Culture, Tradition and Technology: The Role of Library and Information Science Schools as Integrative Forces

Introduction

The Library and Information Sector is dynamic due to rapid advancements in technology and this inevitably stimulates the growing need to adapt services to meet new demands; this is achieved through continuous professional training and the ability to channel expertise into innovative ways of working. Libraries are a pivotal part of stable and viable societies because of their ability to provide access to social learning spaces whereby people can access information and knowledge. However, the rapid advances in technology due to Information and Communication Technologies are forcing librarians to become more innovative as they grapple with the drive to integrate culture and technology to meet the information demand of the new millennium. In Africa, culture and tradition has an impact on the integration of new technology because many projects have faltered because of a failure to merge the differences between interests of designers of technology and those of the recipients. However, culture is not the only factor because there are other social, economic, political, geographical, and educational variables of equal importance. UNESCO (1998) noted that today’s children are entering a dynamic world whereby there is rapid change in science, technology, politics, economics, and socio-cultural life, and this presents challenges for libraries and educational institutions in preparing the young for the future.

Culture And Tradition And Digestion Of Technology

Palvia et al. (1992, p. 4) note that culture, economic stability, and social priorities influence the extent to which a country or any organization adapts new technology. The Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought (2000) defines culture as the social heritage of a community comprising the total body of material artifacts and non–material collective mental and spiritual artifacts knowingly and unconsciously created by people in their on-going activities and transmitted from one culture to another. Culture is changed through internal or external factors; for example, innovation and diffusion have transformed the world into what it is today. The adaptation of technology is dependent upon a number of cultural factors; for example, power differences, individualism versus collectivism gender and sex, attitude towards time, and monochronism versus polychronism. Hall (1976) noted that generally, people in the developing world have a polychronistic culture since there is relatively general conformity in doing a number of things as long as this does not undermine interpersonal relations; for example, multitasking through ICTs. The concept of collectivism goes well with interactive social media like Web 2.0, online chats, and blogging, which promotes collaborations.