A RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL IN THE SCHOOL OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATICS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE CONFIRMENT OF A DEGREE IN BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SCIENCE OF MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL IN THE SCHOOL OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATICS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE CONFIRMENT OF A DEGREE IN BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SCIENCE OF MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

To establish a responsive collection that is sufficiently comprehensive and representatives of knowledge ideas to keep up with the changing pace of needs of the users, it is in the context of the global demand for information and resources. It is now absolutely possible on the part of information professionals to help users in retrieving a valuable chunk of information from resources available beyond their libraries or information centers (Panda and Swain, 2010). The changing landscape of learning, research, and teaching has necessitated the modernization of the traditional library resource sharing mechanisms to utilize the new technological advancement to improve service in terms of material accessibility for users.  Furthermore, operations and services are computerized to optimize information access through internet connectivity, which reduces the time lag between the ordering of resources and accessibility. Additionally, relevant and current documents irrespective of the format are made available.

However, the current prevailing budgetary constraints, financial conditions, and the imbalance of the library resources in most universities and colleges do limit accessibility to the diverse information. This has necessitated the inception of the idea of interlibrary loan (ILL) service to meet the immediate needs of the library users. Given this service, libraries lend or borrow books and copies of resources such as journals and articles within each other to supplement their collections.

Over the last few years, there has been an intensified need for library interlending efforts due to the increasingly interdisciplinary and specialized fields of study at a rapid rate.  This cooperative venture within institutions has been conceptualized primarily to control costs and to improve access to books and periodicals (Baich, Tina, Tim, Weltin, Heather & Yang, 2009) The planning and implementation of this service is a complex undertaking that involves two operations. A borrowing library sending a request to an owning library to borrow, photocopy or scan materials needed, the loaning library then fills application by sending materials to the borrowing library or present a request of why the request cannot be loaded. In a case where the item is shipped, the borrowing library notifies the patron when the item arrives. More often than not, the borrowers are responsible for any charges on returnable materials as well as an obligation from the time they are picked until they are returned to the reference desk according to the agreement details. As per Robert seals’ argument, Resource sharing activities have grown out of the need to provide library users with necessary resources for research, study, and teaching (2003).

The ILL practices have not developed effectively and have been attributed to a number of shortcomings including, copyright issues, inflating material costs, and inadequate human resources to carry out ILL services, especially over long distances. Besides, there has been an increasing frustration over lack of coherent procedures and communications infrastructure, lack of resource sharing tradition, and unwillingness to share limited resources that could be lost or damaged. The medical field, for instance, requires extensive and detailed knowledge. It is therefore imperative that every resource that could aid in creating more experts in the same is made available following the sensitive nature of the problems in this area. The ILL services’ slow ability to present alternative options to the users has created an enormous knowledge gap barring the increasing demand in resources for research and in the areas of specification. The cost of books continues to rise, and their publication rates are increasing at a rapid pace. As such, lesser institutions can be able to afford nowadays, especially in developing countries.  It is therefore vital to seek new ways to enhance interlibrary loaning services. Otherwise, if the issue is not addressed, there would be continuous duplication of work already done due to the inaccessibility of a variety of information, inability to contain costs, and keep up with the developments in the field. Furthermore, it would difficult to promote standards in ILL as well as establish reciprocal agreements.

OBJECTIVES

• (i) To examine the adoption of interlibrary loaning services in enhancing medical information resources sharing at KMTC, Meru.
• (ii) To determine interlibrary loaning delivery systems used in enhancing the sharing of medical information resources at KMTC, Meru.
• (iii) To determine challenges facing the provision of interlibrary loaning services in enhancing the sharing of medical information resources at KMTC, Meru

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• (i) How does the library adopt interlibrary loaning services to enhance medical information resource sharing?
• (ii) What interlibrary loaning delivery systems are used to enhance sharing of medical information resources?
• (iii) What are the challenges faced during provision of interlibrary loaning services to enhance sharing of medical information resources?