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Knowledge without
boundaries
What does the Perceptions Study tell us?
Geoffrey Kimani, Director of Research and Insights, TNS RMS
www.eifl.net
Research background• Geographies: Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana,
Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe
• Objective: to understand the awareness, perceptions, attitudes and actions towards public libraries of different target groups: central and local government officials, users, non users and librarians
• Time: 2011 January-June
Samples of respondents
Category Total Kenya Uganda Tanzania Ghana Zimbabwe Ethiopia
Library users 1990 499 498 499 494
Non users of libraries 1201 300 300 301 300
Librarians 283 63 50 48 67 35 20
Local level officials (operating libraries) 202 30 31 38 14 40 49
Local level officials (not operating libraries) 76 21 19 26 10
National level officials 99 19 20 20 20 20
Keyfindings
Libraries are important to individuals and communities
Opinion of users
Opinion of local government officials
Public libraries are actively used
Total Kenya Uganda Tanzania Ghana
Base (=total sample) 1990 499 498 499 494
% % % % %
Daily 27 33 18 27 29
Weekly 54 54 59 62 40
Monthly 12 10 16 7 14
Every other month 4 2 4 3 10
Once or twice a year 3 1 1 1 6
Don't know 1 - 2 0 1
Primary use of public libraries is educational
Purpose of libraries by (users) Total Kenya Uganda Tanzania Ghana
Base (=total sample) 1990 499 498 499 494
% % % % %
Educational purposes (for homework or to take a class) 91 94 90 86 95
National news or information 34 37 36 32 30
Local news or information 28 33 34 28 15
Entertainment 26 16 19 29 38
Information on health issue 20 18 22 17 22
International news or information 15 14 9 22 12
To conduct a job search or write a CV 12 14 14 14 5
Loan books 11 12 2 2 28
To look for information on starting or running a business 10 15 14 6 6
But the benefits derived go beyond education
Total Kenya Uganda Tanzania Ghana
Base (=total sample) 1990 499 498 499 494% % % % %
Developed new skills or learned something new 89 90 93 92 84
Obtained new ideas, new interests 78 81 78 80 73
Got helpful information for school/ learning 73 67 71 80 72
Experienced the library as safe and quiet place for study and reading 67 63 64 67 73
Save time 55 52 44 71 55
Enjoyed the visits- have you felt comfortable in the library 52 52 58 51 48
Got helpful information for health and well being 36 31 41 47 26
Made contacts with other people 36 27 35 47 36
Got helpful information for business and commerce 31 38 32 43 10
Got helpful information about your community 31 26 30 59 9
Be better in your job 21 24 31 23 5
And the expectations of non users go beyond educationPerceived purpose of libraries (non users) Total Kenya Uganda Tanzania Ghana
Base (=total sample) 1201 300 300 301 300
% % % % %
Educational purposes (for homework or to take a class) 97 98 94 97 98
Local news or information 56 46 65 71 41
Information on health issue 55 49 59 65 48
National news or information 55 47 57 69 48
To help children do homework 51 39 51 50 64
Information on agriculture 49 45 49 60 42
Entertainment 43 23 49 66 34
It is safe place for my child to spend time 41 26 37 52 49
To look for information on starting or running a business 38 30 35 55 30
What users like and what they dislike about the libraries
How users rate different library aspects
There is a need for technology
• 34% of library users in Ghana, who dissatisfied with library services say that they lack computers
• Only 24% of libraries surveyed have computers for users
• If budgets are increased, most librarians (81%) say equipment is the priority need. Of these, 70% would buy more computers, TV receivers, fax machines, telephones and printers
• 37% of librarians in Ghana feel they don’t have sufficient skills to offer technology related services
Potential library users
75% of non users in Ghana are aware about the existence of library in their area. Increased access to online resources (20%) and computers (17%) would motivate non-users to start using the library
Whether or not non-users intend to start using libraries
10
Priorities of local governments regarding libraries
Total Kenya Uganda Tanzania Ghana Zim Ethio
Base = (officials of local authorities that operate libraries) 202 30 31 38 14 40 49Focus areas % % % % % % %Provision of Computer services 28 23 32 13 43 60 10Equip the library with relevant books, CDs and DVDs 23 20 29 11 7 35 27Introduce a cyber cafe for the users/internet services 16 20 6 5 43 15 22
Increase the variety of new edition books and materials 16 17 29 5 14 28 8Expand space to meet the increased number of readers 11 17 23 18 14 3 - Provide advanced technologies 9 17 10 5 29 3 6
Provide books for college students and relevant to the current curriculum 8 10 10 11 - 10 6
Have updated materials for all matters pertaining to education of all relevant fields 7 13 3 3 - 8 12
National officials strongly agree with the library helping to bridge the digital divide
Local government officials’ perceptions regarding the potential of libraries
Library potential• Both local and national government officials
recognize libraries’ potential to support policy strands outside what are perceived to be their core competences of education, literacy and culture
• The officials readily accept the notion that libraries could contribute in the areas of economic development, employment, health, agriculture and the digital divide
