Users’ Satisfaction with Reference Services in University Libraries in Nigeria: A Case Study

Abstract

This study examined undergraduate students’ satisfaction with reference services in National Open  University of Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey. The population of the study was  twelve thousand, five and forty-seven (12,547) undergraduates that registered for the second semester  2017/2018 session drawn from four Study Centres libraries. Sample sizes of 590 students were selected. Questionnaire was used for data collection. Out of the 590 questionnaires distributed, a total  of 511 questionnaires (representing 86.6% return rate) were filled and returned. The study revealed  that reference services were provided in the National Open University of Nigeria. These services  include current awareness service, face to face interaction, and provision of electronic databases  among others. The study also revealed that the respondents were satisfied to a high extent with the  reference services provided in the library. Similarly, majority of the respondents were satisfied with  the reference librarians in their libraries; they indicated that the reference librarians are competent in  their work, always available to attend to users’ needs, communicates effectively and work with users to help them create keywords and use of databases. Furthermore, the test of hypotheses revealed that  there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of both gender and age of the respondents with  respect to their extent of satisfactions with the available reference services in National Open  University of Nigeria. The study concluded that despite the positive response of the students, the  National Open University of Nigeria and other academic libraries in Nigeria should provide more  and better reference facilities and introduce novel services.