The Internet Access and Use in Public Libraries in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Citizens, including those living in poor and developing countries, need equitable access to information daily to satisfy their diverse and multiple information needs. In this information age and information economy era, easy and instant access to information and knowledge, which are inevitabilities for socio-economic development, cannot be overemphasised. With rolling out of public libraries even in disadvantaged rural communities due to the library conditional grant in South Africa, the study is aimed at investigating factors influencing the Internet access and use in public libraries in Limpopo. The study adopted a qualitative research approach. The twenty four users of three rural, semi-rural and urban public libraries were selected through convenience sampling. A well-placed government official of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture was purposively selected. All informants were interviewed face to face to collect data. The study found that, although public libraries studied have networked computers for the Internet access and use, there are many challenges. The officials of the relevant department need to study the recommendations of this study to ensure that the people have digital access in public libraries to mitigate the diverse socio-economic challenges they are facing to improve their lives.