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Purpose: This study aims to determine the requirements and find out the challenges for the use of digital library services for rural areas of Capricorn District Municipality, Limpopo province. The research questions of the study are: What are the requirements for the use of digital library services in rural areas of Capricorn District Municipality? What are the challenges of accessing digital library services in rural areas? Design/methodology/approach: Data was analysed thematically and deductively in this study, as researcher required to accomplish the purpose of the study through consistent structure (Zalaghi and Khazaei, 2016). In deductive analysis, the researcher starts with a set of categories, which are then used to categorize and organize data (Bertram and Christiansen, 2020). The researcher got familiar with data from the interviewing process and when transcribing data from audio tape. The transcription process was done for the coding purposes. Coding allows the researcher to simplify and focus on specific characteristics of data. Findings: The study findings advocate for the establishment of digital libraries in rural areas. The library authorities are challenged to adapt digital ways of information provision. Since librarians have been providing digital content in libraries for use on users' laptops and other gadgets, this implies that the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has been lagging behind in finding innovative ways to provide information, especially in rural areas. To successfully keep libraries as sources of information, transformative measures have to be taken, and where possible, revisit the policies and keep drifting with the societal changes. The library authorities have to delve into new ways of providing LIS to the communities. Unquestionably, information and communication technologies have penetrated our societies and became a way of life. In addition, there are unlimited benefits which can be derived from digital technologies, especially given the lack of physical libraries in rural areas. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, the academic research is original and has not been published anywhere before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore topics of Facebook posts created by public libraries using the bi-term topic model, and examine the relationships between types of topics and user engagement. The authors further investigated the effects of three library factors, namely, staff size, budget and urbanization degrees, on Facebook content and user engagement based on multilevel generalized linear modeling. Design/methodology/approach: This study suggested a novel method, a combination of the bi-term topic modeling and MGLM, to enhance the understanding of social media in the context of public libraries. Findings: The findings revealed that posts related to community events, awards and photos were likely to receive more likes and shares, whereas posts about summer reading programs received relatively more comments. In addition, the authors found that a larger staff size and the inclusion of multimedia had positive impacts on user engagement. Originality/value: This study analyzed the content of public library-generated social media based on text mining. Then, the authors examined the effects of contextual library-level factors on social media practice in public libraries. Based on empirical findings, the study suggested a range of practical implications for effective use of social media in public libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and design the axial coding pattern of the factors affecting the unplanned use behavior of users of the academic libraries and information centers. Design/methodology/approach: The study as an applied research with a qualitative approach employed the grounded theory. The data collection tool was a deep and semi-structured interview. The interviews data were analyzed and coded during three stages of open, axial and selective coding using the MAXQDA 10 qualitative analysis software. The research population consisted of faculty members and experts in three areas of library and information science, management and psychology. Using the combined targeted sampling method (targeted and then the snowball), 12 subjects were selected as the sample size. Findings: According to the research findings, the factors affecting the unplanned behavior of users in the use of academic libraries resources and services were identified as factors related to technology, environmental factors, information resources, information services, human resources, individual features, time position factor, cultural factors and social factors. Accordingly, the axial coding pattern of this type of behaviors was designed. Research limitations/implications: The research limitations include the lack of theoretical basis related to the unplanned behavior issue in the field of library and information science and the lack of full familiarity of most of the experts in the field of library and information science with this topic. These factors lead to the necessity of explaining the subject under discussion. Originality/value: The unplanned behavior of clients can be utilized to persuade users to use the information resources and library services so that the costs spent on their preparation and collection will be justifiable. The current research addressed this aspect of the unplanned information-seeking behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to describe the use of electronic resources and services provided at the social science library of Jimma University, Jimma. The paper is focused to find out the use of those resources by the students of information science and how frequently they are using, from where the information is accessed. Also, they have been requested about their preferences between an electronic and print journal format. Design/methodology/approach -- The questionnaire method is used for collecting the data from the undergraduate students of information science (2015/2016 batch). The questionnaire was distributed to 182 students, and the response rate 81.32 per cent was encouraging. Findings -- It has been found that the usage of e-journals is increasing; this is due to awareness among the students of information science about the e-resources and services. Owing to an easy access available at various places in the university, they are accessing these resources at hostels and departments more as compared to the library. Their visits to library have decreased. Research limitations/implications -- The study has been limited to Jimma University undergraduate students of information science only Practical implications -- It suggests for future improvised solutions. Originality/value -- The present paper will help other institutions to understand the need for library electronic resources and motivate them to update their resources in the larger interest of the students. The paper also indicates how a suitably designed survey can show the awareness and use of types of information services, in this case, e-journals. There is a dearth of such studies in India and abroad. The methodology and findings can be applied to other libraries to reveal similar trends, as well as comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]