A study of library usage and satisfaction by Social Scientists at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan.

Bhatti, Rubina

Introduction

Library is a vital agency to promote education and research by providing latest information and knowledge. The role and growth of information and knowledge is faster than before and even at acceleration. Information is needed in every field of life Kemp (1976) said that "indeed, information has been described as the fifth need of man ranking after air, water, food and shelter." Chen and Hernon (1982) defined that information is all knowledge, ideas, fact, data and imaginative works of mind which are communicated normally and informally in any format. Information is defined as data used in planning, decision making and analysis of some program. It has a major role in man's routine activities; either it may be at home, school colleges, playground or work places. It is crucial to man's survival. It is like a stair to provide foot path to promote the research work (Uttor, 1999).

Dervin (1986) presented the concept of information in a different way. According to her, "Information is seen as something constructed by human being". She has presented the six stages of information seeking behavior and further says that all these elements have much importance for research point of view. Without understanding the importance of this concept, the library cannot perform their task properly.

Therefore every person demands different materials in different forms. The present age is of information technology and it also affects the nature of users and its needs. That is why with the passage of time different people demands different things in a different ways. The researchers have to face with information explosion, information pollution and exponential growth of information. Due to information bang, the researchers puzzle about the information needs, information sources and information access. With the effect of new information and digital technology, many researchers and scholars of the world have much interested to access the latest information. Every scholar is taking much interest in research field because of faster accessibility of the digital information (Khongtim, 2006). Here the library's role is very crucial, thus, the need to study the library usage and satisfaction of users with their libraries and information centers.

The Research Questions

The basic purpose of the research is to obtain deeper understanding of the information needs of the faculty members of the Social Sciences. To obtain the above purposes, the study sought to find the answers of the following research questions:

1. What sorts of information sources are being used by faculty members of Social Sciences at Bahauddin Zakariya Multan and for what purposes?

2. What is the satisfaction level of faculty members with library collection and other facilities provided by the departmental libraries of Social Sciences at Bahauddin Zakariya Multan?

3. What are the main problems faced by the Faculty Members while searching for their relevant information and using library services?

Literature Review

A study by Gamage (2006) analyzed the information needs of environmental scientists in universities in Srilanka. The results of the study reflect that library users were not satisfied with the collection and services of the library. The study recommends proper management and up gradation of library services and the use of a standard classification scheme for the organization of library resource. Moreover this study further suggests the establishment of an environmental information network in Srilanka for resource sharing.

Prabha, Connaway, Olszewski and Jenkins (2007) concluded that the users of the library stop to search information, when they have to confront multiple kinds of information. They expressed that when the same information is repeated in different sources they stop to search further information. The faculty members informed that they used information for teaching, research work, preparing for lecturers and assigning presentation for classes. The results of the study pointed out some elements that affect the searching of information such as: objectives and characteristics of the information needs, external variables and internal variables.

Al-Suqri (2007) explored the information needs and seeking behavior of social sciences scholars at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. The base of the study was the model of information seeking behavior of Wilson (1996), Ellis (1989) and Kuhlthau (1991). The findings of the research show that social sciences scholars face three main problems while seeking information i.e. limited availability of resources, poor Internet connection (low speed or internet availability) and lack of sufficient sources in Arabic language.

Seaman (2011) studied the Information Needs of humanists, this research points out that an institutional repository can present better services to the faculty members of Social Sciences and humanities. It shown that Institutional Repository (IR) is of ever-increasing importance to colleges and universities. If the professional staff understand the importance of the institutional repository, they can make the library services up to the standard. The main focus of the research was to pay attention on the promotion of digital archiving, publishing, and sharing of scholarship and research data.

A study by Bhatti (2009) revealed that majority of the faculty members mostly use their university library for research work and updating knowledge purposes. Faculty members also complained about the insufficient provision of journals related to their field of study. Nearly all the respondents pointed out that there is no indexing and abstracting service in the library. They demanded inter-library loan service to fulfill their information requirements. The study further recommended the appointment of a liaison officer for useful communication between the library staff and the faculty members so that the services of the library may be improved.

Khan (2010) conducted a study at M. Phil level to assess the information needs and seeking behavior of the law faculty members in the University of Peshawar and its seventeen affiliated law colleges, Khayber Pakhtoon khawa (North Western Frontier Province NWFP, Pakistan). The findings showed the respondents' dissatisfaction with the sources, resources, services and facilities provided by the law colleges' libraries The study suggested the provision of IT based sources, facilities and the assessment of teaching communities' information needs for planning better users' oriented services and developing effective library collection.

Khan (2008) in his master thesis explored the information seeking behavior of college teachers and administrators. The study found that the college teachers mostly seek information for their lecture preparation, improvement of their personal competencies and current awareness. It was found that they mostly get information from their college library. They preferred print format and materials written in English language. They indicated the lack of computers hardware and software as a major obstacle in accessing internet and indicated the need for training provision.

Research Methodology

Survey method utilizing a comprehensive questionnaire was used to collect data from the faculty members of Faculty of the Social Sciences at Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan. The departments included in the current study were Departments of Economics, Education, History, Geography, Pakistan Studies and Gender Studies, Political Science and International Relation, Mass Communication, Sociology, Applied Psychology, Philosophy, Sports Sciences, Multan College of Arts and Undergraduate Studies in Social Sciences. The overall response rate was 81%.

Demographic Information

First part of the questionnaire dealt with the personal profile of the respondents. It collected information about departments, professional experience, qualification, gender, age, designation, and information needs and seeking behavior of the respondents. The total response rate was 81% with 56% male and 44% female.

Age of the Respondents

Thirty one (17.9%) respondents were between 20 to 30 years of age, twenty six (15.0%) between 31 to 40 years, and fourteen (8.1%) between 41 to 50 years respectively. Only ten (5.8%) faculty members were 50 years and above.

Qualification and Designation of the Respondents

Frequency distribution of respondents' academic qualification presented in table 4 shows that thirty seven (45.6%) faculty members had M. Phil and Nineteen (23.4%) a PhD degree. Sixteen (20%) were holding Master degrees. One each faculty members had a B. Designing, MBA and B.F.A. degrees respectively. Whereas three (3.7%) were holding Master degrees in Fine Arts and Sciences respectively (Table 1).

Table 1

Frequency Distribution of Respondent's Qualification

Qualification  Frequency  Percent

B. Des.                1     1.2%
B.F.A                  1     1.2%
M.A.                  16    20.0%
M.F.A                  3     3.7%
M.Sc.                  3     3.7%
M.B.A                  1     1.2%
M. Phil.              37    45.6%
Ph.D                  19    23.4%
Total                 81    100.0

Frequency distribution of the respondents' designation shows in table no.5 that a significant number of teaches were lecturers, 52(64.2%). Four (4.9%) were Chairmen, Five (6.2%) Professors, Four (4.9%) Associate Professors and Fifteen (18.6%) Assistant Professors. Only one faculty member was on visiting basis (Table 5).

Types of Material Used for Meeting Academic and Research Needs

Respondents were asked to indicate the types of sources meeting their academic and research needs properly. It was noted that majority of them frequently sought information from Text Books (mean=4.10) followed by Reference Books (mean=4.00), Internet (mean=3.96), Thesis and Research Papers (mean=3.82) respectively (Table 2).

Table 2

Descriptive Statistics of Respondent's Opinions about Types
of Material for Meeting their Academic and Research Needs

Types of Sources         Mean  Median  Mode

Text books               4.10    3.04     5
Reference books          4.00    4.00     4
Internet                 3.96    4.00     5
Thesis / research paper  3.82    4.00     4
Encyclopedias            3.39    3.00     3
Periodicals              3.38    3.00     3
Index                    3.12    3.00     3
Abstracts                3.08    3.00     2
Non book material        2.71    3.00     3
Exhibition               2.49    2.00     2

Note: 5= Always, 4= Frequently, 3= Sometimes, 2= Seldom,
1= Never

Purposes of Seeking Information

Respondents were asked to give their opinions about their purpose of seeking information. Majority of them always seek information for Education (mean=4.80) and Research Purpose (mean=4.56). Respondents also mentioned frequently seeking information for Updating Knowledge (mean=4.32), Preparing lectures (mean=4.25), Discussion (mean=3.95), and Guiding Researchers (mean=3.92). Some of them also seek information for the solution of practical problems (mean=3.91), Career development (mean=3.88), and writing research Papers (mean=3.73) respectively, (Table 3).

Table 3

Descriptive Statistics of Respondent's Opinions about the
Purposes of Seeking the Information

Purposes of Seeking Information              Mean  Median  Mode

Education                                    4.80    5.00     5
Research                                     4.56    5.00     5
Updating knowledge                           4.32    5.00     5
Preparing lectures                           4.25    4.00     5
Discussions                                  3.95    4.00     4
Guiding researchers                          3.92    4.00     4
To solve practical problems                  3.91    4.00     4
Career development                           3.88    4.00     5
Writing papers for journals                  3.73    4.00     5
General reading                              3,69    4.00     4
Observation & experiments                    3.64    4.00     4
Preparing assignments                        3.56    4.00     4
Examination purpose                          3.44    3.00     3
Writing & presenting papers for Conferences  3.44    4.00     4
Entertainment                                3.31    3.00     3
For job opportunities                        3.30    3.00     4

Note: 5= Always, 4= Frequently, 3= Sometimes, 2= Seldom,
1= Never

Respondent's Satisfaction with Library Services

The respondents were asked to give their opinion about the services provided by their respective libraries i.e. University/Departmental. According to the results, Forty eight (59.3%) respondents were satisfied. Twenty (24.7%) respondents expressed their opinion "to some extent" whereas 9(11.1%) showed their complete dissatisfaction regarding their libraries services. Four (4.9%) did not give their opinion about these services (Table 4).

Table 4

Descriptive Statistics of Respondent's Opinions about the
Satisfaction of Library Services

Opinions        Frequency  Percent

Yes                    48    59.3%
No                      9    11.1%
To some extent         20    24.7%
Missing                 4     4.9%
Total                  81    100.0

Respondents were also asked to rate the effectiveness of different library services in meeting their required information needs. Most of them were satisfied with the Reference service (mean=3.55) of their libraries followed by Information service (mean=3.48%), and Internet services (mean=3.33) respectively. Other services in the order of priority were User Education service (mean=3.25), Bibliography Service (mean=3.25), Circulation service (mean=3.08), Indexing and Abstracting services (3.03), Current Awareness service (mean=2.90), Reprographic service (mean=2.90), Book bank service (mean=2.73), SDI service (mean=2.55), and Inter library Loan Service (mean=2.47) respectively (Table 5)

Table 5

Descriptive Statistics of Respondent's Opinions about the
Satisfaction of Library Services

Services                           Mean  Median  Mode

References services                3.55    4.00     4
Information services               3.48    4.00     4
Internet services                  3.33    4.00     4
Bibliographic services             3.25    3.00     3
User education services            3.25    3.00     4
Circulation services               3.08    3.00     4
Indexing and abstracting services  3.03    3.00     3
Reprographic services              2.90    3.00     3
CAS (current awareness services)   2.90    3.00     3
Book bank services                 2.73    3.00     2
SDI services                       2.55    2.00     2
Interlibrary loan services         2.47    2.00     2

Note: 5 = Strongly Satisfied, 4 = Satisfied, 3 = Satisfied
to some extent, 2 = Dissatisfied, 1 = fully

Satisfaction with Library Collection

Respondents were asked to give opinions about the level of satisfaction about the collection in their respective libraries. Most of them were satisfied with the library collection. They were highly satisfied with the Book collection (mean=3.73) of their libraries. The other sources they rated were according to their priority were Encyclopedias (mean=3.40), Bibliographies (mean=3.09), Journals (mean=2.96), Indexes (mean=2.94) Abstracts (mean=2.85), and A.V. materials (mean=2.57) respectively (Table 6).

Table 6

Descriptive Statistics of Respondent's Opinions
about the Satisfaction with Library Collection

Library collection  Mean  Median  Mode

Books               3.73    4.00     4
Encyclopedias       3.40    3.00     3
Bibliographies      3.09    3.00     3
Journals            2.96    3.00     3
Indexes             2.94    3.00     3
Abstracts           2.85    3.00     3
A.V. Materials      2.57    3.00     3

Note: 5= Strongly Satisfied, 4= Satisfied, 3= Satisfied
to some extent, 2= Dissatisfied, 1= Fully

Journals Subscription

Respondents were asked to indicate the journals being subscribed by their departmental and university libraries related to their field of interest. The libraries of forty four (54.30%) respondents were subscribing journals whereas 32 had no such facility. Three faculty members did not respond to this question. Two faculty members rated their opinion to some extent (Table 7). Majority of the respondents were partially (31%) or satisfied (27%) with the effectiveness of these journals. A large number of respondents (29%) also showed their complete dissatisfaction regarding the journals related to their field of interests (Table 8).

Table 7

Descriptive Statistics of Respondent's Opinions about
the subscribing the journals

Opinions        Frequency  Percent

Yes                    44   54.30%
No                     32   39.50%
To some extent          2    2.50%
Missing                 3    3.70%
Total                  81    100.0

Table 8

Descriptive Statistics of Respondents' Opinions
about the Satisfaction level of the journals

Opinions        Frequency  Percent

Yes                    22    27.2%
No                     24    29.6%
To some extent         25    30.9%
Missing                10    12.3%
Total                  81    100.0

Preferred Format of Information

Given Table reveals that they adequately prefer print format (mean=2.86), while they prefer to some extent of Electronic format (mean=2.42) and audio visual form (mean=1.90).

Problems Faced by the Respondents during Information Search

Respondents were asked about the problems they face during searching their needed information. Majority of them mentioned "material is not available" (mean=3.33) as problem no 1 followed by non availability of electronic resources (mean=3.30), information is too vast (mean=3.25), information scattered in too many sources (mean=3.22), lack of time (mean=3.19), some information resources are out dated (mean=3.08), lack of knowledge about different information sources (mean=2.73), and library staff are unwilling for service (mean=2.58) (Table 16).

Difficulties Faced by the Respondents during Internet Use

Respondents were asked to mention the difficulties while searching information on internet. Majority of them rated the problem of electric load shedding (mean = 4.21) followed by the costly effect of subscription of latest journal (mean = 3.93), and the problem of validity and reliability of information on internet (mean = 3.68). Some of them also mentioned that searching information on internet is time consuming (mean = 3.19) whereas some of them mentioned lack of knowledge of information retrieving techniques on internet (mean = 3.01), problem of unavailability of internet facility in the department (mean=2.85) and required information in not accessible (mean = 2.82) were also identified by some of the faculty members (Table 21).

Respondent's Satisfaction with the Attitude of the Library Staff

Respondents were asked to give their opinion about the attitude of the library staff in dealing with them in their daily routine. According to the results, a majority, Sixty (74.1%) appreciated the cooperative attitude of the library staff. Twelve (14.8%) respondents were partially satisfied whereas nine (11.1%) showed their complete dissatisfaction regarding the attitude of the library staff (Table 23).

Respondents' Satisfaction with Opening Hours of Library

Respondents were asked to give their opinion about the timing of the library hours. According to the results, Forty two (51.9%) mentioned that the library timing was convenient whereas twenty (24.7%) give their opinion as otherwise. Eighteen (22.2%) responded that the library hours were convenient to some extent. One of the respondents did not orient his/her opinion about this question.

Findings and Discussion

The results demonstrate that the social sciences faculty members mostly prefer to use textbooks and internet as the major sources of information in the library. They also use general books for academic and research purposes. Most of them were using it for preparing lectures, guiding students and research writing. They generally use these types of sources for getting required information. Majority of the respondents are satisfied to some extent about the journals as source of information. Respondents also expressed satisfaction regarding the annual reports, in-house databases and online databases. Most of the respondents select print format for getting their required information being the easiest one and least prefer electronic and audio visual form of materials.

Majority of the respondents were not satisfied with the subscription of journals related to their field of interest. Apart from it the existing journals were either old or do not fulfill their required information needs. A very small numbers of journals are available in the library for the users. Majority of the respondents did not give any response about it. The statistics showed that the service of providing current journals is not up to mark, whereas it is very necessary for the faculty libraries to provide current journals to their users.

The results about the question of satisfaction with the library services reveal that the services provided by the faculty library are good to some extent. However they mentioned that they are not satisfied with the services of inter library loan service, book bank service, reprographic service and selective dissemination of information services. Most respondents were not fully satisfied with the collection of the library. They complained about lack of audio visual materials, insufficient internet provision and latest collection on different subjects. The findings of the results show that the libraries of Social Sciences are not providing indexing, abstracting and bibliographic services. Most of the respondents were satisfied with the library timings. It is encouraging to note the 74% of the respondents appreciated the cooperative attitude of the library staff.

Majority of the respondents mentioned that material is not available followed not availability of electronic resources and information is too vast as the major problem. The other problem mentioned by the respondents were lack of time, some information sources are out dated, lack of knowledge about different information resources and lacking of knowledge while using the libraries

The major findings are as under:

1. Respondents use text books and general books for education and research. They mostly prefer to use internet for their research work and academic purposes.

2. The services provided by the faculty libraries are not up to marks. Respondents are not satisfied with the services provided by the library.

3. Education, research work and updating knowledge are the basic purposes of the respondents for seeking information.

4. Majority of the respondents are not fully satisfied with current journals' subscription. The numbers of journals related to their disciplines are very less.

5. The satisfaction level of journals is only 25 to 50 percent. Respondents are not fully satisfied about the collection of journals.

6. The departmental libraries of Social Sciences are not fully providing the services of internet, inter-loan service and book bank service.

7. Indexing and abstracting services are not maintained properly in the departmental libraries of Social Sciences.

8. Audio visual materials are not available in the departmental libraries of Social Sciences.

9. Print format is the favorite source of information for majority of the respondents. That is why majority of the respondents responded in favor of the print format.

10. Electricity load shedding is the greatest hurdle in using internet for their users.

11. Majority of the respondents have described that they are satisfied about the collection of the library.

12. Respondents are not fully satisfied with Book Bank service and Inter-loan library service. Indexing and abstracting services are not provided to the users of the departmental libraries. Departmental libraries of the Social Sciences do not provide reprographic service to the users.

13. Majority of the respondents expressed their opinion about the satisfaction of the behavior of the library staff. According to their opinion, the behavior of the professional staff of the library towards the users is positive and supportive.

14. The timing of the departmental libraries of the Social Sciences is convenient.

Recommendations

1. Current and relevant reading materials should be acquired in the departmental libraries of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan.

2. Central library should be equipped with current materials and various types of collection should be provided on every discipline of Social Sciences.

3. All the departmental libraries should be connected with online system of the Central Library at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan so that resource sharing system should be maintained and users of the Social Sciences may gain advantage from different materials provided by the central library of university.

4. Professional staff should be recruited in the departmental libraries of Social Sciences because most of the departmental libraries are run by non-qualified staff.

5. Reprographic service, book bank service and inter-loan library services should be provided to the users on free of cost.

6. Annual reports, Government publications and non-book materials of various disciplines should be provided to all the departmental libraries of Social Sciences.

7. The Faculty of Social Sciences should conduct seminars regularly. It should be arranged in the Central Library of Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan.

8. The departmental libraries of Social Sciences should provide the indexing and abstracting services to the users. These services are very helpful for researchers particularly.

9. Bibliography and information services should be provided in every library to their users.

10. Library should subscribe current journals for all the departmental libraries of the Social Sciences.

11. All the departmental libraries of Social Sciences should be equipped with latest collection according to the users' requirements.

12. Evening shift in every departmental library of Social Sciences should be started for their faculty members and researchers.

13. The problem of electricity load-shedding should be solved on priority bases. Generator should be provided to every departmental library of Social Sciences for continuous support to researchers.

14. The professional staff should be supportive and helpful towards the library users and provide advanced library services such as indexing and abstracting services, bibliographic services, and current awareness services.

15. Information literacy and digital literacy sessions should be organized for all social sciences faculty members in order to improve their information retrieval skills.

References

Al-Suqri & Nasser, M. (2007). Information needs and seeking behavior of Social Sciences scholars at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman: A mixed-method approach. 349, 3294687.

Bhatti, R. (2009). Information needs and information seeking behavior of faculty members of the Islamia University, Bahawalpur. Library Philosophy and Practice.

Chen, Ching-chen and Hernon, Peter (1982), "Information seeking: Accessing and anticipating users needs"; Neal Schuman Publisher, New York

Dervin, B. N. (1986). Information needs and uses. In: Annual review of information science and technology. New York: Knowledge Industry Publications 21, 3-33.

Gamage, C. (2006). Information needs and information seeking behavior of environmental scientists in universities in Sri Lanka: Major issues and concerns. Journal of the University Librarians Association of Sri Lanka, 10.

Kemp, D. A. (1976), "Nature of knowledge: and introduction for librarians"; Clive Bingley, London.

Khan, G. (2010). Information needs and seeking behavior of the law faculty members: The survey of the University of Peshawar and its affiliated law colleges. Unpublished M. Phil thesis submitted to the Islamia University of Bahawalpur.

Khan, S. A. (2008). Information needs and seeking behavior of college teachers and administrators: A survey of Bahawalpur City. Unpublished Master Thesis submitted to the Department of Library & Information Science, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur.

Khongtim, J. (2006). Information Seeking Behavior in Internet: A Review. Mizoram Uni, Aizawi.

Prabha et al. (2007). What is enough? Satisfying information needs. Journal of Documentation, 63(1), 74-89.

Seaman, D. (2011). Discovering the information needs of humanists when planning an institutional repository. D-Lib Magazine, 17(3/4). Retrieved http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=3742465

Uttor, J, (1999). The role of law libraries in a democratic culture. A paper presented in the 1999 NLA National Conference and AGM.Aug.15th-20th.

Rubina Bhatti

Islamia University of Bahawalpur, dr.rubytariq@yahoo.com

Bhatti, Rubina, "A Study of Library Usage and Satisfaction by Social Scientists at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan" (2013). Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). Paper 963.

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/963

Dr. Rubina Bhatti

Muhammad Hanif

About Authors:

1. Dr. Rubina Bhatti

Chairperson & Associate Professor, DLIS, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

2. Muhammad Hanif, Librarian, Govt. Pilot Secondary School, Nawan Shehr, Multan.

Table 9

Descriptive Statistics of Opinions about Preferred
Format for Information

Preferred Format for Information  Mean  Median  Mode  St. Dev.

Printed                           2.86    3.00     3     0.347
Electronic                        2.42    2.00     2     0.547
In audiovisual form               1.90    2.00     2     0,710

Note= 3= Adequately, 2= To some extent, 1= Inadequately

Table 10

Descriptive Statistics of Respondent's Opinions about
the Problems Faced while Seeking Information

Problems                                  Mean  Median  Mode

Material is not available                 3.33    3.00     3

Non availability of electronic resources  3.30    3.00     3

Information is too vast                   3.25    3.00     3

Lack of time                              3.19    3.00     3

Some information resources are outdated   3.08    3.00     3

Lack of knowledge about different         2.73    3.00     2
information resources

Library staff are unwilling for services  2.58    2.00     2

Lack of knowledge in using the library    2.38    2.00     2

Note= 5= Strongly Agreed, 4= Agreed, 3= Agree to some extent,
2= Disagreed, 1=Strongly disagreed

Table 11

Descriptive Statistics of Respondent's opinions about
the Difficulties faced while Searching Information on Internet

Difficulties encountered while searching  Mean  Median  Mode
information on internet

Electricity load shedding problem         4.21    4.00     5

Subscription of latest journals is        3.93    4.00     4
expensive

Problem of validity and reliability of    3.68    4.00     4
information on internet

Searching on internet is time consuming   3.19    3.00     3

Lack of knowledge of information          3.01    3.00     3
retrieving techniques on internet

Required information is not accessible    2.82    3.00     2

Note= 5= Fully agreed, 4= Agreed, 3=Agree to some extent,
2= Disagreed, 1=Fully disagreed

Table 12

Frequency Distribution of Respondent's Satisfaction
with the Attitude of Library Staff

Opinion         Frequency  Percent

Yes                    60    74.1%
No                      9    11.1%
To some extent         12    14.8%
Total                  81    100.0

Table 13

Frequency Distribution of Respondent's Satisfaction
with the Convenient of Library Timing

Opinion         Frequency  Percent

Yes                    42    51.9%
No                     20    24.7%
To some extent         18    22.2%
Missing                 1     1.2%
Total                  81    100.0