This paper is based on a Master’s dissertation whose objective was to determine the purpose for which students of the University of Dar es Salaam use the Internet (see www.udsm.ac.tz/). It was to determine if students were using the Internet for academic purposes. The study also investigated the level of students’ access to the Internet, as well as the problems students faced in Internet use. The web site has specific information on faculties, institutes, and departments, including training programmes. The Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) has been installed at the Main Campus and UCLAS libraries, replacing the manual card catalogues. The OPAC has simple and advanced search options, using ADLID software. Plans are underway to convert the manual catalogue of MUCHS library into an online catalogue. The survey method was used as the basic method for data collection, employing the questionnaire and the interview. Participant observation and focus group discussion are other methods used. The study revealed that the level of students’ access to the Internet was low, and the major reason was that at the time of the study, computers with Internet facilities were inadequate. The findings also revealed that the students who had access to the Internet were not using it effectively. They used it mainly for communication with friends and relatives more than for academic purposes. The cause of this was found to be lack of skills required for effective use of the internet. The study recommends the provision of more computers with Internet facilities, increasing Internet access speed, as well as providing more chances of training in Internet use.

The aim of this study was to assess the collection development practices in academic libraries in Tanzania. Specifically, the study examined the collection development practices and factors that influence these practices. The study involved four academic libraries and employed both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and analysis. Primary data were collected through informant interviews, observations and questionnaires methods. The study involved 44 library staff who filled in self-administered questionnaires. The study discloses that collection development practices and particularly evaluation and weeding or deselection are rarely conducted at these academic libraries. The findings further reveal that collection development practices in academic libraries in Tanzania are constrained by inadequate funding, lack of skills for hybrid collection management and lack of collection development policy catering for both print- and electronic-based information resources. On the basis of the findings, the study recommends that academic libraries should establish a comprehensive collection development policy and introduce professional development programmes to library staff for efficient management of hybrid collections.

Information and communication technology developments that continue to occur have changed the way records are managed. Due to these changes, higher learning institutions in developing countries are adopting different electronic records management systems to increase accountability and efficiency. However, despite the adoption of these systems, the majority of records retrieved in most of these institutions are paper-based. In other words, the e-records systems that have been adopted by these institutions are not effectively utilised to support e-records management, which is one of the things that have been noted by this study that sought to examine the adoption and application of electronic records systems in Tanzania's higher learning institutions. Specifically, the study has examined types of e-records systems and factors affecting the effective adoption and application of e-records systems. To achieve this, a descriptive research design was employed by integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches. Whereas quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Product Service Solution (SPSS), qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Generally, the study reveals that various e-records management systems are used by higher learning institutions in Tanzania for purposes that are generally similar across the institutions. Moreover, the findings suggest that e-records management systems are not effectively used to support records management due to various human, organizational, technological, and regulatory factors. Therefore, to realize an effective transformation of records management from being paper-based to being electronic-based, various concerted efforts are needed. More specifically, multi-actor efforts between institutional management and records management practitioners are the fulcrum needed for the effective application of e-records systems.