The Adoption and Use of Resources by Post Gratuate Students at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Abstract

The study was undertaken to investigate the adoption and use of electronic resources among postgraduate students at LUANAR, Bunda Campus. The research, therefore, investigated postgraduate students' awareness of electronic resources, evaluated the purpose that influence the use of these e-resources, and looked into the variables that affect their use and non-use of e-resources at Bunda Campus. This study examined the objectives by taking into account the theoretical underpinnings of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DoI). 150 postgraduate students made up the study population; 131 of them answered. The study was conducted using a quantitative approach. This study used structured questionnaires as the main data collection instrument. Additionally, version 21.0 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilised to analyse quantitative data. The study discovered that general awareness of e-resources among postgraduate students at Bunda Campus Library was not a problem, as nearly all of them were aware of the resources. However, MyLoft and e-journals were the most widely known and used e-resources among postgraduate students, despite the study's high overall awareness of the e-resources. MyLoft's popularity is likely due to its comparative advantage of having various access points to a variety of e-resources, such as e-journals that are predominantly subscribed to by MALICO as a consortium.

The study also determined that Bunda Campus Library employed various strategies (communication channels) to create awareness among postgraduate students, namely, library orientation, library guide, fliers, leaflets, library webpage, library online catalogue, library staff, and through friends. Based on the findings, most postgraduate students at the Bunda campus learnt about e-resources from OPAC, friends, and library orientation. The study further determined that Bunda Campus library offered the following e-resources: e-journals, MyLoft, Online Database, OPAC, Internet Services, Online Reference Services, E-books, and Institutional Repository. In addition, the findings revealed that postgraduate students mostly relied on e-journals and MyLoft to find online information for their academic activities and other needs.

The study also established that the majority of postgraduate students could rarely use e-resources frequently because most e-resources were used on a monthly basis. This demonstrated that despite high awareness of e-resources, postgraduate students rarely used e-resources. However, the study determined that postgraduate students at Bunda Campus used e-resources for the following purposes: research and assignments, research and learning, and knowledge advancement. The study established that slightly more than half of graduate students who were inspired to make use of online resources found the following benefits: affordability and time-saving, providing multiple access points, more informative and easier-to-find information, and helping to advance learning. The study found that the following factors influenced postgraduate students' adoption and use of electronic resources: material that is current, readily available around the clock, and easily accessible, abundance of content and enhanced searchability. These factors provided some conveniences and economic advantages to the postgraduate students. Finally, the results of the present study through complexity as an element of DoI theory revealed that the following factors discouraged postgraduate students from using e-resources at Bunda Campus: need for passwords, lack of search skills, slow internet connectivity, uncertainty about which database to access, and insufficient computers and hotspots to support access. These elements made it difficult for postgraduate students to utilise Bunda Campus's e-resources effectively. The study concludes that resolving these problems might influence the number of e-resources utilized. The findings would help academic libraries like Bunda Campus Library and others enhance the creative management and application of e-resources. The study proposed various recommendations based on the objectives; key among them include conducting intensive orientation programmes for postgraduate students to keep postgraduates informed about new e-resources and search techniques, and ongoing training on e-resources should be provided. The other suggestions include making sure the library webpage is effectively marketed in order to regularly announce training courses or new electronic resources, and lecturers should be made aware of these resources in order to encourage their postgraduate students to make use of them. Once more, a study to evaluate undergraduate students' acceptance and usage of e-resources in conjunction with faculties at the Bunda Campus was recommended. Key words: E-resources, Academic libraries, Postgraduates, LUANAR, Bunda Campus,