Abstract: M.Inf. The research study investigates the importance of information as a resource in academic institutions. The study serves to answer questions appertaining to management of information as a resource, such as, what is information resource management? How should information as a resource be managed in academic institutions? How should information be audited? Which stages should be followed in developing information policy? The interrelationships of information as a resource, information auditing and information policy as managerial components are discussed. Information audit and information policy become the major components of management of information as a resource. Information in various enterprises is becoming increasingly recognized as a resource. The study purports to indicate that information as a resource can be managed like other traditional resources such as labour, entrepreneurship, capital and natural resources to use it for competitive advantage. The aims of information audit and information policy are to serve as fundamental development of an information managerial strategy. The information audit enables the information service to pursue the most significant strategic marketing of its information resources. The necessary breadth of information auditing techniques, such as Burk and Horton's "Infomap" are required to fulfill a wide variety of objectives. They analyze the effective methodology for auditing information resource controls and help to identify relevant and accurate information resources for the purpose of learning, teaching and research. The purpose of developing information policy is prompted by the objective of which the information enterprise would successfully like to achieve. It is more appropriate to develop a set of information policies, each of which is concerned with a specific area of operation or focussed on other topics of interest and informational value within the academic institution. At the ultimate end the University of the North is singled out as a model for the development of information policy.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether law students experienced library anxiety and, if so, which components contributed to that anxiety. The Multidimensional Library Anxiety Scale (MLAS) developed by Dr. Doris Van Kampen was used to assess library anxiety levels of law students. The...
This research investigated the ways academic libraries are using social media and adopting participatory principles in their programs and services. Using the Grounded Theory method the research developed an empirically derived model for participatory libraries. The research revealed three core...