This paper, written by Wan Satirah Wan Mohd Saman and Abrar Haider, presents a case study of E-Shariah and discusses the application of information and communication technologies in the administration of Shariah Courts in Malaysia. The technologies have two roles in the administration of Shariah courts; firstly, these technologies enable the workflow of the courts and facilitate information management, and secondly they are used to integrate State Shariah Courts in various jurisdictions of Malaysia. The case study highlights the issues and challenges faced during implementation of this initiative and provides an appreciation of how effectively technology has been used to help Shariah Courts dispense speedy justice. PREFACEIn the law courts, jurists depend on the speed with which complete, authentic, credible information and records are available in order to reach a conclusive decision in a timely manner. However, the importance of quality, integrity and security of court records cannot be underestimated either. This is why courts in countries around the world have invested in information and communication technologies to create a technically sound, organisationally competent, and financially economical environment for faster access to quality information. This paper presents a case study of E-Shariah and discusses the application of information and communication technologies in the administration of Shariah Courts in Malaysia. The technologies have the two roles in the administering of Shariah courts; firstly, these technologies enable the workflow of the courts and facilitate information management, and secondly they are used to integrate State Shariah Courts in various jurisdictions of Malaysia, as well as government agencies, like the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Immigration Department Prison Department and with Shariah courts. This integration provides for the standardisation of practice and technology and at the same time provides jurists with a one-stop solution for consultations regarding interpretations of Shariah law and the derivation of precedents in the light of decisions taken before. Here, the role of technology extends from mere record management technology to business intelligent-oriented decision support tools. The case study highlights the issues and challenges faced during implementation of this initiative and provides an appreciation of how effectively technology has been used to help Shariah Courts dispense speedy justice.

No abstract

This study focuses on the importance of measurement and evaluation practices of users' needs and expectations towards the facilities and services provided in the academic libraries. It provides the measurement and evaluation scenario of how the local academic libraries work on meeting and fulfilling the needs and expectations of their users. The study is generally significant in promoting and providing better facilities and services to the academic libraries users. This study employs qualitative approach to highlight the aim of the study in getting the actual position of measurement and evaluation practices in Malaysian academic libraries. This study adopted a case study approach to eight (8) academic libraries practicing the measurement and evaluation activities in their libraries. The results obtained from the survey conducted for the measurement and evaluation works have helped the libraries to construct the library strategic planning. This has drawn good impact on the library management system. The staff as well as the library users have benefited from the improvements done by the library.

Vision 2020 was launched by the Malaysian Government in 1992 with the aim to turn Malaysia into a developed country by 2020 while retaining its social strengths. A number of E-Government initiatives were introduced and implemented in phases. Most of the public services are now delivered electronically via e-Government applications. In the legal environment, two main initiatives were brought into existence with the name of E-Court and E-Shariah. They change the way judicial administration operates where most of the transactions were performed using technologies. This chapter presents the current status of technology use in the court environment. It also highlights various international and national requirements and best practices of Electronic Records Management and Court Management. These requirements and best practices are important to protect the reliability, accuracy, authenticity and the trustworthiness of electronic records as evidence. Finally, it provides a comprehensive description of the key functions of electronic records management requirements as one of the ways to improve the operations of managing electronic records in the Malaysian Judiciary.

This study explores the current trends of bibliotherapy within the public library community in Malaysia. A qualitative data collection approach using a structured interview was employed to elicit the opinions of five public librarians, two practitioners specializing in mental health, and a bibliotherapy writer. Eight (8) interview transcripts have been analyzed using theme-based analysis. This study shows that bibliotherapy in Malaysia is a new trend and concept. The public librarians were unnoticed that they had already practiced the technique due to the lack of bibliotherapy awareness among public librarians. There is a need to establish bibliotherapy education for future librarians.  Keywords: Public library; Bibliotherapy; Library education; Malaysia eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by E-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC  BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under the responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behavior Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioral Researchers on Asians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behavior Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.