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This study aims to investigate the use of smartphones by undergraduate students for information seeking. Aspects include frequency of use, purposes, types of activities, impediments and characteristic differences by grade point average (GPA), major or collegiate level.

A questionnaire is administered to social sciences students, and 240 responses are analyzed.

Students reported using smartphones most often for social networking or entertainment; accessing academic information ranked fifth among seven purpose categories. A lack of knowledge regarding smartphone use for academic information was commonly reported as an impediment encountered. The hypothesis that statistically significant differences in smartphone information-seeking behavior exist among students based on their GPA, major or collegiate level was partially supported.

Future research will consider the use of a more diverse sample of students comprising different disciplines and statistical modeling methods, which would indicate the magnitude and direction of effect for various academic variables.

The results indicate a need for student awareness programs and an adaptation of library resources and services to accommodate smartphone technology.

The results of this study contribute to the state of knowledge regarding the use of smartphones for information seeking. This knowledge will assist libraries and information-related institutions worldwide in accommodating and exploiting this technology and related behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to investigate social science academics’ use of social media for scholarly communication at Kuwait University.

Phase One data were collected through web-based and paper responses to questionnaires. Faculty members, teachers and teaching assistants in the social science faculty were invited to participate. Forty-six of the 100 invited participants responded. Phase Two comprised interviews with 10 respondents.

Social connection platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, received the highest mean score for use (M = 4.35), followed by mobile apps, such as WhatsApp (M = 4.24), and multimedia platforms such as Instagram and YouTube (M = 3.59). Moderate to low use was recorded for academic social media. ResearchGate recorded the highest use (M = 3.09), followed by academia.edu (M = 2.93). “Keeping in touch” was the most frequently reported activity (M = 4.04). Two-thirds of respondents used social media for informal scholarly communication with people they knew. “Lack of university encouragement” received the highest score (M = 3.54) as a factor inhibiting use and almost half the respondents (47.2 per cent) cited “lack of time” as a barrier.

Improving academics’ understanding of the uses of social media might increase their visibility and improve their research and other scholarly activities. Study findings support the development of relevant training programs that include a focus on integrating social media into research activities and the dissemination of research findings.

This study contributes to the limited literature on this topic in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf region.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of Kuwait University students majoring in the social sciences, faculty members and academic librarians toward mobile library applications (apps), which are not currently available. These technologies are highly desirable for students, but many libraries struggle to properly implement them.

Quantitative survey questionnaires were distributed to 400 undergraduate students, of which 184 valid and completed questionnaires were collected. In addition, three focus groups were conducted with social sciences graduate students, academics and librarians to further explore attitudes and perspectives toward library apps.

A majority of respondents (62 per cent) visited the academic library less than five times per month or never, but a smaller majority (57 per cent) also preferred to use a combination of computers and mobile devices to access library information. The most desirable student uses for library apps involved access to basic information or services such as library hours, book renewal or catalog searches. Most potential barriers to student use of library apps received low scores; only slow internet speed was considered a significant problem. Focus group discussions clarified that major concerns regarding the implementation of library apps included the potential cost, knowledge, training and administrator support for these efforts.

This study highlights the unique interest in, and barriers to, library app implementation at Kuwait University, while providing an informative structure for similar studies and considerations elsewhere.