Proceedings of the 15 th Annual Conference 4-11 October 2013, Cape Town International Conference Centre, Cape Town Libraries in Dialogue for Transformation and Innovation NOT PEER REVIEWED Disclaimer: This conference paper, presented at the above conference, is hosted by LIASA using the open source software (Open Conference Systems). LIASA takes no responsibility for the content published in this paper, and disclaim all liability arising out of the use of or inability to use the information contained herein. We assume no responsibility, and shall not be liable for any breaches of agreement with other publishers/hosts. 1
The impact of Free Public Internet Access in North West Community Libraries: User s perspective Mandisa Lakheni and Moshiane Ramaube Department of Sport, Arts & Culture North West Provincial Government, Mmabatho, South Africa Email: mlakheni@nwpg.gov.za and lramaube@nwpg.gov.za ABSTRACT: The aim of the paper is to measure the impact of the free Public Internet Access (PIA) in North West Community Libraries. The paper will evaluate how the service has changed the perspective of community members. Keywords: Free Public Internet Access, Digital divide, North West Community Libraries. INTRODUCTION The North West province is considered as one of the disadvantaged provinces in South Africa in terms of Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure due its geographic status of being rural. The lack of infrastructure is one of many reasons that caused the digital divide in this region. According to (Ralph, 2012), The United Nations has ruled that Internet access is a basic human right; based on the evolution of technology in the 21 st century. ICT should be regarded as one of the basic human rights needs such as water, sanitation, education and housing. The national Department of Arts and Culture introduced Conditional Grants for Public libraries in 2007/2008 financial year. The goal was to enable the South African society to gain access to knowledge and information that will improve the socio-economic status. The purpose of the grant is to have a transformed urban and rural community infrastructure, facilities and services (primarily targeting the previously disadvantaged communities) through recapitalized program at provincial level in support of local government and national initiatives. North West Provincial Library Services responded to the Grant mandate by introducing free Public Internet Access in all community libraries as one of its projects. The paper seeks to evaluate an impact of the free Public Internet Access in North West Community libraries based on the user s perspectives. OBJECTIVES OF THE FREE PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS North West Provincial Library Services has one hundred and two (102) operating libraries across the province. In 2008/09 financial year, only fourteen (14) libraries were connected to 2
the Internet. Initially, the Internet was used for the Library System and emails by library staff. This was due to the lack of funds and network infrastructure in the province. The North West province is one of the rural provinces in South Africa. TELKOM is the main Internet Service Provider (ISP) in South Africa and it had no sufficient footprints reaching areas where libraries are located in the North West province. The free Public Internet Access is implemented in rural libraries where there was no form of network infrastructure. Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) is used where there is no Telkom infrastructure and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is used where there was some form of network connectivity. The main goal of giving free Public Internet Access in North West community libraries is to: Bridge the digital divide. Provide and enhance computer literacy skills. Support educational research for learners and students. Provide information technology tools. Assist in seeking employment online. Improve social inclusion e.g. provision of e-government information. METHODOLOGY AND RESREARCH OBJECTIVES Community libraries are the main source of information in the rural North West. PIA is intended to complement the library collection. The paper evaluates the impact of the service since its inception from the user s perspective and it also evaluates how it has changed the views of the community regarding libraries. DATA COLLECTION Data was collected through surveys from library users and interviews were conducted with library staff from the community libraries. 291 library users responded and 7 librarians answered the interview questions. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY The project is making a positive impact in the North West communities however there are certain areas that still have challenges. One of the things that need improvement in some libraries is the network speed as well as lack of space which makes it difficult to add more computers. The paper will not focus on the negative impact but look at recommendations on how to improve the service. DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS Questionnaires were sent to libraries to be completed by library users. The questionnaire is divided in three parts: Part 1 Personal information Part 2 Does PIA project add value to the services provided at your library? 3
Part 3- Is the PIA service important to your information needs? The data is as follows: Part 1: Personal information Age group: North West Provincial Library provides PIA to all community libraries. The aim was to evaluate the impact the project is making to all age groups and identify whether the service is reaching all community members. 54.6% respondents are the age group of 19 years and under. This proves that the North West provincial Library Service is making an impact by grooming an Information Technology literate society that is connected to the digital world. 44.9 % is made up of the age groups between 20 and 60 years, this reflects that this generation is also utilizing the free Public Internet Access. 0.3% is made up of the age group of pensioners who are 60 years and above. The findings prove that the North West Provincial Library Service is making a positive impact in reaching out to the whole community. Gender: The aim was to look at the impact of PIA with reference to gender and to identify who uses the Internet the most. 63.9% respondents are male and 34.7 % are female. This reflects that male library users are dominant in utilizing the PIA Services. The findings indicate that technology is still one-dimensional and male dominated. Current occupation: The information needs of the community often differ depending on their current occupation and social status. The paper was also aimed at finding out the current occupation of the library users. 67.4 % consists of learners (pupils and students). 32.6 % consists of employed, unemployed and retired community members. This shows that Library Services is playing its role in balancing the socio-economic responsibility in North West communities. Part 2: Does the PIA project add value to the services provided at your library? This section was aimed at finding out whether the service adds value in the provision of the information needs of the community. The questions were grouped as follows: The PIA service is easy use (Computer literacy): The aim was to find out if the service is providing necessary skills and if it is friendly to utilize. 88 % library users find the Internet easy to use and are computer literate. This indicates that the PIA service is making a difference in the communities. Only 7.2% respondents do not have basic computer literacy and they find that the Internet is not user friendly. 4.8 % library users have an average computer literacy. Learning new IT skills at the library: The aim was to transfer IT skills to the community in order to bridge the digital divide, more especially to those in rural communities. 60.8 % library users confirmed that they have learnt new IT skills since the inception of PIA in the North West Community libraries. 19.6% stated that they had some IT skills before and 19.6 % respondents are neutral. 4
The survey proves that PIA project is indeed empowering the community by teaching them a new skill in IT and having a computer literate society. PIA is used for research: the aim of PIA is to assist the users to research for additional information as the extension of library services. 77.7% said that PIA assisted them in research and other information needs. 9.9% indicated that they use PIA for other information needs rather than research, while 12.4% respondents were neutral. This proves that North West Provincial Library service is achieving its mandate of improving information services at the library by enhancing the services with PIA, which helps in online research. PIA is complimenting the library collection: The PIA service intends to compliment the collection of the library. It also assists in identifying gaps and collection development analysis. 83% agreed that PIA compliments the library services collection. Only 5.3 % respondents did not agree that PIA is an extension of the library services collection. The findings illustrates that the North West Provincial Library service is on the right track with the PIA project when it comes to identifying gaps in the collection development as well as enhancing on the collection that is already available in community libraries. PIA assists in educational purposes: 89.2% said they use PIA for educational purposes. 8.6% disagreed and stated that they use PIA for other recreational purposes rather than educational, while 2.1% respondents were neutral. The survey proves that PIA is achieving the mandate of the North West Provincial Library Services in providing instant access to information for educational purposes. PIA is used for social networks: It is undeniable that social media has taken sharing and provision of information by storm. Community libraries should be able to cater for this need. 32.2% said that they use PIA for social networking while 43.9% do not use PIA for social networking at community libraries. The percentage of library users who utilize social networking is very low due to policies of other community libraries. These policies give preference to library users who are doing research and educational projects as a primary information need. 22 % respondents were neutral. Library as the only provider of free Internet services: 86.7% library users confirmed that their community library is the only provider of free Internet access. This proves that the North West Provincial Library service is making an impact in bridging the digital divide and providing Internet access to communities that never had Internet before. 9.1% respondents stated that the library is not the only option of accessing the Internet for them. 4.2% respondents were neutral. Are computers enough at the library for public use: 53% library users responded that they need more computers at their libraries due to the high demand of the service. 47% library users responded that the computers available at their libraries are sufficient. 5
PIA is used for job seeking: As part of assisting the government to close the unemployment gap in South Africa, libraries are one of the places that people depend on in finding jobs, creating and sending CVs. 58.1% strongly agreed that they used PIA for job seeking purpose. 41.9 % stated that they use PIA for other purposes and not for job seeking. This proves that North West Provincial Library Service is assisting the communities in seeking employment online through the PIA service. PIA is used for E-Government resources: 49.6% strongly agreed that they use PIA for E- Government resources. 32.6% do not utilize PIA for E-Government resource. 17.7% responded neutrally This proves that the communities are able to search for Government websites like: SARS, SASSA, Home affairs etc ; and find all the information they need online through the PIA service offered at North West community libraries. Part 3 This section intended to find the users perspective on the importance of the service in their information needs. 93.3% responded that PIA service plays a pivotal role in their information needs while only 6.7% stated that they view PIA as just another extension of the services of the library. THE IMPACT OF FREE PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS IN COMMUNITY LIBRARY: VIEWS FROM LIBRARIANS According to the views from librarians, the PIA service has made a tremendous impact in North West Provincial library Services. It has also increased library membership since the inception of PIA because the library has attracted new members through the free Internet access specifically the youth. The positive feedback from some of the library users through the comments written on the Interviews by the community librarians are as follows: The highlights from librarians were: The Library users are happy to have the free service at their libraries. Libraries have attracted a new group of users due to the availability of free Internet. PIA also serves as a library marketing tool through word of mouth from one library user to the next. The Internet is reliable. The users are able to apply for jobs online instantly. Negative feedback 6
The negative feedback highlighted by librarians was: The limited time given to each user, ranging from half an hour to an hour, is not sufficient. There is a lack of IT skill in some library users, which results in not effectively benefiting from the service. The computers and printers provided to the libraries are often not enough, due to the lack of space or high demand of the service. The computers range from 12 per library to 2 computers, depending on the size of the library. Restrictions to what is prescribed in the library policy are also a negative factor. These restrictions work as a filtering tool on what could be accessed at libraries. Computer literacy Librarians confirmed that they conduct computer literacy trainings in some libraries, which assists the IT illiterate users in gaining maximum use of the Internet. Some libraries are not providing computer literacy trainings due to shortage of staff. How can PIA be improved? Some of the recommendations from librarians were: Computer literacy training for users on how to utilize the service To improve the number of work stations Introduction of E-resources and e-books More marketing of the service to communities Training of library staff to provide better service to the users Evaluation of library policies on Internet access guidelines RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were formulated to improve the PIA service for maximum benefit to the community: The North West Provincial Library Services still need to do more in attracting the age group of 60 and above and training them on computer literacy. The North West provincial Library services needs to strike a balance to attract more female library users to be interested in ICT. It is recommended that the North West Provincial library service should conduct more computer literacy trainings to capacitate library users. To resolve the issue of space, it is recommended that North West Library Service allocates sufficient space dedicated for the PIA service. 7
CONCLUSION The North West communities have benefited from the PIA project service in the community libraries. The service has positively changed the provision of library services and made an impact in improving lives in rural communities. REFERENCES 1. Bertot, J. C. (2009). Public access technologies in public libraries: Effects and implications. Information Technology and Libraries, 28(2), 81-92. 2.Bertot, J. C., & Davis, D. M. (2007). Public library public access computing and internet access: Factors which contribute to quality services and resources. Public Library Quarterly, 25(2), 27-42. 3.Bertot, J. C., Jaeger, P. T., & McClure, C. R. (Eds.). (in press). Public libraries and the Internet: Roles, perspectives, and implications. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. 4.Bertot, J. C., McClure, C. R., & Jaeger, P. T. (2008). The impacts of free public Internet access on public library patrons and communities. Library Quarterly, 78, 285-301. 5.Jaeger, P. T., Bertot, J. C., & McClure, C. R. (2007). Public libraries and the Internet 2006: Issues, funding, and challenges. Public Libraries, 46(5), 71-78. 6.Jaeger, P. T., Bertot, J. C., McClure, C. R., & Rodriguez, M. (2007). Public libraries and Internet access across the United States: A comparison by state from 2004 to 2006. Information Technology and Libraries, 26(2), 4-14. 7.McClure, C. R., Bertot, J. C., & Jaeger, P. T. (in press). The ever changing impacts of Internet access on libraries and their communities. In J. C. Bertot, P. T. Jaeger, & C. R. McClure (Eds.), Public libraries and the Internet: Roles, perspectives, and implications. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. 8.McClure, C. R., & Jaeger, P. T. (2008). Public libraries and Internet service roles: Measuring and maximizing Internet services. Chicago: ALA Editions. 9. UN deems Internet access a basic human right In-text: (Ralph, 2012) Bibliography: Ralph, T. 2012. UN deems Internet access a basic human right. [online] Available at: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/politics/diplomacy/120706/undeems-internet-access-basic-human-right [Accessed: 02 Sep 2013] 8