Enhancing Customer Services in Private Academic Libraries in Kenya: Survey of Kenya Methodist University Library

Abstract

Academic libraries are established to buttress the parent institution in accomplishing its mission and vision. The increasing competition and demand for quality services provision and exploitation of information resources has made academic libraries to explore on ways of making the services more effectual. Purpose of the study was to investigate practices for enhancing customer services in private academic libraries in Kenya with reference to the Kenya Methodist University library. Objectives of the study were to: establish the level of user awareness on customer services in private academic libraries, examine the level of user satisfaction of customer services in private academic libraries, explore customer services activities adopted in private academic libraries, and examine strategies for promoting customer services in private academic libraries. This research employed mixed method approach where both quantitative and qualitative research strategies were used for data collection, analysis and presentation. Simple random sampling technique and purposive sampling technique were used to select the target sample that involved both undergraduate and postgraduate and library staff. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data with Statistical Package for Social Sciences used for quantitative data analysis and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Findings were presented in tables, charts and narrative form. First, the findings discovered that customer services were available at the library with users being aware of the services to some extent. However, the research also found out that more needed to be done including training of library staff and customers in addition to involving the customers in policy development. There was also need to provide financial support to the library in order to enhance promotion of information services in the library. The study further recommended that the institution needed to ensure that users are made aware of the mission and vision of the library. Information staff must encourage users to seeking assistance whenever in need. Strategies for promoting customer services in the library needed to be well implemented and supported. In addition, the study proposed a framework for enhancing customer services in private academic libraries.