Document Type

Article

Department

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Abstract

Purpose:

The study aimed at investigating factors that influence acceptance of Koha Integrated Library System (ILS) and its use in academic libraries of Uganda.

Design/methodology/approach:

The study was based on descriptive crosssectional survey design. A representative sample of 103 was used out of the target population of 140, comprising academic librarians and ICT personnel from four academic libraries in Uganda. Structured self-completion questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and observations were used in data collection. A success response level of 78% of the questionnaires sent out was realized. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS software; to establish the significance level of the factors influencing Koha acceptance.

Research limitation(s):

Non-academic libraries and patrons were not part of the study population.

Key finding(s):

The findings from the study indicate that nine factors influence acceptance of Koha in selected academic libraries of Uganda. These include productivity, ease of use, free and open source nature of Koha, peer pressure, availability of resources, domain knowledge, awareness, anxiety and computer literacy levels. Four factors were moderating variable namely age, gender, level of education and experience. System productivity had the highest mean score of 4.20 and the least ranked factor was peer pressure with a mean score of 3.12.

Practical implication(s):

The study has paved way for academic librarians and managers wishing to adopt Koha in regard to the core system attributes.

Contribution to knowledge:

The study has contributed new knowledge in the aspect of ascertaining the factors that influence acceptance of Koha in academic libraries of Uganda, specifically system productivity, ease of use. The contribution can act as a basis for further studies.

Comments

This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.

Publication (Name of Journal)

International Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

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