M.Inf.

M.Inf.

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies / See the attached abstract below

The purpose of the study was to identify the types of library services available in rural areas of Thohoyandou in order to recommend appropriate library services to disadvantaged children in rural areas of the Limpopo Province. Data were collected by means of structured questionnaires in a survey. The problems experienced in rendering library services to children, the factors influencing rural children's information use, and the role that school libraries play in meeting the needs of rural children were investigated. The findings show that rural children's information needs are primarily related to homework assignments. Teachers and learners approach people for information rather than making use of library resources for this purpose. This is due to the fact that most rural schools do not have libraries. Materials are stored in classrooms and storerooms. The existing book stock seems to be outdated, disorganised and inaccessible. Library service rendering is neglected. Most teacher-librarians are not professionally trained to render user services and to teach children information skills. Teachers, teacher-librarians, policy makers and administrators in rural schools seem to be indifferent to providing these services to children. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

The purpose of the study was to identify the types of library services available in rural areas of Thohoyandou in order to recommend appropriate library services to disadvantaged children in rural areas of the Limpopo Province. Data were collected by means of structured questionnaires in a survey. The problems experienced in rendering library services to children, the factors influencing rural children's information use, and the role that school libraries play in meeting the needs of rural children were investigated. The findings show that rural children's information needs are primarily related to homework assignments. Teachers and learners approach people for information rather than making use of library resources for this purpose. This is due to the fact that most rural schools do not have libraries. Materials are stored in classrooms and storerooms. The existing book stock seems to be outdated, disorganised and inaccessible. Library service rendering is neglected. Most teacher-librarians are not professionally trained to render user services and to teach children information skills. Teachers, teacher-librarians, policy makers and administrators in rural schools seem to be indifferent to providing these services to children. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

Thesis (M.A. (Information Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / The digitalisation of library services is concerned with ensuring that almost all systems used to render services are ICT incorporated. This is of utmost importance since we are moving towards the 4th industrial revolution. Public libraries need to upgrade their systems to ensure that the service rendered is digitalised. Failure to digitalise libraries may lead to public libraries being obsolete and library staff may lose their users. The purpose of this study is to examine the digitalisation of library services as a magnifying factor towards improving public library services in Limpopo public libraries. The quantitative research approach was used to conduct this study. The questionnaire was used to collect data from Limpopo public library staff population. Convenience sampling techniques were used to select libraries in all five districts in Limpopo Province, which are Capricorn, Mopani, Vhembe, Waterberg and Sekhukhune. The instrument used to collect data from all library staff was a self-administered questionnaire. Eighty-seven questionnaires were distributed, filled, interpreted and analysed. Findings revealed that the library staff have a positive attitude towards digitalisation. The study also found that library staff do have the necessary Information and Communication Technology skills. Most libraries lack ICT systems and operate under financial constraints. The study recommends that training should be implemented more than once a year in public libraries and that it should be relevant towards the library staff needs. The government should also finance libraries for promotional and maintenance of ICT systems to ensure that a positive attitude is held up high by the library staff.

Well-resourced and functional school libraries are important resource centres for teachers and learners, particularly in historically disadvantaged communities where other information services such as public or community libraries and multipurpose centres are few or virtually non-existent. However, only a minority of the schools in South Africa have well-stocked and well-staffed school libraries. In the Limpopo Province, the situation leaves much to be desired because only 2.3 % of the state schools have well-resourced and functional school libraries. Importantly, for the different school library facilities to be functional, an approved school library policy with endorsed school library standards and models is essential. Amazingly, there is no approved and legislated national school library policy in South Africa to support a progressive, constructivist and resource-thirsty curriculum. The purpose of the study was to investigate provision of school libraries in the Limpopo Province. The purpose of the study was to investigate provision of school libraries in the Limpopo Province. With well-stocked and functional school libraries, teachers and learners can access the library-based resources for curriculum support. The study was limited to public high schools only in both urban and rural communities of the province. The study is based on the constructive teaching and learning theory which emphasises the use of different resources to stimulate progressive and constructivist teaching and learning styles in schools. A multi-case study research design was adopted for data collection. Qualitative and quantitative research approaches were adopted in the study to investigate the focus of the study in-depth and intensively. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to 163 teacher-librarians or principals of the sampled 306 public high schools. The education officials, that is, the senior manager and two chief education specialists were interviewed face-to-face using an interview schedule. The findings of the study established that more than 33% of the public high schools in the study had a library facility. However, the findings indicated that the majority of the school library facilities were non-functional because the fundamentals of school library development such as a legislated school library policy are not in place. The absence of an overarching library policy leads to, lack of strategic direction, inadequate provision of resources, compromised functionality as well as the poor standing and value of school libraries. The study recommends that the newly launched National Guidelines for School Library and Information Services (2012) be legislated to become school library policy so that school library standards can be implemented in different school library models to enable teachers and learners to have access to library resources to support the constructivist and resource-based curriculum. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Well-resourced and functional school libraries are important resource centres for teachers and learners, particularly in historically disadvantaged communities where other information services such as public or community libraries and multipurpose centres are few or virtually non-existent. However, only a minority of the schools in South Africa have well-stocked and well-staffed school libraries. In the Limpopo Province, the situation leaves much to be desired because only 2.3 % of the state schools have well-resourced and functional school libraries. Importantly, for the different school library facilities to be functional, an approved school library policy with endorsed school library standards and models is essential. Amazingly, there is no approved and legislated national school library policy in South Africa to support a progressive, constructivist and resource-thirsty curriculum. The purpose of the study was to investigate provision of school libraries in the Limpopo Province. The purpose of the study was to investigate provision of school libraries in the Limpopo Province. With well-stocked and functional school libraries, teachers and learners can access the library-based resources for curriculum support. The study was limited to public high schools only in both urban and rural communities of the province. The study is based on the constructive teaching and learning theory which emphasises the use of different resources to stimulate progressive and constructivist teaching and learning styles in schools. A multi-case study research design was adopted for data collection. Qualitative and quantitative research approaches were adopted in the study to investigate the focus of the study in-depth and intensively. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to 163 teacher-librarians or principals of the sampled 306 public high schools. The education officials, that is, the senior manager and two chief education specialists were interviewed face-to-face using an interview schedule. The findings of the study established that more than 33% of the public high schools in the study had a library facility. However, the findings indicated that the majority of the school library facilities were non-functional because the fundamentals of school library development such as a legislated school library policy are not in place. The absence of an overarching library policy leads to, lack of strategic direction, inadequate provision of resources, compromised functionality as well as the poor standing and value of school libraries. The study recommends that the newly launched National Guidelines for School Library and Information Services (2012) be legislated to become school library policy so that school library standards can be implemented in different school library models to enable teachers and learners to have access to library resources to support the constructivist and resource-based curriculum. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Thesis (M.A. (Information Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) plays a critical role in assisting library patrons to effectively and efficiently locate information resources from the academic library. This study examined awareness and usage of the existing OPAC functionalities and capabilities among undergraduate students at the University of Venda (UNIVEN). The research methodology for the study was guided by the adoption of quantitative research approach and descriptive survey design. The data collection tool used was a google forms questionnaire, through which the link was distributed to all undergraduate students at UNIVEN via e-mail. Systematic random sampling method was used to arrive at a sampling frame of five hundred and sixty-three (563) participants represented in all eight (8) schools that comprise UNIVEN academic structure. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of undergraduate students rated their level of awareness as average. Their major source of awareness of OPAC is library training. Most of respondents were not aware and familiar with OPAC functionalities such as Boolean operators, truncation marks and advanced search. The study further revealed positive attitudes and promising perceptions towards OPAC. In terms of usage, the findings show that most of the respondents occasionally use OPAC, and the majority use a title search entry to conduct their search on OPAC and they prefer to use a simple search option. Furthermore, most of participants showed that their purpose of OPAC usage is to locate books in the library. The major challenge encountered by respondents in using OPAC was slow internet connectivity and their lack of skills in searching information from OPAC. Based on these findings, this study recommends that librarians ought to promote the importance of using all OPAC functionalities to improve awareness and optimal usage of the OPAC functionalities as an information retrieval tool. There is a need for intensified training on advanced search options, such as Boolean operators, Truncation marks and advanced search, through one-on-one instruction and Lib-guides.