Abstract:
The study aimed to examine the influence of user-education programmes on
the information and study skills and competencies of first-year students at
North–West University, Vaal Triangle Campus (VTC), in South Africa. The
study adopted a quantitative approach and employed the case study method.
The respondents consisted of 1,885 first-year students across two faculties
with a sample size of 320, which were selected using the systematic sampling
technique. The self-developed questionnaire was then distributed among the
respondents. Out of 320, 266 students responded to the questionnaire, which
produced a good response rate of 83%. The collected data were analysed using
frequency and percentages and presented in tables and charts. The results
revealed that a substantive number of first-year students never attended training
on library use, including high school, public, college or any other academic
libraries, prior to their arrival at the university. However, after attending the
user-education programmes, they became independent users of the library and
its resources, which was of great importance to lifelong learning and, thus,
increased the usefulness of the library.