Investigation of library user perceptions towards mobile phone-based library services case study: Islamic University in Uganda

Abstract

Institutions of higher education have increasingly invested in library management systems to provide a reading environment designed to enhance student learning and research. While there has been an increase in the design and development of Library information systems, many of the systems are not being utilized by the library users to solve their information needs. Most of the systems currently designed are not user centered because the designers of these systems don’t really consult the library users before developing the systems. Little effort has been made to investigate the perception and intention to use mobile phone-based library information systems by the library users (Venkatesh, 2012). This research paper aims to present an overview of the perception of the students regarding possible use and implementation of mobile phones in library services for Islamic University in Uganda Library (IUIUL), and to design an architecture that supports library users’ perception regarding the possible advantages of implementing mobile based library services in IUIU library. This research adopted the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to study acceptance and use of technology in a library user context. The UTAUT theory considers that three key factors; performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence are direct determinants of behavioral intention to use technology. The User Centered Design (UCD) was used with a structured questionnaire to conduct the research. The data was collected from different faculty for the balance of the study and findings. The data was collected from three campuses of IUIU. Responses to closed-ended questions were analyzed using the descriptive analysis techniques of SPSS 20.0 and responses to other closed-ended questions were analyzed using general statistics. The result of the study shows that the status of mobile phone usage by the library users of IUIUL is satisfactory. The findings of the study indicate that the students provide their consensus regarding the use of mobile phones in service delivery at IUIUL. This study provides evidence on the actual use of mobile phones by the students of IUIUL for retrieving information and their attitude towards implementing a mobile based library system for IUIUL. Keywords— Islamic University in Uganda Library (IUIUL), Library Users, Mobile phones.