IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF UTILIZATION OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION RESOURCES AVAILABLE AT MAASAI MARA UNIVERSITY: A CASE STUDY OF MAASAI MARA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, KENYA

Abstract

The future belongs to countries whose people make the most productive use of information, knowledge and technology; Kenya being a developing nation is no exception. The traditional library ways of acquiring, repackaging, storing and communicating information have changed due to web and internet technologies. The aim of the study was to identify the available e-resources in the Maasai Mara University library and assess its utilization. The study was guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Information Technology. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a target population of 3180 students a sample size of 343 participants drawn from undergraduate students who are in the second and fourth year of their studies. The response rate obtained for the research study was 76 per cent, drop and pick-up method was used for the distribution and collection of questionnaires. The study found that a range of e-resources is available at Maasai Mara University for students use. From the findings, the majority of the respondent used electronic journal at 39.5 per cent. It was noted that a small fraction of the respondents’ access electronic resources from home (18.4 per cent) while a majority of them (53.2 per cent) access the library and the computer labs available at the university. Keywords: Identification, Utilization, Electronic Information, Access