A study on Information Seeking Behaviour of Vavuniya Campus Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Information plays an essential role in all walks of human life. The library is the most widely used source of information available to literate societies. Academic libraries must understand the information needs of faculty and students in order to address those needs and render services effectively. This study was undertaken to assess the information seeking behaviour of undergraduate students in the Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna. The main objective was to find out what type of resources and services are preferred more and also to assess the availability or adequacy of reading materials in the library. Survey method with the use of questionnaire was administered for data collection. A sample of 150 undergraduates was selected by using stratified random sampling method from faculties existing at the Vavuniya Campus Namely Applied Sciences and Business Studies. The response rate was 89%. The findings revealed that the majority of the students (83%) preferred to use academic text books. Among them 86% are satisfied with the books available in the library; as they are more relevant to their academic programme. The awareness of available e-resources in the library and its usage by the undergraduates depict a considerable size (56%). The undergraduates mainly seek information for the purposes of exam (82%) and research (63%) from the library. They prefer to access e-resources (73%) more than printed materials. Further, the respondents are satisfied with the library services (74%) in meeting their needs. Therefore, the undergraduates perceive favourably with the available resources and services of the Library attached to the Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna. It is recommended to organize user education programmes, and also training sessions to provide sufficient knowledge on modern library facilities to create a vibrant learning and research culture among undergraduates, and to maximize the e-resource usage with the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in user services.