Analysis of empathy of digital institutional repository service provision at selected universities in Meru County

Postgraduate students consult institutional repository services continuously in course of doing their research and scholarship journey. The provision of digital institutional repository services in libraries is therefore, expected to be professional, with customer-centred orientation. Careful consideration ought to be made to ensure the needed repository services are readily available. In these circumstances, empathy is showcased by the perceived usefulness of repository services through allowing virtual and multiple accessibility. In spite of that, post-graduate students detaching from accessing IR services continue to become common. This article aimed to assess the empathy of digital institutional repository service provision at selected universities in Meru County. Using the SERVQUAL model, the study adopted convergent embedded research design of mixed methods. The target population was 910 respondents; comprised students and library heads of sections. Purposive sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used in drawing a sample size of 101 respondents, which comprised 10 head of section-librarians, and 91 post-graduate students. Data was collected by means of questionnaires and interview schedule for the students and the librarians respectively. The reliability of research instruments was ascertained using Chrobach alpha coefficients. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS, and then computed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while the qualitative data was analysed thematically. The findings of the study indicated that, empathy level in the institutional repository was satisfactory. Empathy was supported by staff: listening keenly to student’s needs, offering timely solutions where needed, integrity, openness, honesty, work ethics, code of conduct and also short procedures for retrieving information materials in the repository. However, results indicated lack of notifications when new documents are published, and failure of the repository website to remind a student on previous searches. Consequently, system librarians in collaboration with universities’ ICT manager should add retrieval and notification features in the DSpace software.