Sultan M. Al-Daihani

Exploring the use of social software by master of library and information science students

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of master of library and information science (MLIS) students of social software.Design/methodology/approach – A web‐based questionnaire is used as a survey instrument. The MLIS students at Kuwait University (KU) and the University of Wisconsin‐Milwaukee (UWM) are identified as the population of this study. In total, 132 MLIS students participate in the survey.Findings – The majority of students from the two schools are aware of social software applications and their use. Blogs, video sharing, collaborative authoring, communication and social networking received the highest mean scores. Their perceptions about online activities, their use of social software and the obstacles to its use were not significantly affected by institutional affiliation. It was further found that the institutional affiliation exhibited significant differences for their perceptions of social software applications in education.Research limitations/implications – The s...

A study of the information literacy capabilities of the Kuwaiti police officers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the information literacy capabilities of Kuwaiti police officers by focusing on computing and information skills and perceived value of information sources. The study is designed to test the hypothesis that there existed significant differences in information literacy capabilities based on three personal characteristics.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire‐based survey was conducted of 211 police officers enrolled in a training program; 60 percent responses were received and analyzed using SPSS package.Findings – It was found that generally the Kuwaiti police officers had weak computing and information capabilities. They were generally poor in searching skills. It was further found that departmental affiliation exhibited significant differences for computing and information skills.Originality/value – The study is the first of its type in this region and has significant value in making it clear that appropriate programs of training are needed f...

Exploring academic libraries’ use of Twitter: a content analysis

Purpose – This research aims to analyze academic libraries’ Twitter content and present a categorization framework for the study of their tweets. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted a statistical descriptive analysis in addition to a content analysis of the tweets. Consequently, many categories and subcategories were created to classify the tweets according to different aspects. A total of 17 academic library accounts were examined. Findings – The findings show that academic libraries used Twitter as a multifaceted tool. “News and announcements” received the highest score as the type of information most often posted on Twitter by libraries, followed by “library collections” and “library services”. The subcategories that received the highest scores were “library marketing and news”, “answers and referrals” and “books”. Academic libraries showed a penchant for posting links more often than other content. Other results show different patterns of communication and interaction between libraries ...

Parents of children with disabilities in Kuwait: a study of their information seeking behaviour

BACKGROUND Parents of children with disabilities desperately seek information regarding their childrens conditions because of the high stakes involved. OBJECTIVES This study investigates the information needs of parents in Kuwait with special needs children during and after their childrens diagnoses. Understanding their information seeking behaviour by identifying their information sources and information seeking barriers will assist librarians and other information professionals in meeting these important information needs. METHODS A survey was conducted by means of questionnaires administered to 240 participants at a school for children with special needs. The data were analysed using nonparametric Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS Most parents needed information at the time of diagnosis, with information about educating the children having the highest mean. Doctors and physicians were the most preferred information sources, followed by books. Online support groups and social media applications were least desirable as information sources. Lack of Arabic resources was identified as the greatest information seeking barrier, followed by lack of information to help parents cope with their childs disability. CONCLUSIONS Information sources and services for Kuwaiti parents of disabled children need further development and improvement. Librarians and other information professionals can assist by providing parents with information appropriate to their stage in understanding the childs diagnosis and education.

Marketing academic library information services using social media

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of social media in the marketing of academic library resources and services in Kuwait and identifies the factors related to the use of social media applications in marketing academic libraries.,A quantitative data-collection approach using a paper and online questionnaire has been employed to elicit the opinions of librarians working in academic libraries in Kuwait in both private and public institutions. In total, 89 valid questionnaires have been analyzed using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (factor analysis, correlations, experimental analysis and regression).,The study shows that the academic librarians have a positive perception toward the use of social media. The identified factors relating to the use of social media for marketing library information resources and services are the usefulness of social media tools in raising awareness and in providing needs analysis and satisfaction assessments. However, management support for the use of social media for library marketing is poor.,This study provides insights into the factors related to the use of modern social media platforms to promote information resources and services at academic libraries to provide outreach services to current and potential users.,This research contributes to the field of information studies as it highlights the importance of using social media platforms in marketing academic library information resources and services. Library administrators could use the results to develop social media marketing plans to effectively promote their library resources.