guidelines for improving outreach library services at hoima public library

Description

The purpose of the study was to develop the guidelines for improving Outreach Library Services at Hoima Public Library (HPL). The objectives of the study were to; establish the current status of outreach services, how outreach services are managed, challenges facing outreach services, and propose guidelines for the best practices on outreach services within Hoima public library. The study used a case study research design while adopting to both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Purposive sampling and convenience sampling methods were used to select 33 library users and 4 librarians. Interiew, questionnaire and observation methods were used to collect the data for the study. The study found out that currently, Hoima public library is offers book mobile services, volunteering services, community events, collaboration with schools, sensitization and training services and children services to the users. Hoima Public Library is managed by 4 library staff who solicit funding from the government and support from some NGOs. Only registered library users with cards can access the library services and receive ICT training from the library. The provision of outreach services is challenged by inadequate funding, inadequate library staff, inadequate information resources, limited number of ICT skills, information materials which do not meet the user’s needs, lack of user involvement in decision making, lack of enough computers, increasing the library funding. The best practices for improving outreach services can be recruitment of more qualified library staff, acquisition of electronic information resources’ training of the library users to use ICTs, acquisition of materials that meet the needs of library users, involvement of users in selection of materials in the library, increase on the library funds, recruitment of more librarians. The study concluded that adopting of the guidelines for improving the library outreach services would help to reach the members of the community to access the library services. The study recommended that involving the members of the in outreach services provision, collaboration with NGOs in provision of the outreach library services, develop a library website, recruiting of more qualified library staff, increasing the library budget, digitisation of the library resources.