5.4 Findings
5.5.3. Availability of Relevant Human Capacity for the Adoption and Use of Mobile
Human resources play a very important role in the offering of library and information services through mobile phones. Lessons learnt from a project undertaken at Oregon State University Library (Bridges et al., 2010) aimed at offering both user and reference library services through the mobile web (website accessible through mobile phone) shows that both professional library and technical staff collaborated in the planning, design, implementation, operationalisation and assessment of the services. It was based on this background that the researcher wanted to find out if the institutions in this study had the staff who possessed the required skills to offer library and information services through mobile phone.
5.5.3.1 Mzuzu University
The ICT Director stated that his department had a staff complement of 8 people that included both administrative and technical personnel. He indicated that the staff complement was not adequate but was quick to add that this had not adversely affected their operations because the available staff was able to move across, and hence service all departments. With regard to skills, the ICT Director was of the opinion that the staff he had, had the right skills and competencies to support a project aimed at offering library and information services using mobile phones.
The Librarian, on the other hand, stated that the library was adequately staffed. However, he indicated that the available staff needed further training to equip them with practical knowledge and skills to properly manage the use of mobile phones to offer library services.
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5.5.3.2 Kamuzu College of Nursing
The CL for KCN indicated that the library was adequately staffed to handle the added work that may arise from using mobile phone to offer library services. He also boasted that most of the staff in the department, particularly those in the senior ranks, have computer science background hence were capable of managing library and information services offered through mobile phones. He further indicated that all libraries in the University of Malawi (KCN inclusive) had an ICT Directorate with personnel who could support the provision of library and information services using mobile phone.
Whilst acknowledging that the staff complement was adequate, the ICT Director for KCN stated that some of the staff was away on training. He indicated that three (3) fresh graduates had been recruited to enhance the staff complement. He pointed out that existing staff had the required skills to support the provision of library and information services using mobile phones.
5.5.3.3 The Polytechnic
When asked to say whether the institution had staff with requisite skills to help launch and manage library and information services offered through mobile phones, the CL for the Polytechnic answered “yes and no”. She indicated that staff with required skills were available in the library but not in the ICT department. She said that the ICT department sometimes took a long time to undertake some tasks such as updating the library website.
This made her suspect that the department was understaffed. On how they could overcome this challenge if they were to roll out library and information services using mobile phones, the CL indicated that they planned to train Library Assistants (non-professional library staff) in ICT to close the skill gaps.
Although the CL doubted the adequacy of staffing in the ICT department, the ICT Director indicated that his department was adequately staffed. He also indicated that the staff had the knowledge and skills to oversee the implementation and management of library and information services offered through mobile phones. According to him, what was required is to send the staff for further training to perfect their skills.
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5.5.3.4 College of Medicine
The CL for COM indicated that the library was adequately staffed with personnel that were conversant with the use of mobile phones to offer library and information services. He observed that skill gaps may only exist with newly recruited staff.
The ICT Director, however, indicated that his department was not adequately staffed. He stated that “most of the staff is senior but junior staff who do the donkey work are few. This scenario forces senior staff to do jobs that are meant for junior staff”. He also indicated that the library had its own ICT support personnel who could handle library-related issues but had since left.
5.5.3.5 Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)
With regard to availability of human resources in the library, the UL for LUANAR stated that the Library was adequately staffed. He indicated that all what was required was to train and equip more staff with the necessary skills to ensure that they were able to provide quality library and information services using mobile phones.
The ICT Director stated that his department was 80% adequately staffed. He indicated that the department had shifted priorities to many areas hence the staff seemed inadequate at times but they were managing with the staff they had. He also indicated that the available staff had all the necessary skills to manage the provision of library and information services using mobile phones. The ICT Director pointed out that the department faced the shortage of office space to accommodate newly recruited staff a development that was contributing to the staff shortage.
The organisational component of the TOE framework which addresses traits and characteristics of the organisation that influence IT adoption decisions such as financial slack and organisational size (Hsu et al., 2014) also recognises human resources as crucial for IT doption. Similarly, the succesful implementation of a project aimed at offering library and information srvices through mobile phones is dependent on the availability of human resources with the right skills and in adequate numbers. Findings of this study indicated that although libraries seemed to be adequately staffed, the staff lacked skills and experience in
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the delivery of library and information srvices through mobile phones. On the contrary, technical staff had the skills required to support offering of library and information services through mobile phones but were not adequately staffed. This suggests that public university libraries in Malawi need to address human resource challenges to successfully offer library and information services on the mobile phone platform.
5.6 Electronic Information Resources and Services that are Currently Available in