Browsing by Author "Ahenkorah-Marfo, M."

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Being where the users are: Readiness of academic librarians to satisfy information needs of users through social media
(Library Review, 2016-06) Ahenkorah-Marfo, M.; Akussah, H.
Purpose The purpose of this research is to investigate the preparedness of academic libraries in Ghana for the use of social media in reference and user services. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach using interviews was used to solicit the views of Systems/reference librarians from six most highly ranked public and private universities (in Ghana) on their libraries’ preparedness for use of social media to provide reference and user services. Findings The findings of the study indicate that most of the university libraries lacked policy on the use of social media and that though librarians held the perception that social media was useful, they lacked the competence and motivation to use social media to make a remarkable difference in service delivery. Practical implications Academic libraries in Ghana and elsewhere will find the results useful in formulating policies for the use of social media in libraries. Originality/value This qualitative approach to the study of social media deviates from the mostly quantitative studies in the literature and has brought out more revealing findings.
Changing the face of reference and user services: Adoption of social media in top Ghanaian academic libraries
(Reference Services Review, 2016-05) Ahenkorah-Marfo, M.; Akussah, H.
Social media allows collaboration, participation and sharing in libraries with users. The purpose of this study is to examine the response of academic librarians in Ghana to the use of social media in reference and user services. Design/methodology/approach It is a quantitative study that used the Likert type of questionnaire in soliciting the views of academic librarians from six public and private universities in Ghana on their knowledge and use of social media in providing reference and user services. Findings The findings of the study indicate that majority of academic librarians are knowledgeable and use social media for both personal and work-related purposes. They, however, lack adequate skills to use the array of social media tools to make remarkable difference in service delivery. For this reason, they find the traditional mode of service delivery a comfort zone. Practical implications Higher education policy makers in Ghana and elsewhere would find the results useful in decisions on the types of social media tools to use in universities and colleges. Originality/value The study provides in-depth analysis of the impact of social media on reference and user services in Ghanaian libraries, which is deficient in literature. It also recommends change in policy direction and training to whip up interest in librarians to use social media.
Health information behaviour of graduate students on the internet: Sources, trust and reliability of information
(Library Philosophy and Practice, 2019-04-25) Adams, M.; Humphrey-Ackumey, S.A.Y.; Ahenkorah-Marfo, M.
The study sought to investigate the health information behaviour of graduate students on the internet. A quantitative method using a cross-sectional survey was used to solicit information from 256 graduate students studying courses related to health in the Arts, Social, and applied Sciences. The results showed that most of the respondents preferred the Internet because it is timely, fast and provides information from different sources simultaneously. The type(s) of health information mostly sought for were general information on healthy lifestyle, specific disease or treatment, side effects of medications, new development in the medical field among others. Majority (90.9 %) of the respondents trusted the health information on the Internet but most (56.6 %) did not verify the information obtained online with medical practitioners although they had some forms of concern. The findings offer health practitioners knowledge about university students’ health information seeking behaviour on the Internet in relation to other sources of health information.
Information on the Go: Perspective of Academic Librarians on Use of Social Media in Reference Services
(International Information & Library Review - Taylor & Francis, 2017-02) Ahenkorah-Marfo, M.; Akussah, H.
Librarians have different perceptions on the employment of social media in library services. This research focused on investigating the perceptions that academic librarians in Ghana hold about the employment of social media in providing reference and user services. A quantitative research approach employing a Likert-type questionnaire was used in soliciting the views of 99 librarians from six top public and private universities in Ghana on their perspective on the use of socialmedia in providing reference and user services. The findings of the study indicate mixed perceptions on the application of social media in reference and user services. These are variously attributed to lack of skills on the part of librarians to use social media, low bandwidth and poor internet connectivity, and inadequate support/motivation from parent institutions among others. As a result, librarians found the traditional mode of service delivery more comfortable, though they knew the importance of social media in their services. The study recommended, among others, development of skills and sensitization workshops to whip up interest in librarians to use social media in reference and user services.
Knowledge and Use of Social Media by Reference and User Services Librarians in Public and Private Universities in Ghana
(University of Ghana, 2015-07) Ahenkorah-Marfo, M.; Akussah, H.; Ankrah, E.; University of Ghana, College of Education, School of Information and Communication Studies, Department of Information Studies
Trends in global information communication have necessitated that academic libraries, whether public or private, resort to the employment of web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Wikis, RSS feeds, YouTube, etc. in their services. Indeed the knowledge and use of such platforms has become critical for the survival of academic libraries globally. For this reason, this research focused on investigating the knowledge and use of social media by reference and user services librarians. The main objectives were to determine the level of knowledge, extent of use, the major social media platforms used, as well as the perceptions librarians held about employment of social media in reference and user services. A mixed methods research approach employing Likert type questionnaire and interviews was used in soliciting the views of 105 librarians from UG, KNUST, UCC, AUC, VVU and GTUC on their knowledge and use of social media. The findings of the study indicate that majority of the librarians were knowledgeable and used social media for both personal and work-related purposes. They, however, lacked the skill needed to use the array of social media platforms available to make a difference in service delivery. As a result, though librarians had a very good perception of social media, they still found the traditional mode of service delivery more comfortable. Some of the challenges that bedeviled the practice of social media were lack of interest and skill on the part of librarians, low bandwidth and poor internet connectivity, and more importantly lack of policy to guide social media application in libraries. The study therefore, recommended re-training and re-orientation of librarians in the use of social media by e-resources and reference departments, sensitization workshops by GLA/CARLIGH to whip up interest in librarians to use social media, and adoption of policy document to guide the practice of social media in libraries.