A comparative analysis of available features and Web 2.0 tools on selected Nigerian and South African university library websites
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-10-2014-0182 |
| Date | 06 June 2016 |
| Published date | 06 June 2016 |
| Pages | 504-521 |
| Author | Adeyinka Tella,Oyegunle John Oladapo |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
A comparative analysis of
available features and Web 2.0
tools on selected Nigerian and
South African university
library websites
Adeyinka Tella and Oyegunle John Oladapo
Department of Library and Information Science, University of Ilorin,
Ilorin, Nigeria
Abstract
Purpose – The study aims to present a comparative analysis of available Web 2.0 tools in library
websites of selected Nigerian and South African universities.
Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis was adopted as the design for the study.
Twenty university library websites comprising ten top-ranking Nigerian universities and ten
top-ranking South African universities were sampled for data collection. Five research questions
developed and answered.
Findings – The ndings show that the use of Web 2.0 tools in the selected universities is encouraging.
There are more Web 2.0 tools available on the South African university library websites. The South
African university libraries are ahead of their Nigerian counterparts in terms of the integration of Web
2.0 tools, e-resources and e-databases and provide platforms for easy retrieval of information by their
users. There are more e-resources available on the South African university library websites compared
with their Nigerian counterparts. e-Journals are the most available e-resources in the selected university
library websites of both countries. Similarly, more academic e-databases are available on the South
African university library websites, whereas only few are listed on the web pages of the selected
Nigerian university library websites.
Research limitations/implications – Because available studies seem to ignore the possibility of
comparing one university library’s website with another, conducting a study such as this will provide
an insight and idea on the types of features, tools and applications to be included on university library
websites. This will be useful for university whose library is planning to develop a website.
Originality/value – Because of the wide variation reported in this study concerning available tools
and resources on the university library websites in South Africa and Nigeria, it is recommended that
African universities should come up with a standard that will mandate universities to have a certain
number of tools identied in this study on their various university websites.
Keywords Nigeria, South Africa, Universities, Web 2.0 tools, Library 2.0, e-Resources,
Library websites, Web pages
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Websites have become a tool used by various individuals, organizations, governments
and corporate bodies to explore information and publicize their products and services
while showcasing their goals and missions. Basically, websites are used to establish
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
EL
34,3
504
Received 16 October 2014
Revised 3 February 2015
27 June 2015
Accepted 20 July 2015
TheElectronic Library
Vol.34 No. 3, 2016
pp.504-521
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-10-2014-0182
businesses and corporations in the general world. The website has enabled creating,
processing, sharing and using information in a digital form and is now facilitating the
transfer of information in a rapid method to all corners of the world.
Academic institutions use websites to promote their services and advertise their
institutions through Web 2.0 platforms. Academic libraries, especially university
libraries, also use websites to achieve their goals and objectives, which include
acquiring, storing and disseminating information to their users. Burke (2006, p. 149)
explained that a library website is a website that provides a library “with a space to
share its services and to tell its story to the community it serves”. A library which does
not have a website is missing the opportunity “for marketing its services and this
usually affects the patrons negatively in terms of nding the information they need”
(p. 150). In addition to the website itself, libraries must focus on creating and offering
interactive services on the site. The benets of library websites are numerous, including
the opportunity for patrons to interact with the library catalog, providing a gateway to
electronic resources, allowing remote access to library databases, offering virtual
reference services and utilizing a blog to announce new resources or services and
provide patrons with an avenue to communicate with staff and get feedback.
The term Web 2.0 refers to a specic category of tools, such as multimedia sharing,
rich site syndicate (RSS) feeds, wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, mashups, Facebook,
Twitter, MySpace, frequenctly asked question (FAQs), and other interactive tools and
their use on websites. Web 2.0 may also refer to the second generation of web
development and design that facilitates communication, secures information sharing,
provides interoperability and enhances collaboration on the World Wide Web, such as
the use of blogs, wikis, online social networking, virtual worlds and other forms of social
media (Boateng et al., 2010). Olasina (2011) notes that Web 2.0 is a set of trends and tools
required for using the internet. He further explains that these socio-technological
innovations have enabled the interactivity and gathering of knowledge through
experience and practice on a global scale. Web 2.0 features are tools that encourage the
participation and contribution of users in the running of services of the library. Web 2.0
is about sharing and a user’s networking with other users. Kumar (2010) states that Web
2.0 websites provide users with information storage, creation and dissemination
capabilities that were not possible in environments prior to Web 2.0. The opportunities
provided by Web 2.0 to the users of libraries are numerous. Users now have unlimited
access to materials, such as e-resources, e-databases, theses and dissertations. Without
Web 2.0, this might not have been possible because Web 2.0 provides additional
gateways to access these materials.
According to the Staffordshire University (2015), an e-resource is an electronic
information resource that can be accessed through the website where users can get the
information they want and when they need it, for example, 24 h a day, seven days a
week. In other words, an electronic resource is any information source that the library
provides access to in an electronic format. e-Resources include full-text electronic
journals, online databases, electronic books, company information, encyclopedias,
digital images, industry proles, market research and career information. They are
usually accessed through the university’s library web page. e-Databases, on the other
hand, are a searchable collection of records. These records consist of different types of
information that relate in some way to the record. The information is input in categories
called elds. Thus, an e-database is an organized collection of information on a
505
Web 2.0 tools
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