The influence of institutional mergers on library service delivery at Kyambogo University Library

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find the influence of institutional mergers on library service delivery at Kyambogo University. The study was guided by three objectives namely; (i) to find out the influence of institutional mergers on library collection development, (ii) to examine the influence of institutional mergers on library collection processing and (iii) to establish the influence of institutional mergers on library usage. The descriptive survey research design guided the study using both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. A sample of 80 library staff participated in the study. Interview guides and questionnaires were used to collect data from respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to establish the influence of institutional merging on library collection development, processing and usage. The findings revealed that institutional mergers positively influenced library collection development and library collection processing but negatively influenced library usage. It was concluded that (i) institutional mergers positively influence library collection development if there is a policy to guide this function information, (ii) Library information processing improved after institutional mergers with the adoption of information classification and cataloguing schemes after training and (iii) Institutional mergers negatively influence library usage. The following recommendations were suggested; (i) Managers of future mergers should select develop collection development policies to guide this function. (ii) Managers of future mergers should select suitable processing schemes for both cataloguing and classification and train the staff on how to use them before library information processing is merged and (iii) Library usage should be carefully monitored.