Towards Digitisation of Kiswahili Programmes: Problems and Prospects for the University Libraries in Kenya - A Case Study of Tom Mboya University College

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of digitisation. Basically, digitisation is no longer a new concept when it comes to the field of library and information science. But as a third world country like Kenya, with specific reference to Tom Mboya University College, to narrow down, to Kiswahili programmes, it is still a challenging issue. The paper mainly focused on the recent updates of the library digitisation activities and more particularly identified the digitisation process identically. The findings of this paper are quite shocking, this is so because, very few university libraries in Kenya have taken digitisation of Kiswahili programmes successfully. In essence, Tom Mboya University College library as a case study is still far behind any sort of digitisation of Kiswahili programmes. More so, Tom Mboya University College is still struggling to put in place the required infrastructural facilities to take up the digitisation project. It is assumed that the initiatives for coming up with a bibliographic database, full-text database, hosting indigenous information product and specifically the Kiswahili programmes by the Kiswahili lecturers in the department over the internet and technology-based information activities are at the elementary level at Tom Mboya University College in Kenya. This paper, therefore, hopes that the findings of this research will help Tom Mboya University College library to identify its problems regarding digitisation and hopefully be able to find out the most suitable solution