Application of Web 2.0 Tools in Libraries in Africa

Abstract

The emergence of Web 2.0, the read/write social web, has prompted a momentous change in the way library users seek information, communicate, and collaborate. This trend is affecting the usability and relevance of libraries as the epicentres of information and knowledge. It is essential, therefore, that libraries adopt this technology to fit their services and products as closely as possible to the emerging lifestyles of the users. The application of Web 2.0 tools to conceptualise and deliver library services in developed countries is widely documented. In Africa, however, literature on this subject remains scanty. The authors conducted a reality check of the current status of the application of Web 2.0 tools in libraries, assessed the current impact of Web 2.0 on library services, identified the challenges African libraries face while adopting Web 2.0, and proposed ways to use Web 2.0 tools effectively in libraries in Africa.

Taking social media to a university classroom: teaching and learning using Twitter and blogs

“…Kaplan and Haenlein (2010: 61) make the correct assumption that that there is no systematic way in which different social media applications can be categorised. Kwanya, Stilwell, and Underwood (2012) makes a point that Web 2.0 is a platform service for social media.…”

Unmasking the Potential of Web 2.0 in Academic Libraries in Malawi: Empirical Findings

“…The birth of Web 2.0 in 2005, was actually hailed as an unparalleled landmark in the history of Internet revolution because according to Coombs (2007), Web 2.0 has transformed the static Web into a space that now allows anyone to create and share information online through fashion. Before the era of Web 2.0, users were seen as 'prisoners' of the Web because according Kwanya, Stilwell, and Underwood (2012), there were two categories of people acting on the Web: creators or experts of knowledge who created and posted information on the non-interactive Web and end users who were mere consumers of the knowledge or information posted on the Web. The emergence of Web 2.0 was a game changer in the Internet spectrum as it led to the development and evolution of web-based communities, hosted services, and applications such as instant messaging, social networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and RSS (Cromity 2008).…”

“…More precisely, Boateng (2014, 121) refers to Library 2.0 as "the integration of Web 2.0 features in library web-based services" and Kwanya, Stilwell and Underwood (2012) see it as all processes that involve the application of Web "anywhere, anytime, anyhow". To this end, Library 2.0 is categorised as a deliberative of Web 2.0 technology (Birdsall 2007, Kwanya, Stilwell, & Underwood 2012Boateng 2014, 121).…”

“…the way library clients seek information, communicate and collaborate and consequently, there has been growth in scope and depth of what library users are using emerging information and communication technologies (Miller 2006;Rothman 2006;Courtney 2007;Kwanya, Stilwell & Underwood 2012). To this end, Noh (2015,786) likens the nature of libraries to living organisms to changing information technology environments and a greater reliance on web-based services.…”

“…To this end, Noh (2015,786) likens the nature of libraries to living organisms to changing information technology environments and a greater reliance on web-based services. Some popular Internet technologies that have made their inroads and reshaped the landscape of library and information are Web 2.0 technologies which are referred to as Library 2.0 to anyhow (Kwanya, Stilwell & Underwood 2012). In fact, Lwoga (2014) concludes that "Web collaborative, and participatory possibilities on cyber space (Xu et al 2009).…”