Library usage by university accounting students: a comparison of contact and open distance learning institution in South Africa

The level of library patronage among accounting students is examined both in a distance and a contact learning institution in South Africa. We used a structured questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 500 accounting students from both a distance and a contact learning institution in South Africa, out of which 379 returned a completed questionnaire, representing 76%. Findings show an apathy among South African university accounting students towards library services patronage, which is exacerbated by lecturers' practice of giving assignments that do not require students to search for information beyond what is in their recommended textbooks. The most significant factor that influences universities' accounting students' patronage of library resources is the expertise and interaction with library staff. This confirms the Expectation-Confirmation Theory that accounting students from both institutions examined based their level of satisfaction on their perception of the library services they received. Library management needs an understanding of the teaching and learning practices of the accounting discipline and collaborate with curriculum developers to improve accounting students' usage of library resources. In future, the number of universities offering accounting programmes in South Africa needs expanding and so that university libraries can cater for higher numbers of accounting students.