Resource or Resort? - New Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of A University Library In Zimbabwe

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.