A current awareness information system for Ministry of Health Library

Abstract

The study aimed at designing a Current Awareness Information System for Ministry of Health Library. The objectives of the study were to; establish the status of Current Awareness Services (CAS) at Ministry of Health Library, find out how CAS are offered at Ministry of Health Library, identify the challenges in offering CAS at Ministry of Health Library and to design a CAS System for Ministry of Health Library. The study employed a case study research design while adopting both qualitative and quantitative research approaches in collecting data. Questionnaire, interview, and documentary analysis methods of data collection were used because of the nature of study. Simple random sampling method was used to select the 52 library users and the 2 librarians who participated in the study. The study found out that library users visit the library on a daily basis, to get more information in their fields of study which are health related so there is a need for the current awareness services. The library users visit the Ministry of Health Library to access the information materials, to consult about information the new information materials, and to use computers for research. The study findings showed that majority of the respondents agreed that the library rarely displays the new arrivals, a good number of respondents disagreed that there are emails sent to them notifying about the new updates in the library. Majority of library users access citation alert services. Library bulletins and newsletters are frequently used as well as the current additional information from publishers. The study findings revealed that Ministry of Health Library use a variety of methods in offering current awareness services to users which include personal visit to the library, communication through word of mouth, library displays and library newsletters. Findings from the study revealed that most of the challenges the respondents faced in current awareness services were; delayed display of the new arrivals, irregular CAS delivery by email, absence of internet access to some users, increased costs to the library in providing CAS to users. The recommendations for the study were; use of social media networks, use of notice boards, library visit hours, training of the library staff, and orientation of library users should be done to improve on the current awareness information system.