Information Needs, Seeking Behaviors, and Satisfaction Levels of faculty Members and Graduate Students at the University Of Chittagong, Bangladesh

Abstract

The study aims to explore the information needs, seeking behavior, and satisfaction level of users at the University of Chittagong Library, with a particular focus on faculty members and graduate students. The study used a quantitative research methodology. A set of questionnaire was used to gather information regarding the information needs of library users, their preferred information seeking behaviors, and their overall satisfaction with the library's offerings. The descriptive findings were investigated using a variety of descriptive statistics (such as frequency numbers and percentages), and Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to see whether there were any statistically significant variations in the patrons’ demographic data regarding the frequency of library visit. Preliminary findings indicate that faculty members and graduate students have a wide range of information needs, including access to academic journals, research materials, and specialized databases. Based on the analysis of the data; the "Asymp. Sig (2-tailed)" is reported as 0.719, indicating that there is no significant difference in library visit frequency between females (mean rank= 106.36) and males (103.43). On the basis of the user response academic journal is the mostly used sources for them (157, 75.15% and rank 1) while the research paper and journals is the mostly used sources for them (152, 72.7% and rank 1). In evaluating the quality of information original work is the most considered factor for the users (159, 76.4% and rank 1). The study found the recommendation of library automation (185, 88.5%) should be ensured in the library followed RFID technology (169, 80.9%). In the purpose of information seeking and library use the reading books or articles ranking first among 206 respondents. Out of 207 respondents, 135 and 30 chose Electronic as their most preferred and preferred format, while most of the respondents (206) faced lack of internet facility during seeking information and OPAC is the most considered strategy for the users (180, 86.5% and rank 1). Regarding sources and standards of information for research purpose activity academic standard is the most considered standard for them (158, 77.8% and rank 1). Regarding the satisfaction level towards library service and facilities library automation ranked 1^st on the satisfaction level (TP=989). The findings can inform future developments and improvements in library services, aiming to enhance user experiences and meet the evolving information requirements of the university's academic community.