撒哈拉以南的非洲大学图书馆的创新融资文献翻译.docx
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撒哈拉以南的非洲大学图书馆的创新融资文献翻译.docx
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撒哈拉以南的非洲大学图书馆的创新融资文献翻译
原文:
Innovativefinancingforuniversitylibrariesinsub-SaharanAfrica
Abstract:
Purpose–ThepurposeofthispaperistoreviewthedifferentsourcesoffinancinguniversitylibrariesinAfricaandthechallengesfacedbylibrariesinsourcingforfunds,withaviewtosuggestinginnovativewaysthroughwhichthelibrarycanraiseadditionalfunds.
Design/methodology/approach–Thepaperreviewstheliteratureondifferentsourcesoffinancinglibrariesglobally,especiallyalternativesourcesoffundingoutsidegovernmentgrants.Itidentifiesthechallengesfacedinsourcingforfunds,bestpracticesinraisingadditionalfundsandmakessuggestionsonnon-conventionalwaysthatcanbeusedbylibrariestoaddressthechallenge.
Findings–Thepaperfindsthatgovernmentprovidesabout90percentofthefundsforuniversitylibrariesinAfrica.However,thefundingisnotonlyinadequate,butisalsousuallyprovidedonanadhocbasis.Itnotesthat,inspiteofthefactthattheliteraturerevealsthatlibrariansareawareofthedangerinherentindependingsomuchononesourceoffundingandtheneedtoseekalternativesources,theyhavenotdonemuchtoovercomethechallenge.
Originality/value–Inreviewingthevarioussourcesoffinancinguniversitylibraries,thepapernotesthatgovernmentallocationremainsthemajorsourceofrevenue;notesthealternativesourcesofrevenueindifferentcountriesanddescribessomeofthebestpracticesavailable.Thepaperalsoupdatestheliteratureonthesubjectbydiscussingcurrentpractices,andmakesacasefortheestablishmentofaBusinessandPublicRelationsdepartmentinlibraries,anincreaseinpublic-private
partnershipsandgreaterefficiencyinmanaginglibraryresources.
KeywordsUniversitylibraries,Financing,Africa,Economicconditions,Fundraising
Introduction
Althoughthetraditionalfunctions,andobjectivesofthelibrary,remainprimarilythesame,themethodofinformationdissemination,andtheformatareinastateofflux.TheenvironmentinwhichlibrariesoperatehaschangedsignificantlywiththeadventoftheInformationAge,especiallytheInternet.Theresultantinformationexplosionhasgivenroomtokeencompetitionintheinformationprovisionsector.TheproliferationofICTsandITprofessionalshasprovidedalternativesourcesofinformationthroughtheworldwideweb,onlineandtraditionalbookstores,databases,cybercafe´sandmuchmore.Therefore,ratherthanuselibraries,manytraditionalusersoradvocatesoflibraryserviceshaveturnedtotheuseoftheinternetandthesealternatives,perhapsbecauseoftheconvenienceofaccessinginformationfromremotesites,ona24/7basis.Thesupportbaseofthelibraryisgraduallybutsteadilybeingerodedandlibrariansmustcomeupwithinnovativeandsustainablealternativesiftheyaretocontinuetoberelevant.
SeekinginnovativewaystofinancelibrariesinAfricahasneverbeenmorepertinentthannowandacursoryexaminationofthecurrentstateoflibrariesinAfricanuniversitieswould,perhaps,showtheurgency.Overtheyears,librarianshavereliedontheirparentinstitutionstoprovideadequatefundingforlibraries.Theseinstitutionsfundedtheminreturnforservicesrendered.ThisarrangementworkedwellforalongtimeandlibrariesreveledinituntiltheeconomyofmostAfricancountriesbegantotakeadownturnfromthelate1970swiththeresultthatcutbacksineverysector,includingthelibraryandinformationsectorbecameinevitable.Suddenly,Africangovernmentswerefacedwiththechallengeofprovidingtheircitizenswithbasicneedssuchasadequateshelter,food,clothing,infrastructure,andsocialservices,therebyreducingthelevelofpriorityplacedonlibraryandinformationservices.
Forinstance,policiessuchastheStructuralAdjustmentProgramme(SAP),wereintroducedbytheNigerianGovernmentin1986,whileGhanaintroducedasimilarpolicy–theEconomicRecoveryProgrammein1983.ThesepoliciesledtothedevaluationoftheNigeriancurrency,theNaira,by750percentfromJanuary1986toJanuary1989whiletheGhanaianCediwasdevaluedby96.9percentfromOctober1983toJanuary1986(Arkaifie,1997).AsaresultoftheintroductionofSAP,itbecamesodifficultandexpensivetoimportbooksandjournalsfromoverseasthattheUsmanDanfodiyoUniversity,Sokoto,Nigeriacouldnotsubscribetoanyforeignjournaltitlein1989/1990asagainstthe349titlesitsubscribedtoin1979/198(Banjo,1982;Anyakoha,1979;Osun-Benjamin,1985;Ekoja,1992).Similarly,Nwafor(1991)reportedthattherewerereductionsinoverseasjournalsubscriptionfrom2,000to300titlesinUniversityofJos,Nigeria.
AnotherfactorthatimpactednegativelyontheeconomyofAfricancountrieswasthewarsandpoliticalinstabilityinvariouscountries.ManyAfricancountrieshaveengagedincivilwarsorstrifeatonetimeortheother;therefore,moneythatcouldhavebeenusedfordevelopmentprogrammesandeducationwasoftendivertedtoprocuringwars.Evenafterthewar,thecostofre-constructionandrehabilitationwassohighthatthelibrarysectorpaledinsignificance.
MostAfricanuniversitylibrarieswereestablishedonasolidfoundationastheywereassistedbyforeignorganizationssuchastheBritishCouncil,CarnegieCorporation,UnitedStatesInformationServiceandtheUnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganization(UNESCO)andtheWorldBank.Thecontributionsoftheseorganizationsinprovidingbooks,equipmentandstafftrainingaredocumentedintheliterature(Ogunrombietal.,1998,Kavulya,2006).ItisimportanttonotethattheseorganizationsarestillmakingsignificantcontributionstothedevelopmentofuniversitylibrariesinAfrica.Forinstance,theCarnegieCorporationandtheMacArthurFoundationareprovidingtechnicalassistancetoprovideautomatedlibraryservicestosixuniversitylibrariesinNigeria.Also,eIFL.netdonatedVSATstoafewlibrariesinNigeriaandGhanatoenablethemprovideInternetservicestotheirusers.eIFL.nethasalsobeeninvolvedinsupportingtheestablishmentofconsortiainuniversitylibrariestofacilitateresourcesharing,andtrainingoflibrariansintheuseofopenaccessresources,opensourcesoftwareanddevelopinginstitutionalrepositories.
Although,inreality,librarianshavealwaysexpressedtheneedforextrafundsforlibraryoperationsandactivities,thechallengeismuchgreaterintimesofcomparativeinsufficiencywhenthereisaglobalglutoreconomicmeltdownsuchasiscurrentlybeingexperienced.Themoralityofchargingfeesasanalternativesourceofrevenueforlibrariescontinuestobeahotlydebatedissue.However,therealityongroundmakesthecaseforthoseinfavourofchargingfeeseasierbecausewiththeshortfallinsubventionsreceivedbylibraries,thosewhodonotchargefeesarelikelytoofferapoorerserviceorareunabletooffercertainvitalserviceswhichinturnreducethenumberofusers.Thoseinfavourarguethataslongasthemodeofraisingfeesisinlinewiththelibrary’sobjectives,therewasnomoralproblem.AsGregorian(1991)notes,managinglibrariessuccessfullyintheinformationagecannotbefundedfromasinglefinancialsource.It,therefore,makessenseforlibrariestoseekalternativesourcesoffundinginacommitted,aggressiveandstrategicmanner.
Challengesinfinancinglibraries
ThechallengesfacedbyuniversitylibrariesinAfricathatimpedetheirfundinghavebeenextensivelydiscussedintheliterature(Pankhurst,1974;Alemna,1994,1998;Balarabe,1995;Lawal,1995;Ekoja,1996).Young(1994)aptlysummarizesthechallengeslibrariansmustovercomeinordertoevolveanewmodelasthoseofincreasingcostoflibrarymaterials,increasingavailabilityofinformation,increasingcompetitionfromotherinformationprovidersandstagnantordecliningpublicrevenuescausedbyglobaleconomicrecession.Someoftheissuesraisedintheliteratureinclude:
Funding.Inflationanddevaluationoflocalcurrencieshavemadethesameamountofmoneyshrinkinrealvaluewhenpurchasingbooksfromoverseas.Toillustratethispoint,Ogunrombietal.(1998)statedthatwhilein1993anoverseasbookcostanaverageofN50naira;in1998,theaveragecostofabookfromoverseaswasN8,000nairainNigeria.Judgingbythecurrentexchangerate,theaveragecostofimportedbookscanbededucedtobeaboutN15,000perbookin2010.Furthermore,insomecases,librarieshavetosubmittherevenuegeneratedtoacentralpursewhichtheymaynothaveaccesstothereafter;thistrenddiscourageslibrariansfrombeingaggressiveinsolicitingforfunds.Inmanylibraries,thebudgetingsystemisinflexibleandthemoneyisusuallyreleasedtowardstheendofthefinancialyear,makinglibrariestobuymaterialsinanuncoordinatedandhurriedmanner.Also,insomelibraries,thebudgetsweresosmallthatmostofthemoneywasspentonsalarieswithverylittleleftforpurchaseofmaterialsandformaintenance,withKenyattaUniversityspendingasmuchas98.4percentofitsbudgetonsalariesin2000/2001(Kavulya,2006).Ingeneral,thereisafragmentedanduncoordinatedapproachtofundinglibrariesinAfricaandmostuniversitylibrariesgetbetween3and8percentoftheuniversitybudget(Alemna,1994;Boadi,2006).
Governmenteconomicreformprogrammes.TheeconomicreformprogrammesintroducedbymostAfricangovernmentswhichinvariablyledtothedevaluationofnationalcurrency,negativelyimpactsonthelibraryandinformationsectorbecausetheselibrariespurchasemostoftheirbooks,journals,audio-visualmaterialsandequipmentfromoverseas.Theimplicationisthattheypurchasethematerialswithha
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