Acceptance of e-library and support services for distance education students: Modelling their initial perspectives.

This article investigates the acceptance of e-library and support services among postgraduate distance education students at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in Ghana, using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model alongside the Innovation Diffusion Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The study surveyed all 2,003 postgraduate distance learners at UCC’s College of Distance Education, analyzing data through structural equation modeling to assess factors influencing students’ behavioral intentions to use e-library services. Findings indicate that students’ knowledge level, information skills, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence significantly predict their intention to use e-library services, with social influence having the strongest effect. Conversely, operational and strategic skills showed no significant positive relationship with usage intentions, suggesting a gap in students’ understanding of these skills’ roles in e-library utilization. The study highlights the importance for distance education institutions to enhance students’ awareness and technical competencies and to provide reliable infrastructure and social support to improve e-library service adoption.