Informing Policy and Practice Through Assessment of New Library Books' Usage at Makerere University
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Date
2017
Authors
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Publisher
Acquisitions, & Technical Services
Abstract
Makerere University Library procured 11,811 copies (4,662 titles) of the latest editions of textbooks with
funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York. By the time of the study, there were 20,251 titles in
both International Development Agency and Law textbook sections of themain library, of which 23%
were the newly acquired titles. The books were selected by lecturers from all academic departments.
Prior to the selection, lecturers were trained in modern book selection methods to ensure that they
made appropriate selections and updated the reading lists. Once received, the bibliographic records
of new books were entered in the Virtua Integrated Library System. After 1 year, Makerere University
Library conducted a study to find out whether the new books were being used, how relevant the
books were to users’ needs, whether the reading lists were current, whether user education, library
catalogues, etc., had any influence on the usage of new books. The first set of data was electronically
collected for 2 weeks during the peak period (11th and 12th weeks of the semester) using the Virtua
Integrated Library System circulation module. While the second set of data was collected in the 5th
and 7thweeks of the semester both electronically andmanually to address the gaps realized in the first
set of data that was collected only electronically. A short, self-administered questionnaire was used
to manually collect data; it had 10 questions, two of which were open-ended. The quantifiable data
was analyzed using Google spreadsheets, while the qualitative datawas categorized into themes. The
findings indicated that the books were overwhelmingly relevant (95%); while 93% of the respondents
identified the new books fromthe reading lists, confirming that the lists had been updated and hence
the book selection training was timely. Course mates contributed 30%, online catalogue 14%, while
library user education (20%) and other information literacy training sessions contributed to raising
awareness about the new books and the sections where they are located. The article concludes by
highlighting the implications of the study findings for policy and practice, lessons learned, as well as
identifying areas in library services at Makerere University Library that require further research.
Description
Keywords
Informing Policy, Library Books’Usage, Makerere University
Citation
Maria G. N. Musoke & Andrew Mwesigwa (2017) Informing Policy and Practice Through Assessment of New Library Books' Usage at Makerere University, Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services, 40:1-2, 10-27, DOI: 10.1080/14649055.2016.1263501