Automation of Library Services for Users’ Satisfaction. A Case Study of American University Yola and Adamawa State Polytechnic Libraries.
ABSTRACT
User’s satisfaction is meeting information needs of users by providing quality services and resources. The aim of this study was to find out the automation of library services for users’ satisfaction. A case study of American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries. The survey research design was used. The population of the study was 349 respondents from American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries. Total enumeration technique was employed. A self-constructed questionnaire titled “Library Automation, Electronic Information Resources’ Use and Performance of Librarians questionnaire” was used to collect data. 272 copies of the questionnaire were returned giving a return rate of 80.1%. The reliability coefficient for Library Automation was 0.76, Electronic Information Resources’ Use was 0.78 and User’s satisfaction was 0.81. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and multiple regression. Findings revealed that out of the six library services identified in this study, five were fully automated and 90% of American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries have automated their services.
More than 90% of known electronic information resources like TEEAL, electronic journals, e-books, AGORA, social network, JSTOR, HINARI, AJOL, EBSCOHOST and OARE were available in the libraries. More than 60% of electronic information resources available were used by library personnel and users in various libraries. From the findings, user’s satisfaction had been increased by 70% as a result of automated library and electronic information resources’ use in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria. The study showed that there was significant and positive relationship between library automation and user’s satisfaction in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries (r =.372, p<.01). Electronic information resources’ use had significant and negative relationship with performance of librarians (r =.-126, p<.049). Library automation had greater contribution to performance of librarians (β = .391, p(.000)<.05) than electronic information resources’ use (β = .044, p(.505)>.05).
This study concluded that most American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria were fully automated which allowed librarians to increase the quality of services rendered. Both the library service automation and electronic information resources’ use were determinant factors of user’s satisfaction in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria. This study recommended that university library managers need to further enlighten both the library staff and library users on the importance of library automation and use of electronic information resources by organizing workshops, seminars and conferences in order to meet the current information needs of users.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study
Library is a place where information materials are acquired, organized, preserved and made available for use. Academic libraries are organizations which are created to cater for the information request of students, lecturers, researchers and other community of scholars. Their specific task is to offer quality information services and products (print and electronic) to community of scholars. According to Uddin (2009), academic libraries are charge effective material and information resource centres that serve a community of scholars.
Libraries perform various operation like current awareness services, indexing and abstracting, selective dissemination of information and responding of user’s enquiries to make sure that library users are contented. As the library perform these activities through information professionals, the availability of these library resources does not ensure their access and use by the university community. The library managers of university are projected to inspire, enhance, and sustain the interest of users in go to see the library and using the information contained therein. The facts about how to make use information in the library in other to improve their work will ensure effective user satisfaction with any university system.
Library is saddled with a lot of responsibilities which include analysis of patron demand to know required data and support in finding that data, seek standard reference materials including on the web assets and web so as to answer benefactors’ reference inquiries, to show library supporters how to scan for data operating databases, to retain records of spreading and materials and indexes with a specific close goal to elect and position print of electronic assets.
Librarian’s performance is considered to be the self-actualization of an obligation, in a way that frees the performer from all responsibilities under the organization. Yaya (2007) defined library’s performance as the work (activities) perform by the worker towards the accomplishment of their organizational goals. It is an act of accompany one’s obligation to the organization within one’s capacity and proficiency. This depends not only on the amount of physical effort exerted but also on the person’s mental ability to perform work in the library.
According to Borman and Motowidlo (2012), librarian’s performance can be measured in two ways: task performance and contextual performance. Task performance is described as behaviours that directly or indirectly subsidize to the organization’s main work and contextual performance as behaviours that backing the organizational, social and psychological situation in which the organization main work must function and measurable.
Performance measurement is a method for characterizing the performing of an individual, gathering or association. Errand performance occasions for the most part shift starting with one association then onto the next which is called work related conduct, yet logical performance occasions are basic to work. Assignment performance measures incorporate nature of work done, amount of work performed, cost adequacy and occupation pertinent practices while the logical measures comprise of taking after hierarchical guidelines and technique, helping and coordinating with associates, volunteering for extra work and other individual practices. A portion of the assignments performed in the library incorporate the enrollment of library clients, characterization and keeping of library materials, charging and releasing of books and taking care of clients’ needs. Library work includes keeping and arrangement of materials, arrangement of reference administrations, looking at in and checking of library materials to clients. The concentrate of this review is on the assignment performance estimations.
Performance measurement can be surveyed by a few strategies among which incorporate stimulus capacity and the workplace, the devices, resources and information expected to carry out the occupation. If libraries do not have the capacity, instruments and material to play out the employment it will have negative impact on library performance. Library performance is the capacity to do statutory capacities which depend on the library’s units and improvement and additionally library goals. Librarian’s performance is characterize as that part of work conduct that is of importance to the library performance and achievement. Library performance is equipped towards meeting, the clients’ data needs, as well as a reason for advancing staff in the library. User satisfaction with this period has seen positive changes via automation prepare.
Automation is the system that is used with the plan and growth of a process that decreases the need of human involvement in operator of a given job. It is additionally a procedure of utilizing hardware to perform work effectively in this way sparing the library power and time. Automation may be well-defined as the use of automatic and semi-automatic data processing devices (computers) to carried out traditional library activities such as acquisition, circulation, cataloguing, reference and serials (Satyanarayana, 2013). This is a system of using computer or electronic devices to perform traditional library activities.
Library automation is the use of COMPUTER based item and administrations in the performance of various library procedures and capacities in the arrangement of different administrations and generation of coveted outcomes. As indicated by Aswal (2006), library automation is essential to library adequacy since it expands staff profitability, upgrades housekeeping operations, empowers headway in innovation, and empowers access to outer data through the Internet. Since the commencement of library automation, scholarly libraries have experienced noteworthy changes in the ways they store, list, and get to data. Innovative advances made configurations other than the physical book, accessible, for example, microfilm and microfiche. The advancements of the nineteenth century are presently obsolete and considered superfluous to new innovation. To grow access to library accumulations, scholarly libraries computerized indexing capacities, supplanting the card list with the coordinated library framework (ILS), incredibly affecting the everyday exercises of library and the impacts that changing advancements may have on librarianship.
The essence of library automation is to permitted the library and its staff from tedious work and to allow them contribute more meaningfully in the spread of knowledge and Information. Library patrons now have guide contact to online inventories and remote access to bibliographic databases accessible around the globe connected through computer systems, for example, the Internet. These administrations have uprooted the old thought of a library as a place to peruse for data assets. More libraries are into agreeable sharing, bringing about an outlook change from the customary accentuation on library proprietorship to community. All these have made an effect on conventional library arranging.
In this 21st century, academic librarians are seeing many changes created by advances in library automation. Current innovation is attempting to change drastically the means of our general public and affect the predominant monetary, political and societal potentials and libraries are not overlooked. It is attractive that library record-keeping be computerized for a few reasons. Firstly, a significant part of the work includes the exact refreshing of records in documents. The undertakings included are by and large dull, tedious, mechanical in nature, and loan themselves to automation, despite the fact that the records might be perplexing and organized in confused ways. Besides, automation is to enhance savvy performance by expanding precision, by diminishing the rate of increment in expenses in labor-escalated exercises, and by expanding viability. Thirdly, it winds up noticeably conceivable to play out a few undertakings more completely than levels of staffing for the most part allow with manual strategies, for example, the standard guaranteeing of unsupplied issues of periodicals, or by doing things that is impossible in paper documents, quite hunting down blends of characters. Fourthly, automation licenses decentralized access to records. Branches of a library can confirm the status of another without keeping up copy documents, flying out to another division, or requesting that other staff intrude on their work so as to discover. What’s more, clients can verify whether a book is out on credit without heading out to the library to see whether it is on the rack. Contemplations of administration, cost, and the human use of staff all contend for the use of Computer to facilitate the weight and to expand the adequacy of dealing with library records through library automation framework.
Automation of library helps in dealing with the library’s assets better while sparing time, cash, and labor. For instance, once the bibliographic subtle elements like creator, title, version, distributer, value, ISBN number, are entered at the season of requesting, similar information can be utilized for accessioning, indexing, Online Public Access Cataloging (OPAC), and dissemination. Other vital variables related with automation are speed, and precision. One can envision the time spared in writing looks and in get ready reference indices. Library automation additionally offers opportunity from doing tedious and routine fills in and also giving administrations appropriately and all the more effectively chopping down time and enhancing library performance. It additionally encourages era of various reports for better basic leadership in the viable administration of the library. Accessibility of different factual and other use and performance reports will guarantee better thankfulness from library clients. For instance, merchant performance investigation is conceivable. Flow can give data on titles that are in awesome request with the goal that more duplicates can be secured as required. Numerous present mindfulness administrations like current version, substance of books and diaries can likewise be accommodated clients (Egberongbe, 2011). Library administrations automation does not just bolster library performance, electronic data assets additionally assume a fundamental part.
Electronic data assets are data put away in electronic configuration in COMPUTER or COMPUTER related offices, for example, CD –ROMS, computerized libraries or web. They are research apparatuses that supplement the print-based assets in a library setting. Okiki and Asiru (2011) expressed that electronic assets are “results of data and correspondence innovations and they have been discovered important to help library performance and research prepare in the colleges”. Electronic data assets are diminishing the focal part of customary libraries. Libraries need to acknowledge their obligations as data expert in the new allotment. Electronic data assets gear help library to offer quick, satisfactory and productive administrations to the library client. Electronic data asset is a method for putting away, preparing, and sharing data through electronic means, for example, phone, web and as of late presented e-assets like digital book, web based business and e – realizing which are currently prevalent data assets on the planet. The up to said offices can be alluded to as the advanced electronic data assets received to oversee and exchange data from one source to others. Electronic data assets are a help to library repetitive administrations that included the conventional library benefit which has been in operation before the beginning of data and correspondence innovation devices to higher foundations in Nigeria. It likewise helps libraries to meet the different needs of their supporters using electronic data assets.
The use of electronic data assets is to help the library in playing out a double part: one to the supporters towards their data needs in the school, while the second is showed in the day by day routine work inside the library condition where library work is found in the two administration units, Reader administrations and Technical segments of the library. The administrations of library utilizing electronic data assets is showed in the administrations they offer inside the areas in the library, for example, Acquisition segment, Cataloging unit, Serial Services, Reference and Bibliographic Services, Current Awareness Services, On-line Public Access Catalog, and records units. Every one of these administrations have been given an awesome lift by applying the offices of data and correspondence innovation to the day by day elements of the library. The basic electronic data assets office in Nigerian scholastic libraries is the web which offers boundless access to worldwide data accessible on the Net for the individuals who can make use of the assets for their advantage. Through the web, data is being refreshed and dispersed frequently which empowers library to get fast and productive administrations at the fitting time. The web as a learning asset gives more an incentive to the administrations and assets that the library makes accessible to the understudies and staff inside the scholastic establishment.
The high rate of the use of these electronic data assets could be credited to the way that they for the most part contain current data which is exceedingly prized by scholastics. The use of these electronic data assets realized an insurgency in the movement of data arrangement and spread. The use of electronic data assets gives a superior stage and more open doors for clients since it has preferences over the print assets. A portion of the benefits of the use of electronic data assets when contrasted and print data assets incorporate the preservation of space and time. The client can have fast access to data by making a mix of likely catchphrases identified with his/her pursuit. The speed in recovery of required data is a noteworthy favorable position that electronic asset has over the print asset. Different focal points of electronic data assets incorporate cash, simple and various get to. Electronic data assets are of various sorts which are electronic diaries, electronic books, electronic magazines and daily papers, CD-ROM databases, electronic meeting procedures and online databases. Maybe the most utilized electronic asset in libraries today is online database.
Automation of library helps in dealing with the library’s assets better while sparing time, cash, and labor. For instance, once the bibliographic subtle elements like creator, title, release, distributer, value, ISBN number, are entered at the season of requesting, similar information can be utilized for accessioning, recording, Online Public Access Cataloging (OPAC), and course. Other critical elements related with automation are speed, and precision. One can envision the time spared in writing looks and in get ready lists of sources. Library automation likewise offers flexibility from doing redundant and routine fills in and in addition giving administrations legitimately and all the more proficiently chopping down time and enhancing library performance. It likewise encourages era of various reports for better basic leadership in the compelling administration of the library. Accessibility of different factual and other use and performance reports will guarantee better thankfulness from library clients. For instance, seller performance investigation is conceivable. Dissemination can give data on titles that are in incredible request with the goal that more duplicates can be acquired as required. Numerous present mindfulness administrations like current version, substance of books and diaries can likewise be accommodated clients (Egberongbe, 2011). Library administrations automation does not just bolster library performance, electronic data assets additionally assume a fundamental part.
According to Moghaddam (2009), a database is an accumulation of information that is sorted out for simple storing and get to. These incorporate paper-based devices like word references and libraries of print materials. From this, we can state that online databases are accumulations of information which are sorted out for simple get to and recovery through the web; that is get to is made accessible through the web. The online databases comprise of data on particular branch of knowledge which shifts in arrangement. With the association of the assets contained in these online databases as per their different subjects and trains, the library client confronts less test of extensive review and low exactness. As it were, with the use of online databases, the level of data recovery is higher particularly when contrasted and the use of web. The client while recovering data through the web may get high review of data materials whether valuable or not so far as it is identified with the pursuit term yet when making use of online databases the turn around is the situation. This is on the grounds that these online databases contain just organized data which will be helpful to the library client or data searcher. Some examples of electronic databases being used today in academic libraries include Journal Storage (JSTOR), Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA), Access to Research in Health Programme (HINARI), EBSCOHOST, Science Direct, Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE) and Open Courseware.
The on-line databases with their recovery abilities, have been continuously supplanting many pieces of literature. This is on the grounds that library clients, particularly scholastics, have next to zero time to experience the rigors of hunting down print assets to make use of, along these lines they lean toward electronic databases. One reason electronic data assets is basic in the library is that it offers access to data that may be restricted to the clients because of geological area or budgetary requirements. It empowers access to more present data and permits broad connections to more related assets which might be of awesome enthusiasm to clients. The accessibility of electronic data assets has changed the way data is being dealt with and overseen by library. These progressions comprise of the path by which data is given to library clients and how the data is being safeguarded.
The use of electronic data assets could be easily overseen in the library with the presence of essential foundation, for example, web offices, transmission capacity, competent specialized support, computer frameworks and power supply. Oketunji (2006) opined that the eventual fate of libraries is particularly connected to their capacities to outfit and manage availability to accessible framework as a base for giving powerful and effective access to data by their demographic. That is the accessibility of important framework is the underlining component for successful arrangement of electronic assets in libraries. It is commensurate to wastage of the constrained accessible assets of the college library if a ton of cash is spent on procuring electronic assets and these assets are not put to most extreme usage by the college group and those from the outside setting. The electronic assets made accessible by the college libraries ought to be utilized maximally and this can be conceivable just when the essential foundation are set up. Get to and accessibility of electronic data assets is on the expansion in research the world over because of the way that it helps researchers in their exploration.
The electronic data assets are given and made accessible by library to help the understudies, staff and analysts in guaranteeing quality research works inside and outside the library which is one of the objectives of scholarly foundations. The way toward giving access to electronic assets by the scholarly libraries to their clients can be called electronic data administrations which are data conveyance items to asking for clients through computer. Library administrations automation and electronic data assets are to help libraries in the arrangement of better and proficient support of the clients on regular schedule. Oketunji (2011) opined that the data innovation offices found in the libraries can be separated into three classifications; these are Computer, stockpiling media, and media transmission. It was uncovered that each of these offices works for the exchange of information and data to the normal goal. The library administration that wants to fulfill various clients can now use the web for the correct data for foreordained clients, in this way, fulfilling their data needs. In any case, a library with differing abilities and preparing who is adaptable, aggressive, and emphatic, mentally dedicated and furnished with specialized and administrative skills will have the capacity to meet the difficulties without bounds library and exceed expectations in powerful data administrations conveyance to its quick group.
The adoption of library automation and electronic information resources will assist librarians to address the challenges associated with the traditional methods of library service delivery. This gives the library opportunity to offer services to users in a way that would be humble, easy and autonomous of time, residence and focus discipline.
Libraries now give data administrations to clients in another and better means with the guide of library automation and electronic assets. They likewise offer individual help to clients who use the assets at the library. Another normal region where libraries utilize automation and electronic assets is in the region of interlibrary credit where benefit conveyance is brought out through electronic system whereby assets can be shared among numerous clients inside Local Area Network or Wide Area Network. Aside from interlibrary credit, we likewise have Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) which offers clients the chance to get to the library accumulations without the use of inventory boxes. This OPAC, as per Alabi and Inuwa (2010) is the library database where library clients can have entry to the assets of the library through online work stations in the library. This demonstrates there is no territory of library work that libraries have not possessed the capacity to apply the electronic data assets and library automation in their day by day operation to help their performance.
One of the primary elements of the library is to help individuals discover data; sort out it, recover and keep up the framework which permits access to fit or show individuals how to utilize the data in our environment. With these data assets in the library, it can work past the working hours of their obligations attributable to the way that they can work anyplace whenever to take care of their clients. Library automation and electronic assets utilize will augment the information and operational base of libraries since they won’t be constrained to what they have inside their own particular library. Library automation and electronic assets guarantee cost viability when acquiring library materials, the library will know the materials that are of high utilize and most asked for by clients. Librarians may not know every one of the responses to all clients’ need yet they know how to discover the solution for their clients.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Library automation and electronic information resources’ use are essential for today’s library operations and services. However, the ability of libraries to perform their job effectively and efficiently is influenced by their capacity to use automated library and electronic resources. Librarian’s performance appears not to meet up with the current level of users’ demand for information and the rate at which the users want to get information. The use of electronic resources in libraries may affect their daily operation with the aim to promote librarian’s performance and enhance productivity. As the library helps in providing information sources, there is need to make electronic information resources available for users, at all time. Currently, some libraries in South-West Nigeria may not have sufficient skills and competence on the electronic information resources’ use. Lack of library automation and electronic information resources’ use has adverse effect on the quality of service delivery of the library which affects their performance also. It is in the light of this that this study sets out to investigate the library automation and electronic information resources’ use as they affect user satisfaction with American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The general objective of this study is to investigate automation of library services for users’ satisfaction. A case study of American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries. The specific objectives are to:
- identify the level of library automation in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria;
- investigate the level of availability of electronic information resources in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries, Nigeria;
- ascertain the frequency of use of electronic information resources available in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries, Nigeria;
- determine the librarian’s performance of American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria;
- determine the influence of library automation on user satisfaction with American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries, Nigeria;
- find out the effect of electronic information resources’ use on user satisfaction with American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries, Nigeria;
- determine how library automation and electronic information resources’ use affect the user satisfaction with American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria; and
- identify the challenges of automating library services and use of electronic information resources in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries, Nigeria.
- Research Questions
To achieve the above objectives, the following research questions were posed.
- What is the level of library automation in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria?
- How available are electronic resources in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria?
- What is the frequency of use of electronic resources in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria?
- What determine librarian’s performance of American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries?
- What are the challenges of automation of library and electronic information resources use in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria?
- Hypotheses
This study is guided by the following hypotheses and were tested at 5% level of significance.
H01: There is no significant relationship between library automation and user satisfaction with American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries, Nigeria.
H02: There is no significant relationship between the electronic resources use and user satisfaction with American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries, Nigeria.
H03: There is no significant relationship between library automation, electronic resources use and user satisfaction with American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries, Nigeria.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The study focuses on automation of library services which includes acquisition, cataloguing, circulation and serials, electronic resources’ use both subscribed and open access databases and librarian’s performance among American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries Nigeria. The study concentrates on the task performance of librarians in their daily job which includes quality of work done, quantity of work performed, communication skills, decision making, timeless and ability to attend promptly to request from library patrons, relationship with coworkers, time, creativity, efficient and effective use of library resources. The study considers American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries that have automated their library services and electronic resources.
1.7 Significance of the Study
Library automation and electronic information resources are used to promote quality of service, level of operation, library user satisfaction and increase productivity of library. Library automation and use of electronic information resources in the library would serve as motivating tools for the librarians in discharging their duties in an effective and efficient way. The findings of this study would help librarians and the policy makers who are involved in the operation of library services and enhance research work. It is assumed that the research findings would promote the application of library automation and electronic information resources’ use in the academic library. The research findings would also reveal to the librarians that library automation and electronic information resources’ use are not only for library users or as part of services but also as tools or technology that would enhance their performance and high productivity.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
Electronic information resources: These are defined as those information materials that users access electronically via a computer network from inside the library or remote to the library. Electronic resource is any information basis that the library offers access to in an electronic format.
Electronic resources availability: This is the electronic information resources and services which are made available for the library users which help the library workers to discharge their duties efficiently.
Performance: This is the act of performing or completing an action, task, or function.
Automation: This is the use of devices or computer to optimize throughput in the production of goods and delivery of services. This is the use of electronic systems to control a specific task in order to improve consistency and effectiveness.
Library Automation: This is the process of employing computers or electronic devices to do traditional library operation like acquisition, serials, and circulation.
Librarian’s performance: This is the ability of a library workers to carry out statutory functions which are based on the library units and development as well as library’s objectives. It is also the ability of a library to meet library users’ demand as well as achieving the library goal and objectives.
Electronic information resource use: This refers to correct or suitable application of information in electronic formats to carry out their job function in American university Yola and Adamawa State polytechnic libraries, Nigeria.
Library Services: There are the activities provided by library to enable users meet their information needs.
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