International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology

Digital Library Access for Students with Disabilities

2025-09-22T17:25:57+00:00

This study explored the perceptions of students with disabilities (SWDs) regarding access to digital library resources in Kenyan public universities. Despite growing digitization in higher education, equitable access for SWDs remains limited due to gaps in awareness, communication, and institutional support. Guided by an interpretivist paradigm, the study adopted a qualitative, multi-method design involving interviews, observations, and document analysis across six public universities. Data were analyzed thematically to capture SWDs’ perceptions alongside insights from university library staff and disability coordinators. The findings revealed that while most universities have made progress toward digital inclusion, many SWDs perceive existing digital library environments as insufficiently accessible or responsive to their needs. Limited awareness of available digital services, inconsistent communication mechanisms, and inadequate personalized support were identified as major barriers. Institutional practices were often reactive rather than systemic, with accessibility efforts dependent on individual initiative rather than policy-driven accountability. Nevertheless, positive perceptions emerged where libraries had integrated accessibility helpdesks, conducted digital literacy training, and adopted adaptive technologies aligned with Universal Design for Learning and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. The study concludes that improving perceptions of digital library access requires strengthening institutional awareness, inclusive communication, and sustainable support structures. It recommends that policymakers develop accountability frameworks for digital accessibility, institutions establish proactive accessibility systems, practitioners enhance communication and training for SWDs, and researchers further investigate perception-based barriers across diverse institutional contexts.

Evaluation of Digital Skills among Students at a Premier Private University: Evidence from Valley View University, Ghana

2026-03-02T17:00:27+00:00

This study assessed the digital skills of students at Valley View University (VVU) in Ghana. A descriptive survey design was employed, and a structured questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. The study focused on undergraduate students from various faculties and departments within the university. The student population was 2,613, from which a sample of 354 students was selected. However, 341 valid responses were received and analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 26. The findings indicated that although many students demonstrated basic digital competencies, gaps remained in their ability to use digital resources and apply digital tools effectively for academic activities. The results further showed that digital tools enhanced students’ critical thinking, learning engagement, and flexibility in accessing learning resources. However, several challenges persisted, including inadequate digital skills, limited access to technological resources, insufficient digital skills training, poor internet connectivity, unreliable power supply, and inadequate access to computers. The study recommends integrating digital literacy into university curricula, organising regular digital skills training and workshops, and expanding digital infrastructure to address these gaps, particularly among students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Addressing these challenges will equip students with the digital skills needed to succeed in an increasingly digital learning environment.

Keywords: digital literacy, digital skills, digital competencies, Valley View University, Ghana

Evaluating Independent Bookstore–Public Library–Tourism/Retail Governance

2026-02-23T20:49:21+00:00

Objectives: This study theorizes governance linking independent bookstores, public libraries, and tourism/retail, and offers an evaluation-ready framework from a single documentary corpus. Methods: We apply documentary ethnography to text, captions, and maps, building minimal indicators (participation, dwell, revisit) and tracing how devices—shared calendars, reciprocal membership/pick-up, reading trails—interact with relationship quality, network structure, and servicescapes. Results: Outcomes rise when rhythms are regular, benefits symmetric, co-design present, weak ties and brokerage expand reach, and servicescapes reduce frictions. Gangwon shows alliance/tourism pathways; Chungcheong shows learning-community rhythms. A bundled package (calendar + pass + library pick-up) proves minimally sufficient, supported by broker institutionalization and mode switching. Conclusions: Aligning structure, relationships, networks, and environments improves participation, dwell, and revisits; the framework yields testable rules while noting text-only limits and the need for mixed-methods validation. Policy implications: Standardize joint calendars/branding, implement reciprocal benefits and library pick-ups, design reading trails tied to local flows, appoint an operational broker, and capture simple shared metadata for routine evaluation.

Governing Openness for Development

2026-03-22T19:02:33+00:00

This article develops a mechanism-based theory of open development as a distinct, knowledge-centered development paradigm grounded in endogenous growth theory and the economics of knowledge. Although open development is widely invoked in policy and practice through initiatives such as open data, participatory platforms, and open educational resources, its conceptual boundaries and developmental logic often remain underspecified, leading it to be conflated with digital development more broadly. To address this gap, the article defines open development narrowly as development processes organized around institutionalized openness, including reusable knowledge resources, participatory knowledge production, and networked diffusion. It identifies three core mechanisms through which openness may shape development outcomes: expanded access and usability of knowledge, networked recombination and diffusion, and feedback-driven collective learning. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship in development studies, endogenous growth theory, ICT4D, and human development, the article explains how these mechanisms may contribute to capability expansion, inclusion, resilience, and institutional responsiveness in African contexts. At the same time, it argues that these outcomes are contingent on governance arrangements, power relations, participation capacity, and ethical safeguards. Analytical illustrations are used to clarify theory–practice alignment rather than to claim causal attribution or continent-wide generalization. The article concludes by advancing governed openness as a policy orientation and by outlining implications for mechanism-aligned evaluation and future comparative research.

Public Libraries and Citizenship Information in India

2026-02-19T17:18:03+00:00

Purpose: Public libraries play an important role in supporting democratic participation by facilitating citizens’ access to government and community information. This study examines the role of the Delhi Public Library (DPL) system in providing citizenship information to its users in India.

Design/methodology/approach: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from the users across the selected branch and sub-branch libraries of the DPL network between May 2022 and January 2023. A total of 343 responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Findings: The findings show that access to information is widely perceived as essential for effective citizenship. Users reported strong information needs related to educational opportunities, employment, citizens’ rights, and access to government services. While users frequently relied on public libraries to seek citizenship information, overall satisfaction was moderate, suggesting scope for improvement in services, staff competence, and digital infrastructure.

Originality: The study explores the evolving role of public libraries in India as local hubs of citizenship information and potential facilitators of e-governance. By situating the findings within the context of a developing democracy, the paper provides empirical evidence on the role of public libraries in promoting informed citizens and inclusive access to government information.

Implementing Responsible Research Assessment in Practice

2026-06-11T02:58:13+00:00

Purpose: This study presents the design and an exploratory pilot evaluation of ORAP (Open Research Analysis Platform), a web-based system for data-driven university research management. Unlike SciVal and InCites, which report metrics separately, ORAP integrates multiple bibliometric indicators into a single, transparently decomposable composite score.

Design/methodology/approach: ORAP provides a hierarchical weighted composite score, Citation Gap analysis, a Four-Quadrant Strategic Matrix, and publication-level drilldown. Analyzing institutional SciVal exports, it complements rather than replaces the underlying subscription. Seven users at a Korean national university evaluated it using an instrument adapted from the DeLone and McLean model; results are exploratory.

Findings: The study reveals that the overall mean was 4.40 out of 5.0, with usefulness highest (M = 4.71) and use experience lowest (M = 3.57).

Originality/Value: The study shows how responsible-assessment principles can be operationalized in a working tool combining composite scoring, adjustable weighting, and publication-level transparency, offering a lower-cost complement to commercial platforms.