Undergraduate students’ awareness, utilization and satisfaction with the Copperbelt university (CBU) library’s online public access catalogue (OPAC).
type: CreativeWork
description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness, utilisation, and satisfaction of CBU undergraduate students with the Library’s OPAC. The specific of objectives of the study were to: determine levels of OPAC awareness among students; determine the extent to which students utilize it; assess their satisfaction and identify factors affecting their use. The study was grounded in the positivist paradigm and employed a quantitative research approach. Using systematic random sampling, 368 respondents were selected as part of the sample from a total population of 10,220 undergraduate students. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection. The findings reveal that while the majority (51.7%) of students are aware of the OPAC, its utilisation remains suboptimal. A considerable proportion of the students (40.5%) never use it and only a small proportion (12%) use it often or very often. Satisfaction levels are moderate, while more than half of the respondents (51.6%) expressed a neutral stance. Correlation analysis showed that facilitating conditions significantly impact both awareness (r = .619, p < 0.01) and utilisation (r = .473, p < 0.01), while regression analysis identified performance expectancy and facilitating conditions as strong predictors of awareness and satisfaction, and social influence as a significant predictor of utilisation. ANOVA results revealed significant differences in both awareness and utilization across age groups, with awareness (F (2,365) =13.072, p<0.001) and utilization (F (2,365) =14.122, p<0.001) showing notable variation, indicating that age influences OPAC engagement. Differences were found across programmes of study for utilization (F (7,337) =7.044, p<0.001) and satisfaction (F (7,337) =5.938, p<0.001), highlighting that academic discipline significantly impacts how students interact with the OPAC. Additionally, significant differences in awareness (F (4,363) =2.697, p=0.031) and utilization (F (4,363) =3.103, p=0.016) …
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness, utilisation, and satisfaction of CBU undergraduate students with the Library’s OPAC. The specific of objectives of the study were to: determine levels of OPAC awareness among students; determine the extent to which students utilize it; assess their satisfaction and identify factors affecting their use. The study was grounded in the positivist paradigm and employed a quantitative research approach. Using systematic random sampling, 368 respondents were selected as part of the sample from a total population of 10,220 undergraduate students. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection. The findings reveal that while the majority (51.7%) of students are aware of the OPAC, its utilisation remains suboptimal. A considerable proportion of the students (40.5%) never use it and only a small proportion (12%) use it often or very often. Satisfaction levels are moderate, while more than half of the respondents (51.6%) expressed a neutral stance. Correlation analysis showed that facilitating conditions significantly impact both awareness (r = .619, p < 0.01) and utilisation (r = .473, p < 0.01), while regression analysis identified performance expectancy and facilitating conditions as strong predictors of awareness and satisfaction, and social influence as a significant predictor of utilisation. ANOVA results revealed significant differences in both awareness and utilization across age groups, with awareness (F (2,365) =13.072, p<0.001) and utilization (F (2,365) =14.122, p<0.001) showing notable variation, indicating that age influences OPAC engagement. Differences were found across programmes of study for utilization (F (7,337) =7.044, p<0.001) and satisfaction (F (7,337) =5.938, p<0.001), highlighting that academic discipline significantly impacts how students interact with the OPAC. Additionally, significant differences in awareness (F (4,363) =2.697, p=0.031) and utilization (F (4,363) =3.103, p=0.016) …
author: Ng’ambi, Chilambwe
language: en
date published: 2025
date modified: 2026-07-27T22:06:24Z
provider: University of Zambia
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Zambia