August 27, 2022
While fake news has been a common problem for well over a century, the emergence of social media and smartphones has escalated its spread. This study adopts a qualitative approach to explore the readiness of academic librarians in curbing fake news. Data was drawn from interviews with reference library staff and head librarians who were…
April 29, 2021
This article sheds light on the collection and use of data by libraries in sixteen countries across Africa. It highlights the challenges that librarians and library organizations face in gathering, analyzing, and presenting data of various types for self-advocacy. In this study, qualitative data from a meeting of library representatives was analyzed to identify main…
Public libraries and development organizations share many common goals that make them strong potential partners in the Global South. In spite of these commonalities, libraries are often overlooked as development partners. This is unfortunate because these partnerships could allow librarians to more fully and effectively participate in the development of their communities. This paper explores…
This evaluation design report documents the evaluation questions and methodology that will guide the evaluation of Namibia’s Regional Study and Resource Centers (RSRCs). This report provides an overview of the RSRCs and the project, describes the literature review undertaken, details the research questions, and describes the research methods and activities that will take place in…
For billions of people coming online around the world – many in Africa – mobile phones (and increasingly smartphones) is their point of entry to the internet. This is true in both developed and developing countries. However, the user experience on a smartphone is very different from that on a PC or a feature phone….
October 21, 2020
While perceptions of African libraries as development partners remain low and limited by development organizations, it is possible to change these perceptions. Quantitative data are necessary but insufficient in demonstrating library development value. Possible development partnership roles for African libraries are as community-embedded institutions, and development resource hubs.
