Exploring Undergraduates' Satisfaction with Library Resources and Services: A Case Study of the Science Library, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

This study investigated the level of undergraduates' satisfaction and their perceptions towards library resources and services provided by the Science Library, University of Peradeniya. The survey research method was adopted to achieve the above objectives. A questionnaire was administered to 442 undergraduates of the Faculty of Science. 371 duly filled questionnaires were returned, were then analyzed. The findings revealed that more than 60% of the undergraduates visited the library daily and weekly, while more than 80% of them visited the library for multiple purposes. Regarding the available resources, the majority of the undergraduates were satisfied with the library book collection, periodicals and available magazines. Yet, only 39% and 32% of students reported that they were satisfied with e-resources and audiovisual materials available in the library respectively. Considering the library services, the majority of respondents were satisfied with lending, reference, referral and photocopying services. However, 11% of them were not satisfied, where as 13% of the students were not even aware of online services provided by the library. Further, the findings demonstrated that limited number of computers, unavailability of Wi-Fi facilities, unawareness of the library website, difficulties of accessing the Internet and searching research articles were the main reasons for students' dissatisfaction. However, the majority of the undergraduates praised the library staff for offering an impressive service. The results proved that undergraduates have positive perceptions towards the library and its services. Based on the findings, some suggestions were made to increase user satisfaction and to enhance the library resources and service quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]