Application of cloud computing in South African libraries : a case study of Polokwane Municipal Libraries

Abstract

International, national and local public and private sectors are shifting into Cloud Computing (CC). This paradigm shift is fuelled by technological and transformational changes of CC in every sector, including libraries. Presently in South Africa, some libraries still operate on the traditional ICT based desktop applications, whereas some hardly notice that CC is part of their daily activities such as carrying out transactions in the cloud services like emailing on Gmail. There is a major gap in terms of adopting and understanding CC technology in public libraries. Hence the study proposed to describe and explore the application and understanding of CC in Polokwane Municipal libraries. The study identified CC tools used by librarians and determined the level of librarians’ knowledge and understanding of CC. The study further measured perceptions of librarians towards CC and established factors influencing the use of CC in libraries. The researcher used a mixed-methods research approach and case study research design, located within postpositivism and interpretivism paradigm. The study was a census in nature because of the small population. Data was collected using questionnaire and interviews from 30 respondents who were librarians and participants who were library managers. Collected data were analysed through descriptive statistics and thematic data analysis. Findings from the study reveal that librarians are not fully using CC but use some of the CC applications such as google scholar, without having detailed knowledge and understanding. The study further found out that Polokwane Municipal libraries fail to adopt CC as a result of limited budget and poor internet connection. The study recommends intensive study on factors influencing adoption of CC, workshops and training for librarians, and initiatives on fundraising within these libraries.