eReadiness of public university libraries in Malawi to use mobile phones in the provision of library and information services
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-10-2017-0204 |
| Date | 18 June 2018 |
| Published date | 18 June 2018 |
| Pages | 270-288 |
| Author | Aubrey Harvey Chaputula,Stephen Mutula |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information user studies,Metadata,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
eReadiness of public university
libraries in Malawi to use mobile
phones in the provision of library
and information services
Aubrey Harvey Chaputula
Library and Learning Resources Centre, Mzuzu University, Mzuzu, Malawi, and
Stephen Mutula
Department of Information Studies, School of Social Sciences,
University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to present findings of a study conducted to determine eReadiness
status of public university libraries in Malawi to use mobile phones in the provision of library and
information services.
Design/methodology/approach –The researcher carried out in-depth semi-structured interviews with
university/college librarians and information and communications technology (ICT) directors using interview
guides. Students were also administered with a survey questionnaire that contained closed- and some
open-ended questions. Proceedings of the interviews were recorded using a tape recorder whilst backup notes
were recorded in a notebook. Qualitative data were transcribed and analysed using NVivo software whilst
quantitative data were analysed using SPPS.
Findings –The study findings revealed that institutions studied had the ICT infrastructure necessary for
offering library and information services on the mobile phone platform. Moreover, students had mobile
phones which were connected to internet to facilitate their access to services offered. However, the
institutions covered by this study did not haveoperational ICT policies to govern the operations of library
and information se rvices offered through mobile phones a lthough draft ICT policies were avail able. The
study further conc luded that though the human reso urces required to manage the provision of library and
information serv ices through mobile phones in the ins titutions studied were available , they did not have
the necessary skills and numbers to provide quality services. Other findings revealed that attitudes of
library staff and students to the offering and access to services through mobile phones were positive. The
study also revealed that there are some factors that could impact the offering of library services through
mobile phones.
Research limitations/implications –Although Malawi has four public un iversities, this study onl y
focused on three of them. M oreover, academic staff is another impo rtant user group of academic libraries .
In this case, findings re ported in this paper only focus on stude nts. This implies that library’s readi ness to
offer services through mobile phones to this gro up remains unknown hence ma y have to be covered by
future studies. Much a s the study incorporate d a quantitative strand i n addition to the qualit ative one,
it neither involved th eory testing nor confirmation as is the case w ith other related studies. This implies
that the two theories used in this study (the un ified theory of acceptance and use of technology and the
technology-organi sation-environment) were not used in the strict sense, which is empiric al at the core,
but rather to put the pro blem studied in the context of other relate d studies.
Practical implications –The findings have practical implications in that they can be used for planning the
implementation of library and information services through mobile phones in public university libraries in
Malawi. Other related institutions can also use the findings as a reference point in planning the
implementation of similar services.
Originality/value –Studies relating to the use of mobile phones in the delivery of library and information
services have not been conducted in public universities in Malawi. Findings of this study will, therefore,
inform researchers intending to conduct similar or related studies not only in public universities in Malawi
but other related institutions as well.
Keywords Malawi, Factors, Mobile phones, Library and information services, Public university libraries,
eReadiness
Paper type Research paper
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 36 No. 2, 2018
pp. 270-288
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-10-2017-0204
Received 2 May 2017
Revised 19 September 2017
12 October 2017
23 November 2017
Accepted 12 December 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
270
LHT
36,2
Introduction
Lou (2010) defines eReadiness as the ability of a country, enterprise or organisational unit
to be prepared, willing to adopt, use and benefit from e-innovations such as e-business,
e-procurement, e-learning, etc. In other words, eReadiness refers to the extent to which a
society, country or an organisation is prepared to partake competitively in the digital age.
Such an e-ready society, country or organisation will have in place an enabling
information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure (mobile, Wi-Fi and
broadband internet connectivity), human capacity, relevant policy and regulatory
framework and a conducive business environment (Mutula and van Brakel, 2006).
The proliferation of mobile phones the world over has particu larly made these to ols
important determinants of eReadiness of societies, countries or organisations in the digital
dispensation. A country, society or organisation that is e-ready is bound to register
greater usage of ICTs. On the contrary, uptake of ICTs would diminish in an environment
in which these indicators are lacking.
University libraries are increasingly offering their services through a number of mobile
phone applications (Luo, 2014) and also creating webpages that are accessed through
mobile phones (Bridges et al., 2010; Wilson and McCarthy, 2010). In the context of Malawi,
no studies on the use of mobile phone to provide library and information services are
available. From the broader African perspective, a few university libraries have adopted
the use of mobile phones in libraries, which use them mainly for SMS text messaging
(Anbu and Mavuso, 2012; Sekyere, 2011). A study conducted by Sekyere (2011) involving
79 academic libraries in ten West African countries found that none of the libraries
surveyed used mobile phones in service delivery. However, a recent study conducted by
Baro et al. (2014) covering 36 Nigerian University libraries found that less than half of the
libraries used mobile phone SMS for reference services. A pilot SMS project conducted by
Anbu and Mavuso (2012) at the University of Swaziland revealed that SMS was used
successfully to market library services.
Public university libraries in Malawi are under-resourced especially with regard to ICT
infrastructure such as computers (Chaputula, 2012; Bates et al., 2011). In addition, most of
the days, libraries are open for limited hours because of limited human capacity. Moreover,
most students stay off-campus (official student enrolment statistics, February 2015) and
have limited access to the library most of the time. This is exacerbated by the fact that the
library collections are in limited supply (Mapulanga, 2011).
The use of mobile phones to provide library and information services in Malawi has the
potential to enhance access to library resources beyond the normal opening hours hence can
assist to overcome the obstacles of time and space (Malik and Mahmood, 2013), and bring
convenience to library users (Ballard and Blaine, 2013). This would also help provide access
to e-resources by those who do not have access to institutional computer facilities thereby
assist to erase the challenge of PC shortage which is common in many libraries of
developing countries (Palumbo, 2014).
This study, therefore, investigated the eReadiness of public university libraries in
Malawi to use mobile phones to provide library and information services. The study
specifically addressed the following research questions:
RQ1. What is the eReadiness status of public university libraries in Malawi in relation to
ICT infrastructure to deliver library and information services th rough mobile phones?
RQ2. To what extent do public university libraries in Malawi have the requisite
human resources to enable them deliver library and information services through
mobile phones?
RQ3. How well are public university libraries in Malawi e-ready in terms of policy to
deliver library and information services through mobile phones?
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eReadiness
of public
university
libraries
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