AESTHETICS AND USER PATRONAGE IN TWO UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The aim of this study is to find out whether or not library aesthetics could be influencing library patronage. The study employed the research design and questionnaire was used to collect data. Crombach Alpha was used for the reliability test of the questionnaire at 0.84. The population of the study consisted of 600 undergraduate students from two private universities in Oyo state (Ajayi Crowther University and Lead City University, both in Oyo state). These were randomly selected and administered the questionnaire. Five hundred and four (504) copies of the questionnaire were turned and found useable for data analysis. Frequency counts and simple statistics and mean were used to analyze the result of the study. The findings showed that the two private universities studied have a high mean of available aesthetics at 3.03, the perception of users about the aesthetics available in the library was also high at 2.09; the influence of library aesthetics was also high at 2.91. The majority of the respondents perceived that there are several challenges facing library aesthetics at the libraries studied with a high mean of 3.01. Spearman Correlation was used to test the only hypothesis posed and it showed that there is a strong relationship between library aesthetics and user patronage. Recommendations made include that university management should always consult librarians and specialist when library buildings are to be constructed. This will ensure that adequate aesthetics, both internal and external would be put in place to capture users’ interest. Secondly, funding has been observed as one of the challenges of library aesthetics. This should be made available to take care of funds to beautify the library. Lastly, users’ opinions should be sought before public buildings are erected. This is not usually the case in the Nigerian setting. Doing this would ensure that those to use the public building, especially the library, can also contribute to its aesthetics.