A Critical Reviewed by Murni binti Zainal (2014749375)

FACULTY OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

BACHELOR OF INFORMATION SCIENCE (HONS) LIBRARY MANAGEMENT
(IM 244)

PLANNING AND DESIGN OF LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION CENTERS
(IML 656)

CRITICAL REVIEW:
Reference service evaluation at an African academic library: the user perspective

Prepared by:
MURNI BINTI ZAINAL

2014749375

Class: IM244 6A

Supervised By:
SIR MOHD ZAIHAN BIN HUSSIN

Date of Submission: 28th September 2016

CRITICAL REVIEW:
Reference service evaluation at an African academic library: the user perspective

MURNI BINTI ZAINAL
2014749375

Faculty of Information Management
Universiti Teknologi MARA

Puncak Perdana, Shah Alam Selangor
September 28, 2016

CONTENTS PAGE

TITLE i
1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
2.0 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 2
3.0 PURPOSE 2
4.0 TARGET AUDIENCE 2
5.0 TIMELINESS 2
6.0 ANALYSIS TOOL 3-5
7.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3
8.0 BODY ANAYLSIS 5
8.1 Content 5
8.2 Strength 5
8.3 Weakness 5
9.0 COMMENTS 6
10.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 6
11.0 CONCLUSION
12.0 REFERENCES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Assalammualaikum.
Syukur, Alhamdulillah and firstly, Praises to Allah, because of His guidance, I have been
able to finish my individual assignment regarding to Critical Review. My friends and I are
asked to choose any article in Planning and Designing Libraries and Information Centers
and every one of us needs to critic more about the article that we had chosen.
Secondly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and special thanks to my lecturer, Sir
Mohd Zaihan bin Hussin, for his guidance and continuously providing my friends and I with
good advices for doing this individual assignment.
Next, I would also like to thank both of my parents because they were always supporting me,
encouraging me with their best wishes and providing me with moral and financial support to
complete this assignment. They were always there to cheering me up and stood by me
through the good times and bad.
Finally, I would like to express my thanks to of all my friends which are my classmates, who
always help me while doing this assignment. Without all of them, I might not be able to
complete this assignment successfully. Thanks all.

i

PLANNING AND DESIGN OF LIBRARIES AND IML656
INFORMATION CENTERS

Luo, L. & Buer, V. (2015). Reference service evaluation at an African academic library: the
user perspective. Library Review, 64(8/9), 552-566. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/lr-04-
2015-0046

1. Introduction

UEW has five libraries, in four out of the five libraries, the reference service called
Information Help Desk (IHD) are located near the library entrance with proper signage. While
the fifth library, which does not have IHD the user can ask for information help at the
Circulation Desk. The goal of this study is to examine the UEW library’s reference service
from user perspective and understand library users’ use/non-use of the service as well as
their perception of the different aspects of the service. The user’s perception is crucial in
evaluating how effective and successful the reference service. The perception also will
determine the whether the mission, serve to fulfil users’ information needs, are achieved or
not.

2. About the Author

Through the Research Profile: Dr. Lili Luo | SJSU iSchool (2016), we found the author Luo’s
background. Known as Dr. Lili Luo, who is associate professor at San Jose State University
(SJSU). Regarding to her research interest and experience, she joined iSchool in fall of 2007
after receiving her Ph.D in Library and Information Science at University of North Carolina.
The primary area of her research interest is information services and use. Her researches
explore how information, users and information experts interact with one bother and she also
interested in education for librarians and information professionals. The author can be
contacted through email at: [email protected].

3. Purpose

This articles aiming to provide a detailed discussion and evaluation on reference service
from user perspective, focusing on how users use and become aware with the service at
University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in Ghana.

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4. Target Audience
 Reference Librarian: Through this article, the librarian should aware, how the user
perception on their services, which allow them makes some improvement and
evaluate how their services from user perspective. What are their strength and
weaknesses
 Researcher: The researcher can know what are data available which contain in the
articles can be used from next research. They also can make comparison to ensure
about the past and future data. The articles really help the researcher to gather latest
data and comparing what are their finding can help the cataloguer.

5. Timeless

This article was published on Library Review journal, in year of 2015. This articles has been
downloaded 460 times since 2015.

6. Analysis tool

Generally the language is less complicated, the font used by the author is standard size
while the arrangement of topic is important and the authors are arranging the topic
accordingly, following a scope. While, the size of the articles come out with A4 size which
compatible with all printer and print size. Overall, the font, language, size, arrangement are
standard, that used by other author.

7. Research Methodology

One thousand questionnaires were distributed in three week period and only 637
questionnaires were returned which concludes responded rate to 63.7 percent. The
questionnaires divided into five part; (1) User demographics, (2) Non-user of IHD, (3) Use of
IHD in term of frequency and motivation, (4) Use of IHD in term of perception of service, and
(5) Ideas for improving the IHD. Self-administered paper questionnaires were distributed to
users of the UEW libraries to study their awareness, use and perception of IHD.

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8. Body Analysis
8.1. Content

To prepare for the study and develop the data collection instrument, the author conduct a
literature review that concentrated on three areas; reference services in Africa, reference
service evaluation from user perspective and methodologies for user-oriented service
evaluation. Reference services at Africa, follows the global trends whereby centered by
on information technologies, even they are but slower. A few university libraries in
Nigeria started using social media as the most preferred methods for delivering
reference services, including Facebook, Twitter and Ask a Librarian. On the other hand,
Ola (2012) argued that the library had lack of proper funding, infrastructural deficiencies,
inability to retain information technology expert and intra-political politics as limitation that
library need to faces in order to serve better purpose.

Lancester (1988) stated that, “the public service of library must be measured
ultimately in terms of user satisfaction”. The author study this field because the value of
evaluating reference services from the user perspective was recognised as early as
1980-an. They are using a survey as the data collection method, and their goal’s was not
obtain in-depth view of small group of library users’ experience with IHD. It is because
they hoped to understand how the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the IHD are
perceived by as many library users as possible. Thus, a survey is perfect mechanism or
method in their evaluation of study.

The author using user-oriented approach which is well-acknowledged and
interested in hearing the voice of the community while serve and learning about how the
users use and become aware with the services. Although, they were informed about the
study purpose and assured that participant in the survey was completely anonymous and
voluntary. Actually, the questionnaires were distributed among library user who only
came to visit the library only. The study should distributed to all students and faculty who
outside the library to more sense while the non-user are avoided using the reference
service and why they are oppose to come.

The most important things need to be highlight thorough this study are the result
of the study such the reason why there are a lot of non-ser of IHD and through the
reason, the study can help the library to make new improvement in promoting IHD,
propose capable librarian to serve the non-user of IHD service. Since from the study, it
stated that most of the non-user able to find information they need by their self and the
second, because they are not aware with IHD exist. The third and forth reason are

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caused the non-user could not wait for service besides they are do not feel comfortable
talking with the librarian.

The motivation of the library comes to library properly answered as most of the library
user comes to used library IHD because of class assignment, personal interest and
using library facilities. IHD helps the user resolve their class assignment and personal
interest develop into trust to the service as it is reliable to be depending on. Generally,
29% library users declare their motivation to use IHD because “I need help with using the
library facilities such as computer, printers and study rooms”. This shows the library need
some others staff that will entertain the user which need to answer technical question
regarding to the computer and other services. The author suggests to paraprofessional
or trained staff arranged alongside the librarian so they can help with the technical
question.

Perception of the service is important seeing as left an impression to library and its
services. Regarding library users’ perception of various components of their reference
encounters at the IHD, the overall attitude is positive. In the course of perception,
majority of the IHD users’ state that “I would recommend the Information Help Desk to
other” and “I would use the Information Help Desk again” give significant result which the
service is highly success in giving a good perception so they need to stay gives a
excellent service to its user.

Through the idea proposed by the library users’, they pointed out that IHD librarians’
customer skills still need improvement, thus not only they need capable librarians but
instead the library user need more friendly librarian, with other skills; approachable,
patient, attentive and punctual. The librarians’ weakest area appears to be when
handling queries that could not be directly answered during the reference encounter. The
user need to visits them again for further information giving impression that the librarian
has limited knowledge and incapable. Due this issue, the librarian needs proper training
to enhance their knowledge of information resources and search skills.

By means of 22.2 percentage ideas from the library users, the library needs to
make some improvement to their other library services for encourage more user used
the services. Nevertheless, this matter is not easily to be change because it happens
due the library has lacks of budget. Even though, the library has achieved their mission
in provide support to student in their academic studies with gives support through IHD
service but, the library still needs upgrading their other facility and collection such as
stable electric supply, faster Internet, more computer and printers or photocopy machine,

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more desks and chairs, updated book collection, and buy new book relevant to users’
scope.

8.2. Strengths
 Author using intermediate English to write the text
 Has clear research focus
 Proposed fresh research
 Author using simple table with brief description
 Proposed excellence conclusion
 Provide reliable reference and further reading material

8.3. Weaknesses
 Limited details on online library reference service
 Limited responden

9. Comments

This article offer a point of view from user perspective, how the user need from the library,
what are their motivation and perception library reference service and offer great discussion
or result at the end of study. The author had strong justified his research purpose as well
their goals. The literature review explain how the development of reference service in Africa,
how important to evaluate reference service from user perspective and what kind of
methodologies suitable to be used to measured user-oriented reference service evaluation.

10. Recommendations

In this study they had literature on development of reference service but it is bit refreshment
if the author evaluates the university online reference service as well. However, in this study,
there is no further information regarding online reference services offered by the UEW library.
This study should include the online reference services offered by the library, so that they
can evaluate this aspect too; they can ask the library user experienced, feedback, perception
and quality of services. In future study, the authors can user different sample size which not
limited to respondent at library and faculty. Others than that, they can be illustrate how the
user demographic can influence to the perception and motivation when using the IHD. They
can distribute the questionnaires around the university, faculty and user without bias. This

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actually will help the library know their latest statistic on how many students are the users of
the library, and why they are comes to library. Besides that, after the improvement such
making proper signage, send librarian to training, installing faster internet and others had
been made, how the services are growing? Is there any changes?

11. Conclusion

In this era where the information technology keeps growing, online reference service
is using which quite popular around the world among the user as medium of reference allow
them access the information they want without facing the librarian but still they are
communicating just in different way. If the library does not this kind of services, maybe now it
is the time for them make new step. User perception help to improve library service, offer
new idea, satisfy their needs and offer new perspective as they are an asset and important
to library.

12. Reference

Luo, L. & Buer, V. (2015). Reference service evaluation at an African academic library: the
user perspective. Library Review, 64(8/9), 552-566. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/lr-04-
2015-0046

Research Profile: Dr. Lili Luo | SJSU iSchool. (2016). Ischool.sjsu.edu. Retrieved 25
September 2016, from http://ischool.sjsu.edu/programs/san-jose-gateway-phd-
program/prospective-phd-students/research-expertise/research-profile-3

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