The Information Professional

RT @EIFLnet: Ariadne article: Perceptions of Public Libraries in Africa http://t.co/mA5rlBiX...

"The article “Perceptions of Public Libraries in Africa” has been published in Ariadne, a peer-reviewed open access magazine for information professionals.
In the article, Monika Elbert, David Fuegi and Ugne Lipeikaite summarise and describe the principal findings of the study Perceptions of Public Libraries in Africa commissioned by EIFL Public library Innovation Programme (PLIP) which served to provide evidence of how public libraries are perceived by stakeholders and the public towards public libraries in six African countries.
The authors write:
"The goal of the study was to understand the perceptions of national and local stakeholders (municipalities, ministries, public agencies, media, etc.) and the public (including non-users) in respect of public libraries in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe about the potential of public libraries. It also aimed to understand how these stakeholders could best be positively influenced to create, fund, support or to use public libraries. It is hoped that stakeholders in the countries studied will choose to assess the findings as a potential tool to improve library management and advocacy."