Resource or Resort?-New Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of A University Library In Zimbabwe
Morgen Peter Mabuto and Praymore Tendai
Research Paper I Published November,2015
Research Journal of Educational Studies and Review Vol. 1 (6), pp. 123-129
ABSTRACT
In an age when libraries have been transformed into curators
of knowledge and societal values today’s libraries are a
target from patrons for improved service. This
research examined the nature of new university undergraduate
students’ perceptions on library use since perceptions are a
source of learning needs. Structured open- ended
questionnaires were employed to collect data on the
participants’ perceptions of the library, types of products
expected, and user behaviour and for determining learning
needs. The methodology was a qualitative paradigm in the
form of a survey. The questionnaires were administered on a
random sample of thirty-two (32) new undergraduate students
at a conveniently selected University in Zimbabwe. The data
were collected before the students had attended the
university’s formal induction training programme so as to
minimize environmental influences such as interactions with
members of the university community and with the physical
university library. In this way, both validity and
reliability of the research results were increased. The data
collected were subjected to both quantitative and
qualitative analyses.
The major findings revealed that 94% of the students
perceived the library as an education resource and 84.37%
planned to use the library intensively at a minimum of 5 h a
week. The findings further revealed a disjuncture in that
despite the high value rating of the library as an education
resource (94%) and the planned high rate usage of the
library and its electronic products, 78.13% lacked
functional information communication technology (ICT) skills
for conducting key operations such as electronic book
searches, online public accessing cataloguing and for
verification of sources. The findings serve to inform
library management about students’ perceived ICT training
needs that could be addressed in future induction training
programmes to facilitate new students’ effective use the
library as an education resource and not as an education
resort.
Key Words:
Library, Perceptions, Undergraduate Students, Induction,
Learning Needs, Information Communication and Technology.
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