Personal Information Management Practices of Faculty Members at Southern Technical University
Abstract
The research sought to reveal the personal information management practices of faculty members at the Southern Technical University. The descriptive approach (survey) was adopted to complete the research, and the electronic questionnaire was used to collect the research data. The research came out with a set of results, including: Most faculty members classify and index their personal information in paper form. One of the most prominent methods used by faculty members to save websites that are important to them is for the faculty member to download or keep a copy of the web page on the device/tool he uses. The method of searching saved information using keywords ranked first among the methods of retrieving and re-accessing digital personal information used by faculty members, while the method of browsing the folder structure came in second place. The research recommended a set of recommendations, including: The necessity for the Continuing Education Center at the Southern Technical University to prepare training courses for faculty members in managing and organizing the personal library and personal archive, and defining external storage media and cloud services in terms of how to use them, features, limitations, and cost.