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Item The Aspect of Assurance of Digital Institutional Repository Service Provision to Postgraduates Students at Selected Universities in Meru County(International Journal of Professional Practice, 2023-08) Tsenga, Sophia Mjeni; Gichoya, David; Gichohi, Paul MakuTheses, dissertations, reports and other research works by university communities are housed in digital institutional repositories in the library department. Postgraduate students are expected to utilize these resources; hence, the nature of services provided therein is critical. The provision of digital institutional repository service in university libraries is expected to be courteous, professional, and credible. Professionalism is demonstrated through politeness, trustworthiness, honesty, friendliness, respectfulness and competence of the institutional repository staff serving users. These attributes usually communicate assurance and heighten customer satisfaction. The feeling of assurance is also reinforced by the experience that a user gets when interacting with the repository website; for example, the friendliness of the webpages. However, incidences of users getting disinterested and losing patience with institutional repositories have continued to be reported.This paper reports part of findings of a large study which aimed to determine how adopting SERVQUAL model can improve digital institutional repository information services to postgraduate students at universities in Meru County. This paper assessed the assurance of digital institutional repository service provision. It employed a descriptive survey research design. The target population constituted library head of sections and post-graduate students. Purposive sampling was employed to get librarians, while simple random sampling, to select students. A sample size of 101 was adopted. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. Data quality was achieved by checking construct, content and face validity, while reliability was ascertained using Cronbach alpha. Data was analysed descriptively and thematically. The study found that the level of assurance in digital institutional repositories at universities in Meru County was moderate. Assurance aspects are supported by elements like: knowledgeable staff, customer- centric service, adequate ICT infrastructure, resources and facilities; customer awareness; and adequate funding. The study recommended creation of awareness, staff training and upgrading the repository technology to enhance assurance aspects.Item Technology Responsive Measures Adopted by University Libraries in Meru County, Kenya in Addressing Disruptive Forces(International Journal of Professional Practice, 2023-08) Gitonga, Faith Ntinyari; Gichohi, Paul Maku; Gichoya, DavidCommission of University Education guidelines demand university libraries to be responsive to the changing by modernizing infrastructure and technology. However, the university libraries are dealing with emergent changes in the information provision using outdated methods, and are either slow or unable to respond to the current user information needs and behaviors. The purpose of the study was to determine the technology responsive measures adopted by university libraries in Meru County. The study used qualitative approach and employed a survey research design. The target population was the senior library staff in Kenya Methodist University and Meru University of Science and Technology university libraries. The respondents comprised of 13 heads of library sections who were sampled using purposive method. This study conducted Focus Group Discussions for library heads of sections in each university library under investigation. Additionally, the study also conducted an analysis on documents such as university library annual reports, university procurement plan, policy frameworks, subscription details and library strategic plan. Data collected was purely qualitative and was analyzed using content analysis and thematic categorization. The findings revealed that university libraries have adopted several technology- based measures such as remote access software, my loft software, anti-plagiarism software such as Turnitin, e-resources such as e-Books and e-journals, and social media platforms such as WhatsApp, to ease communication. Therefore, the study concluded that libraries had implemented some measures in responding to technology-related changes. The libraries were also using several measures to ensure long-term availability of digital content through institution repositories, and to promote good working relationship with the IT people. The study recommends that library management fosters development of own solutions to library problems, such as how to deal with artificial intelligence and emerging the technologies.