EXAMINING THE INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF NAVRONGO CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

The academic library has to undertake research in order to understand and improve upon its performance in line with the mission and vision of the mother institution. This paper therefore examined the information seeking behaviour of undergraduate students of the University for Development Studies, Navrongo Campus to have an insight into their information gathering processes and how to guide them. Three hundred (300) students from a total population of 987 were purposively sampled in the Campus Library within a period of two weeks in December, 2013 between the peak hours of 10.00am to 12.00 noon. The library’s registration list served as a guide to avoid duplication. The main tool for data collection was the questionnaire which comprised both closed and open-ended questions while the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used for analyzing the data. The study adopted a descriptive survey method using frequency tables and charts. Major findings were that 37.33% information gathered by respondents was predominantly for academic purposes, 34.00% of the respondents’ source of academic information was the internet, followed by library resources (27.34%) and lecture notes (23.00%) respectively. The study concluded that since students learn from multiple sources of information with more dependence on the Internet there was the need for proper guidance. Recommendations include: The Library should intensify information literacy programmes, the university should provide adequate ICT infrastructure, secured Internet connectivity and also the recruitment of additional professional librarians should be given priority