Abstract:
This article discusses the salient features of a case study carried out among postgraduate students at
Kenyatta University Post-modern Library. The study was primarily focused at recognizing cognitive
factors, responsible for influencing library users’ information-seeking behaviour. In order to develop
the variables, Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of motivation was used. A descriptive survey method was
utilized to study a sample size of 384 students spread across four main schools:
(i) Education, (ii) Business Studies, (iii) Humanities and Social Sciences, and (iv) Science and
Technology. Results confirmed that expectancy theory can be utilized to explain students’
information-seeking behaviour. Three different groups—some with strong, others with medium, and
rest with weak influences—were found. Interaction service quality, driven by students’ perception of
service quality was found to be the most critical. Information needs satisfaction (outcomes) together
with student users’ perception of service quality amongst others informed their level of satisfaction
with the overall service.
The findings support the idea that understanding cognitive information behaviour can help university
libraries to plan more appropriate services. The implication of this study is that there are particular
key cognitive drivers that trigger users’ information-seeking behaviour in academic libraries.
