Information Management in Zambia with Special Emphasis on the Application of Information Technology
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Date
1992-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The study reveals that Zambia has a relatively well
developed information infrastructure in which the missing link
is coordination at the national level. Coordination could be
provided by formulation and implementation of a policy on
information systems and services. Information technology has
proliferated into both the public and private sectors of the
economy, and computer applications are slowly being
diversified beyond the traditional use for computing.
Telecommunications developments in terms of transmission and
switching techniques in the country have reached the digital
stage. The major towns are served with digital exchanges and
now efforts are towards the digitalization of the rural
telephone network. Facilities for data communications , Local
Area Networks and Wide Area Networks does exist but the
limiting factor is the high telecommunications tariffs.
Training facilities for information technology personnel
are not adequate and thus there is a shortage of qualified
computer professional in the country and this has led to
under-utilization of the equipment and heavy reliance on
vendor support for the operations of the installed systems , as
many installations are manned by inadequately qualified and
inexperienced individuals.
Introduction of information technology in libraries,
documentation and information centres in the country is slowly
gaining ground and currently is largely being applied in
special libraries and to a certain extent in academic
libraries as well. These institutions are relatively well
funded than the other categories of libraries (public and
school libraries) in the country and in most cases they. also
have access to computer facilities of their parent
institutions. However, computer applications to information
management in these institutions is currently li,m .i ted to word
processing and in-house bibliographic database management.
There is no single installation in the country at the moment
supporting library house keeping activities, such as,
acquisition, cataloguing and classification, circulation
control, serials control and management information systems
nor for database development, retrospective search, SOI and
production of other information services . Emerging information
technologies, such as, CD-ROM, networking and desktop
publishing, in spite of their potential as means of
information acquisition and dissemination are almost nonexistent
in Zambia's libraries.
The country also has no indigenous electronic databases
where information can be accessed. The major implication of
these factors is that vast amount of information is not being
accessed by these institutions/users and thus the inadequacy
in the provision of information services especially to
researchers and academic teaching staff.
The lack of diversity in computer applications in
libraries and the inability to exploit other information
technologies in information management is attributed mainly to
lack of computer knowledge and skills among the library
managers in the country.
As a way of enhancing the application of information
technology to information management and dissemination in
research and academic libraries, especially in those
institutions were computer facilities are available, a
cooperative computer based selective dissemination of
information is proposed. The project outlines the requirements
in terms of manpower, human resources, physical resources,
funding and operating mechanism.
Description
Keywords
Information Science