"Serving patrons with disabilities: perspectives and insights from people with disabilities." Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), pp. 1–2

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the information culture of people living with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and how that impacts their self-management practices in Ghana. The study focuses on the information experiences and information cultural patterns and creates awareness of the need for people to be aware of effective information management for sustainable self-management support. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive qualitative approach was used. A total of 12 interviewees involving 10 diabetes patients and 2 health professionals provided data for the study. Allowing the participants to freely talk about their attitude and behaviour, defining their experiences around information for their self-management was the best approach to achieve an in-depth understanding this study seeks. Findings The specific elements defining the information of people living with DM in Ghana can be identified. People living with the condition are willing to share information about their condition not only with those within their diabetic community but also with anyone interested. They prefer to use information from sources they find reliable and trust, and they have good information-related competencies that are consistent with diabetic patients in other countries’ contexts to help them identify, access, use and share relevant information. Only a few of the interviewees have difficulty in evaluating the accuracy and currency of some of the information. But they receive a lot of support from experienced people from their community. People also prefer to have information about the condition in their ethnic language. It is important for people living with the condition in Ghana to get involved in the diabetic groups, clubs and community, as members appear to receive the most benefit and support from the community to self-manage the condition alone. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by the number of participants and the distances between the researchers and the research context. Also, even though two groups of participants were interviewed (diabetic patients and health professionals), the analysis did not separate the responses of the different groups of study participants. This paper provides a useful insight and understanding of the culture of people living with diabetes in Ghana in terms of how they access, use and share the information they need to support their self-management. It will create awareness of the importance of being mindful of information culture patterns in people in other groups in Ghana and beyond. The research processes and procedures described in the paper can be replicated by other researchers in other contexts. Originality/value Although there have been a lot of studies about diabetes and people living with the condition in Ghana, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study looking at how people define their need for information, how they identify the source of the information and how they access and use the information, including their general behavioural patterns that influence these information experiences.

Presents research on the issues facing school archives and archivists in New Zealand schools, as well as on the topic of community archives. Aims to promote he role and function of the archives in schools, noting that archivists appear to be relatively unrecognized and unsupported.

In New Zealand, since the 2019 Christchurch terror attack, scholars have been investigating the experiences of the Muslim community more extensively. This exploratory study forms part of a larger research project that investigated discrimination within New Zealand’s education sector [Salahshour N and Boamah E. 2020. Perceived discrimination as experienced by Muslims in New Zealand Universities. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 40(3):497–512] and specifically unpacks the key attitudes and behaviour patterns that constitute the information culture of this community when faced with discrimination at New Zealand universities. A questionnaire was sent to employees across New Zealand universities and the responses were analysed using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The findings indicate four clusters of factors were found to influence their behaviour on how this community report or share information on their discrimination experiences, including a range of attitudinal elements, such as trust, fear, and indifference. Other factors included policy, technology, and management issues.

The purpose of this study is to explore the key function of school archives and to highlight the important roles school archivists play in maintaining the value of records to support the curriculum. Although school archives play an important role in the school, little has been researched in New Zealand about the challenges school archivists face and their unfettered resilience to push through those obstacles to maintain the value of school records to support the curriculum. This article is part of a study in progress that employs an interpretive qualitative approach to understand the perspectives of school archivists on their purpose. The perspectives of seven school archivists from four regions of New Zealand are presented. The findings reveal the core functions of the school archive as a source of information for researchers, family members of past students, and corporate entities. The archive supports teaching and learning by providing teachers with useful and unique teaching aids from the collection. It also serves to preserve the identity and memory of the school. Specific tasks of the school archivist include collecting items for the archive, organising the collection, reporting, and displaying the materials for easy access and use by those who need them. Certain resources enable the archivist to achieve their purposes, but their passion is a key enabler. The main challenges school archivists face relate to issues with training and skills development, resourcing, recognition and awareness, inadequate facilities and collaboration. The study has useful implications for archival research in New Zealand as it discusses an area that has not been explored before. This article is limited to the perspectives of only seven school archivists, meaning it can be difficult to form a generalisation of school archivists in the whole of New Zealand. However, the study is still in progress and the author hopes to gather more perspectives in order to make a comprehensive generalisation.

The concept of community archives has always been at the centre of debates when it comes to a common definition and the activities which should be included in their operations. This is partly because they collect records about a community of people in a specific context. Since contexts differ, the practice of community archives is diverse and their operations, just as challenging as its definition, making any discussion about it difficult to reach common definitions.

Since the March 15 attacks in Christchurch, there has been raised awareness and new and strong enthusiasm to understand the experiences of the Muslim minority community. This exploratory paper investigates the perceived discrimination as experienced by Muslims or those who identify with coming from a Muslim background and who work at New Zealand universities. Using a questionnaire, we surveyed the experiences of perceived discrimination of Muslim staff working at universities across the country and the impact it has had on the wellbeing of these members of the society. The study concludes that a significant minority perceive themselves as targets of discrimination within their workplace and even more people while not being directly impacted acknowledge that there is discrimination. This study hopes to raise awareness of the extent of discrimination perceived by Muslims with the hope of encouraging government and ministers to investigate the issue in more depth and providing guidelines for organizations.

Purpose The purpose of this research is to explore how immigrant library users view Auckland Libraries as a multicultural bridge in New Zealand. The research explored the various factors keeping different cultures apart in the New Zealand socio cultural systems and to find out the gaps in the provision of multicultural services in Auckland public libraries. The study also discusses the specific roles Auckland public libraries play in the development of multiculturalism in New Zealand from the perspective of immigrant users. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative research approach. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 participants including five library staff members and ten users of the Auckland library. Thematic analysis (qualitative data analysis, where data is grouped into themes) was used for data analysis. Findings Participants perceive that the Auckland Library had an advantage over other citizen service institutions in the development and services of multiculturalism in New Zealand. The participants understand that language, cultural background, beliefs and values are some of the causes of gaps between different ethnic groups, and only by learning from each other can groups enhance mutual understanding between them. The services and programs Auckland Library offer to immigrant enable various interactions among different cultural groups and enhance learning from one another to facilitate their integration into the New Zealand society. The findings show that Auckland public libraries have some gaps in multicultural services. In particular, there are more than 200 different ethnicities in Auckland, but the Auckland library's website does not have the function of a multilingual search tab service, lacks a multicultural book collection and some of the existing collections of books are of low quality, low literary value and so on. The study suggests that these issues need to be improved. Research limitations/implications - This was small-scale research involving the perspectives of only 15 participants. Nevertheless, the findings provide constructive insight into the development of multicultural services in Auckland libraries that can serve as a useful basis for a broader exploration of more immigrant groups in Auckland and New Zealand as a whole. Practical implications - The results of this research will provide valuable information for the Auckland libraries to have a better plan for multicultural services in the future. The findings will also serve as a reference for improving multicultural services in the Auckland libraries. Originality/value Although other studies have looked at immigrants' behavior and perception on various issues in New Zealand, this study is the first to look at how different immigrant groups percept Auckland libraries as a multicultural bridge to help integrate them.

Given the volume of world publishing: 305,000 new books published in the US each year; 184,000 in the UK; and 28,000 in Australia (https://ebookfriendly.com/countries-publish-most-booksinfographic/) it’s a relief to know that the fiction component, at least, is sufficiently structured and otherwise organised for library staff to answer the reader’s question: ‘What’s a good book to read next?’ This book is a major part of the solution. Joyce Saricks is a towering figure in readers’ advisory (RA). Her Readers’ advisory service in the public library introduced the concept of ‘appeal characteristics’ as a way for library staff to help readers find the next book to enjoy and has changed forever the value we place on leisure reading. Now, with a pre-retirement flourish, she’s back with Neal Wyatt, a former president of the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) Reference and User Services Association, with a comprehensive update of another seminal work, and this time her guide to genre fiction is arguably as relevant to readers as it is to those who advise them. Eleven fiction genres are described – one to each chapter: adrenaline (adventure, thrillers, suspense), psychological suspense, mystery, literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, westerns, historical fiction, relationship fiction, romance, and horror. For each genre, the authors discuss characteristics and appeal in terms of pacing, storyline, tone, characterisation, frame or setting, and language or style. Also covered are key authors, overlap with other genres, reader expectations, links to non-fiction, poetry, graphic novels, audiobooks, film and television, and video games. To better serve their readers Wyatt and Saricks challenge readers’ advisors to read beyond familiar genres, listing as starting points five recent titles in each genre because ‘There is nothing like digging into the books to make a genre make sense’. There are 32 pages are allocated to a comprehensive author/title index and 12 pages to an index of subjects and appeal characteristics. Despite the concentration of information, layout is clear, and navigation is quite straightforward. This is a practical, thoughtful, enjoyable and highly useful contribution to the RA literature. And it’s more than that. As an up to date, authoritative guide to fiction, it’s in a class of one, essential reading for readers’ advisors and rewarding reading for readers.

The future of every nation depends on the effective education of its children; and a successfully educated child is one who has an inherent interest to read and effectively does so with motivation....

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the development of an Erasmus Mundus Digital Library Learning (DILL) program to understand the impact of the changes in technology on the role, skills and competencies of the digital librarian in contemporary society. This reflective article is based on the writer’s experience as a participant observer of the DILL program on its 10 years of development. A literature review was also employed to gather information from scholarly articles that were analyzed to help answer the research questions. Analysis of data followed a thematic approach where key ideas were identified and grouped together into themes that have been used to structure the discussions in the article. The discussions in this article have implications for further developments of education for information, particularly relating to the development of digital library learning programs in different contexts. Any effective digital library program should focus on content within a specific context, with required technology and a unique digital library education curriculum that is separate from LIS syllabi. The program may also be more effective if its curriculum content is designed to evenly assess the professional knowledge, generic skills and specific personal competencies of today’s digital librarians.

The implementation of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in libraries is common across the globe, and many academic libraries, especially in technologically advanced countries, are using it. The use of RFID increases the efficiency of collection management and security in academic libraries. In Ghana, academic libraries, especially those at major tertiary institutions, are the most vibrant in the library system; they provide access to subscription-based online resources, including research databases and ebook collections, in addition to physical books and journals. The fast-increasing enrolment numbers in Ghanaian tertiary institutions translates into an increased number of academic library users, making it difficult for library staff to manage libraries effectively. The amount of work carried out by librarians in these academic libraries has created a need for implementing technology, for example RFID, that can promote efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to examine the contextual factors influencing the implementation of RFID technology in academic libraries in Ghana’s tertiary institutions. A qualitative approach was used following a single-case study method, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. We conducted interviews with 18 senior academic librarians, covering six academic libraries comprising three traditional university libraries, two technical university libraries and one college of education library in Ghana. We found that no academic library in Ghana had implemented RFID at the time of this study. Several challenges, including a low budget, lack of skilled personnel, weak coordination between user departments and procurement units, were identified. The study suggested that if these challenges were handled effectively and efficiently, implementing RFID in Ghana’s academic libraries could be successful and beneficial.

The purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, to highlight that different types of document formats are proliferating and are constantly changing the ways we create, store, access and preserve records. It focuses on understanding the various ways records managers interpret and behave towards the different types of document formats. The second purpose of this article is to explore the repercussions of the behavioural patterns of employees and how the changing types of document formats impact on the management of corporate records and information. The main approach of the article is a literature review, although observations made from different contexts of records management, teaching workshops and experience were also included to help with the discussions. The article identifies that specific types of formats can be clearly conceptualised when format is viewed in terms of a document, a file or as information. The study also found that people within the organisation exhibit different types of behaviour patterns that can impact on the ways these documents, files and information format are managed in the organisation. Employees’ behaviour patterns have implementations for the various information and records management processes in that when documents are not created in the required document format using the right software application, records cannot be accessed and used for its intended purposes.

The purpose of this article is to explore stakeholders’ perspectives on the relative advances of digital preservation management over traditional heritage management approaches in developing countries, particularly in Africa. Specific examples from the context of Ghana are used to help understand the particular factors that influence the relative advantage of the digital preservation management innovation. The article is based on the findings of a PhD study that explored contextual factors influencing the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources in Ghana and it is underpinned by Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation model. An interpretive qualitative approach was employed to solicit the perspectives of 29 key stakeholders from 13 institutions in Ghana through semi-structure interviews. This was followed by an analysis of relevant literature to ascertain how the findings from the context of Ghana relate to other developing countries in Africa.Stakeholders perceive that the digital preservation management innovation has relative advantages over other traditional ways of managing and preserving heritage information in many ways, including; as an effective means to manage cultural heritage resources; enhancing collaboration and resource sharing; contributes to the building strong cultural institutions; leading to the establishment of a national digital memory for developing countries; as an effective means to preserve value of cultural identity for the long term into the digital future; and enabling research and advancement of cultural knowledge.Findings from the literature analysis also show that these relative advantages of the digital preservation management (DPM) innovation occur in similar forms in other developing countries in Africa. Further empirical studies in other developing countries are recommended to fully ascertain the main relative advantages of the DPM innovation over traditional approaches of heritage resources management and preservation.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the information culture of Ghanaian immigrants living in New Zealand. The values, beliefs and behaviours that influence the ways information is identified, accessed, used, shared and preserved, defines people’s information culture. Some Ghanaians have migrated to New Zealand for different reasons, including studies, work and resettlement. To live successfully and peacefully in a foreign country, they need specific information and to understand where to find, use and share it. This paper investigated the factors that influence the beliefs and perspectives Ghanaians hold around information the information they use in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was adopted. Both questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data from 27 Ghanaians living in different regions of New Zealand. Basic questionnaire analysis was done in survey monkey. Interview transcripts were analysed manually by reading through severally using colour patterns to identify key concepts and themes and using tables to organise them. Findings The main areas Ghanaians are interested in using information about in New Zealand include education, health, information on environmental issues, New Zealand politics and sports. Few Ghanaians are interested in information about entertainment and religion and agriculture as these areas do not have much impact on the purposes for their lives in New Zealand. Although most Ghanaians consider themselves poor record-keepers, they accord high value to the information they seek and use in New Zealand. Their preferred information source is the World Wide Web, although other sources such as libraries and academic databases are also considered useful. The most preferred and trusted approach of sharing information is face-to-face is considered. Social media, WhatsApp, mobile phones, etc. are also considered reliable ways of communicating information. Research limitations/implication Only 27 Ghanaians participated in the study, their circumstances surrounding the life in New Zealand may be completely different from other Ghanaians. So their views may not fully reflect the situations of all Ghanaians in New Zealand. Also, the fact that most participants were familiar with the researcher could impact their responses. Practical implication This paper provides a useful understanding of the information cultural patterns of Ghanaians and can provide a useful basis for further investigations of Ghanaians and other immigrants’ life patterns in New Zealand. Originality/value Although other studies have looked at the Ghanaian immigrants in other countries, this is the first study that looks at the information culture of Ghanaians in New Zealand.