The African university librarian in the information age

INTRODUCTION

Since their inception, libraries have maintained their sovereignty as the main repository of knowledge in society. Nowadays, the new information technologies equipped with computing, telecommunications and optical media are seriously affecting libraries. ICTS for short is used here to include telecommunication hardware, software, and equipment. It has been an indispensable tool with great impact worldwide. Of all the diversified technologies of our time, progress in information and communication technology has undoubtedly had and continues to have a considerable influence on the global economy. It makes it possible to collect, process, and transmit information at breakneck speed and at decreasing cost. Increase productivity, improve quality and efficiency in all kinds of services.

The impact is seen in various areas such as health care, finance and banking, transportation, publishing, and management. Information technology is already changing our lives in many ways. It facilitates communication regardless of distance, relieves a lot of hard, dirty, and repetitive work, and gives control over the natural environment. As Knopp (1984) realistically observed, the library is currently at a crossroads and must try to find a useful balance between traditional library functions and methods and new challenges. The African university librarian will pay a tremendous price to preserve traditional services and embrace technological advances. However, it must be paid if the African librarian wants to intervene or remain the mediator between the user and the information. The role of the librarian is to ensure that the resulting use of computers and telecommunications and any other appropriate technology contributes profitably to the needs of scholarship and research, since “librarians have the experience necessary to acquire materials in a variety of of formats and make them accessible for a variety of purposes” (Simpson, 1984, p.38).

THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN

Two programs of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Universal Bibliographic Control (UBC) and Universal Publication Availability (UAP), have greatly contributed to wide and easy access to printed information. Something similar can be done to provide the same access to electronic information. African university librarians could take the legacy of the aforementioned programs and translate them into a new vision of an electronic future.

At the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of University Libraries held in Accra in 1999, the need to give priority to the improvement and access issues to new information technologies was stressed. It was emphasized that university management structures must recognize the centrality of the library as a pedagogical tool (AAU, 199). Continuing education programs for African libraries should be supported to facilitate retraining, to suit the dynamic information environment, because there should be a concentration on technology training, regardless of the area of ​​librarianship in which one specializes. It is a truism that “librarians need to know how to access and filter what is on the web” (Rosenberg, 2000, p.15).

IMPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

One school of thought strongly argues that the advantages of information technology are double-edged. Technology also seems to have increased rather than diminished the problems facing African university libraries in providing information. Special equipment is needed to access and retrieve information that comes in electronic format. There are storage and conservation problems even when the equipment is available. Technology can only be installed and used if adequate and solid financing is behind it. It is indisputable that the most important factor worth seriously investigating is the economics of the problem. In Sierra Leone, the university administration initially centrally budgeted around six per cent for its college and institute libraries. However, central funding has been replaced by peer funding which is inadequate (Rosenberg, 1997). Management must recognize and support the centrality of its academic powerhouse and ensure the sustainability of library programs and services.

The development of systems for knowledge organization and information retrieval has come to a standstill, and the names of the fundamental features of the system have now been adequately tried and tested. However, news about the basics, the use of inverted files to aid recovery, and the context in which many systems operate need constant review. Researchers are following a variety of approaches in their search for better systems, categorized into the following:

1. System design, where the overall objective is to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of the system, including storage and its speed of retrieval; and

2. The human computer interface (human factor) where the objective is to improve the quality of the interaction between the user and the computer so that the former can be more successful in extracting what it requires.

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

National governments should give African university libraries a greater role in the area of ​​infrastructure provision and funding. It is a truism that the Sierra Leone government, like other African governments, is looking for ways and means to reduce the amount of money spent on tertiary education (Duah, 1999). The New Education Policy for Sierra Leone (1995) commits, in principle, to “establish, equip, administer, maintain and develop an efficient library service in the capital, provisional cities and districts” (p. 41). Until such a policy is implemented, the library system would become Rip Van Wrinkle. Information is a factor of production. Consequently, institutions that acquire, organize, store, preserve in ways that facilitate its retrieval, and provide it to potential users deserve government support and attention. Ghana’s Ministry of Education, for example, launched several initiatives to improve both computerization and Internet access for educational institutions. The Education Management Information System (EMIS) project was launched in October 1997 to provide Internet access/services to education administrators across the country.

CONCLUSION

Despite the new technology, the library’s mission will remain unchanged even if the way librarians accomplish this mission changes. African librarians need to find a useful balance between conventional/traditional library functions and new challenge methods to maintain their leadership role in the information age. The university library should consider operating an automated system that is accessible to students, readers, and the general public to support the teaching, learning, research, and extension services of the university. This system can be worked through the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders.

REFERENCE LIST

AAU Bulletin (1999). The role of university libraries in Africa, 5(2), pp.1-12.

Duah, V. (1999). The AAU and higher education in the next millennium. AAU Newsletter, 5(2), pp. 1-2.

Knopp, W. (1984). The library in a technological world: problems and doubts raised by the client. IFLA Journal, 10(1), pp.57-62.

New educational policy for Sierra Leone. Freetown: Department of Education.

Rosenberg, D. (1997). University Libraries in Africa. London: International African Institute.

___________ (2000). Internet Training for Libraries. INASP Bulletin, 15, p.15.

Simpson, D. (1984). Advanced technology: the secondary impact on libraries and users. IFLA Journal, 10 (1), pp.43-48.