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An evaluation of electronic services offered to Master's students by the University of the Western Cape academic library as an effort to bridge the digital divide

Academic libraries are challenged to meet the demands of patrons as expectations shift towards remote access to library services. In Africa, such challenges are exacerbated by the legacy of the digital divide. In this post-apartheid period South Africa has acknowledged the presence of a multifaceted...

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Main Author: Nyahodza, Lena
Other Authors: Higgs, Richard
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Library and Information Studies Centre (LISC) 2016
Subjects:
Library and Information Science
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access_status_str Open Access
author Nyahodza, Lena
author2 Higgs, Richard
author_browse Higgs, Richard
Nyahodza, Lena
author_facet Higgs, Richard
Nyahodza, Lena
author_sort Nyahodza, Lena
collection Thesis
description Academic libraries are challenged to meet the demands of patrons as expectations shift towards remote access to library services. In Africa, such challenges are exacerbated by the legacy of the digital divide. In this post-apartheid period South Africa has acknowledged the presence of a multifaceted digital divide, and that the inequalities established in the past have not yet been resolved. Therefore, academic libraries could be of great value in playing emancipatory roles through the provision of technologies and other resources that enable access to information by marginalised communities. The aim of the study is to evaluate the electronic services provided by UWC academic library to Master's Students and determine if efforts made to bridge the digital divide are perceived by users as effective, through investigating use of internet-connected infrastructure, skills development programmes established to promote adequate use of the e-services, and identification of challenges experienced by users as they interact with e-services. The study employed a qualitative research method, grounded in phenomenological design and supported by Critical Theory. Data was collected from two samples drawn using purposive sampling from the target population of Master's students and librarians. Data collection from students was facilitated through an online survey and six librarians were interviewed. Main themes that guided the dialogue during data collection emanated from reviewed literature. The study concludes that UWC library has emerged as a competent agent of democracy, having implemented several projects to support marginalised academic students in accessing information. The library has provided ICTs, bandwidth and skills development programmes to support students. However, the challenges encountered are diverse, and income imbalances among communities still prevail, indicating that projects and programmes established by university libraries to bridge the divide need to be ongoing and sustainable since the phenomenon cannot be exterminated.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20599
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:29.432Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher Library and Information Studies Centre (LISC)
publisherStr Library and Information Studies Centre (LISC)
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20599 An evaluation of electronic services offered to Master's students by the University of the Western Cape academic library as an effort to bridge the digital divide Nyahodza, Lena Higgs, Richard Library and Information Science Academic libraries are challenged to meet the demands of patrons as expectations shift towards remote access to library services. In Africa, such challenges are exacerbated by the legacy of the digital divide. In this post-apartheid period South Africa has acknowledged the presence of a multifaceted digital divide, and that the inequalities established in the past have not yet been resolved. Therefore, academic libraries could be of great value in playing emancipatory roles through the provision of technologies and other resources that enable access to information by marginalised communities. The aim of the study is to evaluate the electronic services provided by UWC academic library to Master's Students and determine if efforts made to bridge the digital divide are perceived by users as effective, through investigating use of internet-connected infrastructure, skills development programmes established to promote adequate use of the e-services, and identification of challenges experienced by users as they interact with e-services. The study employed a qualitative research method, grounded in phenomenological design and supported by Critical Theory. Data was collected from two samples drawn using purposive sampling from the target population of Master's students and librarians. Data collection from students was facilitated through an online survey and six librarians were interviewed. Main themes that guided the dialogue during data collection emanated from reviewed literature. The study concludes that UWC library has emerged as a competent agent of democracy, having implemented several projects to support marginalised academic students in accessing information. The library has provided ICTs, bandwidth and skills development programmes to support students. However, the challenges encountered are diverse, and income imbalances among communities still prevail, indicating that projects and programmes established by university libraries to bridge the divide need to be ongoing and sustainable since the phenomenon cannot be exterminated. 2016-07-22T13:12:35Z 2016-07-22T13:12:35Z 2016 Master Thesis Masters MLIS http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20599 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0013-1070 eng application/pdf Library and Information Studies Centre (LISC) University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Library and Information Science
Nyahodza, Lena
An evaluation of electronic services offered to Master's students by the University of the Western Cape academic library as an effort to bridge the digital divide
thesis_degree_str Master's
title An evaluation of electronic services offered to Master's students by the University of the Western Cape academic library as an effort to bridge the digital divide
title_full An evaluation of electronic services offered to Master's students by the University of the Western Cape academic library as an effort to bridge the digital divide
title_fullStr An evaluation of electronic services offered to Master's students by the University of the Western Cape academic library as an effort to bridge the digital divide
title_full_unstemmed An evaluation of electronic services offered to Master's students by the University of the Western Cape academic library as an effort to bridge the digital divide
title_short An evaluation of electronic services offered to Master's students by the University of the Western Cape academic library as an effort to bridge the digital divide
title_sort evaluation of electronic services offered to master s students by the university of the western cape academic library as an effort to bridge the digital divide
topic Library and Information Science
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20599
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0013-1070
work_keys_str_mv AT nyahodzalena anevaluationofelectronicservicesofferedtomastersstudentsbytheuniversityofthewesterncapeacademiclibraryasanefforttobridgethedigitaldivide
AT nyahodzalena evaluationofelectronicservicesofferedtomastersstudentsbytheuniversityofthewesterncapeacademiclibraryasanefforttobridgethedigitaldivide

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