Resource sharing is considered to be one of the most important pillars of library service, because no single library can meet all the needs of its users. Libraries have always cooperated to meet the increasing demands of users by sharing their resources. In the past few decades, the need to establish library consortia emerged more strongly as libraries began to take advantage of technology to improve access to information and service delivery. There has been a notable increase in the formation of library consortia on the African continent. South Africa has taken the lead both in the amount of established consortia and the number of member libraries within them. This development accompanied the implementation of common library systems in consortia, where a single system is adopted by all member libraries. In the Southern African region, the library system called INNOPAC/Millennium Pac has already been adopted by consortia and libraries in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The recently-established Lesotho Library Consortium (LELICO) also recognized the need for a comprehensive investigation to identify a common system that will effectively meet the needs of its member libraries. The purpose of this study was to analyze the successes and limitations of the INNOPAC library system operating in consortia and libraries in the Southern African region, in order to assess its suitability for LELICO. The study focused on two South African consortia (The Gauteng and Environs Library Consortium – GAELIC, and The Free State Library and Information Consortium - FRELICO), two university libraries (Namibia and Zimbabwe) and one agricultural college library (Botswana) in the Southern African region that use the system. A special emphasis was the criteria of assessment that would apply to a small, multi-type consortium in a developing country like Lesotho. Data was collected through a literature search, questionnaires, interviews, site visits, and analysis of policy and institutional documents. The target groups of the study were the library managers, system managers, and library professionals of selected GAELIC and FRELICO libraries, and the system managers of the three selected libraries in the region. The study found that the INNOPAC library system is performing satisfactorily in the chosen consortia and libraries, and that it has a positive impact on them. It performed to a high standard in all the key areas, and this may be attributed to keeping abreast of the latest developments in the library world, and offering a range of services that meet the needs of libraries. The study found further that the INNOPAC library system contributed towards increased productivity, improved customer services, and better decision making in the two consortia. However, direct access to members’ holdings was restricted by a decentralized server model adopted by these consortia. This and other lessons shaped a proposal for the implementation and management of the INNOPAC library system in LELICO. A proposed model recommends a central server as a more cost-effective management solution. The model also explains the mode of operation by member libraries and the coordinated structures that would implement and manage the INNOPAC library system, adapted to the specific requirements of a small, multi-type consortium in a developing country like Lesotho. Given its successful performance in consortia and libraries across Southern African countries, the study recommends further research into the advantages and challenges of INNOPAC for wider regional library cooperation. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Information Science / unrestricted

Library automation is approaching its 90th birthday (deduced from Pace, 2009:1), and many librarians no longer remember the inefficiencies of the manual systems that were previously in place. For some, however, automation has not gone nearly far enough. In this second decade of the new millennium some libraries in Lesotho face multiple challenges in automating their services while libraries internationally are staying relevant by rapidly adapting their services to address the needs and demands of the clients. It was anticipated that full library automation is a prerequisite for delivering 21st-century library services and the researcher embarked on a process to establish whether libraries belonging to the Lesotho Library Consortium (LELICO) have automated to the extent where they will be able to provide the services that are currently in demand. The purpose of this study was to analysewhether full library automation is indeed a prerequisite for libraries to offer the services required in the current millennium. The study focused on LELICO member libraries. Benchmarking was done with selected South African academic libraries. Data were collected by means of interviews with all respondents, namely, LELICO member libraries, librarians from South African libraries and with international system vendors operating from South Africa. The study found that LELICO member libraries are indeed lagging behindin terms of service provision. LELICO member libraries do not appear to understand; which library services are possible when state-of-the-art technology is fully implemented. The study found furthermore that the laggard status is caused by factors such as a lack of funding, too few professional staff and ineffective support from management. These and other findings helped formulate recommendations that would underpin a renewal strategy for LELICO. The proposed recommendations include that LELICO should deliver a more meaningful service to its current members. LELICO member libraries should be using technology more effectively in their operations and good relationship between a system vendor and its clients should be seen as an asset that should be maintained.LELICO should be playing a key role in making change a reality. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)