Utilization of E-resources in Maasai MAra University Library

Abstract

Electronic resources are currently being offered in almost all academic libraries, but the proper and maximum use is of these resources is a matter for discussion. These academic libraries usually have agreements with a variety of vendors and publishers to provide students, faculty, and staff with access to thousands of electronic resources in form of online databases, indexes, e-journals, e-books among others to support their teaching, learning, and research activities. These libraries also pay a relatively high amount of money in terms of subscription fees to provide these e-resource but unfortunately most of these libraries experience low usage. This sought to evaluate the utilization of e-resources in Maasai Mara university Library. Fifty respondents participated in the study and data was collected by use of observations and interview guides. The study found that there’s effective utilization of e-resources in Maasai Mara University Library but was affected by lack of enough ICT infrastructure for accessing e-resources and lack of computer and information skills. The study recommends among other things the promotion of usage of e-resources by offering a compulsory course on information literacy skills, increasing the number of networked and increasing the internet bandwidth.