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Malaysia has undergone radical social, economic and political development over the last four decades. The information systems put in place to provide informational support for managing development projects have also changed from manual systems in the 1960s and 1970s, to computerised systems based on batch and on-line processing and networking in the 1980s, and multimedia in the 1990s. Two large-scale information system programmes were studied in detail. The National Project Monitoring System (SETIA) and the National Land Information System (NALIS) involved co-ordination of individualised information systems and sharing of information by agencies at Federal, State (including District) and local authorities. Collection of information and the subsequent analysis of that information was guided by two theoretical frameworks: first the organisational perspectives framed by Web models which help in understanding the dynamics of computing in development; and second the subjective epistemological stance framed by structuration theory which helps to frame an understanding of the complexities of social relations surrounding information systems development. This research demonstrates how organisational behaviour, and a socio-political culture influenced by economic interests and personal ambition, can complicate large scale information systems development. Reluctance to share information; differences of appreciation and awareness and varying levels of understanding of the technology in use; inadequate and incompatible information; inadequate working strategies and standards; and imbalanced infrastructural support are among the major reasons for lack of success. However, in the implementation of information systems, problems related to human factors are not unique to Malaysia; rather they are common even among 'advanced' countries. But developing countries like Malaysia are often more sensitive to changes in economic and political environments. The concluding chapter of this thesis places the information strategy issues in the context of Malaysian and Southeast Asian political and economic events of 1998.

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Branch libraries are a feature of library and information services in six of the Nigerian universities located at Ibadan, Nsukka, Zaria, Ile-Ife, Lagos and Benin City. The study was undertaken in order to point up the resources and services of branch libraries in the context of the overall library and information services in the six universities. To gather the data for the major part of the work, two separate questionnaires were formed and used. One required essentially factual information. The other was a Likert-type questionnaire designed to discern the attitudes of heads of academic units and librarians towards branch libraries. Usable responses were received from 46(71.9%) of the branch libraries, 146(71.2,%) heads of academic units and 90(71.4%) librarians from the six universities. Considerable reliance was also placed on documentary materials, particularly for background information about the library situation in the universities. A majority of the branch libraries were founded in isolation in response to the special information needs of the academic units to which they belong. Most of the branch libraries were in separate rooms in the same building as their parent academic units. The funds for the branch libraries were provided by the universities as part of the budget of the main library or the academic unit that administered the particular branch library. The accommodation, reader places, information resources and services of the branch libraries were widely distributed: in aggregate terms these, if effectively harmonized, can ameliorate the existing constraints of the main libraries in many of these matters. It was also shown that access to a majority of the branch collections was hampered by restrictive regulations, limited openillg hours, inadequate linkages and staffing constraints. The work explores and offers ways and means of evolving university-wide library systems out of the existing arrangements and fture possibilities.

This study examines the educational roles of public libraries in Portugal, as perceived by elected members and public librarians. The research was undertaken in 15 local authorities throughout the country, selected by purposeful sampling from the responses to a preliminary questionnaire. The methodology used a grounded theory approach and the core data were obtained via semi-structured interviews with 53 respondents. The data suggest that the respondents view public libraries as having well established roles in the fields of literacy, reading promotion and up to some extent, lifelong learning. Diverse sectors of the community are considered as beneficiaries of the library support to learning, including children and young people, higher education students, teachers and adult learners. The public library also helps vulnerable people overcome geographical, economic and age barriers to education. The evidence obtained by this study suggests that these roles are more relevant in a country such as Portugal that has generally low levels of literacy and poor socioeconomic indicators. The views of the respondents acknowledge this relevance, but differences of opinion emerge from the data suggesting some partial and limited opinions on the educational roles, especially the support for lifelong learning. This study suggests that several factors may influence the perceptions of the respondents. These factors include the socio-economic and educational context in which public libraries operate and a poor public perception of library roles, caused by the relative newness of public libraries in Portugal. Individual and local factors, such as the education and professional experience of the respondents and the size of the local authorities may also influence perceptions. The managerial and legal context is characterised by lack of legislation on public libraries and a traditionalist and bureaucratic organisational culture. The absence of an underlying philosophy on the roles of libraries in education is very apparent in the lack of research and publications in this field. A number of recommendations are put forward: legislation on public libraries, including on their educational roles, the publication of standards and guidelines, the increase of resources, especially staff and finance. Further research on the educational roles of public libraries is also recommended.