1. Using ICTs to Boost Library Efficiency
A Case of REPOA library
Hubert Shija

2. Introduction
• Computer and telecommunications technologies have
transformed previous
– information format to digital form
– media/ channels to DVD, CD, internet and mobile telephony
• Competitive advantages
– Increased a speed of performing tasks, access, use and/ or
communication
– Allowed concurrent access and convenience
– made information manipulation easier
– Motivated collaboration and cooperation in building knowledge
– Improved sharing of information

3. Introduction (cont.)
• ICTs penetration
– By June 2010 19.5 m mobile phone subscribers from 13 m in 2008
– By June 2010 4.8 m internet users from 850,000 in 1999. Amongst
those 4.8 m
• 5% from the cyber cafes,
• 55% from organizations and/ or institutions and,
• 40% from households
• ICTs adoption by the library
– Automation in 2002 using Alice
– Addition of internet inquiry module to Alice in 2006
– Migration to web based software package – Liberty3 in 2009
– Subscription to Online information management system – Athens in
2010
– Mobile telephony
– Internet including electronic mail

4. Introduction (cont.)
• Aim
– ICTs contribution to library efficiency
• Focus
– Online access to info products and services
– Back office activities including customer care communication

5. Improved Areas
• Online Full text access
– Online material including journals using Athens
• 19 international peer reviewed journals
• 6 free online databases
• 81 users
• 190 accesses between Jan 2010 and Feb 2011
– Library catalogue
• 102 online only version
• More than 50 online version of physical material
• Concurrent accesses

6. Improved Areas (cont.)
• Library catalogue search
– Very interactive: many search ways and options
• Boolean operators
• Browse
• A-Z
• Truncation
• Media
• Section/ title/ keyword
• ISBN/ ISSN/ classification
• Author/ publisher/ year of publication
• Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI)
– Notifying users on new items
– Users
• Registration
• select their areas of interest online,
• Receive e-mail alerts,

7. Improved Areas (cont.)
• Current Awareness Service
– Library catalogue under new items link
– Recent additions library web page
• Web 2.0 Applications via Athens
– Rich Site Summary/ Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed/ Atom
– Social bookmarking (Del.icio.us)
– Wiki (Wikipedia)
– Google Scholar

8. Back Office Activities
• Indexing information material
– Import of bibliographic info (Z – Cataloguing) from
• Library of Congress,
• Oxford University,
• National library of Wales,
• Bury Metro libraries,
• National Library of Scotland and
• Interleaf
– Websites
• Online journal publishers – journal articles

9. Back Office Activities (cont.)
• Stocktaking
– Using
• Stocktake module on Liberty3
• Wireless barcode scanner using Bluetooth
• Usage stats
– Material used in the library
• Loaned to liberty3 default user – off shelf
• Borrower, Off shelf, loan record

10. Back Office Activities (cont.)
• Selection
– Online library catalogue
• Library of congress
• UDSM library
• ESRF library
– Online bibliography
• Africa Bibliography
– Institutions and publishers websites
• Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI)
• Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority
– E-mail alerts
• IDS – the University of Sussex
• UNU - WIDER

11. Back Office Activities (cont.)
• Document delivery service
– Request journal articles online
– Receive and forward them to researchers via e-mail
• Customer care communication
– Mobile telephony
– E-mail
– E-zine (Ebrief)
– Library home on liberty3 page

12. Challenges
• Intellectual property rights
• Information fluency skills
– Info literacy
– Computer and internet
– Critical thinking
• Funds
• Internet penetration

13. Conclusion
• REPOA library is more efficient
– Users access info products and services
• Concurrently
• Conveniently
• Instantly
– Friendlier working environment
• Tasks performed more quickly and easier
– Competent human resource
– Online publishers become online libraries
• E.g. Wiley InterScience now Wiley Online library

14. Practice Implications
• ICTs stakeholders including libraries to embrace ICTs
– Better environment
– Access and use
– Skills development
• Use of non traditional copyright and Open Access
• Library human resource development