Evaluating Access and Use of Community Information Services by Informal Urban Settlers in Nairobi County: The case of Kibera Slums

Abstract

Access and use to the right kind of information and possession of correct and relevant information resolves various problems faced by individuals in the slum and also helps them in decision making. Limited access to the right information at the right time deprives the slum dwellers the right to development. The information needs of the slum dwellers are not adequately identified and therefore the limited information resources they access and use are usually based on the assumption of information provided, through the public, from among themselves, NGOs, CBOs, the churches and the private sector. Therefore the aim of the study was to evaluate access and use of community information services to Kibera slum dwellers and to suggest the ways in which these services could be enhanced. The research objectives were to: identify the information needs of slum dwellers in Kibera; examine Information seeking habits of the slum dwellers in Kibera; assess the existing information resources and services; establish the extent to which information resources and services meet user needs ; identify the format in which information is repackaged ; find out Challenges faced by accessing and using of information and suggest how access of information services by slum dwellers can be enhanced. The study was guided by Niedzwidzka‘s Information behaviour model and Wilson information behaviour model .The research was qualitative in nature and adopted survey research design. The target population was 71,000 from five Kibera slum villages. The study sample size was determined using Krejcie and Morgan sampling table to get a representative sample from each of the village.52 respondents were purposively sampled for a focus-group discussion and five key informants were purposively sampled and interviewed. The data was analyzed by organizing it into themes from which generalizations were made. The major findings of the study were that Kibera slum dwellers faced various challenges which include high cost of information materials,Poor knowledge of existing information resources, poor marketing of information, lack of internet access, distance, language barrier, inadequate and outdated information sources that inhibited effective access and use of information. Recommendations were that the Kenya National Library service Kibera branch and other resource centres within Kibera should carry out information needs assessment ,re-examine the existing information sources and system and decide whether it is necessary to redesign and adjust them to correspond to information needs of the slum dwellers then they market the library services, improve internet connectivity and repackage information in relation to the information needs of the slum dwellers.The information officers within Kibera should be more innovative and think of ways to encourage slum dwellers access information for example the use of mobile libraries ,kindles or other appropriate devices to different villages and this could be part of the library‘s regular outreach service.