An Assessment of Students’ Satisfaction with the Quality of Library Electronic Information Services during COVID-19 Pandemic at Selected Universities, Kenya

Abstract

The study assessed students’ satisfaction with the quality of library electronic information services during covid 19 pandemic at selected universities in Kenya. The study utilized a quantitative research design. A self-administered questionnaire with a five-point Likert-type scale was used to collect data from 360 undergraduate students from two selected universities in Kenya with a study population of 12000 undergraduate students. Data analyses were done using descriptive statistics, simple linear regression and partial correlation. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 confidence level. The study findings demonstrate a significant positive relationship between SERVQUAL guided library electronic service delivery and student satisfaction, which means that an increase in electronic service quality will lead to an increase in customer satisfaction. The live chat service received a negative score but overall, electronic library services received a positive score which is an indication that library users appreciate the value of the electronic library services for their academic activities. The study identified smartphone as the most popular devise used to access electronic information services with 92% of the respondents using the device, the findings demonstrate the active role that smartphones are playing in formal learning and the various benefits students gain from smartphones. The study recommends design of mobile friendly library websites, transcription of the chart service to identify the frequently asked queries then create Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) feature on the library website to help respond to the information needs of the users more quickly and incase the FAQ page already exist explore ways in which the FAQ page could be automatically linked to users following each chat request. The study also recommends integration of information literacy training with the regular curriculum. The findings of this study may be used by educational institutions to enhance the role of libraries in distance and online education.