Use of Library Resources by University Students Gloria Kadyamatimba Constantino Pedzisai
Chinhoyi University of Technology Journal of Higher Education Management, 36(2), 99-107 (ISSN 2640-7515). © Copyright 2021 by the American Association of University Administrators. Permission to reprint for academic/scholarly purposes is unrestricted provided this statement appears on all duplicated copies. All other rights reserved.
Information seeking behavior of various user groups has preoccupied researchers for a long period of time (Spezi, 2016). Current research on this issue is focused on how the internet, social media and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) like mobile phones have impacted on the way students seek for information. Research of this nature is important as it provides an understanding of students’ behavior in seeking information. This helps in understanding future students and customizing library services to meet their needs. According to Spezi (2016), information seeking includes initiating a search, constructing search strategies and locating and evaluating the identified sources. The ability to carry out these activities is also referred to as information literacy (IL). Information literacy is defined as “the ability to recognize when information is needed and the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” (Learn Higher, 2006).According to the American Library Association ( 1989), information literate individuals are able to determine the extent of information needed, access the needed information effectively and efficiently, evaluate information and its sources critically, incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base, use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose, understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally. From the above definitions, it is apparent that information seeking behavior and information literacy are intertwined. Information literacy skills are a prerequisite of information seeking behavior. Academic libraries have featured prominently in playing a facilitative role to the information seeking behavior of their user communities to the extent that they have been referred to as the nerve centers of academic communities. In the past libraries were physical entities whose major task was the collection of books and periodicals to satisfy the information needs of their communities. Students and lecturers used to visit the library to borrow books and to find quiet reading space. Libraries in turn used to offer library user education and /or bibliographic instruction, to enable users to make optimum use of their collections. Such instruction was restricted to the resources of a particular library and its form and mode of delivery reflected institutional realities with regards to human and information resources. In some institutions, library user education was the preserve of the library and in others collaboration with academic departments was the order of the day. This scenario changed with the arrival of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS). ICTs in general and the internet in particular have fueled the proliferation of information and revolutionized the modus operandi of most organizations, inclusive of academic libraries. At Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), the library has embraced ICTs and integrated them into its services so that there is a blend of the traditional library collection and a multi – media digital collection with seamless access to the internet. The internet has made it possible for the library to provide access to subscription based e-journals and e- books, open access books and journals, the institutional repository, the OPAC, computerized reference services amongst other digital services.
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