AN ANALYSIS OF QUALITY REFERENCE SERVICES DELIVERY AS PERCEIVED BY UNDERGRADUATES IN SELECTED UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA

Reference service delivery has been changing with the evolution of information communication and technology (ICT), availability of search engines and collaborative tools in recent times, thereby leading to the gradual service decline in university libraries. This study therefore examined the quality of reference service delivery as perceived by undergraduates in selected university libraries in South-west, Nigeria. The objectives were to find out the perception of undergraduates to reference service delivery and the quality of reference service delivery in university libraries in South-west, Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey design. From 38 university libraries in the Southwest as at the time of this study, sixteen (16) libraries were purposively selected. The population comprised of 637 users (undergraduates) of the reference service who were purposively selected and sixteen (16) reference librarians. Questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection. The research instrument was subjected to reliability test using the Cronbach alpha method, with a reliability of 0.92. The research questions were analysed using descriptive statistics. The study found out that reference service quality was perceived by the undergraduates as low in terms of comfortable and inviting location (18.3%), latest resources for easy access to needed information (19.8%), giving users’ individual attention (17.5%) and courteous staff (2.6%). The study therefore concludes and recommends the overall improvement of the reference service quality and increased awareness of reference service delivery