Volume 74, Issue 1

The purpose of this study is to examine the services and facilities provided by rural public libraries in West Bengal, India. In addition, the study aims to evaluate the perceptions of librarians regarding the implementation of Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications in these libraries. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather data. The primary method of data collection was a survey using a structured questionnaire, which was administered to a total of 102 rural libraries. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with the respective librarians to bring more objectivity to the results. The findings revealed that rural libraries possess a moderate collection of printed books, newspapers, and magazines. The results indicate that these rural libraries offer a diverse range of services and facilities that benefit their respective communities. However, findings of the study indicated an acute shortage of staff in almost all the surveyed libraries, with this factor, consequently, affecting services. One significant challenge faced by these libraries is the lack of ICT applications. Nevertheless, most librarians expressed positive attitudes towards the implementation of ICT in rural libraries, recognizing their potential to enhance library services and reach out to a wider audience. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that the government should provide the necessary ICT tools in order to provide ICT-based library services. The results of this study can contribute to the upgrading and restructuring of rural library collections, infrastructure, services, and facilities in developing countries.

This study examines the use of scholarly communication platforms in Zambia, exploring the perceptions, usage patterns and factors influencing the adoption and utilisation of these platforms among Zambian researchers and academics. Employing a cross-sectional survey design, the study gathered data from a sample of faculty members and researchers at selected universities in Zambia. The survey instrument consisted of three sections, collecting information on demographic background, scholarly communication practices in Zambia and the scholarly communication platforms used by the academic community. The findings reveal insights into the perceptions of scholarly communication services, the challenges faced by Zambian researchers in accessing and utilising scholarly resources and potential strategies to enhance scholarly communication in the country. Additionally, the study identifies the scholarly communication platforms most widely used by the Zambian academic community and the factors influencing their adoption and usage. This research contributes to the limited literature on scholarly communication in Zambia, providing valuable insights for stakeholders involved in promoting and enhancing scholarly communication practices within the country.

The aim of this research was to analyze the contemporary practices of Big Data Analytics (BDA) in medical libraries of Pakistan and to explore ways for its implementation in these libraries. A cross-sectional study was carried out among medical librarians in Pakistan by using a Modified Technology Acceptance Model (MTAM) model, with collected data analyzed using Smart-PLS. The results revealed that lack of resources, technical expertise, and some other factors were significant hurdles in smooth implementation of BDA. It is concluded that the perception of medical librarians about adoption of BDA is very encouraging, which resultantly will improve the quality of healthcare services in the country.

The development of digital and mobile technology has led to the emergence of digital scholarship, which is a challenge but also an opportunity for higher education institutions to improve their space and relevant services to support students’ success. The purpose of this study is to explore university students’ needs and expectations on digital scholarship spaces and relevant services in an academic library, as well as the differences in this based on gender, academic identity, and subject being studied. We conducted a survey at Shipai campus of Jinan University in Guangzhou to collect and analyze users’ needs and expectations. Among the digital scholarship service, the demand scores of the top three services are text recognition and full-text processing with 7.00, academic paper writing, submission, publication, and dissemination consulting services with 6.86, and digitization of printed documents with 6.72. Elsewhere, the demand score of the top three spaces are the online digital scholarship space with 6.57, the research project application and exchange space with 6.43, and the text analysis, data analysis, Big Data, and visualization service center with 6.27. With the improvement of academic identity, the demand for digital scholarship services is higher. Gender has led to differences in a small number of space needs, while the differences brought about by the subject being studied are more significant. This research contributes to the understanding of how the digital technology, the students’ spaces needs, and relevant management practice merge in academic libraries for students’ learning and research purposes. These have implications for universities to improve their libraries’ space services oriented to the diverse users’ digital scholarship needs in the current digital learning environment.

The paper examines and suggests a strategy of knowledge-sharing for poverty eradication among rural women in Ghana. It adopted the interpretive paradigm and a qualitative research approach, with the primary data gathered from 111 rural participants in Tintang, Tongnoli, and Nagbali. Face-to-face interviews, focus-group discussions, and observations were employed for data collection. The paper develops a knowledge-sharing strategy for poverty eradication among rural women, emphasizing collaborative knowledge needs assessment and active participation in decision-making by both rural women and stakeholders. This strategy advocates for the adoption, refinement, and repackaging of indigenous knowledge at the local, national, and international levels to enhance rural women’s knowledge creation, sharing, and utilization in the fight against poverty. Research on knowledge management in Ghana has focused on knowledge-sharing practices in public and private organizations for competitive advantage; this paper focuses on knowledge sharing for sustainable development, with a specific focus on poverty, thus adding to the body of knowledge on knowledge management of poverty eradication.

Fact-checking information (FCI) serves in the fight against the infodemic and as an information service that helps people use their discretion in judging information in a post-truth era. Therefore, we investigated personal factors influencing users’ decisions in using and sharing COVID-19-related FCI in South Korea. The study took three steps to build hypotheses and collect data: a theoretical approach; an empirical approach through in-depth interviews; and an online survey amongst 304 information users who reside in Korea. More strictly, the interview data were analyzed through content analysis, and the online survey data were statistically analyzed using a SPSS 25.0 program. In conclusion, the study revealed that previous political FCI user research ignored health belief variables (health consciousness, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility), which also influenced FCI usage. Moreover, critical prosuming literacy, a key predictor of sharing and disseminating misinformation, has a strong causal relationship with FCI seeking and sharing. The findings expand the notion of fact-checking from a type of journalism to “information” and “information services” and suggest that fact-checking has the potential to become an expanded information service in which experts in broader areas can participate.

This study examined the possibility of applying the Metaverse concept to the library, and to this end, we investigated representative Metaverse implementation cases and library implementation cases, analyzed them comprehensively, and discussed the service direction to be pursued when Metaverse libraries are implemented. The results of the study found that: first, there were not many cases of research or construction on Metaverse libraries; and second, users have high expectations for Metaverse libraries. Users expect that when Metaverse libraries are established, there will be more services and programs available, and that cooperation and communication with the library will be smooth. Therefore, it is necessary to effectively utilize and supplement each of the advantages and disadvantages in connection with the current physical library.