Service Quality and User Satisfaction at Machakos University, Kitui Campus Library, Kenya

The article examines the affiliation between service worth and client gratification in at Machakos University, Kitui Campus library. The SERVQUAL instrument for measuring service eminence, which is based on 22 questions and assesses a user's evaluation of service quality, was utilized. The researcher utilized a cross-sectional design as an expressive research design in order to offer an overall picture of how service quality affects customer satisfaction in academic libraries. The study's target population was third and fourth-year academic undergraduates who use and made use of the academic library during the time of research data collection. A systematic random sampling method was used to select a sample size of 161 respondents. The primary data was collected using questionnaires that was distributed to the two libraries. The information analysis was done by use of both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found out that that some library users frequented the library once every week, while others frequented the library daily. They users added that they visited the library because it had individualized attention by the librarians. It was noted that Personnel at the library are well dressed and neat at all times. Another discovery made by the respondents is that the library keeps accurate records e.g., circulation, accounts records and academic reports etc. it was noted that Personnel of library are not too busy to respond promptly to students’ requests. On regression analysis, the study discovered that an f-value of 22.164, which is significant at (p<0.05), was used to establish a significance value of p less than 0.05. Based on the regression equation, service quality will increase by 0.782 (p <0.05) if the other parameters in the equation remain constant. Finally, the correlation coefficient, R, was 0.341, indicating that service quality and user pleasure are highly intertwined. The study concluded that academic libraries ensuring tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy will lead to favorable impact on service quality in Kenyan libraries and specifically the Kitui campus library at Machakos university, Kenya. Study recommended that all five SERVQUAL aspects namely assurance, empathy, reliability, responsiveness, and tangibles be upgraded by all libraries within Kenyan universities in order to improve user perception levels.