Directorate of Library Services

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Author: search.filters.author.Siyao, Peter OnauphooStart date: 2022

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    Contents analysis of library professional jobs advertised in Ajira portal by public service recruitment secretariat (PSRS) in Tanzania
    (© Emerald Publishing Limited, 2025-05-26) Siyao, Peter Onauphoo; Chishami, Ashery Mhulula
    Purpose – The purpose of this study was to establish the level at which duties and responsibilities outlined in library jobs advertised in Ajira Portal are aligned with job market and skills requirement in digital library environment in Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach – This study used quantitative content analysis method to systematically analyze library professional jobs advertised online in Ajira Portal by public service recruitment secretariat in Tanzania for over five-years ranging fromJanuary 1, 2019 to December 30, 2023. Findings – The findings show that for the period of five-years there were 46 library job advertisements with 147 library job positions that yielded an average of only (9; 20%) job advertisements per year, only (3; 2.24%) of all job positions for each advertisement and only (29; 19.70%) of all job positions for each year. This implies that there is a low rate of employment of Library and Information Studies/Science (LIS) professionals in Tanzania which is inversely proportional to the number of LIS graduates in the said field of the study. Research limitations/implications – This study is limited to the data archive of 2019–2023 LIS professionals job advertisements in the Ajira Portal, and only public institutions were represented in the sample. Practical implications – Results of this study act as an eye opener for the LIS schools’/training institutions to incorporate essential skills and competencies into the curricular for preparing LIS professionals for aligning their professions with duties and responsibilities in digital library environment in Tanzania. Originality/value – The study has contributed to growing body of knowledge on the importance of content analysis of library jobs advertisements for identifying current skills required by various professions by the employers
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    Sources used and the challenges encountered by newspaper journalists when covering environmental conservation information in Tanzanian newspapers
    (Sage, 2025) Siyao, Peter Onauphoo; Mbughuni, Anna Shangwe; Chishami, Ashery Mhulula
    Background: Environmental conservation is a crucial global issue, and in Tanzania, newspaper journalists play a vital role in raising awareness and educating the public. Purpose: This study explores the sources Tanzanian newspaper journalists use to gather environmental conservation information and examines the challenges they face in reporting on these issues. Research Design, Study Sample, Data Collection and/or Analysis: Using a qualitative research design, the study involved journalists from four major newspapers: Daily News, The Guardian, Mwananchi, and Habari Leo. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 20 journalists for in-depth interviews and content analysis of published articles. Results: The findings indicate that journalists rely on sources such as government agencies, environmental conservation organizations, academic experts, community voices, social media, corporate sources, international reports, and their own observations to cover information they publish in the newspapers. However, they encounter barriers such as a lack of prioritization for environmental news, resource constraints, insufficientskills and knowledge, time limitations, low public literacy on environmental issues, restricted access to credible information, and political and commercial pressures. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for improved journalism education and policy support to enhance environmental reporting. It recommends comprehensive training for journalists, increased awareness of the importance of environmental news, better access to diverse sources, and a supportive media environment to strengthen conservation coverage in Tanzania.
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    Evaluation of APA citation and referencing style for dissertations uploaded in the Mzumbe University Institutional Repository
    (Dar es Salaam University Press (DUP), 2023) Mshana, Sofia,; Mosha, Goodluck E.; Siyao, Peter Onauphoo
    Citation and referencing are paramount aspects of any scholarly and scientific writing. They are part of indications that the authors have done justice to the works of others and are one of the ways of avoiding plagiarism. This study was conducted to examine the extent to which postgraduate students at Mzumbe University adhere to the APA citation and referencing style in their dissertations uploaded to the Mzumbe Institutional Repository (MUIR) platform for the year between 2013 through 2019. This study employed a cross-sectional research design, which enables data to be collected at a single point in time. A mixed approach was used as the data collection method. A random sampling technique was used to select 128 dissertations from a population of 1056 dissertations uploaded in the MUIR between 2013 and 2019 for content analysis. A purposive sampling strategy was used to select a total of five postgraduate students and three lecturers who were involved in the interviews. Five research methods course outlines were also purposively selected to check if they contain topics or sub-topics on citation and referencing. Microsoft Spreadsheet was used to analyse quantitative data while qualitative data were analysed through content analysis. The findings show that a total of 70; 54.7 per cent of dissertations uploaded in the MUIR for seven years adhered to in-text citation APA style guidelines whereas 58; 45.3 per cent of dissertations did not adhere to the APA citation and referencing style. Major irregularities identified were unnecessary capitalisation, poor insertion of punctuation marks, incorrect use of ‘et al’ and lack of uniformity in writing the lists of references. The findings also showed that only one out of five postgraduate programme course outlines had a sub-topic on citation and referencing instructions. This study concludes that there was poor quality of in-text citations and referencing among postgraduate dissertations submitted to the MUIR between the years 2013 to 2019. This calls for serious intervention. The study calls upon responsible university units to employ strategies which will help in enforcing students’ compliance with dissertation writing guidelines. To ensure compliance, supervisors and external examiners should pay adequate attention to citation and referencing styles when supervising and examining theses and dissertations. There is a need of reviewing postgraduate research methods courses to add a topic on citation and referencing styles. University should also subscribe and sensitise postgraduate students on the importance of using reference management tools for improved citations and referencing styles in academic writing.
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    Equipping Library Users with Digital Literacy Skills as a Solution to COVID-19 and Other Similar Disasters: Lessons from Mzumbe University Library
    (Dar es Salaam University Press (DUP), 2023) Witness Josephat; Mosha, Goodluck E.; Siyao, Peter Onauphoo
    The need for equipping students in Higher Learning Institutions with Digital Literacy Skills (DLS) is considered one of the measures that can enable academic libraries to deliver library services during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. This study aims at answering the following question: What types of digital literacy skills and tools were used by academic libraries during the COVID-19 closure of the universities. It also aims at analysing the way digital literacy skills could be used to support library services during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Similarly, it examines barriers which inhibited the deployment of digital literacy skills during its outbreak. The study adopted a case study design while using a mixed approach to data collection. A total of 46 respondents were drawn from the population using both census sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected using interview–guides, questionnaires and documentary reviews. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis while quantitative data were analysed using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. The findings indicated that academic library is required to cooperate with faculties and schools by deploying the following digital tools: e-learning platforms, increasing the use of social media, conducting webinars, updating the library website, encouraging the use of library e-resources and improving the library virtual reference services. The following barriers were strongly mentioned as inhibitors of equipping respondents with digital literacy skills: poor internet connectivity, family income status, lack of comprehensive training on digital literacy skills, attitudes of lecturers towards digital literacy skills and lack of teleworking culture among librarians, students and lecturers. It was also noted that the deployment of digital literacy skills was worsened by an acute shortage of funding and resources. The study concludes that for libraries to effectively deliver library services both librarians and users must possess the necessary digital literacy skills. The ICT infrastructure, on the other hand, must be improved to enable libraries to apply digital literacy tools and facilities in the delivery of library services. The need to overhaul library training programmes adding a course on digital literacy skills and deployment of other emerging technologies in the delivery of library services. This study is anticipated to provide insights into the conditions of academic libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study findings will be an eye opener to academic libraries that they have to undergo rapid transformations which will enable them to stay relevant and able to provide services during the pandemic and similar disasters