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

ABSTRACT

Higher education libraries are designed to provide access to information for students, teachers, and researchers, ensuring that they are satisfied. The objective of the study is to raise the perception of the students about the response of libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic to their information needs and to assess whether they consider themselves prepared to research, evaluate, and manage the retrieved information, now that they work autonomously and depend exclusively on digital content. Methods: Online questionnaire applied to three higher education libraries in Portugal-a public education institution, a polytechnic, and a private higher education institution. The questionnaire was submitted by institutional email and focused on the degree of satisfaction with the libraries and electronic resources made available and self-perceived evaluation of their information skills. The first results point that students are satisfied with access to electronic resources remotely;the highest levels of dissatisfaction are associated with B-ON;most are unaware of the availability of databases (Scopus, WoS, and RCAAP), favorable perception of their behaviour in information, in researching, citing, and referencing, but findings show the inverse in the qualitative analysis of data;master’s degrees reveal greater security of knowledge compared to undergraduate students. Conclusions: Is necessary to increase the coverage, dissemination, and training of electronic resources in the academic libraries as a formative and pedagogical strategy and to formally implement it in educational policies. © 2021 David Baker and Lucy Ellis Published by Elsevier Ltd.