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Use of Subscribed Electronic Resources by Undergraduate Students at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
Authors: Nicholaus Mwalukasa and Ronald Benard

Abstract

This study assessed the use of subscribed electronic resources by undergraduate students at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). The study aims at determining the students’ awareness, access and use of subscribed electronic resources and to examine determinants of the use of subscribed electronic resources. The study used a cross-sectional research design to collect data from 120 respondents using structured questionnaire as the data collection tool. Data were coded on Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The researchers calculated the frequencies, percentages and linear regression. Findings reveal that majority (90%) of respondents were aware of the availability of subscribed electronic resources. Furthermore, the most used e- resources were e-journal and e-books while the least used was e-dictionary. Furthermore, the results found that perceived usefulness and attitude significantly influenced students’ use of subscribed electronic resources. The study reveals that age and year of study influenced students’ use of subscribed electronic resources. The study concludes that usage of subscribed e-resources by undergraduate students was moderate. It is recommended that librarians in academic institutions should create regular creation of awareness on the subscribed e- resources to the library users. The study recommends that librarians, information science and educators who intend to promote electronic resources should ensure that they are useful. Moreover, creating awareness on the usefulness of electronic resources to change their attitude is another important factor. Marketing the electronic resources through outreach programmess and information literacy are necessary for all the students.

Keywords: Subscribed electronic resources, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, socio-demography and Sokoine University of Agriculture     

Proceedings of  the 4th COTUL Scientific Conference, 7th-11th November, 2022