RESOURCE MOBILIZATION IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN TANZANIA

Abstract

This paper examines the role of resource mobilization in improving library services in Public University Libraries. Some of the challenges facing these libraries are limited funds and other library resources. Public University libraries manage, collect and provide access to an ever-growing arsenal of information for an increasing number of users in an environment of growing financial constraints. The paper argues that libraries employ highly trained and educated staff, need to strengthen existing collections, complex facilities and sophisticated electronic technologies in order to operate successfully and efficiently. The paper discusses various approaches that are needed to address financial dilemmas of the Public University library through resource mobilization. Different ways of resource mobilization for Public University libraries are examined. These include library endowment and cultivating donors, resource sharing, cyber gifts, fee-based services, fund raising, local support, friends of the library and professional public relations programs all of which are part of an entrepreneurial approach to library management.


University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal Vol.5(2) 2003: 59-70