Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MIS (Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Information Science / unrestricted

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2008. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 143 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2003. / Title from title page screen (viewed Nov. 11, 2003). Thesis advisor: Edward L. Counts. Document formatted into pages (viii, 132 p. : col. ill.). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-103).

Managing on the middle level of the academic environment has become an essential managerial competency, particularly in a large library of an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution which serves 400,000 students with a diverse student profile. The research focus of this study in the ODL environment is thus on management and organisational theories that indicate what it takes to be a good manager. This is a positivist case study which triangulates data collection methods. Quantitative data and qualitative data were collected. The findings indicate a 94,7% response rate to the survey questionnaire and 100% participation of the invited ODL middle managers in interviews. Interviews were conducted with ODL Library middle managers who operate on the level of supervisor, manager, deputy director and director. Findings revealed ODL Library middle managers‟ perception of success and that they worked and planned for career progression that was facilitated by relevant qualifications and experience, that the external support received from their families and the use of develop ment strategies and various approaches, such as personal career planning; performing secondary management roles in the ODL Library; attendance at management short courses, all influenced their successful appointment as middle managers. It further indicates that an optimum career path is influenced by factors such as ability, communication, hard work and determination. Development strategies pertain to management and leadership development which enable ODL Library middle managers to perform the role of manager in both a Library and Information Science environment, ODL environment and management environment which foster an understanding of their role in strategic planning. The most important competencies to be acquired are planning and administration, emotional intelligence and self-management, communication and teamwork. The study reveals that a high premium was placed on the importance of the selected success definitions, strategies and competencies, but that own success measured against these was lower. The subsequent recommendation is to develop ODL Library middle managers in terms of factors and strategies that lead to career success and to ensure the use thereof. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

During the 21st century, electronic resources have become an important component in every sector of society and the academic sector is no exception. Academic libraries worldwide have adopted the technologies involved in electronic resources, with some replacing their traditional collections with e-resources, which are more accessible by users. This study was conducted at the University of South Africa (Unisa) and was aimed at investigating the levels of awareness and usage of e-resources by third-year students in the School of Arts. The study used the descriptive survey study design, which is quantitative in approach. The target population comprised of 5 377 third-year students enrolled in the seven departments in the School of Arts and a proportional sample of 360 students was drawn from the population by using stratified random sampling. Library staff was also included in the study, in order to determine students’ usage patterns of e-resources and to establish initiatives available at the Unisa Library to increase awareness and use of e-resources. Online questionnaires distributed via Survey Monkey were used as the data collection instrument. The study established that the Unisa Library subscribes to a wide range of e-resources and has a number of initiatives in place to encourage the awareness and usage of these resources. However, 50, 3% of the student respondents were unaware of the availability of Unisa e-resources. The study also established that the majority of students use e-resources for study and research and that, although they have basic information and communication technologies (ICTs) skills, the majority of students lack advanced information search and retrieval skills, which are required to utilise e-resources properly. The four main barriers that prevent students from accessing and using e-resources were the cost of access to the internet, unavailability of relevant literature for studies, lack of time to do online searches and preference for information freely available on the internet. To encourage increased awareness and use of e-resources, the study recommend the development of an e-resources marketing strategy, the introduction of an information literacy module for all first-year students, the provision of infrastructure and technologies for access, development of specialised library assistance services, balancing of the electronic library collections across different subjects, tutors including more e-resources references in study guides and tutorial letters and hiring of more library staff. The study concludes that the Unisa Library has a wide variety of electronic library resources and services needed in academic institutions, but awareness and usage of the resources is quite low, due to several factors highlighted in the study. Therefore, the Library should step forward and ensure that the resources are fully utilised by following the recommendations suggested in the study. / Information Science / M. Inf.