Internet adoption and assimilation in Kenyan university libraries

Abstract

PurposeThis paper sets out to discuss internet adoption and assimilation among university libraries in Kenya.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a literature survey and the experiences of the authors with the Kenyan high education system.FindingsThe potential advantages of the internet appear to have precluded the foresight of Kenyan university libraries to the challenges that may be associated with its deployment. There is clear under‐utilization and considerable disparities between and within the libraries in their levels of general Information and Communication Technology (ICT) deployment and use in Kenya. Most public university libraries still use conventional methods of service provision, suggesting that most library employees are not ready to embrace and integrate these information technologies in their routine operations. If promising ICT applications cannot be widely deployed, then the benefits resulting from such technologies are likely to be equally curtailed.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper confines itself to discussion of the internet in Kenyan university libraries. The paper also focuses only on fully fledged government, and private universities as they are among the major stakeholders of the internet initiatives taking place in institutions of higher learning in Kenya. Higher education in Kenya has expanded tremendously in the last decade and there is need for studies that address various issues that relate to technology adoption and use that include legal and regulatory frameworks, technology transfer, capacity building and management of new technologies.Originality/valueWith students and staff in higher education the world over increasingly gaining access to the internet and other new technologies, the future of universities depends on their capacity to institutionalize such technologies to meet the complex needs of the academic populace. The ubiquitous presence of ICTs in academic libraries, especially the internet and its potential impact on learning, teaching, and research, implies that any effort that would shed light on this technology is laudable. This underscores the need to understand the underlying factors that impede or promote individuals’ response to the internet‐based technology in university libraries not only in Kenya but elsewhere.