The authorship of AJLAIS over seven years was subjected to analysis by gender, collaboration and institutional affiliation. A total of 95 research articles contributed by 118 authors were analysed. Results indicated male dominance of single‐authored articles, 83.2 per cent to 16.8 per cent. Of the 16 co‐authored articles nine (56.25 per cent) were co‐authored by men only, one article (6.25 per cent) was co‐authored by women only, and gender mixture was found in six (37.5 per cent) of the articles. A cross‐tabulation of institutional affiliation with gender revealed that no woman contributed any article from special and public libraries while there was a relative gender mixture in academic libraries and library schools. There is a need to encourage female publication output in all sectors of librarianship and information science in Africa.

Information technology is taking centre stage as the world approaches the twenty‐first century. The enormous advantages it has in easing the delivery of information around the world, as well as the central role of information in the new global economy, means that information technology will shape the dynamics of the new millennium. However, for most Third World countries, faced with the problems of illiteracy and poverty, information technology poses a danger to their fledgling economies. This paper discusses the theories of underdevelopment and applies them to information technology in a Third World context. Issues are raised about the role of information in a globalized economy and how this can become a disadvantage to developing countries. It is suggested that technology should be implemented within a social context.

The world is witnessing the commencement of a new revolution ‐ the information revolution. Like all other revolutions before it, the information revolution will have cataclysmic effects on human history. Already the revolution has transformed the world into a global village where information is produced, transmitted and exchanged from remote locations in a matter of seconds. Business applications of the Internet are also improving the economies of various countries. However, for Africa, the information environment is still underdeveloped and is thus creating impediments to the participation of the continent in the information revolution. This paper discusses this environment and offers suggestions for Africa’s participation in the world’s fourth revolution.

Examines the relationship between accessibility to information technology and research publications among users of agricultural libraries in Nigeria. A self-constructed questionnaire, which had a reliability coefficient of 0.90, was used to collect data. A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed and a response rate of 78.7 per cent was obtained. Data were analyzed using the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and the student t-test. Results showed that there was no significant association between accessibility and research publications. The finding is discussed in the context of information technology benefits in developing countries generally. Suggestions are proffered on how to improve the benefits of IT access. Electronic accessThe current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

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