Integrating Web 2.0 into an academic library in Tanzania
| Published date | 01 April 2014 |
| Pages | 183-202 |
| Date | 01 April 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2012-0058 |
| Author | Edda Tandi Lwoga |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology |
Integrating Web 2.0 into an
academic library in Tanzania
Edda Tandi Lwoga
Directorate of Library Services, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied
Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate work undertaken by Muhimbili University of Health and
Allied Sciences (MUHAS) Library in an effort to integrate Web 2.0 technologies in its functions to
enhance the quality of its services in Tanzania.
Design/methodology/approach – The study conducted an exploratory questionnaire survey to
assess user requirements among undergraduate medical students at MUHAS, developed Library 2.0
services, conducted training and created awareness.
Findings – The paper shows that Web 2.0 technologies can be implemented effectively according to
university goals, user’s needs, deployment of user friendly tools, and capacity building among
librarians and users. Students positively supported the adoption of Library 2.0 services at MUHAS.
Library 2.0 services improved the quality of MUHAS library services, despite various challenges
related to infrastructure, awareness, literacy, inadequate staff, security and ownership of Web 2.0
services.
Research limitations/implications – The study findings may not be widely replicated because
this article is based on a case study of the integration of Web 2.0 technologies into the library functions
of MUHAS. This study did not examine the use of Library 2.0 applications among library users (such
as faculty and students) which could illuminate further the case study.
Practical implications – Most academic libraries in Africa have not yet adopted Web 2.0
technologies to improve their services. The user preferences, technology adoption, and challenges
faced from the present study can help other libraries to plan and integrate their Library 2.0
technologies in their services.
Originality/value – MUHAS Library offers a practical example of how Web 2.0 services can be
adopted to enhance the quality of academic library services in an African context. This paper is of
significance to academic libraries that are still considering their options with regard to the application
of Web 2.0 technologies.
Keywords Web 2.0, Africa,Digital libraries, Library 2.0, Academic libraries, Tanzania
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The advancement of technology, in the form of Web 2.0, with its focus on user
participation and collaboration has transformed the operation of information services
and resource sharing in academic libraries. There has actually been a shift, as Kwanya
et al. (2009) noted, from formal scholarly publishing, to unpublished materials, and to
self-publishing, which poses a great challenge to information management in academi c
libraries. The presence of a website does not guarantee the effective use of library
services. Research conducted among web users in Canada, the UK, and the US showed
that the use of library websites declined from 30 per cent in 2005 to 20 per cent in 2007,
while there was a corresponding increase in the use of search engines, e-mail, and blogs
across the same time period (De Rosa et al., 2007). Suggestions are that library users
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Integrating
Web 2.0
183
Received 3 June 2012
Revised 6 September 2012
Accepted 9 September 2012
The Electronic Library
Vol. 32 No. 2, 2014
pp. 183-202
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-06-2012-0058
may not be aware of the library services and, hence, libraries need to find ways and
means to engage users in their services. Recognising the need to engage users and to
harness user-generated content, most libraries are now incorporating Web 2.0, or
Library 2.0, technologies into their services. The two terms are used interchangeably in
this article.
Various studies, including Chua and Goh (2010) and Harinarayana and Raju (2010),
demonstrated that the integration of Web 2.0 tools into the library environment can
improve the quality of library services. Web 2.0 technologies can enhance library
services by improving communication with customers, promoting and marketing
services, and imparting information literary skills (Chua and Goh, 2010; Harinarayana
and Raju, 2010). Library 2.0 technologies encourage users to participate in the design
and implementation of library services through their feedback. Library services are
continuously updated and re-evaluated according to user needs based on their
feedback (Pienaar and Smith, 2008). These technologies are therefore important means
of engaging users in the enhancement of the quality of library services.
Research indicates that the utilisation of Web 2.0 technologies in African academic
libraries is low. Studies in Sub-Sahara Africa have revealed that most libraries provide
information about their services and content on their websites, while their counterparts
in the developed world are already offering online resources and services by
integrating Web 2.0 technologies (Muswazi, 2000; Lwoga, 2011, 2012; Makori, 2012a).
Libraries in the developing world and Africa in particular need to provide their
traditional services more efficiently and to offer additional services through Library 2.0
tools to those users who are more comfortable with the new environments of accessing
and using information.
The objective of this paper is to demonstrate work undertaken by the Muhimbili
University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) Library in an effort to integrate
Web 2.0 technologies in its functions to enhance the quality of its services in Tanzania.
The specific objectives were:
.to assess the utilization of Web 2.0 among undergraduate students at MUHAS;
.to determine the undergraduate student preferences on the adoption of Library
2.0 tools at MUHAS;
.to develop and implement the Web 2.0 technologies at the MUHAS library; and
.to determine challenges of implementing Web 2.0 tools at the MUHAS library.
A brief background on Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 concepts, the utilization of Web 2.0
among university students, user preferences for Library 2.0 services, and the
implementation of Web 2.0 in a library setting, in the context of developed and
developing countries, is also presented.
Web 2.0 and Library 2.0
The phrase “Web 2.0” was coined by Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Media in 2004. It is also
often referred to as “Library 2.0” because it has become a standard technology that is
used in the delivery of library services. O’Reilly defines Web 2.0 as the:
[...] network as platform, spanning all connected devices. Web 2.0 applications are those that
make the most of the intrinsic advantages of that platform: delivering software as a
continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it, consuming and remixing
data from multiple sources, including individual users, while providing their own data and
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