Abstract:
There is an interaction among work environment, tools/facilities and staff in the delivery of products and services. User satisfaction is often premised upon the manipulation of these variables. This survey is predicated on the need for a research evidence to affirm or debunk this belief in respect of university libraries in South-East Zone of Nigeria. Eleven (11) such libraries were randomly selected from federal, state and privately-owned universities. The descriptive survey design was used alongside a combination of accidental and stratified random sampling techniques. A researcher-made instrument captioned "Rating Scale for Library
Ergonomic Factors in University Libraries" (i.e. LEFUL Rating Scale) was used for data collection. Four hundred and eighty-four (484 or 89.6%) of the 540 copies of the instrument administered were retrieved while data was analyzed using descriptive. Data analysis revealed that the pooled mean for variables like office space/accommodation, electro-mechanical equipment, ventilation and location surpassed the criterion of 2.5 while those of furniture and departmentalization were marginally lower. The results confirmed the existence of a influence of the ergonomic factors on user satisfaction. This forms the basis of the conclusion that ergonomic factors contribute in varying degrees to determine user satisfaction in Nigerian university libraries. The study, therefore, recommends, among other things: design of modern university libraries with ample spaces and befitting offices; provision of durable and user-friendly library furniture; installation of functional equipment and machinery and sitting of university libraries within the campus, equidistance from classrooms, laboratories and hostels.
