| dc.description.abstract | The history of academic libraries in Kenya dates back to the time when the first
academic institution was established in Kenya. The inception of the University
of Nairobi is traced back to 1956, with the establishment of the Royal Technical
College that was later transformed into the second University College in East
Africa on June 25,1961(University of Nairobi:16). In1970,the University College
Nairobi was transformed into the first national university in Kenya and was
renamed the University of Nairobi. Academic institutions have expanded since
then, and today we have seven public universities, namely; the University of
Nairobi, Moi University, Kenyatta University, Egerton University, Maseno University,
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, and Masinde
Muliro University of Science and Technology. There are over20private universities,
over ten public constituent university colleges, four polytechnics and several
Institutes of Science and Technology. All these academic institutions have
academic libraries to serve the information needs of the institutions.
New and emerging technologies have taken root in Kenya. Kenyan universities
have fully fledged departments in charge of ICT infrastructure, procurement
and applications. The libraries have not been left behind in adapting to
new and emerging technologies. Most libraries have automated their processes
including acquisitions, cataloging and lending. E-mail communication has
been adopted in libraries, and in all departments of universities.
Academic libraries cannot effectively prepare for the future or position
themselves on campus until they understand their changing roles in the current
learning and research environment, which is radically different from the environment
a decade ago. There have been radical changes in the Kenyan higher
education sector and which are expected to continue in the foreseeable future.
These include a significant increase in student numbers, changes in student
funding with a shift away from government funding to repayable loans and
parental or self-sponsored contributions to fees, expansion of distance education,
focus on teaching quality and the growth in the use of ICTs. There is no
indication that private universities are financially deprived but they still face
the challenge of maintaining high standards. The changes brought about by
ICTs have greatly revolutionized the delivery of information services from traditional
services to electronic services. This is further compounded by the fact
that the user requirements have also changed. The emergence of continuing
education in the form of self-sponsored programs has brought along users
who study after working hours and during weekends and therefore require
library services during these periods. In order to be compliant with ICT technologies
and customer requirements, libraries have had to adjust, leading to new
ways of delivering information services and the extension of opening hours.
Government policies and strategies have been put in place to streamline and
strengthen academic institutions. Vision 2030 states, under the education and
training sector, Kenya will provide globally competitive and quality education,
training,and research(Kenya Government 2007:6).Kenya aims to be a regional
centre of research and development in new technologies.In pursuit of the goal of
performance improvement within the public sector,new public management emphasizes the adoption of private sector practices in public institutions.In pursuit of
this goal,Kenya introduced performance contracting not only to improve service
delivery,but also to refocus the mind set of public service,away from a culture of
being inward looking towards a culture of a business focused on customer and results(Obong’o 2009:14).These practices have also led to rapid results initiatives.
All these issues are meant to trickle down to the smallest units of government
institutions and state corporations, including universities. Academic libraries
are expected to be compliant with these policies and strategies.
The ultimate goal of this chapter is to facilitate an understanding of the
development practices of academic libraries in Kenya, how and why libraries
are changing, make recommendations, and outline future projections and innovative
suggestions that will better position academic libraries in Kenya to meet
the needs and expectations of universities and library users of future generations.
Literature review, observation, interviews, online survey of websites
for academic institutions, and libraries in Kenya have been used to achieve
the goal. I strived to attain the following objectives:
a. review literature on international trends on academic libraries development,
and the impacts of changing times and emerging technologies.
b. identify and discuss current development practices pertaining to academic
libraries and information services in Kenya.
c. outline future projections and innovative suggestions for the future
development of academic libraries in Kenya. | en |
