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. Today, new information technologies such as computers, telecommunications and optical media are seriously affecting libraries. ICTS for short is used here to include telecommunications hardware, software, and equipment. It has been an indispensable tool with a 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 world economy. It makes it possible to collect, process and transmit information at breakneck speed and with decreasing cost. Increase productivity, improve quality and efficiency in all types 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 various 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 tremendously high 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, telecommunications, and any other appropriate technology contributes profitably to the needs of scholarship and research, since “librarians have the expertise to acquire materials in a variety 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 Availability of Publications (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 on University Libraries held in Accra in 1999, the need to give priority to the improvement and issues of access to new information technologies was highlighted. 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 re-adaptation, adapting to the dynamic information environment, because there should be a focus on technology training, regardless of the area of ​​library science one is in. specialize. 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 benefits of information technology are double-edged. Technology also appears to have increased rather than decreased the problems of 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. The technology can only be installed and used if it is supported by adequate and solid financing. It is indisputable that the most important factor worth seriously investigating is the economic aspect of the problem. In Sierra Leone, the university administration initially centrally budgeted around six percent for its college and institute libraries. However, central funding has been replaced by collegial funding that is inadequate (Rosenberg, 1997). Management must recognize and support the centrality of its academic nerve center 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 fundamental system features have now been properly tried and tested. However, news about the basics, the use of inverted files to aid recovery, and the context in which many systems operate needs 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 goal is to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of the system, including storage and its retrieval speed; Y

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 is required.

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

National governments should give more prominence to African academic libraries in the area of ​​infrastructure provision and funding. It is a truism that the Sierra Leonean government, like other African governments, is seeking 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, manage, 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 recovery, and provide it to potential users deserve government support and attention. The Ghanaian 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 services/Internet access to education administrators across the country.

CONCLUSION

Despite new technology, the library’s mission will remain unchanged even as 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 university’s teaching, learning, research, and outreach services. This system can be worked through the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders.

LIST OF REFERENCES

AAU Newsletter (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 education 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.