Usage of online public access catalogue (opac) by undergraduate students at Sokoine university of agriculture
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal
Abstract
This study aims to examine the usage of Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) by
undergraduate students atSokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). Specifically the study aimed
to determine whether the undergraduate students were aware of OPACat Sokoine National
Agricultural Library (SNAL), to examine the access to OPAC by undergraduate students at
SNAL,to examine the usage of OPAC by undergraduate students at SNAL and to identify the
challenges encountered by undergraduate students in the usage of OPAC at SNAL. The study
involved 100 purposively selected Bachelor of Information and Records Management (BIRM)
students.This cross-sectional study basically used self-administered questionnairesas data
collectionmethod. The data were analysed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS). Findings of the study revealed that majority of respondents were aware of
OPAC. The respondents used OPAC for various reasons including knowing the
librarymaterialsavailable in the collection for a short time, locating library materials, and
knowing the status of books – if they are available or on loan. OPAC are accessed from various
points including in Library, Hostels,and study tables and seats made of cement locally known
asvimbweta.Various ICT devices such as computers in the library, smartphones and laptops are
used to access OPAC. However, some challenges such as lack of basic ICT skills, lack of
training, power outage were found to be hindering the usage of OPAC. The study recommends
provision of training to increase skills, increase marketing strategy and purchase of a heavy-duty
automatic generator to solve the power outage challenge.
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
OPAC, Snal, OPAC usage, Undergraduate students, Sokoine University of Agriculture