Challenges Facing the Formation of Library Cooperation and Resource Sharing: Lessons from Moshi Co-operative University and Mwenge Catholic University in Tanzania

Abstract

Academic libraries in Tanzania play the pivotal role especially in teaching, learning and research activities. They are especially important in collecting, processing, organizing and making information available to users. However, academic libraries face several challenges which include among others information explosion, budget deficit, shortage of library materials, and lack of support from the institutional top management, this paper addresses these challenges. Objectives of this study was to Identify benefits offered by library cooperation and resource sharing, to examine factors for successful library cooperation and resource sharing and finally to identify challenges facing the formation of library cooperation and resource sharing among Universities. The study predominantly adopted a desk study whose source of data was secondary. This was derived from books, various websites, periodicals, journals and newspapers. Findings of the study shows that library cooperation and resource sharing offer a number of benefits to staff students and researchers including exchange of documents through interlibrary loan and document delivery service, access to information at a right time by users and achievement of better academic performance among students. Study also found that in order to form sustainable cooperation among Universities library there should be commitment in membership among the cooperating institutions and clear guidelines on the management of the cooperation. Challenges facing the formation of library cooperation and resources sharing were also identified, these include budget constraints among the institutions, absence of library cooperation policy, lack of current materials in Universities library’s collections and shortage of professional librarians to work in a networked environment. Study recommended that, there is a need to prepare a memorandum of understanding among the two institutions which will provide legal framework on how cooperation will be implemented, formulation of library cooperation policy to guide the daily operations of the cooperation, employment of professional library staff who can work in a networked environment, libraries should adopt and use computerized library services and finally the institutional top management should support the whole process which will result to the formation of library cooperation and resources sharing between MoCU and MWECAU.