Impact of Information Centres on Scientific Research: A Case Study of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana

Abstract

Information centres are of prime concern as far as managing information is concerned. They have become significant in the provision of scientific and technical resources for scientists. Hence there is the need for information centres to process and repackage information in a suitable format that will satisfy and meet users’ information needs. This study looked at the impact of information centres on scientific research with reference to the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana. The impact of any information centre’s services on research or on a parent organization depends on the satisfaction users derive through the services. The study adopted the expectation disconfirmation theory, a customer satisfaction model, and used the survey method, employing the semi-structured questionnaire to collect data from 60 library users and 20 information centre staff. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to present the analysis. Findings from the study show that the Library is used frequently and patronage is very high. The information resources were found to be reliable, current and produced in a timely manner. Users derive a lot of benefits in using the Information Centre and this has increased research output. However, there are areas of dissatisfaction like the poor nature of Internet connectivity, inadequate information resources and limited funding.