provision of library and information services to parttime, postgraduate students: a case of jomo kenyatta memorial library, university of nairobi, kenya

Description

The quest for higher education in Kenya has compelled universities to redesign their academic programmes and develop different modes of study such as work-based, vocational and part-time. As universities introduce these modes of study, libraries are also obliged to redesign their information resources and services to effectively serve users enrolled in these programmes. However, little is known of how university libraries are prepared to provide services to these groups of learners. The study investigated the provision of library and information services to part-time, postgraduate students in Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library of the University of Nairobi. The study objectives were to identify the usage patterns for library and information services offered to part-time postgraduate students in Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library of the University of Nairobi; determine the suitability of the regulatory framework governing the provision of library and information services; and identify the factors that influence the provision of library and information services to part-time postgraduate students. The study involved part-time postgraduate students and library staff. The study was guided by Ranganathan’s principles of library science and utilized models of information-seeking behaviour and information-seeking process. This is a case study where data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. The total population was 7,053 registered part-time postgraduate students out of which a sample size of 379 were sampled through stratified random sampling using Yamane’s simplified formula, while 11 library staff were purposively sampled. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as weighted averages, frequencies and percentages while qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. The study found out that part-time postgraduate students had a low usage of Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library which would be attributed to lack of time. It was established that Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library had a regulatory framework governing the provision of library and information services to all readers and not specific to part-time postgraduate students. The study also found out that several factors including accessibility, personal experience, and relevance, and reliability, ease of use, familiarity, cost and format were important in determining the part-time postgraduate students’ efforts to pursue information. Equally the study further revealed that challenges including inadequate funds to design specific services that would sufficiently meet the needs of part-time postgraduate students, inadequate literacy skills among the students, lack of expertise, inadequate staff and lack of understanding of the part-time postgraduate students’ information needs were encountered in the provision of library and information services to part-time postgraduate students. The study recommends that universities should integrate information literacy in their academic programmes, review library policies, carry out user surveys, and embed librarians in postgraduate students’ environment. The findings of this study are significant as they contribute to knowledge pertaining to planning and designing of library and information services in universities.