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The influences of textbook prescription policy on the use of alternative library resources: An ODeL perspective.

Presenter

Mduduzi Ncongwane is the Branch Librarian at UNISA’s Cape Town Branch Library. He has worked for UWC, CPUT (then Pentech) and UCT before joining Unisa in 2009. He holds an Honours degree in Library and Information Studies.

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the influences of the textbook prescription policy on the Library’s collection development at the University of South Africa (Unisa). The research, conducted at the Cape Town Branch Library, focused on first semester students enrolled in the 2016 ECS1501 and ECS1601 modules. Wilson’s model on information seeking behaviour was used to frame the investigation. The students taking part in the online survey were selected randomly from the pool of 1000 students. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and results were interpreted accordingly. 

Judging from Library circulation statistics, the study found that the textbook prescription policy encouraged heavy reliance on the prescribed textbook as the primary reading. It was further found that the textbook prescription and the Unisa Library’s collection development policies operate in silos. It was recommended that, in study guides and tutorial letters, academics should encourage students to use other related library resources.

Presentation & Resources