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Browsing Library by Author "Chitumbo, Eness"

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    Enhanced Library Services Through Social Media in the Age of Covid-19 Pandemic: An Anecdote of Academic Libraries in Zambia
    (Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2020-11-12) Zulu, Zachary; Chewe, Pailet; Chitumbo, Eness; Musonda, Yolam
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of using social media as a tool for promoting value addition and the enhancement of library services in the age of COVID-19 pandemic in two academic libraries in Zambia. Despite the growing mass of literature on social media usage in academic libraries globally, there is a dearth of research in Zambia on this emerging subject. The study used a survey method and the research instrument was an online questionnaire involving 22 academic librarians drawn from two public universities in Zambia, namely; the University of Zambia and Mulungushi University. Findings show that the use of social media for service delivery was nonexistent. Facebook and WhatsApp were the most prominent apps used for social networking among librarians. 86.3% of the respondents were of the view that the adoption of social media needed a cautious approach. 90% of the respondents had positive perceptions of the usefulness of social media in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, inadequate social media literacy skills, hesitancy among library staff, and poor technological infrastructure were perceived to be hindrances. The study advocates for social media literacy and the provision of a robust technological infrastructural base anchored on strong social media policies. This study provides library practitioners and students of Library and Information Science (LIS) with suggestions for how librarians, can use social media to improve audience engagement, create a community of users, and enhance the library's profile.
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    Shaping library and information services delivery through innovation and technology at the University of Zambia
    (SCESCAL, 2018-04) Chewe, Pailet; Chitumbo, Eness
    Information and Communications Technology has brought about a paradigm shift in the way library services are being delivered. The digital revolution motivated by technology innovation has transformed academic libraries. Technology has impacted on every sphere of academic library activity such as acquisition, organisation, storage, retrieval and delivery of information both in print and digital formats. Academic libraries support the core business (teaching, learning and research activities) of the parent institutions. Therefore the need for these institutions to innovate becomes imperative. This study attempts to highlight innovative library services (e.g. subscription to online resources, open access institutional repository, dynamic website, information literacy programs, etc.) that have been successfully adopted at the University of Zambia with the aim of investigating staff perceptions toward technology based innovation. Using a qualitative research design, interviews were conducted with six (6) key informants between June and August, 2017. The 6 librarians were purposively sampled from a population of 55 librarians working in the University of Zambia Library. It was established that innovation was crucial if the library was to be relevant in this era, hence the need for all stakeholders to develop realistic strategies that would keep the library afloat in this age and beyond. The findings of this study will inform stakeholders on how best to align service delivery for the benefit of the user community. The paper concludes by noting some barriers to innovation and proposes areas for enhancement.