Department of Information Studies
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Item The Use of E-Books for Learning and Research by Postgraduate Students in Ghana: A Study of The University of Ghana and the Ghana Technology University College(University of Ghana, 2020-10) Pobi, E.K.Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has become a significant strategic area for libraries to provide quality service to meet their users’ needs. In the bid to improve service delivery, the use of ICT is gradually replacing the manual way of providing service to library users. The ICT that is being used to provide services has proven to be a key to the success of most university libraries by providing new services such as e-books. The study was undertaken to identify the awareness and use of e-books for learning and research by postgraduate students in Ghana. Key aims of the research were to discover the level of awareness of e-books, the level of use, factors that influence the utilization of e-books, benefits/importance of the use of e-books, perception and attitudes towards the use of e-books, challenges faced in the use of e-books by the postgraduate students from the University of Ghana (UG) and the Ghana Technology University College (GTUC). Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire. Proportionate sampling was used to select 200 postgraduate students to participate in the study. Out of the 200 copies of the questionnaires administered, 150 were completed and returned translating into a 75% response rate. In general, the majority of 86.6% and 94.3% respectively of the students from both UG and GTUC, indicated awareness of the existence of e-books. Again, the majority of 87.6% and 75.5% from both UG and GTUC respectively actually used e-books for learning and research activities. Furthermore, most of the students used e-books for academic work. However, majority of 66% respondents from UG were not given any training in the use of the e-books, though the behavioural intention to use them showed a positive sign as against 64.2% from GTUC who were given training in the use of e-books. The study revealed that, the major challenge faced by most of the students, that is, 84.5% and 92.5% from both UG and GTUC respectively when accessing the e-books was lack of stable internet. Notwithstanding the challenges the postgraduate students faced in the use of the e-books, they indicated that they found the utilization of e-books very convenient, easy to use and that e-books can be accessed 24/7 (twenty-four hours a day). The research recommended that both the UG and the GTUC faculty should encourage and include e-books as reading texts for their students. Secondly, the challenge of low and unstable internet should be dealt with by the institutions by providing fast Wifi access at the campuses and to extend the bandwidth in order to increase fast access to the e-books.Item Library Services for Distance Education, A Case Study of the University of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2009-10) Cann, S.M.Item Lending Services in Academic Libraries: Challenges and Prospects in the Balme Library, University of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2010) Debrah, K.BThe broad objective of this study was to access the prospects and challenges of lending services in the Balme Library of University of Ghana (UG), Legon. Lending services cannot be over emphasized especially for a central library like the Balme library. The library plays a critical role in enhancing the teaching, research and learning processes of several users apart from students. The researcher used questionnaires as a method for collecting data from the staff of the Balme library and post-graduate students offering Information Studies. A total of forty two questionnaires were administered to the post-graduate students whilst another set of questionnaires administered to fifty four library that were junior staff, senior members and senior staff. The main finding of the study were that, most students found the lending services rendered by this prestige library as not very satisfactory. Therefore, many users of the Balme library identified other options than using the library. The research also revealed that most of the library materials indicated on the catalogue could not be found on the shelves leading to more frustration on the part of the users. This invariably had affected students' academic work especially in the area of research and learning. Moreover, the researcher found out that automation of the library services had helped the library in several ways like easily identifying overdue items, calculating overdue fines, organization of materials and capturing statistics. Lastly, the findings showed that users were displeased for the short loan period which normally creates the problem of overdue fines. Normally borrowed books would have not been fully utilized as expected.Item Awareness and Use of the Internet by Academic Staff and Students of the University Of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2001-10) Markwei, E.D.The aim of the study was 10 find the extent of awareness and use of the Internet and its sources by academic staff and postgraduate students of the University of Ghana. The purposes for. motivations. the limitations and barriers in using the Internet were explored; so were the differences in use among staff, students, and faculty. The survey method was used. Questionnaires were distributed to 175 academic Staff and 216 postgraduate students. One hundred and twenty three (123) and 121 usable responses were received from staff and students respectively. The responses have been presented and analyzed. The main findings of the study indicate that, both staff and students are fully aware of the Internet and most of its services. Academic staff in general use the lnternet and its services more than students. However. both staff and students from the science faculty use the Internet and its services more than those from the Arts and Social Science facu lties. The study also established that, among the services. Email is highly used by both staff and students. The main motivation far using the Internet is communication with friends and colleagues; and the main limitation in Internet usage is slow data transmission in the case of staff, and difficulty in locating information in the case students. The main barriers to using the Internet arc: frequeat1y disrupted service and inadequate time available to users for accessing the net. A significant relationship has been established between Internet use and age of student, faculty of student, and computer usage of both staff and students Both staff and students found the Internet a very useful resource that. provides them with information in their subject fields. The main reason for non-use of the Internet is inadequate training The study recommended among others, the training of staff and students to use specific tools to ensure effective use of the internet in all their academic pursuits.Item Effect of Corporate Environmental Factors on the Provision of Information in the Balme Library, University of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2003-08) Sam, R.B.The University Library is the foremost organization charged with the responsibility of providing information support to academic work in the institution. A well-equipped library, is therefore a great motivation to academic excellence and scholarship. Currently, the Balme Library of the University of Ghana is facing severe under-funding difficulties, in addition to being marginalized in the scheme of things in the university. These may have the tendency of affecting information delivery by the library. This study of the Balme Library was therefore, undertaken to determine how corporate environmental factors in the university affected the capacity of the library to provide information. These factors identified were organizational structure, organizational culture, organizational resources and the perception of some groups in the university. Through meticulous search of related literature, use of an interview schedule and Questionnaire on some senior members of the university enough data were gathered and analyzed in relation to the objectives of the study. The findings pointed to the fact that organizational structure, culture and resources, as well as the perception of groups in the University exerted enormous drawbacks on the library to deliver on its information provision mandate. In the light of the findings and other problems identified, the following recommendations were made.Item Information Behaviour of International Students in the University of Ghana.(University Of Ghana, 2020-10) Tetteh, R.K.As internationalization of higher education expands, host universities are compelled to recognize the pressing information needs of their international students who may have had differing educational backgrounds in order to provide satisfactory informational services throughout their stay in the host university. The study investigated the information seeking behaviour of international undergraduate students in the University of Ghana. The major areas that were looked into were the information needs of international undergraduate students, the channels through which they retrieved information and the challenges experienced when seeking information. The study applied a survey approach which included both quantitative and qualitative methods. The data collection tools were online questionnaire for the international undergraduate students and semi-structured interview with the Head of International Programmes Admissions Office (HIPO) at the University of Ghana. Evaluation of research methods, and consideration of ethical issues were observed to ensure validity and reliability of research findings. The quantitative data were collected through online questionnaire and were analysed using SPSS, while the qualitative data was analysed through the use of thematic content analysis. The overall response rate was 51.1% (86 out of 169 sample size). Wilson’s (1981) model of information behaviour was employed as the theoretical framework for the study. The findings of the study revealed that international postgraduate students had both academic and personal information needs at the host university. The study discovered registration process as the major academic need and accommodation as the major personal information need. The study revealed different sources of information used by surveyed students to satisfy their academic and personal information needs. The library resources and services were mentioned by 100% of the participants as the main source for their academic needs. The Internet was the most used source for both academic and personal purposes. The study also revealed problems related to English language proficiency and poor internet connectivity.Item Awareness and Use of Online Academic Databases among Undergraduate Students at the University of Ghana(University Of Ghana, 2020-10) Okyere, E.K.The advancements in technology have necessitated the change in preferences in a number of fields. This is seen in libraries making the conscious effort to subscribe to online academic databases to enable their users can get access to thousands of scholarly and peer reviewed articles. However, due to the cost of subscriptions, equipment and among others, if the users are not making use of them, then it becomes a challenge. Hence, this study investigated the awareness and use of online academic databases among the undergraduate students at the University of Ghana in Accra City Campus. This study is useful to libraries, the student body in academic institutions, policy makers in academic institutions and researchers. The study used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the theoretical framework. The study adopted a case study design which used a quantitative approach with a sample of 256 of the Accra City Campus BA students of the University of Ghana. Stratified and convenience sampling were used and questionnaire was the instrument for data collection and analysed using the SPSS and transferred to MS Excel for graphical representations and frequencies. The study revealed a high awareness and satisfaction of the online academic databases among the students. However, they are rarely used by them and mostly to aid in their academics. They again found it easy to use and access to the online academic databases was mostly through their mobile phones but the major challenge they faced was slow internet and the study as such recommended trainings, subscriptions to more databases, awareness programmes, intensive orientations and addressing the slow internet access to curb the challenges faced.Item Technostress among the Staff of College of Health Sciences Library, University of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Okine, H.University libraries have experienced the infusion of technologies in their processes due to the advancement in technologies and also as a result of the information age that has transformed traditional methods in almost all academic libraries as well as other human institutions. The introduction of the library integrated software and OPAC has resulted in the need for library staff to be well equipped in the use of ICTs in order to remain relevant in the library profession. Hitherto librarians rendered manual services from start to finish. Currently, ICT has brought with it anxiety and the phobia for technology. This has made library work stressful. The study investigated the extent of technostress among the staff of College of Health Sciences Library, University of Ghana, causes of technostress among the professional librarians and paraprofessionals of library and the coping strategies used in an attempt to control or eliminate it, with the view to making recommendations for improved service delivery. Nineteen (19) staff members which comprised professional and paraprofessional library staff of College of Health Sciences Library were participated in the study. A semi-structured interview was used in collecting data with regards to sources of technostress. It was shown from the study that professional librarians and paraprofessionals of College of Health Sciences Library perceived challenges encountered on the job, unfavourable library environment, work overload, inadequate resources, job dissatisfaction, complex job demands, user challenges as the main causes of their technostress. Power outages and interruptions in internet connectivity were also identified to be some unique causes of technostress. Effects of technostress were identified to be unrelenting stress, heart diseases, brain damage, low job commitment, computer anxiety, as well as rigidity of workflow. In spite of the challenges related to library work, respondents were aware of benefits derived from the infusion of technologies in library processes and attested to the efficiency added to their daily routines. As such they had adopted technostress minimizing strategies such as positive thinking, resistance to prolonged sitting, meditation, isolation, sleeping, time management, watching movies and listening to music. It was also evident that staff had undergone some levels of training and had gained some form of experience on the job which helped them manage technostress. The study recommended the employment of skilled staff to support existing staff. Other recommendations are; adequate training for staff through seminars and conferences in the use of these infused technologies, the reinforcement of the counselling unit, provision of a restroom and last but not the least, the creation of a congenial environment for staff.