Abstract:
The objective of this study is to assess the library services to users in the libraries of the theological institutions of the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon. The population of the study consisted of eight hundred and thirty-nine (839) persons spread in Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary Ndu, St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary Bambui, Presbyterian Theological Seminary Kumba, and Cameroon Baptist Seminary Kumba. The sample of the study consisted of four hundred and forty-five (445) persons (teaching staff and students) of the four theological institutions of Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, and sampling technique is accidental sampling. The research design used is descriptive survey. To achieve this, five research questions were formulated. Questionnaires were used to elicit data from the respondents. The data collected was analyzed using frequencies, percentages, and mean. Based on analysis of the data, findings were made. Some of the major findings include: that in some of the libraries, some basic services are very important, in others some services are important and in one library some services are very unimportant. Also some of the libraries do not lay a balanced emphasis on the five service dimensions of SERVQUAL-performance only; some common problems such as lack of collection development policy, absence of professionally qualified librarian, lack of internet facilities and lack of adequate funding of the libraries were among the problems of all the libraries. Based on the findings, recommendations were proffered. The following are major recommendations among others proffered: that the libraries should be pro-active in providing basic library services to users; libraries should customize their services to users to suit the goals of the host institutions, and lay equal emphasis within their available means, on the service dimensions of reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy and responsiveness; libraries should be manned by professionally qualified librarians; libraries should elaborate collection development policies, among others.
