Use and User Perception of Electronic Resources in Iiit Libraries in India : a Case Study

INTRODUCTION

The digital revolution driven by information communication technologies has transformed academic libraries. It has an impact on every sphere of academic library activity, e. g. , the form of the library, collection development strategies, library buildings and consortia1. Computers and networked electronic resources have become an integral part of the academic library during the past decade.

This has been underscored by the phenomenon of knowledge or information common in academic libraries, which refers to a specific environment in the library where a designated number of PC workstations are networked to databases and other e- resources are made available to students2. Library users are no longer obliged to visit the library to meet all their information needs.

They may search the library’s online catalogue; use a subject guide or database to access a citation from the internet or access a full text article from web-based journals; they may browse an electronic journal; fill out an interlibrary lending form; e-mail reference question via the ask-a-librarian service or borrow an e-book – all by remote access3. IIIT is the generic name for several Institutes of Information Technology in India, each a mini university in itself. Many of these institutions have been subsequently renamed to identify their affiliations and goals.

The IIITs were conceived to be forerunners in the information technology education sector, at a time when India was going through a phase of unprecedented boom in the software industry (Years 1998 – 2000). The course curriculum at these institutes is at par with similar offerings at the Computer Science departments of Indian Institutes of Technology. As per the 11 th five year plan in the Budget 2011, Twenty Three (23) more IIIT’s under the Public-Private Model, are to be launched soon for every major state of India.

Nasscom recently submitted a detailed project report to the Govt. f India on the establishment of new IIITs. If these are accepted, it could be quite a contrast to the functioning of existing higher learning institutes. The Nasscom report has identified a major role for private organisations in terms of finance, faculty and resources. Pvt players may play key roles in new institutes Each of the IIITs has been proposed to be set up as a fully autonomous institution, through the PPP model. The partners setting up IIITs will be the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the governments of respective states where each IIIT will be established and industry members.

The report is learnt to have suggested that private organisations should play an equal or slightly greater role in bringing investment for the new IIITs. The locations of IIITs have been arrived at on the basis of how well connected they are in terms of transport and facilities and their prominence to industrial hubs. Considering the dire faculty crunch in the country, Nasscom has made it clear that faculty members must be given salaries prevalent in the market. It has been suggested that each IIIT must have the autonomy to decide its own salary structure to compete with private educational institutes.

Collaborating private organisations would be requested to send their experienced employees as visiting faculty members. A higher number of visiting faculty and faculty-exchange programmes with universities in India and abroad have been suggested. Private organisations are expected to collaborate with the IIITs for knowledge manpower, giving projects to students and for curriculum guidance. The associated company would look into the role of private organisations and enabling optimum rate of returns for them.

The development of the PhD programme, according to one of the suggestions, is vital to the growth of IIITs as these doctoral students could be groomed for teaching positions in IIITs, creating a strong pool of candidates for top academic positions. It has been recommended that the undergraduate programme of IIITs could be scaled up to 600 students, the post-graduate programme could take about 400 students and the PhD programme could have an intake of 100 students. A faculty-student ratio of 1:14 has been suggested.

The report has suggested an integrated campus model and a hub-and-spoke campus model, depending on the IIIT. Normally these institute offers degrees, at UG, PG and Doctoral levels, in following degrees offered in Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering etc.. All the IIIT’s have a welll-equipped library with a variety of collections including e-resources like online databases, e-journals, e-books, full text articles, and websites, etc through UGC-Infonet e-journals consortium, INDEST Consortium and N-LIST Consortium or any other consortias.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The faculties, research scholars and students of IIIT are mostly belonging to the subjects, Computer science, IT, Electronics and telecommunication; Electrical etc. Technological disciplines are professional subjects that require regular and constant study by teachers, students and researchers. Teachers usually depend upon the libraries to prepare themselves for taking classes and guide scholars. They are required to go through not only print resources but also electronic resources. The IIIT libraries are well equipped and member of various consortiums.

They provide various e-resources such as online journals, e books, online databases, CD ROM databases and facilities of OPAC and Web OPAC. Usually the users of these libraries are computer savvy and acquaint with various e-resources. The present study will confine with this hypothesis and to study how far these libraries provide various e-resources and services to it’s users. Finally the users may not be acquainted with the procedures to locate and retrieve the right and accurate information in less time from the various e-resources. Hence they require some sort of training (such as information literacy programme)

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study was to be undertaken to analyse the effectiveness of e-resources provided by IIIT libraries in India for its faculty members and research scholars in different faculties. Specific objectives of the study are:

1. To know the awareness of e-resources among the users of IIIT Library;
2. To study the degree of utilization of e-journals by the users of IIIT Library
3. To determine the level of satisfaction of the users on e-resources; and to examine the effectiveness of e-resources in upgrading the faculty members and research scholars in their profession.
4. To study the availability of ICT infrastructures in these libraries.
5. To find out the different search strategies of the target audience for obtaining relevant information
6. To find out the existing e-resources facilities in these libraries and to study how far these resources are useful and effective for it’s users.
7. To access and find out how far the users are3 competent to locate and use e-resources.
8. To study the factors encouraging the e-resources particularly to find out whether the information literacy programme are being provided by these libraries.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Haridasan and Khan4based on a survey conducted at National Social Science Documentation Centre (NASSDOC) reveal that majority of the users which include research scholars and scientists were aware of most of the electronic resources.

Gunasekaran, Balasubramani, and Sivaraj5found that among nine departments in Bannari Amman Institute of Technology (BAIT), computer science and engineering users use the electronic journals highest (17%) followed by information technology (16%), computer applications (15%), electrical and electronics engineering (12%), electronics and communication engineering (10%), mechanical engineering (9%), biotechnology (8%), civil engineering (7%) and textile technology (6%).

Sevukan and Sivaraman6revealed that with regard to the satisfaction of users on the adequacy of e-resources provided by Pondicherry University Library, 70. 59 % of users were satisfied while 29. 41% ware not. Raza and Upadhyay7 found that that all the researchers were aware of e-journals in Aligarh Muslim University. Many research scholars were consulting e-journals from their departmental labs and computer centres, not only for research purposes but also to update their own knowledge and skills.

However, the study also revealed several problems, including lack of training and slow downloading. Mohamed and Sreelatha8found that most (93. 40 per cent) of the doctoral students had access to e-journals and a sizeable number (48. 83 per cent) of the male doctoral students used e-journals everyday. Most (73. 63 per cent) of doctoral students indicated that accessing full-text of articles was the major problem faced browsing e-journals. Kaur9revealed that majority of respondents (37. 50%) made use of E-resources 2-3 times a week whereas only 40. 3% respondents made use of online databases. Parameshwar and Kumbargoudar10 observed that most of the research scholars searched printed journals and electronic journals. UGC-Infonet consortium was most helpful in fulfilling their information needs.

HYPOTHESIS

For the purpose of present study, the following hypotheses have been formulated to put the investigation in right track and the progress of investigation more scientific.

1. Faculty and research scholars who have more computer experience will be more likely to use the library’s electronic resources.
2. Users who visit the library more often are likely to use the library’s electronic resources.
3. Mostly the users devote time in surfing internet.
4. Faculties prefer e-resources in comparison to conventional resources in print form.

METHODOLOGY

To collect data, a questionnaire will be designed with questions like demographic characteristics, computer skills, frequency of use, satisfaction with e-resources, performance of the library in satisfying the needs of the faculty members and research scholars. Besides questionnaire method, observation and interview methods will also be adopted.

The target population of this study was faculty members and research scholars from different faculties. The total population of faculty members and research scholars was 800 and 250 respectively. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique will be adopted for deriving sample population which constitutes 30 percent of total population from each category. Thus, a total of 315 questionnaires – 240 for faculty members; and 75 for research scholars – will be distributed. The questionnaire will be self-administered. SCHEME OF THE WORK

It is proposed to organize the whole work in different chapters, inter alias, includes purpose, scope, methodology, origin and development, the conceptual frame work, information needs and seeking behaviors and use of electronic resources: There will be a review of literature which will determine both quantity and quality of work done in the area. Since the study is primarily a user study, it will shed some light on user studies carried out at different levels in India and abroad. Besides it is essential to use tabulation, analysis and interpretation of relevant data along with the useful findings and suggestion.

STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES

The study has proposed to utilize and appropriate statistical technique so as to make the work statistically significant. After collection of data and their necessary recording and tabulation, an appropriate statistical technique suitable to the needs of data collected will be selected and utilized at the stage of analysis and interpretation.

The proposed research will act as a fact finding study to find out the existing ICT infrastructural facilities and services relating to e-resources provided to IIIT users and whether these are as per the expectations and perceptions of these users.

Further, this research will implicate, whether the library staff are competent enough to handle the ICT infrastructures and meet the users’ perceptions and expectations. This will also implicate how far the IIIT library users are using the e-resources provided to them and the constraints if any of its convenient use and the training if any provided to them by these libraries which will enhance their usage capability. Finally the present study will boost the future researchers by providing the area which was not covered by this study for further research.

CONCLUSION

The development and delivery of high-quality users service is an important goal for any libraries in higher education. The libraries are changing from storehouse of books to dynamic service center. In an academic library (engineering, science and technology), the user needs the library services on a wide range of areas and anytime. The delay in giving the right information in right time may lead to delay in their research activity. Hence the professional librarians should always be a step ahead of their users.

As a result, the professional librarian can identify the right documents to be procured, appropriate organization of documents to be undertaken and right information services to be developed . It can be concluded that the IIIT libraries need to provide web-based library and information services to the users under intranet and Internet environment. It is also noted that there is great desire among the users to implement the library and information services through Institute website. There is also a need to plan an integrated training programme for the users as well as the library staff for an effective utilization of services.

A regular feedback from the faculty and students will also go a long way in improving the library services and their changing expectations can be met effectively. Finally It is imminent at this time to make such a study so as to identify the usage nature and characteristics and behavioral approaches of the users (faculty and research scholars), so that the real building of libraries attached to these institutions can be made by lending effective services in providing e-resources accessing and maximum usage as a result of proper utilization of Institutes’ funds and expenses meant for library purpose.

REFERENCES

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5. Gunasekaran M, Balasubramani R and Sivaraj S, Usage of electronic journals through consortia by the students and members of faculty of Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu: a survey, Indian Journal of Information Science and Services, 2(1) (2008) 52 – 57.
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