ABSTRACT

This thesis investigates and assesses library systems and services in the Arabic speaking part of the Middle East, with particular focus on the use of automated cataloguing systems. The overall aim of the thesis is to critically access library services and cataloguing systems in the Middle East and investigate the degree to which they meet the needs and expectations of their users and underline the problems of library services and cataloguing systems and contribute to their improvement.

The thesis assesses the appropriateness of library services in general and investigates the strengths and the weaknesses of two widely used automated cataloguing systems (INNOPAC and HORIZON). It studies the operational dynamic and assesses the retrieval and sharing performance of these systems for Arabic script.

The thesis relies mainly on the analysis of quantitative and qualitative primary data collected during a lengthy fieldwork in the American University in Cairo (in Egypt) and the College of Basic Education and the Kuwait University (in Kuwait).

The research reveals that library services in the Middle East are inadequate and do not meet the needs and expectations of their users. Reasons for this inadequacy vary but generally include the fact that most libraries in the Middle East still use manual catalogue systems and the few libraries that have recently been automated are inefficient due to the inappropriateness of the automated software they used for sharing and retrieving Arabic scripts. The poor skills and the inadequate training of both library staff and library users have exacerbated the situation and undermined the opportunities offered by automated library catalogues. However, the peculiarity and complexity of the Arabic language and the lack of standardisation in the Arabic language seem to be the main factors that restrict the utilisation of the enormous potentials of automated catalogue systems by Middle Eastern libraries.

The research concludes by making suggestions and recommendations for resolving the problem of lack of standardisation, improving cataloguing systems and library services and achieving greater ability to share resources and provide higher user satisfaction.