Search results

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implication of copyright on access to electronic and print information resources by people with visual impairments in university libraries. The paper examines the extent to which electronic and print information resources in university libraries are accessible to people with visual impairments; the extent to which existing national/international copyright laws facilitate or hamper access to electronic and print information resources by people with visual impairments; examine challenges facing people with visual impairments in accessing electronic and print information resources; and how these challenges can be ameliorated.

The paper is based on review of empirical and theoretical literature and is underpinned by Oliver’s (1990) social model of disability.

The findings reveal that many university libraries the world over lack the capacity to offer an effective information service to people with visual impairments. Furthermore, the stringent copyright laws and licensing regimes for purchasing or transcribing content from one format to another make provision of information services to people with visual impairments difficult. In-university libraries are faced with various challenges in accessing electronic and print information that include among others copyright and licensing restrictions, and system design issues. Assistive technologies (ATs), enabling policies, skilled staff and facilitative copyright regimes can help ameliorate some of these barriers.

ATs, enabling policies, skilled staff and facilitative copyright regimes are key to unlocking the barriers that hinder people with visual impairments from effectively accessing print and electronic resources in university libraries. Protection of the basic rights of persons with disabilities including visual impairments, the elimination of social discrimination and bridging the accessibility gap are integral to social inclusion. This paper provides the basic information to university libraries for addressing challenges associated with access to electronic and print resources by people with visual impairments.

Access to information to all including people with visual impairments in society is a basic human and moral right that every human being must enjoy. The Sustainable Development Goals’ 2030 agenda for sustainable development envisages a world of universal respect for human rights and human dignity […] equality and non-discrimination, an equitable, tolerant, open and socially inclusive world in which the needs of the most vulnerable are met (United Nations, 2015), and inclusive rights such as education, access to services (including information) and employment for people with disabilities.

This paper builds on existing literature and contributes to the growing body of knowledge on access by people with disabilities predicating on World Summit on Information Society principle and agenda 2030 on sustainable development goals.

The primary purpose of this paper was to assess the status of digital heritage preservation management in Eastern Africa. The following research objectives were addressed: investigate digital heritage preservation management in Eastern Africa, find out the content which is prioritized for digital preservation, describe the challenges of digital heritage preservation management in Eastern Africa and propose a framework to address challenges of digital heritage preservation in Eastern Africa.

This paper is based on a literature review and an analysis of national digitization efforts in Eastern Africa. The research objectives were addressed using Document Lifecycle and World Summit on Information Society Action Lines 2, 3 and 8 as the theoretical frames.

Results revealed growing awareness among institutions with statutory responsibility for heritage management about digital heritage preservation in Eastern Africa through the support of international agencies, civil societies and governments. However, institutions with responsibility for heritage management were ill-equipped to function in this role effectively. Content of academic, commercial, parliamentary and judicial and international treaties’ values were the preferred candidates for digitization. The findings revealed several challenges hampering digital heritage preservation management: weak policy and regulatory frameworks, limited capacity, inadequate government support and limited connectivity and bandwidth.

Many countries in Eastern Africa are making efforts to preserve their national heritage through digitalization to bridge the content divide between the region and the developed world so as to enhance access by its people, not only to their respective national heritages but also for international information systems knowledge. However, most of these efforts remain undocumented, making it difficult to make comparisons with similar best practices around the world.

This article aims to present experiences and the lessons learned from the University of Botswana (UB) library automation project. The implications of the project for similar libraries planning automation in sub Saharan Africa and beyond are adduced.

The article is a case study of library automation at the University of Botswana.

The successful implementation of the library automation project was attributed to a number of factors, among them ensuring strategic management buy‐in, extensive consultations with key stakeholders, alignment of library automation with goals of the university, capacity building of librarians and assuring librarians that their jobs were safe. The impact of the automation project included increased access to diversity of electronic resources, enhanced image of librarians, introduction of new services, freeing of library physical space, transformation of the library into a social learning environment, access to local content made possible through digitisation, new skills acquisitions, access to library electronic resources from remote sites, and increased roles and responsibilities for librarians. Challenges faced included staff anxiety about the prospect of losing jobs, learning of new skills, added responsibilities for librarians, raised expectations of users, high costs of subscription to full text journals, and bandwidth bottlenecks among others.

This article is based on a case study of library automation at the University of Botswana. The results may not therefore be widely replicated. Besides, the article did not delve deep into technology acceptance and diffusion of innovation issues that could illuminate further the case study.

Most university libraries in sub Saharan Africa are yet to successfully and fully automate their information services. Consequently the lessons learned from the University of Botswana case could help inform the planning and implementation of automations projects in similar libraries.

The automation of the University of Botswana library resulted in enhanced quality of information services, re‐skilling of librarians, enhanced image of librarians, user satisfaction and transformation of the university into a learning and research hub.

This article is based on practical experiences of library automation at the University of Botswana and its impact on services, and human and physical resources. Previous studies on this subject at the university only covered migration from one system to another and the technical perspectives of the process of library automation. This study is broad in scope covering both technical and managerial processes of managing change in the context of library automation at the University of Botswana.