Disaster Preparedness and Planning for Service Sustainability: Case of Egerton University Digital Library, Main Campus

Preparing and planning for disaster remains the most crucial component of libraries. It also happens to be one that is least understood. Since the existence of libraries and information science, there has been a history of disasters happening from time to time. Disasters are events in which no library would like to experience but the still do. Egerton University library being the study area, has experienced disasters in the form of rioting students causing service disruption and incidences of fire. This study sought to evaluate the disaster preparedness and planning of digital libraries in relation to service sustainability. It considered the following objectives: To establish the level of disaster preparedness and planning; To find out the training the library staff have undergone; To determine the disaster preparedness and planning equipment in place; and to establish the challenges faced in preparing and planning for disasters at Egerton University digital library in service delivery. It was anchored on the Theory of Planned Behavior. The study made use of descriptive research design and considered census method to arrive at 68 library staff as its respondents. Primary data was collected using self-administered questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. The quantitative data collected was inferentially analyzed as per the objectives of this study. A statistical software SPSS was used in analyzing this data. Findings were presented in the form of tables as frequencies and percentages for easy understanding. The validity of the instruments was determined using specialists who assisted in properly framing questions in the questionnaire. They also assisted in realigning it according to the objectives of the study. The study established that the level of disaster preparedness and planning at the digital library in Egerton University was low hence the digital library was at risk of disasters; not all the library staff had not adequately undergone training on disaster preparedness and planning; the library was not adequately supplied with disaster preparedness and planning equipment’s; the digital library was experiencing challenges in regards to disaster preparedness and planning; and the digital library services will be affected in the event of a disaster happening. The study concluded that the digital library could experience disasters because they were not exempted from disasters like any other organization or section within the University; the library was not so keen on training its staff on disaster preparedness and planning; the digital library had inadequate disaster preparedness and planning equipment’s; implementing a disaster preparedness plan was hindered by lack of adequate funds which were needed for purchasing suitable equipment’s, servicing these equipment as well as training all the library staff. The study recommended that the management of the university and library should provide the needed support and influence staff training in regards to disaster preparedness and planning; the library should develop a well-documented disaster preparedness policy of its own and incorporate it with the overall disaster preparedness policy for the university; and a structured, systematic and regular mechanism of training staff on disaster preparedness should be developed, supported and implemented within the library.