Enhancing academic library services provision in the distance learning environment with mobile technologies

This study aims to explore the potentials of using mobile technologies (m-techs) to enhance academic library services delivery in the distance learning environment in Ghana. The objectives are to assess the students' awareness and appreciation for mobile technology-based library services; and to assess the librarians' competencies in switching to delivering mobile technology-based services. Using a descriptive survey, a questionnaire was administered online to collect data from 382 students and 118 library staff within two public universities in Ghana. A total of 453 responses were used for the final analysis. A descriptive analysis method was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that the students were aware and had positive appreciation for the value of mobile technology-based library. They expressed great expectations about the availability of the library services on m-tech platforms in Ghana. However, the findings of this study also revealed that academic libraries in Ghana were crawling behind in switching toward the delivery of the library services on m-tech platforms due to the shortage of technical and skilled staff with m-tech competencies in the selected libraries. The findings have practical implications in assisting the academic libraries in developing roadmaps for using mobile technologies to enhance academic library services to support distance education, not only in Ghana, but also in other countries. The findings also demonstrate the proliferation of the mobile device usage within the university environment and indicate how librarians should build their competencies in switching to deliver services on m-tech platforms. As a study of this nature has not been conducted in Ghana, this study fills the gap in m-tech research in the context of library services and distance learning.