The University of Nairobi Library's automation project: empowering the Learning, Teaching and research activities of the University

Abstract

The scope of this conference covers two major perspectives. First is the situational positioning, which is pointedly identified as the digital divide, and the second is the process that addresses the first. The term digital divide as a concept suggests the existence of differences that set countries and regions apart in the application and use of Information Computer Technologies (lCTs). As a consequence, there will also be differences in the accruing benefits. These differences will be in the areas of infrastructural settings, levels of available human resource and capacity, skills, financial resources and support allocated to the development and application of ICTs. The second perspective refers to the efforts and measures put in place by different institutions to address the issues raised by the first. The following presentation looks specifically at the latter perspective as it applies to the University of Nairobi (UoNBI) Library, against the background of the digital divide. A significant feature of the UoNBI Library's automation project is the context within which it has taken place. This aspect becomes important in that it formed the environmental embodiment of the principles and concepts that triggered and guided the automation process. For the UoNBI Library, the automation process was triggered and has been largely influenced by the following main factors: