An electronic library system

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to design an electronic library for Universal High School, Kisaasi Library. The objectives of the study were to; establish the library collections, identify the current library system used, determine challenges with the current library system and design an Electronic Library system for Universal High School, Kisaasi. A case study research design was employed while adopting both qualitative and quantitative research approaches of data collection. Data was collected using face-to-face interview, questionnaire and observation methods. Purposive sampling method was used to select respondents who participated in the study. The study found out that the different information resources accessible in the Universal High School, Kisaasi Library were; text books, past papers and questions banks, pamphlets, maps, and atlases. Currently students access information materials by visiting the shelves and retrieving the text books they need for those who are well acquainted with the shelves, borrow information materials from the library counter. The challenges in accessing information resources were impossibility to access information resources during holidays, inadequate number of copies in the school library, time of accessing the library materials is not favorable, outdated information materials and limited loan period for information resources in the school library. The requirements for designing an electronic library were; security of the information resources, user friendly system, compatibility with the available computers in the library, authority to control by the Librarians, easy to search, accessed and retrieved information resources in a usable form, downloading information resources The study concluded that implementation of an electronic library for Universal High School, Kisaasi would help Librarians serve the library users better and would enable teachers and students access the library materials they need easily even from home during holidays or at any time, enhance easy and prompt access to library materials and services.