South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science - Volume 71, Issue 2, January 2005

Extracted from text ... SA Jnl Libs & Info Sci 2005, 71(2) EDITORIAL Dear SAJLIS Readers, It is my pleasure to present SAJLIS 71(2), consisting of eight research articles, including four revisions from conference papers, as well as six articles of a general nature, including a ProLISSA conference report and five book reviews. This issue has attracted articles on LIS theory and history, information policy, information seeking, ICT knowledge and skills, LIS education and training and information , and knowledge management. It is pleasing to inform our readers and LIASA members that LIASA will possibly publish three issues of SAJLIS annually as from ..

The purpose of this article will be to emphasize the role of the core aspect of the scientific endeavour that is fundamental to any good science, but that is currently largely neglected, namely reflection, or the intellectual activity in science. The focus will be on the challenges posed by some contemporary situations and developments to the intellectual activities of the scientific endeavour. The assumption is that science is first and foremost an intellectual activity, an activity of thought. The question to be addressed then will be: How do we, as Information Scientists, respond intellectually to what is happening in the world of information and knowledge development and work, given the context of new socio-cultural and knowledge landscapes. <br>The emphasis will be on the rethinking of human thinking, as our unique human ability that enables us to cope with the world in which we live with its dynamic, challenging and ever changing circumstances and demands, in terms of the commitments characteristic of the very unique science we are involved with. Different approaches to the establishment of a new scientific spirit will be explored, the demands these developments pose for human thinking will be highlighted, and the implications for Information Science regarding its proposed functioning as a nomad science, and its proposed responsibility of focusing on informatization and inventiveness, will be specified.

During the Second World War, the South African Library Association coordinated the Books for Troops Scheme that distributed thousands of books and magazines to soldiers in the Union Defence Force. The scheme presented the chance to demonstrate the democratic values of books and libraries, and to improve the social standing of the library profession. This article argues that personal squabbles, regional tensions, racialism and the regulation of reading by the Army Education Services prevented the South African Library Association from making a more forceful impact on the South African public.

The article examines the origin of print media copyright law and the fair dealing exemptions. It analyses whether the globally accepted assumptions that the print media fair dealing exemption is appropriate in the digital environment notwithstanding that corporate rights holders of online databases have introduced licences to govern the use of digital content. The article discusses the effects on acquisitions and academic library users of incorporating the print media fair dealing exemption in the digital licensing agreements.

Parliamentarians have an incessant need for timely, authoritative, and current information because of the enormous social responsibility bestowed on them by the electorates or society. A strong information accessibility that empowers them to fulfill this responsibility effectively is therefore very significant. Essentially and traditionally, parliamentary libraries are expected to provide legislators with most of the information they need. The study aimed at determining the information sources, service and systems used in South Africa by the parliamentarians, and also to investigate the role of the parliamentary libraries in the information provision process. A survey was conducted by use of questionnaires targeting all parliamentarians in South Africa and a response rate of 23% (167) was received. This study has revealed that parliamentary libraries are underutilized because parliamentarians use other equally competing information sources largely accessed through the internet. Further, South Africa has enormous information sources and services that legislators can access and exploit and the use of electronic sources of information is growing rapidly, almost reaching the level of use of print sources. Unexpectedly, oral sources of information are used less. Parliamentary libraries have a potential to offer a variety of services to parliamentarians, yet they are not well-utilized, perhaps because of reasons such as poor marketing and innovative information services. Wilson's model on information seeking has been extended by a new model proposing and explaining information-seeking strategies popular to parliamentarians in South Africa.

This article is based on part of a survey that investigated the ICT knowledge and skills of subject librarians at the university libraries of KwaZulu-Natal. A study population of 43 subject librarians, in the university libraries of the Universities of Durban-Westville, Natal (Durban and Pietermaritzburg), and Zululand were surveyed by means of a mailed questionnaire to establish in what ways subject librarians were using ICTs, what the level of ICT knowledge and skill was amongst the subject librarians, what problems the subject librarians faced in the use of ICTs and what their ICT training needs were. Interpretation of the results revealed a low level of ICT knowledge and skill amongst subject librarians and a general lack of formal training for ICTs amongst the subject librarians.

The literature of the early 1990s observed a general lack of differentiation and specialisation at the basic qualification level in library and/or information science education and training in South Africa. This paper draws from an empirical study on first level LIS qualifications at South African universities and technikons to examine developments in specialisation in LIS education and training. This is particularly relevant in the context of the government's current drive toward rationalisation of the higher education sector. There seems to have been significant developments in South Africa since the early 1990s regarding specialisation in LIS education and training among the various universities and technikons offering LIS qualifications. It is recommended that LIS departments further develop this trend and also consider possible collaboration with other LIS departments especially on a regional basis, with a view to accommodating regionally based imperatives.

The aim of this study is to demonstrate that managing the collective intelligence of the community, that is, tacit and explicit knowledge is key to the sustainable utilisation of resources. Studies have shown that sharing knowledge is problematic in most organizations, whether they are formal or informal. In that regard, a study was conducted to determine how knowledge was shared and distributed in an "open" system such as the Tyolomnqa Estuary in the Eastern Cape. Secondary data was gathered from the existing literature, whereas questionnaires, interviews and focus groups were used to collect primary data. The study revealed that knowledge sharing among the communities using the Tyolomnqa Estuary was fragmented. A model to facilitate the sharing of knowledge on the management of estuaries in the Eastern Cape based on communities of practice and storytelling is suggested.

The study focuses on the management and diffusion of HIV / AIDS information in institutions of higher learning in South Africa. The HIV / AIDS Policy for Educators, Learners and Students provided a strong foundation on government involvement on HIV / AIDS management in Higher Education. Both Qualitative and quantitative research design and methodologies were employed largely through survey, observation and document analysis. The findings reveal that the response of the higher education sector to HIV / AIDS is not uniform, but there is a positive move towards strong management of HIV / AIDS and information diffusion. The study recommends further research on feasibility, applicability and effectiveness of the centralized coordination of the higher education HIV / AIDS response. Other hidden issues have been unearthed and a model for effective HIV / AIDS management and information diffusion in the sector suggested.

Extracted from text ... 201 SA Jnl Libs & Info Sci 2005, 71(2) GENERAL CONTRIBUTIONS A report on the 3rd ProLISSA/DISSAnet Conference, 28-29th October, Pretoria (See http://www.dissanet.com) Petros Dlamini and Blessing Mbatha Department of Library and Information Science, University of Zululand masicane2000@yahoo.com, btmbatha@yahoo.com 1. Introduction The acronym DISSAnet stands for Development of Information Science in Southern Africa. It names the group of library and information science/service (LIS) professionals who, within the frame of a development project in 1998-2004, have built a research network aimed at functioning as a national platform to support professional developments and internationalisation in the LIS field. During the democratisation ..

Extracted from text ... 204 SA Jnl Libs & Info Sci 2005, 71(2) BOOK REVIEWS Into the information age: Computerization of the Copperbelt University Library Ed by: Maurice Chimfwembe Lundu and Charles B. M. Lungu Oxford: INASP, 2002, 136p. ISBN 1 902928 10 5 (sb) Cost: ?12.00 (incl. p&p) This book describes the experience of the Copperbelt University Library and how they went about computerisation. Six present and past library staff at the Copperbelt University, Zambia, document their experience of automating library services, from 1993 to 1999. They worked closely with the advisor to the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications ..

Extracted from text ... SA Jnl Libs & Info Sci 2005, 71(2) Who next...?: A guide to children's authors. 2nd ed. Norah Irvin (Ed.) Loughborough: LISU, Loughborough University, 2003, 207 p. ISBN 1 901786 56 0 (sb) Price: ?13.99 (17.5% trade discount and orders over 10 copies). Postage: UK nil, Europe ?4, rest of world ?6.50 for single copies. For multiple copies LISU should be contacted. Parents, teachers and public librarians all strive to promote reading. They want children to enjoy reading and to widen their horizons in the ongoing search for new and exciting authors. Often this is difficult, because children claim ..

Extracted from text ... 205 Tel. +41 531530 Email: jnyumba@easlis.mak.ac.ug Library funding: Adequate financial support for African university funding. John Willemse Oxford: INASP, 2002, 64p. ISBN 1 902928 13 X (sb) Cost: ?6.00 (incl. p&p) Funding university libraries in the East, Central and Southern Africa (ECS) region, as elsewhere on the continent, has been of great concern to university library administrators, managers and users. The International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) took the bull by the horns and decided, "to develop, formulate and finalize guidelines, norms and standards, suitable for practical application by university librarians/libraries." The strategies were to examine ..

Extracted from text ... SA Jnl Libs & Info Sci 2005, 71(2) Who else writes like...?: A readers' guide to fiction authors. 4th ed. Roy and Jeanne Huse (Eds) Loughborough: LISU, Loughborough University, 2002, 376p. ISBN 1 901786 57 9 (sb.) Price: ?17.99 (17.5% trade discount and orders over 10 copies). Postage: UK nil, Europe ?4, rest of world ?6.50 for single copies. For multiple copies LISU should be contacted. The fourth edition of Who else writes like... (as with the earlier editions) has been compiled with the intention of answering one of the most frequent questions heard in public libraries: "I have ..

Extracted from text ... SA Jnl Libs & Info Sci 2005, 71(2) Women's health on the Internet Edited by M. Sandra Wood and Janet M. Coggan. New York: Haworth Press, 2000. 153p. ISBN 0 7890 1300 2. Price: $39.95/?R439 This volume was co-published simultaneously as Heath Care on the Internet, Vol. 4, (2/3), 2000. 208 SA Jnl Libs & Info Sci 2005, 71(2) There are 11 main chapters in this publication that offer guidance in locating and evaluating Web resources on women's health. These chapters examine women's health information on the Web in general ("webliographies" of information, and the different types of web ..