Investigation into library use by Vietnamese students at Victoria University of Wellington

Abstract

There is currently a large number of international students studying and doing research at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW). Therefore the university library has to deal with diverse demands from different groups of users. In order to improve library services and better serve library users, data collected about library users play an important role in the planning and decision-making processes of the library. This research investigates the current situation of library use by Vietnamese students at VUW, with the aim to help improve library and information services for student users from developing countries. The results show that Vietnamese students visit the library quite often, mainly for using the Internet, checking e-mails and studying. Vietnamese students prefer to use the Internet to look for the information they need, but the library catalogue is still an important tool for them. In general, surveyed students are quite happy with the library's services and information sources. Print documents are still the most preferred by Vietnamese students despite the rapid development of electronic resources. Recommendations for future research are to expand the scale and depth of the research.