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Continuous professional development (CPD) plays a crucial role in the library workplace by equipping library and information science (LIS) professionals with the skills and technical knowledge to bridge the theory-praxis gap, assuring that library practitioners and their organisations continue to innovate and stay successful and tailored to the requirement of their users. The aim of the study was to investigate the channels of CPD for LIS professionals working in the university libraries of Northern India. Also, it explored the motivations and barriers related to the LIS professionals’ CPD.

The study adopted a quantitative research design followed by the survey research method. The study population included LIS professionals working in the university libraries of Northern India. Data was gathered from 177 respondents via the census sampling method.

LIS professionals engaged in CPD activities through multiple channels. Intrinsic factors primarily governed the motivation for CPD. Similarly, time and finance were significant challenges for LIS CPD. Lastly, most libraries were headed by in-charge librarians (non-professionals). De-professionalisation, or the deliberate de-skilling of professional roles, threatens the basis upon which librarians establish their credibility as professionals.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first of its kind from the perspective of a developing country, adding to the CPD literature in academic libraries.

To share with a global readership the progress made and the infrastructure in the making to create digital resources and utilize digital resources in libraries in Africa.

Comparisons of how digital libraries evolved or transitioned in more developed parts of the world with Africa. Issues of intellectual property are key interests that need to be reinforced in Africa as the digital library movement matures.

Africa is ready to pursue developing digital libraries in a more earnest way but lacks some basic resources. Information technology is expanding throughout Africa but at a slower pace, yet with intense efforts directed towards training and implementing more automation.

A more serious infrastructure needs to be established to see the launch of more digital library components in African libraries. The understanding is there but the resources remain undependable and costly to implement on any serious scale.

Serious infrastructure issues need to be resolved in addition to working out the economic and commercial limitations, the legal situation and creating a digital rights roadmap for seeing the digital library provision in place.

The need to catch up with trends in libraries worldwide is sincere and efforts are well underway to create more electronic resources and make digital libraries more of a reality in already information deprived regions of the world.

The chapter discusses the importance of capacity building and need for continuous professional development for library and information science professionals in university libraries. The changing dynamics in higher education, information and communication technologies and the shift in the learning landscape has led to more demands for skills and competencies of library and information professionals. The need for training is more urgent than before. If University Libraries are to remain relevant in the 21st Century, they need to constantly adapt and have professional staff who are able to cope with such rapidly changing environments enabling them to deliver resources and services efficiently and effectively. The chapter, therefore, document the importance of capacitating staff in university libraries.

The study examined the comprehensive assessment of the efficacy of Library and Information Science (LIS) CPD programmes in the particular setting of Indian academic libraries in Northern India. The study systematically assessed the programmes' impact on four levels: behaviour, reaction, learning, and results, using Donald Kirkpatrick’s widely recognised evaluation model.

The research employed a census sampling method and a questionnaire to gather information from 177 respondents employed in university libraries.

The findings demonstrated that professionals were satisfied with the CPD programmes, eager to learn more and apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills at their workplaces, and interested in applying learning to get results. Moreover, the significant factors that hindered the implementation of learning in the workplace were a lack of management support and poor IT infrastructure.

The paper’s uniqueness and significance come from carefully examining the effects of CPD programmes in LIS within the particular setting of university libraries in Northern India.

Large volumes of complex and diverse data sources present a tremendous barrier for big data applications (BDAs) in digital library in terms of processing and extracting relevant insights. The purpose of this study is to examine librarians’ perceptions of BDAs and management for digital library services in selected academic libraries in Kwara State.

The research design that was adopted in this study is the cross-sectional research design. The total population for this study is 58 (58) library professionals. Owing to the small population of this study, total enumeration sampling technique was adopted for this study. Hence, the sample size for this study is 58 (58). Questionnaire was used for data collection. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

The study demonstrated that digital library services provided include virtual reference services, institutional repositories and personalized content recommendation. Also, the librarians were aware of BDAs like Apache Hadoop and Python. It was showed that BDAs are used for resource transfer, borrowing management, user needs, usage tracking and personalizing content recommendations. Results showed that open-source software and hardware, and training on handling diverse data sets are essential for the management of big data. Challenges associated with the use of BDAs include scalability limitations, complex data structures, lack of big data processing, power supply issues and data privacy.

This study provides unaddressed questions and gaps in the area of using BDAs for the provision of digital library services, especially in developing countries like Nigeria.

This paper aims to investigate the usage of electronic resources within the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH) in order to support subscription and budget decisions. This has become necessary because of the difficulty faced by institutions in paying subscription fee as a result of the continuous increase in subscription fee, financial constraints and high exchange rates.

The study is a quantitative research of electronic resource use covering six years. Full-text download statistics of ten most used electronic resources accessed by an average of 33 institutions were sampled from 27 databases and analysed to investigate level of usage. Six out of the ten electronic resources were analysed to evaluate cost per use over four years. Sampling was purposive. Data analysis and presentation were conducted using a descriptive method of analysis of simple frequency count, mean and percentages, while Microsoft Excel was used to organise data into tables and graphs.

Findings revealed an improved usage of CARLIGH-facilitated electronic resources. However, the rate of improvement declined by the year. Also, October and November recorded high usage, while January and May-August recorded low patronage. Finally, using a mean as a benchmark, it was ascertained that costs per use/article was less than $0.98.

Because of limited data evaluated, the research results may lack generalisation; hence, there is a need for further research.

This study will be useful in supporting librarians’ decisions on continuous subscription, budget justification and promotion.

First, to assess the status of the job market for library and information science (LIS) professionals in Kenya and the adequacy of current curricula and training resources in LIS training institutions in the country. Secondly, to identify priority areas of training and critical IT skills required by LIS professionals in relation to current job market and performance requirements.

Using a survey research design data was collected from various categories of LIS stakeholders: students, lecturers, professionals and employers. In total 110 subjects were selected for this study using various sampling techniques and a response rate of 76.4 per cent was achieved. Questionnaires with closed and open‐ended questions were used to collect data. This was a descriptive study and therefore descriptive statistics were used.

A job market for LIS professionals in Kenya is perceived to exist. However, there is a general observation that the current LIS training programmes in the country do not sufficiently address current job market requirements due to: inadequate teaching resources in LIS training institutions; lack of adequate ICT content in the courses; courses that are irrelevant to the job market and inadequate length of industrial attachment.

The paper recommends review of the current LIS curricula in Kenya in order to enhance the suitability of graduates to the current labour market. This includes integration of modern ICT into training, recruitment of qualified teaching staff, ensuring adequate learning resources and facilities, and enhancement of industrial attachment.

The paper investigates some of the critical issues that planners of library and information science courses have to consider in the 21st century. These issues include: the emergence of the “information society”, the multidisciplinary heritage of LIS education, the choice between liberal vis‐à‐vis technical education, the emergence of the concept of digital library, and finally the need for thorough management and leadership competencies. These issues are part of the current discourse on LIS training in the sub‐Saharan Africa where communities are in transition to the “information economy”.

This study aims to assess the extent to which Uganda university libraries have implemented digital transformation technologies and to determine the facilitators and barriers affecting the implementation of digital transformation in selected university libraries in Uganda.

This study used a convergent parallel mixed methods design. It was conducted in six selected university libraries in Uganda, which were in three private and three public universities. The study sample included 103 librarians with a minimum qualification of a bachelor’s degree and six library directors.

The findings indicated that there was an average (n = 37, 48.7%) implementation of digital transformation in the selected university libraries in Uganda. Some of the barriers hindering digital transformation included inadequate funding, lack of awareness of digital technologies, inadequate ICT skills, insufficient ICT infrastructure and limited staff among others. There is a need for library management to provide support in the form of funds, policies and human resources to implement such digital transformation.

The criteria for choosing universities were those that have been around for at least 10 years. The reason for this was that it was assumed that these universities would have well-established staff development programmes and procedures as well as be likely to have incorporated technology into their services, including libraries. This study’s limitations stem from the fact that this criterion for selection might not apply to all Ugandan university libraries, particularly those that are less than 10 years old and may not have been well represented in this study.

The magnitude of the problem of digital transformation in university libraries in Uganda is unclear because of the limited research available in the Uganda library and information science field. This study presents the status of digital transformation in Uganda university libraries.

This paper aims to explore the information technology environment in a developing country, Morocco, through a discussion of the people, their information environment, and libraries. Concepts of modern library and information studies (LIS) education and the new role of the library professional in this context are also to be explored.

Largely based on a review of literature on the people, their information environment, and technology in Morocco, this paper incorporates both synthesis and discussion from an LIS point‐of‐view.

Basic elements of the culture make library work difficult in Morocco. In reflecting on other cultures and participating in the international LIS dialogue, librarians can develop new perspectives on difficulties they experience at their home institutions while contributing to solutions of problems abroad.

By supporting library work in developing countries, western librarians can have a positive impact on users both at home and abroad.

Third world librarianship is not a phenomenon happening “over there” in a vacuum – real librarians trained in library and information science in countries like Morocco are helping users to access information. Their work contributes to the international conversation taking place in LIS, a discussion that is ultimately of benefit to all involved.

To provide a review of the most recent literature concerning document supply and related matters.

The reading of over 140 published works, including journals, monographs, reports and web sites.

Demonstrates the continuing conflict over Open Access; that generally document supply continues to decline and that usage studies of e‐journals are beginning to show that about half of journals in “Big Deals” are very little used, showing the need for more such studies. (And, dare one say, the more judicious use of document supply?)

A useful source of information for librarians and others interested in document supply and related matters.