Assessing the Usage of Library Electronic Resources by Postgraduate Students at the University of Ghana Balme Library Research Common

Abstract

This study aims to examine the extent of use of library electronic resources by postgraduate students at the University of Ghana Balme Library Research Commons to determine their level of awareness, the purpose of use, the training received, and the challenges of using the electronic resources.The target population was the postgraduate students who were using the Research Commons of the Balme Library during the study.A mixed-method was adopted for the study, questionnaires and interviews were the main instruments used for data collection.The findings of the study revealed that the respondents mostly use electronic resources, especially the institutional repository (UGspace) as their first point of search for online journals.There was a high level of awareness of the electronic resources through library training programs and fresher's orientations.The electronic resources were purposely used by the postgraduate students for their research, dissertation, assignment, and literature that support their studies.The major source of electronic resources training was the library.Some challenges such as many irrelevant search results, inability to identify the best resources, and too much time to identify resources were identified.It is recommended that information literacy skills training needs to be intensified to improve the usage of electronic resources.

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