TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page…………………………………………………………………………………………………… i
Approval Page…………………………………………………………………………………………… ii
Certification Page……………………………………………………………………………………… iii
Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………………. iv
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………… v
Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………………. vi
List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………………….. ix
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………………. x
Abstract-……………………………………………………………………………………………………. xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study…………………………………………………………………… 1
Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………………………… 10
Purpose of the Study…………………………………………………………………………. 12
Research Questions…………………………………………………………………………… 13
Significance of Study………………………………………………………………………… 13
Scope of the Study……………………………………………………………………………. 15
CHAPTER TWO: Literature Review
Conceptual Framework…………………………………………………………………….. 16
Marketing…………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
Librarians Perceptions on marketing library services………………………. 29
Library Services that require marketing……………………………………………. 31
Media for marketing library services……………………………………………… 35 Need for marketing library services……………………………………………………………………………….. 40
Constraints to marketing of Library services……………………………………. 44
Theoretical models for marketing……………………………………………………. 46
Empirical studies…………………………………………………………………………….. 54
Commercial Marketing………………………………………………………………… 55
Marketing of Educational Services ……………………………………………… 59
Marketing of Library Services……………………………………………………… 62
Summary of Literature review…………………………………………………………. 65
CHAPTER THREE: Research methods
Research Design……………………………………………………………………………… 70
Area of the Study……………………………………………………………………………. 70
Population ……………………………………………………………………………………… 70
Sample and Sampling Technique……………………………………………………. 72
Instruments for data collection……………………………………………………….. 72
Interview Schedule…………………………………………………………………………. 73
Validation of the Instrument…………………………………………………………… 74
Reliability of the Instrument…………………………………………………………… 74
Procedure for Data Collection …………………………………………………….. 75
Method of Data Analysis………………………………………………………………… 77
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF DATA…………………………………………. 77
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ……………………………….. 94
Discussion of Findings…………………………………………………………………… 94
Implications of Study……………………………………………………………………… 111
Conclusion……………………………………………………………….. 112 Recommendations………………………………………………………………………….. 113
Suggestions for Further Research……………………………………………………. 114
Limitations……………………………………………………………………………………… 114
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………………… 115
APPENDICES
Appendix I: Letter of Introduction to the respondents……………………………. 123
Appendix II: Questionnaire……………………………………………………………………. 124
Appendix III: Interview Schedule…………………………………………………………… 132
Appendix IV: Evidence of Face Validation of the Questionnaire…………… 133
Appendix V: Computation of Reliability Coefficent …………………………….. 134
Appendix VI: Map of South-East Nigeria showing location of the Universities Studied………………………………………………… 138
Appendix VII: Data Analysis for Strategies for Marketing Library Services in Universities in South-East Nigeria in respect of Reserach Questions……… 139
LIST OF TABLES
Tables
improve marketing library services……………………………………………. 91
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Abstract
This study was designed to investigate the strategies for
marketing library services in universities in South-East Nigeria. The study
employed a descriptive survey research design. The population consisted of one
hundred and seventy four library staff, made up of one hundred and one academic
librarians and seventy three library officers in the chosen zone. A population
of these library staff was used for the study. Seven research questions guided
the study. Sixty- four item questionnaire was used as instrument for data
collecton. In addition structured interview was used for the Public Services
Librarians and Reference Librarians of the university libraries. Mean scores
were used to analyze the research questions. Responses obtained from the interview
were used in discussing the findings. The result of data analyzed revealed
that: Library services are marketed mainly to achieve high level of customer
satisfaction and to maintain library relevance.The library services that are
marketed most are online services and photocopying services.The most widely
used promotion methods are exhibitions and displays.The most commonly used
channels for distribution are newsletters and newspapers. Librarians mostly
consider the cost of providing services and the extent of competition with
other information service providers while fixing price in
marketing.Furthermore, the study showed that having no budget and having no
policy for marketing, are the greatest impediments to marketing library
services. Based on the findings, it was recomended that library administration
should have marketing policy and also budget for marketing of library services.
Librarians on their part should re-learn and re-tool and use other promotion
methods and other distribution channels available for the type of services they
need so as to gain competitive advantage.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
The concept of library is changing with time and the mission and purpose are also changing. Libraries according to Aguolu and Aguolu (2002) are social institutions, created to conserve knowledge; preserve the cultural heritage; provide information; under-gird and underpin education and research; and to serve as fountains of recreation. Libraries exist in institutions or establishments to assist in achieving the objectives of their parent organizations. According to Fatoki (2004), libraries are the primary resource for conducting academic research. University libraries, like other academic libraries, exist to provide information resources from any part of the world and information services to staff and students so as to further the university’s mission of learning, teaching and research. Library services include provision of materials for undergraduate instruction, term papers and projects as well as supplementary reading; provision of materials in support of post graduate research and materials in support of faculty, external and collaborative researches. In addition university libraries provide expensive standard works, especially in the professional disciplines, and materials for personal development (Ifidon, 1999).
In the recent past, the concept of library has expanded from a collection of books and print materials to include digital library and virtual library resources. These refer to the vast collection of information people gain access to over the internet, cable television, or some other type of remote electronic connection. Libraries today are service agents sharing much in common with other service providers (Heath and Cook, 2003), and this has given rise to competition between libraries and other information service providers. To stay in business entails a continuous business transaction between a company and its various customers (Agunta, 1996). Customer’s patronage is one of the major ingredients for a company’s long term existence. Patronage from the customer is achieved only when a company provides products and services that are able to satisfy the needs of such customers.
With the sporadic growth of new information providers such as cyber cafes, on-line book dealers, the internet community, consultants and individual customers, libraries cannot continue to assume that they are the only source of information that people will consult. Librarians and other information professionals have to adopt marketing as a tool if they are to exist in the tomorrow environment (Kaane, 2006). The success of any library is dependent upon numerous factors, among which are getting users to use the library and making them aware of the library’s services. This exercise is library marketing. Marketing is a management process used for identifying, anticipating and supplying of customer requirements efficiently (Nicholas, 2003). Marketing can also be viewed as a comprehensive term that describes all the processes and interactions that result in satisfaction for users and revenue for the information firm (Jestin and Parameswari, 2002). Marketing of information products and services is a means for improving user satisfaction and promoting the use of services by current and potential users. From the above definition, marketing is planning and managing the organization’s exchange relations with its clientele. It consists of studying the target market’s needs, designing appropriate products and services, and using effective pricing, communication, and distribution to inform, motivate, and serve the market.
The reason for applying marketing in an organization is not just to improve profit, but to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction and to enhance the perceived value of the services and products. The increased customer satisfaction will result in the increased willingness to use and pay for the services offered, hence the marketing of such services and products.
Previously, the quality of a library tended to be judged on the size of its collections of books, journals and other information materials. Such norms now do not normally form the basis for quality because quality is customer-defined (Gupta and Jambhekar, 2002). Libraries have begun to realize that staff competency is an integral part of promoting marketing of library services such as reference services, especially as a means of improving user satisfaction through effective use of reference resources by current and potential users.
It is the librarian who organizes and manages the library resources to achieve the objectives of the library. The primary task of a librarian is to select from the universe of records of human culture those that may be needed by the actual and potential users of the library; to store them for future use; to organize them by creating appropriate bibliographic access controls; to interpret their contents through personalized services, and to disseminate information stored in these records (Aguolu and Aguolu, 2002).
Weingand (2002) observed that marketing should be viewed as part of a shifting paradigm, a movement from:
There are two types of marketing: business marketing and non-profit organisation marketing. Business marketing is the marketing of goods and services to individuals and organisations for purposes other than personal consumption. For this study, business marketing is the marketing of library services to the university community so that the university will achieve its` teaching, learning, and research purposes. A non-profit organisation is an organisation that exists to achieve some goal other than the usual business goals of profit, market share, or return on investment (Lamb, Hair, McDaniel, 2004). Library falls under the category of a non-profit organisation. Library has to engage in marketing to generate fund as a survival strategy. Non-profit organisation marketing is the effort by non-profit organisations to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets. For this work, non-profit organisation marketing is the attempt of the library to work, not necessarily for profit towards satisfying the library users Although these organisations vary substantially in size and purpose and operate in different environments, most perform the following marketing activities.
Often the non-profit organisations that carry out these functions do not realize they are engaged in marketing. Non-profit organisations do not seek to make a profit for re-distribution to owners or stakeholders. Like their counterparts in business organisations, non-profit managers develop marketing strategies to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets. However, marketing in non-profit organisations is unique in many ways – including the setting of marketing objectives, the selection of target markets, and the development of appropriate marketing mixes.
The term marketing mix refers to a unique blend of product, distribution, promotion and pricing strategies designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market. Distribution is sometimes referred to as place, thus giving the four Ps of the marketing mix: product, promotion, place and price. The marketing manager can control each component of the marketing mix, but the strategies for all four components must be blended to achieve optimal results. Any marketing mix is only as good as its weakest component. The best promotion and the lowest price cannot save a poor product. Similarly, excellent products with poor distribution, pricing, or promotion will likely fail.
Typically the marketing mix starts with the product ‘P’. The heart of the marketing mix, the starting point, is the product offering and product strategy. It is hard to design a distribution strategy, decide on a promotion campaign, or set a price without knowing the product to be marketed. Distribution (Place) strategies are concerned with making products available when and where customers want them. Promotion includes personal selling, advertising, sales promotion and public relation. Promotion’s role in the marketing mix is to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets by informing, educating, persuading and reminding them of the benefits of a product. Price is what a buyer must give up to obtain a product. It is often the most flexible of the four marketing mix elements, the quickest to change.
The importance of marketing as a tool for quality management in the library can hardly be over-emphasized. Thus, the essence of marketing involves finding out what the users want, then setting out to meet those needs. The crucial role of marketing in library management has been observed by Wee (2003), who stated that, whether the library is part of a profit-making organization or a wholly public-good institution, successful marketing can support its overall objectives. He stated that marketing can help the library to earn revenue to meet the needs of a targeted segment of customers who use library’s charged services; and if library service is completely free of charge, marketing helps to ensure that the librarians’ services are known and appreciated by their users. Furthermore, marketing is a way of projecting the image of the library and librarians especially at this time when people are talking about paperless society, and also the springing up of cyber cafes all around.
It follows that support in the form of funding is a crucial issue in libraries and has been the concern of many. Gupta and Jambhekan (2002) stated that in recent years libraries of all types have found it necessary to compete for both money and clients as major changes have occurred; that corporate librarians have realized that they must show management why they are useful and contribute to the bottom line. In the increasingly competitive and rapidly changing environment in which librarians operate, they need to create and sustain competitive advantage in order to survive and thrive in delivering quality library services.
Most institutional libraries around the world are facing rising costs and dwindling budget due to technological advances and today’s dynamic climate (Spalding and Wang, 2006). Managing an academic library is no longer a matter of receiving a budget at the beginning of the fiscal year and making sure it is not overspent. Now library administrators must do long-range planning to project costs and how they will be paid. In the United States in the last decade, the percentage of a public university’s budget from the state government has dropped dramatically, forcing them to behave more like private universities that do not receive government support. They conclude that as a result both public and private universities must devote time and resources to compete with each other for students, grants, and donations, that is, they must learn to market their products and services.
A successful marketing programme can create awareness of and desire for library services, build understanding of the value of the services, increase the level of usage and expand the client base. Through organizational alignment and client focus, the information centre becomes an integral part of the organization. Library clients recognize how library products and services add value to their work, and they refer others to the library from both outside and within the organization. They have faith in the librarians’ ability to deliver and trust librarians to give them correct, authoritative and context-relevant information. Client-focused marketing will improve the satisfaction of the library products and services to current and prospective customers. Greater organizational awareness can also result in higher visibility to senior management and ultimately support higher budgets based on demand.
Kumbar (2004) observed that there is competition, among other things for customers; that libraries are no longer the only information outfit in town. There are consultants, the internet, online book dealers. Student reliance on the web and online resources continues to rise at a rapid pace. Recent studies confirm that student usage patterns are shifting and student’s preference for using online resources is becoming predominant in many universities worldwide, as found in Kelley and Orr’s (2003) study of the University of Maryland. However, students search the Web for other reasons than teaching, learning, and research.
While there is a paucity of documented studies in Nigeria, the researcher’s anecdotal record based on the 2006 Nnamdi Azikiwe Library Report, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, shows dwindling usage of their reference materials, as seen from the library annual reports. In the year 2003/2004, 12,292 undergraduates and 6,866 postgraduates and staff, used reference materials. In the year 2004/2005, 6,841 undergraduates and 5,738 postgraduates and staff used reference materials. In the year 2005/2006, 3
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