Value-added Service to Academic Library Users inud21st Century: Using Competitive IntelligenceudApproach

摘要

Higher education in the twenty-first century globally has been characterized and driven onudbusiness ethos. The institutions are faced with stiff competition in an attempt to increase theirudstudent enrolment, attract international students and faculty, pioneer centres of excellence, showcaseudoutstanding research output, produce astute graduates and get listed in top ranking leagueudtables. The paper therefore examined the effects of leveraging on value-added services toudacademic library users through competitive intelligence as a predictor of competitive advantageudamong tertiary institutions. It identified value-added personnel, collection, processing ofudmaterials and dissemination of information as constituting specific target selling points to beudenriched with the concept. It however noted and x-rayed the concept of competitive intelligenceudas a critical precondition for achieving effective value-added service delivery in academicudlibraries. The paper concluded that robust collection coupled with technology-driven retrievaludsystem as well as digital reference services would lead to greater user satisfaction and enhancedudpatronage of library services. It recommended among other factors the need to benchmarkudcompetitor institutions to gain competitive advantage over the market