A public relations program for Makerere University Main Library

Abstract

This project sought to develop a PR program for the Makerere University main library with the aim of promoting the utilization of the library and its resources. The project addressed four objectives, namely: to identify and document existing PR practices at Makerere University Main Library; to assess the effectiveness and relevance of existing PR practices at Makerere Main Library in enhancing service delivery and visibility; to identify existing PR challenges and propose appropriate solutions to overcome the respective challenges; and to develop a PR program for Makerere University Main Library. To realize these objectives, we adopted a mixed-methods design involving the collection of qualitative and quantitative data. The data was collected from 168 respondents, including the students, the academic staff, the library staff, and the researchers. Electronic questionnaires, interviews, and document reviews were mostly used in data collection. In total, the overall response rate was 77.4%. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, a 5-point Likert scale, and Microsoft Excel. The project revealed that the current PR practices conducted by the library were largely ineffective through the SWOT analysis, as detailed in Chapter 4. However, the library was majorly constrained by limited financing, high costs of PR practices, and incompetencies in the PR section. Based on the analysis of the existing PR practices and feedback from the respondents, the researchers proposed a PR program for the main library, as presented in subsequent sections of this report. In a nutshell, the main library recognizes the relevance of PR as it carries out a number of PR practices, but still, 60% of the PR practices conducted were traditional and generally ineffective. The researchers therefore attributed the underutilization of the library and its resources to the ineffectiveness of the PR practices conducted by the library. Thus, we suggest that the library management revamp the PR and make adjustments by embracing effective and contemporary PR practices as suggested in the developed PR program, with the sole aim of promoting the utilization of the library and its resources.