A RECTOR with the Institute of Accountancy Arusha (IAA) has rooted for the review of Tanzania’s Library Services Act of 1975.
Dr Cairo Mwaitete called for the revisiting and possible review of the provision to enable library service to go digital.
The don, who was speaking in the sidelines of the fourth Consortium of Tanzania University and Research Libraries( COTUL) Scientific conference, training workshop and an Annual General Meeting held here recently, underscored the importance of reviewing the provision so that it fits in well in the digitalized academic world.
“You cannot leave behind digital learning behind, particularly at a time when our lecturers have their work and researches being published online,” Dr Mwaitete explained.
The IAA Rector argued that digital libraries provide the students with the convenience of learning at their own comfort.
According to Dr Mwaitete, students can access and read the library materials in various digital formats such as eBooks, audiobooks, videos on demand anytime and anywhere using their preferred devices.
“One of the main benefits of using the digital library is that students can clarify their doubts then and there with new-age management software that can facilitate interaction between readers and administrators. The readers can also interact by setting up online communities and find a resolution to their doubts in real-time,” he said.
According to Dr Mwaitete, digital libraries allow multiple access to an information source, making it easier to search for information by keywords, preservation and conservation data.
Weighing in on the matter, Professor Alfred Sife from the Moshi Co-operative University (MUCoBS) observed that the wave of the fourth industrial revolution, particularly the digital revolution had not spared traditional libraries.
Sife who is a Professor of library and information science at MUCoBS challenged librarians to be ready to change to keep up with the ever fast moving ICT world.
“Libraries need to offer digital content to stay relevant,” he said.
Themed Utilizing Digital Technologies for Enhancing Information Services: Opportunities and Challenges, the conference sought to equip participants through hands-on activities to examine practical mechanisms for retrieval of subscribed e-resources databases, troubleshoot problems related to accessing e-resources and explore alternative methods of discovering the e-resources
