Abstract
The article focuses on leadership challenges in adaptation to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in African libraries. It identifies and discusses the need for adequate leadership styles and behavior in the bid to adapt effectively to new technologies. Online survey, observation arising from personal professional practice experience, personal communication, and interview methods were used to gather data for the study. Older library professionals, many of whom are still very visible across the leadership strata of libraries, were found to exhibit diverse attitude to the adaptation to ICTs deployment and use in their libraries. Some library leaders and older generation professionals were discovered to react somewhat negatively to changes in technology used in their libraries, preventing the younger professionals from performing to full capacity, and generally showing nonchalance to new technologies. Proper training and retraining, mentoring, and harnessing the synergy of ideas, with respectful communication from new generation library professionals, was found to be desirable. Change management workshops and implementation of standard ethics of the profession are recommended, while emphasis is put on the need for library professionals to overcome their technophobia and take leadership in adapting to move the library and information profession forward.
Highlights
Utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) brings about challenges to information access in libraries, and requires librarians to learn and apply new skills on a daily basis, other than the traditional one of flipping through card or book catalogs, registering library users manually, charging and discharging library materials in and out at the circulation desk and answering reference queries
Library professionals are sometimes reluctant to change from their normal routines especially when the change involves using new technology (Adekunle, Omoba, & Tella, 2007); yet, human resources are a key factor that should be developed in the change to new ICTs in libraries
The objectives of this study were as follows: 1. to find out what leadership styles are necessary to ensure proper adaptation to ICT in libraries; 2. to find out what leadership behaviors are necessary to ensure proper adaptation to ICT in libraries; 3. to find out what solutions can be proffered to the leadership problem; and
Summary
Utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) brings about challenges to information access in libraries, and requires librarians to learn and apply new skills on a daily basis, other than the traditional one of flipping through card or book catalogs, registering library users manually, charging and discharging library materials in and out at the circulation desk and answering reference queries. The fact that librarians have been early adopters of technology which has increased their ability to provide services to their patrons has been reiterated by Mathews and Pardue (2009). These skill sets are evolving with the technology required. Library professionals are sometimes reluctant to change from their normal routines especially when the change involves using new technology (Adekunle, Omoba, & Tella, 2007); yet, human resources are a key factor that should be developed in the change to new ICTs in libraries
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