

Digital libraries, designed to serve people and their information needs in the same way as traditional libraries, present distinct advantages over brick and mortar facilities: elimination of physical boundaries, round-the-clock access to information, multiple access points, networking abilities, and extended search functions. As a result, they should be especially well-suited for the disables. However, minorities, those affected by lower income and education status, persons living in rural areas, the physically challanged, and developing countries as a whole consistently suffer from a lack of accessibility to digital libraries. This paper evaluates the effectiveness and relevance of digital libraries currently in place and discusses what could and should be done to improve accessibility to digital libraries for under-graduate students.

The awakening information needs of the developing countries

1979 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 285-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjorn V. Tell
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Information Services ◽  
Information Network ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Online Systems ◽  
The Awakening ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Centres Of Excellence

The developing countries arc emulating the industrialized countries when setting up information services to cater for their information needs. However, the traditional infrastruc ture of service organisations may not be the best model for supporting easy and speedy access to information. A different approach is argued, founded upon the enthusiasm with which many developing countries have taken to online systems when demonstrated there. A model for a ministerial information network is proposed as part of a "social intel ligence function" of the country. It is proposed that Unesco and UNIDO should set up regional "centres of excellence" according to this model for developing countries.

scholarly journals EXPLORING THE RURAL DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: LIBRARIES, EQUITY, AND SCALE

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Strover ◽  
Alexis Schrubbe
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Internet Service ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
State Library ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Digital Landscape

As community anchors and public spaces, libraries are in unique positions to serve emerging 21st century information needs for the unconnected. Some libraries have extended their technology offerings beyond basic computers and Internet to include mobile hotspot lending, which allows patrons to "take home" the Internet from the library. The research in this project examines hotspot lending programs undertaken by the Maine State Library and the Kansas State Library across 24 different libraries in small and rural communities. In the United States, rural areas tend to have lower Internet adoption because many communities face considerable barriers to competitive and fast Internet service, exacerbated by the fact that rural communities tend to be older, of lower-income, and less digitally skilled. This research examines the role of library hotspot lending and how free and mobile-based Internet connects rural communities and serves their information needs. Through qualitative and quantitative assessments this research details the scope and efficacy of programs to reach publics, the impact that rural hotspots have in communities, and the larger information and communications ecosystem in these rural communities in Maine and Kansas.

Consequences of post-disaster policies and relocation approaches: two communities from rural China

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Chen ◽  
Lulu He ◽  
Dan Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Displaced People ◽  
Questionnaire Surveys ◽  
Post Disaster

PurposePost-disaster population resettlement is a complicated process, during which the restoration of livelihood and lifestyle plays a critical role in achieving a successful resettlement outcome. This paper attempts to examine how recovery policies and relocation approaches influence people's livelihood recovery and perception of wellbeing. It specifically investigates the role of farmland in producing a livelihood and maintaining a rural lifestyle among displaced people.Design/methodology/approachThrough face-to-face questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews with rural residents displaced from their villages after the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China, this study presents both quantitative and qualitative evidence to investigate how post-disaster policies and particularly the availability of farmland influence people's recovery and their satisfaction with the post-resettlement life.FindingsData suggest that availability of farmland, in spite of the size, makes big differences in post-disaster recovery because farmland provides resettled people with not only a livelihood to secure basic living but also a guarantee to maintain a rural lifestyle.Research limitations/implicationsMore samples are needed for analyzing factors that significantly influence disaster-displaced farmers' recovery and wellbeing post resettlement.Practical implicationsThis study can be used as an important reference for making plans for post-disaster recovery and population resettlement programs in other disaster-prone countries across the world.Originality/valueLand-based relocation is proposed as a desirable approach to addressing challenges of livelihood restoration amongst the resettled population in rural areas of developing countries.

The role of a knowledge broker in improving knowledge and understanding of climate change in the Australian rangelands

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary-Anne Healy ◽  
Kate Forrest ◽  
Gary Bastin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Knowledge Broker ◽  
Project Delivery ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Climate Change Information ◽  
Project Objectives ◽  
Science And Research

This paper considers the role of a knowledge broker to coordinate and connect activity within a cross-disciplinary project to deliver climate change science and research to regional natural resource management (NRM) planning in the Australian rangelands. We use the Rangelands Cluster Project as a case study. Due to the additional challenges facing project delivery in the rangelands such as remoteness, distance and low and sparsely distributed population, the project development phase included the central role of a knowledge broker to support the project objectives: identifying climate change information needs, providing quality information that can be incorporated into NRM planning, and establishing networks of researchers and NRM planners across the rangelands. The knowledge broker facilitated a process that included face-to-face meetings, workshops, surveys, email and teleconferencing to establish relationships and identify priorities as well as to refine project outputs. This facilitation allowed clearer communication between parties who were very remote from each other and worked in different disciplines, ensuring the different expertise was brought into the project, connections made and relationships formed.

scholarly journals Deposit Collecting: Unbundling the Role of Frequency, Salience, and Habit Formation in Generating Savings

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suresh de Mel ◽  
Craig McIntosh ◽  
Christopher Woodruff
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Habit Formation ◽  
Household Savings ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Bank Accounts ◽  
Collection Methods ◽  
Made In

We report on a field experiment using several methods for collecting deposits made in formal bank accounts in rural areas in Sri Lanka. We find that only frequent, face-to-face collection increases aggregate household savings. Collection involving community lock boxes increases balances at the collecting bank, but not overall household savings. Only community box collection appears to have the possibility of being financially viable. The various collection methods allow us to unbundle the role of frequency, salience and habit formation in deposit decisions. We find that frequency and salience affect the number of transactions, but not the level of savings.

Libraries as agents for development: The potential role of Egyptian rural public libraries towards the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals based on the UN 2030 Agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-136
Author(s):  
Essam Mansour
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The United Nations

The key purpose of this study is to investigate the potential role of Egyptian rural public libraries, being one of the social agents for development, towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals according to the United Nations Agenda for 2030. To meet the objectives and questions of the study, a multi-faceted research methodology was adopted and conducted in the period from September to November 2017. The study used a qualitative approach in terms of personal interview, discussion and observations of group meetings, and examination of documents to investigate the implementation of community development programmemes and services in 34 rural public libraries representing the four main administrative divisions comprising Egypt. The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals have been discussed with ways in which Egyptian rural public libraries can include and meet them. Challenges facing libraries in the provision of information (poor infrastructure, inappropriate collections and related facilities and services, high levels of illiteracy, lack of funding and cooperation between related agencies, inappropriate training of library and information professionals, lack of studies and surveys, as well as analyses of information needs of rural communities) have also been emphasized. This study concluded that Egyptian rural public libraries have struggled to be part of the United Nations Agenda for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. They have tried as much as possible to integrate and adapt to the surrounding community in light of the common economic, political and social factors and conditions. Despite these challenges, these libraries showed a good response that is characterized as somewhat positive, though not sufficient, toward the achievement of these goals.

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