Abstract
Globally library cooperation and collaboration is transforming the scholarship landscape as academic libraries battle to survive amidst escalating costs of subscriptions. Zimbabwe is no exception to this phenomenon as evidenced by the development of local consortia for resource sharing. The main purpose of the research is to gather the views of librarians on the need for a library consortium to support national development in Zimbabwe. The researcher used a mixed method approach. Zimbabwe does not have national library consortium for nationwide access to information. Such a consortium is key to harnessing the collective buying power of member institutions to negotiate and guarantee license agreements for digital content. The study recommends a federated library consortium model built on lessons learned from other countries. The model elevates library consortium principles of cooperation and collaboration into Zimbabwe’s national development agenda.
Highlights
Zimbabwe’s national development blueprints commonly known as the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation (ZIMASSET) (2013-2018) and Transitional Stabilization Programme (TSP) (October, 2018 -December, 2020) are policy documents whose success is underpinned by socio-economic factors including access to information
ZIMASSET (2018-2019) and TSP (2018-2020) are not explicit on the role of libraries, even though its success will depend on access to information.These policies resonates with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2015-2030)
While Zimbabwe University Libraries Consortium (ZULC) has developed into a full-fledged consortium subscribing to e-resources, the same is still lacking among College and Research Libraries Consortium (CARLC) members, who are yet to make optimum use of the digital era
Summary
Zimbabwe’s national development blueprints commonly known as the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation (ZIMASSET) (2013-2018) and Transitional Stabilization Programme (TSP) (October, 2018 -December, 2020) are policy documents whose success is underpinned by socio-economic factors including access to information. Dong & Zou (2009,1) argue that the library consortia in China serve as a key pillar of a resourceful and efficient national information system useful in sustaining economic growth and the development of a world-class education system. When costs of subscriptions are unaffordable, development will be affected, for example, the quality of education and research goes down and decision making at a national level will not be supported by scientific evidence It appears cooperation is the only option for libraries if they are going to remain relevant and survive socio-economic turbulences of the twenty-first century. While ZULC has developed into a full-fledged consortium subscribing to e-resources, the same is still lacking among CARLC members, who are yet to make optimum use of the digital era In other words, these consortia need to cooperate with each other to fight increasing costs. The fragmented nature of libraries as reflected in their individual modus operandi, is inconsistent with the demands of the knowledge dispensation which thrives on cooperation and collaboration. Chisita (2017) states that the overall development path of library consortia in Zimbabwe can be better envisioned when correlated with the country’s national development agenda
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