Student satisfaction with library resources in the COVID-19 era: a case study of Portuguese academic libraries

Abstract

Academic libraries are designed to provide access to information for students, teachers, and researchers, ensuring that they are satisfied. The objective of this study is to consider student perceptions about libraries’ responses during the COVID-19 pandemic to their information needs; and to assess whether students consider themselves prepared to research, evaluate, and manage the retrieved information now that they work autonomously and depend exclusively on digital content. Methodology. An online questionnaire was applied to three academic libraries in Portugal: a public education institution, a polytechnic, and a private academic institution. The questionnaire was distributed by institutional email and focused on the degree of satisfaction with the libraries and electronic resources made available, and a self-assessment of their information skills. The first results suggest that students are satisfied with access to electronic resources remotely; the highest levels of dissatisfaction are associated with the library database and B-ON; most are unaware of the availability of databases (Scopus, PubMed, and RCAAP); there is a favorable perception of their behavior in information handling, in researching, citing and referencing, but findings show the inverse in the qualitative analysis of data; master student's responses reveal greater security of knowledge compared to undergraduate students. Conclusions: It is necessary to increase the coverage, dissemination, and training with regard to electronic resources in academic libraries as a formative and pedagogical strategy, formally embedded in educational policies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio