Surviving and Thriving in the Internet Age: An auto-ethnographic Approach (original) (raw)
Related papers
Library and information services in South Africa: an overview
IFLA journal, 2007
Opening with a review of information policy, the article describes information sources, systems and services in South Africa, embedding them in the wider national information system. A description of the library and information education and training sector and the organized profession follow. This overview is based on literature retrieved from the available, mostly electronic, databases. Keywords: library and information systems; library and information services; access to information; education and training; South Africa
The internet continues to support the generation and distribution of information and knowledge. This paper takes a look at how the web technologies have been used by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology library -Kumasi, to proactively interact with its students and faculty in order to provide efficient and reliable information and knowledge sources. Suggestions have also been given on which other areas could be included to further enhance the services provided by the library to be operated more on the technological edge to meet the changing demands from its parent institution.
South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 2010
Information literacy (IL) is increasingly becoming one of the core subjects in many LIS schools' curricula today. It is universally considered one of the effective means through which one's information skills are developed, and more especially at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The aim of this study is to explore the availability and implementation of information literacy programmes in South Africa, with special reference to LIS schools/departments and academic libraries. The study is largely informed by a literature review of scholarly journal articles, books and Internet sources and a survey involving LIS schools/departments and academic libraries in South Africa. Results indicate that most LIS schools and academic libraries provide IL programmes; the IL programmes are known by different titles/names; there are common as well as uncommon topics offered to students; the IL programme is largely offered to first year students by qualified LIS professionals; the purpose of offering IL programmes is generally to enable students to access, select and utilise resources effectively; the challenges of IL provision include lack of resources (e.g. staff, funds and e-laboratories) and support; and the library's and LIS departments' community engagement as far as IL provision is concerned is minimal. Several recommendations towards the improvement of IL delivery by LIS departments and academic libraries in South Africa are made. Committee on the Information Literacy (PCIL) in 1987 and its subsequent report which followed in 1989. While emphasising the importance of IL, the PCIL report links IL to the goals of lifelong learning and effective citizenship.
Towards a transformed library and information sector in South Africa: rethinking roles
South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 2009
The paper examines the current state of libraries in South Africa. It draws on the state's role in the provision of library services since South Africa became a democracy in 1994. There seems to be a worrisome aspect that the place of public libraries within local and provincial governments is in a state of uncertainty. Hence the urgency with which the National Council for Library and Information Services (NCLIS) is approaching the problem by having appointed a technical team to develop broad legislative and policy guidelines for the transformation of the library and information services (LIS) sector. The focus of the paper is rather on an argument for a rethink of the role of libraries and librarians within the local and provincial context. It is the author's contention that the services of a library should contribute towards the quality of life, that is, the library should play a role in education, the promotion of moral values, the eradication of illiteracy, the alleviation of poverty and assisting in the quest for knowledge and the promotion of democracy in society. The whole notion of democracy needs to be deconstructed. Certain objectives need to be set in order to attain this aim of the library, namely, the library should foster and provide certain facilities for the development of individuals and groups at all levels of education, for example, a study area and an activity room or auditorium; the library should be accessible to the user to fulfil his/her information needs, in the quickest possible time; the library should be a main centre for the promotion and appreciation of all arts so that cultural life can be enriched; the library should play a positive part in the encouragement of active usage of leisure and recreation time. This calls for a well informed and empowered library professional. Although the concept of library professional is used somewhat loosely here, library workers in general should not be excluded when library services are rendered.
This chapter reports on a study of the 21 st century academic library. Academic libraries are confronted by the need to restructure services in response to the pervasive influence of technology on higher education. The study's objective was to ascertain the shape and form of the 21st century academic library, using the case of the University of Cape Town (UCT). Themes emanating from literature include, inter alia, digital curation, digital scholarship, open access and collaboration. A largely qualitative research approach and case study design inform the study's methodology. The study concludes that UCT Libraries are in the process of establishing themselves as a 21 st century academic library; their infrastructural developments for new service delivery modalities gives them the 'form' necessary to establish a new 'shape' commensurate with the digital age.
Librarianship in cyber age, 2008
… sponsored Seminar on …, 2008
The Society is heavily looking towards the library and information centers to cope up with the changed socio-economic environment making learning as a habit, so as to be acquainted with new knowledge. It is very much necessary to boost up the newly emerging ideas among the people keeping in mind the new requirements of the different sectors within the field of librarianship. Public Libraries will also have to cope with the initiatives developed in the society in the changed IT environment. Public Libraries can no longer afford to remain institutionalized passive spectators. All the activities will now have to be tailored to give long distance and often home delivered information. Public Libraries need to develop as a powerful platform for e-learning applications to raise the education standards in the society. The information age is here with many challenges and risks for the information generators and the information disseminators. The challenges before libraries and information centers are manifold. The main challenge will emerge from the expected change in the nature of future libraries and information centers.
Library and Information Services in Africa in the Twenty-First Century
2015
This paper traces the important developments in school librarianship in South Africa since 2007, during which time the drive to address huge backlogs in school library provision has gained momentum-largely, it argues, from the intersections of two phenomena: the Library and Information Services (LIS) Transformation Charter; and Equal Education, a civic-action NGO campaigning on behalf of school libraries. South African youth face daunting challenges, and their schooling is perhaps where the heritage of apartheid is most visible. The lack of libraries, it is argued, has undermined the attempts at curricular reform since the late 1990s. The daunting backlogs in school library provision mean that innovative models of service will be needed that cut across existing divisions. Given the impact of the lack of school libraries on all sectors of LIS, the paper examines the recommendations in the LIS Transformation Charter that South African LIS should turn to the concept of ecosystem to pro...
Mousaion: South African Journal of Information Studies, 2019
This paper explores the applicability of a new model of information literacy, SCONUL, developed in the global North, to the South African higher education academic library context with all its enormous challenges of accessibility, transformation, basic education and intellectual awareness. Based on a case study of a postgraduate class in a commerce faculty, the paper draws on a survey and focus groups with students and interviews with lecturers to explore perceptions of information literacy and digital literacy as 21st-century skills that students need to be successful in their studies and the world of work. The findings show that whilst students exhibit confidence (through personal internet confidence) in terms of information literacy, they are not as skilled as they believe themselves to be. They also have a narrow notion of the concept. There are also contradictions in the understanding of the concept of information literacy between librarians, students and lecturers.
2016
The article reports on a study of the capacity of public librarians in South Africa for information literacy education. The first phase explores the conceptions of public library staff of their role in information literacy education. The second phase comprises a participant observation case study in two public libraries and interviews with teachers. The public librarians are found to have rather limited conceptions of information literacy. They tend to see their role as the provision of resources for projects on demand and the prevailing information literacy education is once-off library orientation. The teachers are positive about the role of libraries and are unanimous that the new curriculum means that children need access to more resources. Closer probing reveals that they make very little use of libraries in their personal and professional lives. They lack cognizance of the role of librarians in information literacy education and, in common with the public librarians, tend to s...