School of Computing and Information Science

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Browsing School of Computing and Information Science by Subject "Academic Libraries"

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    Assistive technologies for inclusion of deaf and hard-of hearing (DHH) students and academic staff: a call to action for library and information science professionals in Uganda
    (Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 2024-12-09) Robinah, K. Namuleme; Denis Ssebuggwawo; Caroline Ilako
    Assistive technology (AT) is “any product whose primary purpose is to maintain or improve an individual’s functioning and independence and thereby promote their well-being. For people with disabilities, AT has the potential to improve functioning, reduce activity limitations, promote social inclusion, and increase participation in education. University libraries are mandated to provide assistive technologies, adequate space, resources, and services suitable to support and meet teaching, learning, and research needs for all users, including persons with disabilities. However, it was hitherto unknown how university libraries in Uganda facilitate accessibility to library facilities services to meet the unique needs of deaf or hard-of-hearing students and academic staff. The current paper aimed to generate rich insights into the digital inclusion needs of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) students and academic staff, and to explore how university libraries in Ugandan higher education institutions facilitate the accessibility, adoption, and application of assistive technologies for teaching, learning, and research. Employing a mixed-methods design, the study utilized two semi-structured questionnaires and two interview guides to gather data from DHH students, academic staff, and librarians at four public universities in Uganda. The recruitment of DHH participants was conducted using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Ethical clearance was granted by the Aids Support Organisation (TASO) Research Ethics Committee on July 27, 2023 (Ethics reference number: TASO-2023-237). Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS ver. 21), while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis, with selected verbatim quotations used to corroborate the quantitative findings. This paper has unearthed digital inclusion needs of DHH Students and Academic Staff, including access to high-speed internet, sufficient bandwidth, university websites with captions, software that translates a signer’s words into text, captioning software, video editing software, multimedia mobile phone applications, LCD Projectors, personal computers, mobile phones, assistive technology technical support, digital and assistive technology training, and sign language interpretation which must be met for them to taking advantage of library resources as services that are available to all other users. In addition, the paper has revealed that Libraries are inaccessible because DHH Students and Academic Staff cannot afford the hardware, software, and peripheral equipment and data required to access technology-supported resources, systems, content, and services; the majority of Libraries did not conduct staff capacity building on basic knowledge of assistive technologies, digital and assistive technology training. Furthermore, the libraries did not train DHH students and academic staff in accessing databases, using Google Suite, and Mendeley, Endnote, and Zotero to manage citations and references. Libraries also did not identify and evaluate the Digital literacy training needs and lacked a clear strategy for meeting the digital literacy needs of DHH academic staff and students. Together these hindered the DHH Students and Academic Staff from effectively adopting and applying these technologies for teaching, learning, and research. Overall, the finding revealed a great mismatch between the existing library-related assistive technology services and resources and the digital inclusion needs of students and staff with hearing impairments. Given the important role of academic libraries in promoting digital inclusion, especially for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) academic staff and students, the paper recommends that University Libraries prioritize the development of a digital inclusion policy to guide the design and implementation of initiatives that improve access to library resources and services for DHH individuals.
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    Using Social Media Platforms to enhance marketing of library services by staff at Hamu Mukasa Library, Uganda Christian University, Mukono.
    (Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 2023-06) Mayira, Kizito; Nina Olivia, Rugambwa; Vivian, Kansiime
    The study focused on use of social media platforms by library staff to market library services at Uganda Christian University, Mukono. The study objectives included; to identify the types of library services offered by the library, social media used in marketing library services and challenges faced by library staff. The study adopted a case study research design. The study population consisted of 12 library staff who were selected purposively. Data was collected using in-depth interviews and observation methods and was analyzed qualitatively using content and thematic analysis. The study findings revealed that both traditional and online library services were provided to patrons in the library. Various social media platforms were used for marketing library services. Library staff faced various challenges in marketing library services using social media; patrons had limited awareness of existing social media platforms for the library, there was no policy to guide staff on how to use social media platforms. The library had limited computers and related computer accessories to support provision of library services. Some library staff also lacked the knowledge and skills to provide library services using social media. The library Wifi was unstable and costly to be consistently used by reference library staff to support their work. The study recommended that trainings should be organized for both library staff and users on how to access, and retrieve information resources from the library social media platforms. Library patrons should be informed about the library official social media platforms. Also library management should develop a clear policy to guide staff on the use of social media platforms in marketing library services, acquire modern computers, relevant computer accessories and provide stable internet to support reference librarians and IT staff to market library services and information resources in the library.