Abstract:
Library marketing is very important because it seeks to improve library services awareness, coupled with increased efficiency, measured by increasing resource usage (Kotler, 2016:24). The purpose of this study was to investigate how library usage and customer satisfaction may be improved with the application of appropriate library marketing, user education and training. The study largely employed the quantitative approach, with a combination of some qualitative data collection techniques, which amounted to a multi-method research approach. Questionnaires, group interview and document analysis were used to collect data. The total population was 640 members, consisting of 600 students and 40 staff members of Campus A. The population was sampled using purposive sampling for interviews and stratified random sampling for questionnaires. The response rate was 93.7% (60) out of a total sample of 64 (20 staff members and 44 students). Thus, 40 students and 20 staff members completed and returned the questionnaires. The group interview was conducted with five senior staff members.
The study revealed that Campus A library incorporates social media and ICT platforms in library marketing. However, effective marketing, user education, and training efforts are hampered, among other things, by the lack of a formal library marketing policy, timetable clashes for user-education training sessions and limited library budget. Therefore, the study recommended the implementation of a library-oriented marketing policy, incorporation of the marketing, user-education and training sessions into the main academic table and provision of the adequate library budget. Also, the study recommended a skills audit to determine and administer an informed skilling and re-skilling of staff members in marketing, especially librarians. Finally, the incorporation of library marketing, user education and training into the staff workflow, as part of staff Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and appraisal, was recommended. It is hoped that, if the aforementioned recommendations are implemented, there will be improved library usage and customer satisfaction.
