Qualitative inquiry on service quality of academic library in a Nigerian Technological University

Abstract

The evolution of information technology (IT) has made students' needs for information services to change, which inevitably puts pressure on academic libraries, to work towards improving service quality and customer satisfaction in order to face competition in global higher education industry whilst meeting the specific information needs of users. Students who constitute major users of academic libraries in universities often consider library's service quality based its ability to meet or even exceed their expectations prior to enrolment, thus, influencing their overall perceptions of the overall service quality of the institution necessitating a review of quality issues associated with services of academic libraries in universities. Therefore this study, explored both expectations and perceptions of students on the service quality of the central academic library in a Nigerian technological university. Data for this study was collected by means of qualitative interview. Fifty final year undergraduate students organised into 10 focus groups of 6 each, drawn from faculties of engineering, management and science participated in the focus group discussion. This study reveals five factors: technology, facilities, currency of collections and materials, environment and professionalism as relevant in explaining both expectations and perceptions of students with regards to service quality dimensions of academic libraries in technological universities. Managerial implications, limitations and suggestions for further research were presented accordingly.