Peter G. Underwood’s research while affiliated with University of Pretoria and other places

Drawing on Asante’s Afrocentric idea and the importance of location and agency in an Afrocentric paradigm, this article explores African identity. The study is located in the Centre for African Literary Studies (CALS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Pietermaritzburg, which was established to house the Lindfors private collection of African literature. This article also draws on Polak’s 2016 study, which explores the role of CALS as a UKZN special collection and the question as to whether CALS is able to fulfil its role in facilitating African studies at UKZN and in the broader community. In seeking to define African identity, the researchers conducted an in-depth literature review and, in attempting to elucidate the provenance of CALS, they relied on the findings of in-depth interviews with its founders and directors. The study was underpinned by an historical research approach. The article concludes that there is no definitive description of what African identity is. It throws light on the role of CALS in advancing African scholarship and Afrocentric research, and makes recommendations for policy and practice.

The purpose of this study was to assess Research Data Management (RDM) capabilities at the University of Ghana (UG). The study focused on four key capability elements: policy framework, technological infrastructure, skills and knowledge, and support services. It explored the extent to which RDM is embedded in research practices at UG and provides insight into the preparedness of UG to develop RDM. A qualitative case study method was adopted for the study and data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The instrument for the assessment was informed by the Collaborative Assessment for Research Data Infrastructure and Objectives (CARDIO) Matrix tool and respondents were drawn from the Library, IT department, Research Office and senior researchers. The results of the study show that RDM at UG is currently underdeveloped but with immense potential for growth. Though there is no formal RDM infrastructure in place, RDM is considered an essential research integrity issue. Capabilities were generally found to be limited, uncoordinated and not officially instituted. The study recommends that a clear and comprehensive policy framework for RDM should be developed to articulate RDM aspirations and express management’s commitment. It also recommends that research support staff should be supported to build their capacity for RDM promotion and support.

Libraries contain many collections but professional practice has long recognised the concept of “special collections”. The Centre for African Literary Studies (CALS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa, was established to house the private collection of Bernth Lindfors, a retired professor of English and African literature from the University of Texas, Austin. This article draws on Polak’s study which sought to determine whether universities need designated centres for African studies. She explored the role of CALS as a special collection and in what way the Centre was able to fulfil its role in facilitating and enabling African Studies at UKZN and in the broader community. This article focuses on the challenges of managing CALS as a valuable special collection. Data sources included a literature and document analysis, as well as a survey using questionnaires and personal interviews. The most significant finding was that the original noble vision of the founders to create a centre that boosted the humanities and African literature at UKZN and especially on the Pietermaritzburg campus had been restricted. The establishment of CALS as an externally funded centre had had a negative impact on the endeavours of CALS’s directors who, despite great efforts, had been handicapped in their management of CALS by lack of institutional support, funding and staff tenure. Recommendations for the UKZN which also have relevance for other special collections are made.

Libraries contain many collections but professional practice has long recognised 4 the concept of “special collections”. The Centre for African Literary Studies 5 (CALS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa, was 6 established to house the private collection of Bernth Lindfors, a retired professor 7 of English and African literature from the University of Texas, Austin. This article 8 draws on Polak’s study which sought to determine whether universities need 9 designated centres for African studies. She explored the role of CALS as a special 10 collection and in what way the Centre was able to fulfil its role in facilitating and 11 enabling African Studies at UKZN and in the broader community. This article 12 focuses on the challenges of managing CALS as a valuable special collection. Data 13 sources included a literature and document analysis, as well as a survey 14 using questionnaires and personal interviews. The most significant finding 15 was that the original noble vision of the founders to create a centre that 16 boosted the humanities and African literature at UKZN and especially on 17 the Pietermaritzburg campus had been restricted. The establishment of 18 CALS as an externally funded centre had had a negative impact on the 19 endeavours of CALS’s directors who, despite great efforts, had been handicapped in their management of CALS by lack of institutional support, 21 funding and staff tenure. Recommendations for the UKZN which also have 22 relevance for other special collections are made.

This article examines the effect of the adoption of social media to legal practice in Nigeria. It discusses some of the major challenges that have recently been experienced in the use of legal information in Nigeria within the context of the social media revolution particularly with respect to ethics. A survey method was employed and data was collected through self-administered questionnaire to the study population comprising practicing lawyers located in various law firms in Nigeria. Outcomes from the study provide preliminary evidence on the nature of the application of social media to legal practice and the prospects for its inclusion as an important aspect of legal research in the legal education system in Nigeria.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a vital tool for maintaining the skills and expertise of staff, especially with regard to the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). There is little information available about the involvement of librarians in South Africa with CPD: this study focused on academic librarians at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Library, seeking their attitudes towards CPD and its provision. It employed a qualitative approach in its research design. Questionnaires were utilised to collect information from twenty-five academic librarians. Follow-up interviews were conducted with five respondents. The overall study indicated that, although the respondents were aware of the importance of CPD and the impact of ICT on library resources and services, not all of them kept abreast of CPD activities within their field. The respondents believed that the institutions and the professional body, the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA), should work together to encourage and promote CPD activities. By encouraging CPD activities within the Library and Information Science (LIS) sector, the quality of librarianship and service delivery within the LIS would improve. Half of the respondents agreed about the importance of CPD becoming compulsory within the LIS profession and 55% of respondents considered that LIASA had a potentially important role to play in promoting CPD. However, in separate interviews, several respondents expressed doubt about the capacity of LIASA to fulfil this role.

This paper is based on the findings of a study that assessed the awareness of Programme for Enhancement of Resources Initiative (PERii) electronic journals, their use and challenges encountered by postgraduate students. The study was carried out at the University of Dar es Salaam and involved postgraduate students in the School of Education. A combination of questionnaire for postgraduate students and interviews for Reference Librarians was used to collect data. Findings revealed that the majority of the respondents became aware of PERii electronic journals through various sources. The resources are widely used, including for the exploration of ongoing scientific debates through peer reviewed papers. The challenges encountered are largely infrastructural, including inability to access resources from home, together with limited information and computer literacy. Recommendations for improving access and use of PERii electronic journals are given.

This paper focuses on the use of e-learning technologies for the purposes of enhancing information research and learning skills (IRLS) at Monash University Library. The objective of the research was to establish how Monash University Library integrates its vast resources and services through the medium of e-learning; what role Librarians and Learning Skills Advisers play in teaching and learning through e-learning; what measures were used to assess the effectiveness of e-learning in IRLS; what challenges Librarians and Learning Skills Advisers encountered in creating e-learning content for IRLS; and lastly, what the strengths and limitations of e-learning in the provision of IRLS are. The qualitative method was used as a research design and the population group consisted of Subject Librarians and Learning Skills Advisers from the Australian and South African campuses of Monash University. A questionnaire was used as the method of data collection.

No transcript or recording of this event exists, but Michael Stephens has commented, ‘It was a brief comment I made between speakers during a track I was moderating. I said something to the effect “That sounds like it’s a library 2.0 service” in response to the previous speaker’s example’. Michael Stephens, email .message to P. G. Underwood, 2 June 2012.

The promise of Library 3.0 as a service model is great for research and academic libraries. Its prospect has raised the hopes of research and academic library users and librarians alike. This chapter explores the reality of Library 3.0 by investigating the extent to which it has been deployed; the challenges libraries implementing it face or are likely to face, as well as the best practices for implementing successful 3.0 libraries in research and academic settings. The chapter also explores Library 3.0 tools and resources, including semantic bookmarking systems; semantic search engines; and RDF conversion tools, which research and academic library users and librarians can use to enhance their information experience. Finally, the chapter also contains a discussion of the roles which the various research and academic library stakeholders need to play to ensure that their institutions benefit adequately from the model. Some of these roles are advocacy, institutional strengthening, technical capacity development, policy engagement and product development.