SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES IN MALAYSIAN RURAL LIBRARIES

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the practices of social sustainability in selected Malaysian rural libraries. A qualitative approach was employed through the observations, interviews and reviews of documents related to the selected six (6) rural libraries involved in this study. This study concluded that all of the rural libraries involved in this study successfully implemented the social sustainability elements in their libraries.

Exploring barriers and possible actions suggested in rural libraries for information society: Perspectives from library practitioners in Malaysia

This study aims to explore the barriers when developing information societies and to suggest possible actions for rural libraries to participate in information societies, tailored to the needs of Malaysian rural libraries. This study employed a three-round Delphi technique; including a face-to- face interview in the first round, followed by two rounds of close-ended survey questions presented in a Likert-type scale format distributed to a selected group of leaders with experience in rural library planning and strategies. It reveals how funding, library infrastructures, information communication technology, local content resources, and human resources adversely affected rural libraries in the development of an information society. Based on the recommendation elicited for the five categories, this study suggests possible actions that provide practical guidance on the actions to be taken by the rural libraries in developing an information society.

Agriculture-based community engagement in rural libraries

Community engagement in rural libraries receives little focus and is an overlooked area of research. In this article, we report exemplars of agriculture-based community engagement in rural and Southern and Central Appalachian region of the United States. An online survey of rural library professionals demonstrates the positive impact of agriculture-based engagement activities on the overall community-engagement initiatives in this region. This article synthesizes eight distinct agriculture-based initiatives with many subprojects, lists an inventory of stakeholders involved in agriculture-based community-engagement initiatives, and highlights the challenges faced by the rural libraries. Three successful examples, namely, seed library, community gardens, and farmers’ market initiatives, are presented with details to help other libraries adopt these successful community-engagement initiatives. The results show that rural libraries are very creative with their limited resources and they hit many areas of impact in the community through their community-engagement activities.

Environmental Sustainability Practices in Rural Libraries

The key purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of environmental sustainability practices in Malaysian rural libraries. A qualitative approach was employed through interviews, observations, and examinations of documents related to the six (6) rural libraries which were involved in this study. This study concluded that rural libraries in Malaysia had not fully implemented the environmental sustainability elements as suggested by the International Federation of LibraryAssociation (IFLA). Nevertheless, rural libraries in Malaysia had put good effort into environmental sustainability practices.

Social capital in the theory and research of LIS professionals in the light of the literature on the subject. Review of current knowledge

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to present the latest scholarly trends in the field of social capital in libraries, to review research concepts published by LIS professionals and to suggest further research possibilities in this area. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a review and critical analysis of literature associated with research on social capital in libraries to highlight its importance for the development of LIS and its impact on the functioning of environments linked with various types of libraries. The goal of literature analysis was to determine the current condition of research on social capital in libraries. The main trends were identified and the need for further qualitative analyses, which are missing at the moment, was confirmed. Findings It was determined that, so far, LIS professionals have focussed mainly on the role of municipal libraries in developing social capital, the problem of building trust, especially in immigrant circles and the impact of libraries on promoting a civil society. Academic libraries, rural libraries, organisational capital in libraries and individual social capital of librarians were a much less frequent subject of research. The role of libraries in developing social capital in educational (primary and secondary education) and professional (non-university professionals) circles is practically non-existent in research, and it will require in-depth studies and analyses in the coming years. Originality/value This paper constitutes a synthetic review of the latest research concepts concerning social capital in libraries. It identifies the most important research trends and areas that so far have not been explored and suggests research methods to help LIS professionals design future research in this area more effectively.

Developing Knowledge Societies

This chapter explores how the knowledge societies are being developed in different local, national, regional, and international societies and more in particular how the women and girls in Kanungu are developing their knowledge within the clans. The methodology followed to generate a set of questions: What are clans? and Does belonging to a clan group have an individual or group impact on their identity (as Bakiga/Banyankole/Bahororo/Bairu/Bahima) Ugandans? Why are women in Kanungu district organizing in paternal clans? How new is the trend? What is its origin? Are there women, girls who do not identify with clans? What are the basic socio-economic challenges confronting the girls and women of Kanungu? Has local government and development partners tried to deal with the challenges of women? With what results? Is organizing in Clan Groups matriarchy? Is it empowerment or cementing submissiveness? Is it increasing women work load? What is its effect on men-masculinity? In order to understand how the clan groups' learn, a feminist qualitative ethnographic approach was used. Women's personal stories were collected through focus group discussions and interviews to explore their experiences on the prospects and challenges of clan group activities. A sample of five women and five men randomly picked was used. Therefore, this chapter aims to stimulate sharing knowledge and learning about women's lives in rural areas; document women's narratives; show the economic development trends in Uganda; promote self-actualization, self-awareness, and pride among women as equal citizens of Uganda; and motivate reading and learning and contribute to creation of rural libraries.