Marketing And Use Of Electronic Information Resources Among Postgraduate Users Of Selected Academic Libraries In Kenya

Abstract

The concept of marketing has become an indispensable task for librarians. In the past, marketing was mostly used by profit-making organizations; however, this concept is slowly shifting to the information world. Stiff competition from other information providers has forced librarians to rethink the best ways of providing information to end-users. Due to technological changes from holding to access, most libraries are shifting to digital information by spending many dollars to subscribe to various electronic resources that are hardly used. This study was aimed at investigating how marketing and use of e-resources are conducted among students in selected academic libraries in Kenya. The study is guided by three objectives, namely, to establish the level of awareness and use of available e-resources among postgraduate students, to analyse diverse marketing strategies in academic libraries and to assess diverse challenges of marketing and the use of e-resources. E-resources is a new trend in most African libraries hence prompting the researcher to use the technology acceptance model (TAM) to address the objectives. Four public academic libraries took part in the study with a target population of 23,234 master’s students and a sample size of 160. The study employed a descriptive design using mixed-method to collect data. It also used stratified random sampling to gather data from masters’ students and purposive sampling to collect data from library staff. Students received questionnaires to fill in while selected library staff were interviewed based on the study objectives. The study established that the four academic libraries subscribe to e-resources as a consortium with a reported low level of awareness of the use of electronic resources among postgraduate students. E-resource training was the most frequent strategy used by academic libraries High subscription costs were cited as the main challenge. Other challenges facing end-users were inadequate library budget, poor internet connectivity, and unhelpful staff. The study highly recommended for training of additional marketers and library staff, the development an e-resource training manuals, increased funding, and user awareness week to address some of the identified challenges. The study concluded that e-resource usage can greatly improve learning and research in academic institutions and recommended for recruitment of highly trained personnel, adequate funding, and regular training.