Assessing the Impact of Public Procurement Procedures on Collection Management in Public University Libraries in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The study focussed on public procurement procedures in Public University libraries in Nairobi County. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the Act on collection management in public university libraries and to suggest ways in which the Act can accommodate the unique needs of such libraries. The objectives of the study were to: assess the application of the Act to acquisition of information materials in public university libraries, examine how the Act has affected the collection management, establish the challenges facing public university libraries in procuring information materials, and suggest ways in which the Act can be amended to accommodate the unique needs of public university libraries. Survey research design and qualitative approach were used to carry out the study. The study population comprised of university librarians, procurement staff and the Director of the Public Procurement Oversight Authority. The study was informed by the UNCITRAL Model which sets the procedures, standards and guidelines used by the Act. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from the respondents. Data was collected using face-to-face interviews. Data collected was presented and analysed through the use of tables. Key findings of the study indicate that librarians were fully aware that they were required to comply and use the Act when acquiring and disposing information materials and delays in the acquisition of information materials due to the lengthy procurement procedures. Key challenges experienced in the use of the Act was language and terms of the Act and the attendant regulations, lack of proper guidance and insufficient communication from the procurement unit, and failure to involve librarians in the process and stages of procurement. The study concluded that there was need to amend the Act to accommodate the unique needs of public university libraries. Therefore, the study recommended that public university libraries be exempted from using the Act. Furthermore, user departments should be trained and manuals introduced for libraries and information centres.