Emerging Library and Research Services for Legislatures in Africa: The Case of the Parliament of Uganda

When a parliament establishes a library and research service or enhances the capacity and scope of an existing service, there is much to be learned from the experience of international counterparts and partnerships with relevant stakeholders. Each segment of society has a specific role to play and resources to share. After presenting a brief background on the Parliament of Uganda and the recent establishment of library and research services therein, this paper discusses the factors that have led to expediting the growth of parliamentary library and research services, despite many challenges. Experiences are reported in regard to the role and reporting mechanism of the Uganda Parliamentary Library, its clientele, information requests from Members of Parliament, the impact of information technology, and other issues affecting the Legislative Library and Information Service. The paper highlights an overview of parliamentary library and research services in Africa and explores opportunities for building effective partnerships between parliamentary library and research services and relevant stakeholders with a view to achieving best practices. Examples of partnerships are cited with reference to the Parliament of Uganda.