This paper presents challenges and opportunities in the protection and preservation of Indigenous Know-ledge (IK) in Africa. Specific examples have been taken from the Maasai pastoralists and the Sambaa and Zigua traditional medicine-men of North Eastern Tanzania. The paper argues that there is a threat of IK extinction due to lack of recording and problems associated with preservation and protection of the know-ledge from pirates. Examples on efforts made by Tanzania in IK preservation, including efforts made by Economic and Social Research Foundation in developing IK database and training initiatives at University of Dar es Salaam are discussed. Ethical issues in IK Systems are also discussed with emphasis on returning IK benefits to the owners of the knowledge, and involvement of people in IK researches. Finally, the paper highlights challenges in IK prevention and suggests measures that can be taken to alleviate the challenges. These include among others, developing appropriate IK policies and practices, establishing IK resource centres, training, researching and developing South South IK networks.
Reports on a study conducted to obtain stakeholders’ perceptions of the Master of Arts in Information Studies program of the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The views of former students of the program, their employers and teaching staff were sought through questionnaires and interviews. The findings revealed that, to a large extent, there is a positive relationship between what is taught in the program and what the former students perform during employment. As for the curriculum, some courses need to be split, others merged and new ones introduced to cope with changes taking place in library and information science profession. Other recommendations include the introduction of an undergraduate program in library and information science and a continuing education program of short courses for in-service professionals.
This paper presents the findings of research conducted on the provision of information services to distance learners by the Open University of Tanzania (OUT). The objective of the research was to discover how the Open University of Tanzania provides library and information services to its distance learners and the extent to which these services meet the needs of the learners. The study was done with a view to suggesting ways in which information provision at OUT could be improved. Data collection was done in the Dar es Salaam and Mwanza regions where a total number of 190 re-spondents were involved in the survey. Findings of the study reveal that the Open University of Tanzania has problems in meeting the information needs of its staff and students. The Main library does not have adequate resources while OUT Information Units at Regional Centres and Tanzania Library Services are poorly stocked. In addition, the few materials that are available do not reflect the curriculum. As a way of alleviating the problem, OUT students use the library services of other nearby institutions. Recommendations to improve the situation are given at the conclusion.
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