Search results

The purpose of the study is to assess the familiarity and utilization of open access resources among library users of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi, and Pondicherry University (PU), Puducherry.

Data for the study were collected via a well-structured questionnaire. For this study, 250 questionnaires were administered among library users of each CUSAT and PU through incidental sampling. From CUSAT and PU, 180 and 160 questionnaires, respectively, were considered for data analysis.

The study reveals that majority of the respondents, i.e. 77.78 and 80 per cent of CUSAT and PU, respectively, believe that they are familiar with the concept of open access (OA). 70.56 per cent respondents from CUSAT and 71.88 per cent users from PU are aware that their library has an OA repository. However, majority of the respondents, i.e. 65 and 70.63 per cent users from CUSAT and PU, respectively, use OA resources. Among OA resources, electronic theses and dissertations are the most preferred ones consulted by 56.67 and 62.50 per cent respondents, respectively, from CUSAT and PU. 60.56 per cent respondents from CUSAT followed by PU (52.50 per cent) cited “screen reading” as a main barrier in accessing OA resources.

Both the universities under study have created and maintained the OA institutional repository for disseminating their institutional intellectual output. This study explores awareness and use of OA resources among library users of CUSAT and PU. The study concludes with some suggestions for utmost utilization of OA resources among library users.

This paper aims to find out the digital services of management libraries provided during the library closure and the challenges and initiatives the libraries have taken up to fulfill the need of their user community during the pandemic crisis.

To meet the purpose of the study, the investigators have used a survey method. An online questionnaire was devised and administered among the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) librarians using Microsoft Forms.

The study's findings suggested that all the libraries under investigation must avail of various digital library services in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Further, the investigators recommend that libraries formulate a disaster preparedness and management plan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic so that libraries can prepare themselves for the future.

The pandemic has affected every aspect of life and changed the digital library services scenario. Thus, it is essential to examine the role libraries have played during the COVID-19 pandemic and distinguish the challenges and initiatives libraries have taken to tackle the problems they faced. This study has been conducted on the digital library services that were provided by the libraries of IIMs.

The paper seeks to examine the use of electronic information services (EIS) among the users of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Library in Delhi, India.

Both questionnaire and observational methods were used for data collection where 300 valid samples were collected. The analysis of data collected covers awareness of EIS services, use of e‐journals, advanced search facilities, acquaintance with electronic information sources, the purpose of using e‐information, problems faced by the users while using EIS, infrastructure facility available and satisfaction level of users.

The study found that Boolean logic and truncation are the most often used search facilities by IIT users. Lack of printing facilities, terminals and trained staff are the major reasons that would discourage users from accessing the EIS. The survey also reveals that some 60 per cent of users face difficulties while browsing e‐information.

The paper provides suggestions for the further improvement of EIS to fulfill the information needs and requirements of users at the IIT Library, Delhi.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of e‐journals by the users of IIT Delhi and Delhi University.

Survey research was conducted to access e‐journal use among IIT Delhi and Delhi University users. A stratified random sample method was used for selection of respondents. The survey was conducted through a structured questionnaire taking a random sample of 300 users (PG and PhD) from different disciplines of IIT Delhi and Delhi University libraries and the response rate was 66.66 per cent. The questionnaires were administered personally among the users of IIT Delhi and Delhi University during the survey period (March‐May 2011).

From this survey it was found that most of the users are aware of e‐journals and they are not only using them for building and updating their knowledge but also for collecting relevant material for their study and research purposes as information can be acquired expeditiously through e‐journals. The main aim of consulting these journals is for retrieving information regarding research, publishing research papers and manuscripts, assignments, presentations, seminars, and largely to update their own knowledge. However, this study also reveals several inherent problems especially with the use of e‐journals e.g. slow downloading as revealed by maximum IIT Delhi and Delhi University users. Other mechanical deficits like non‐availability of a particular issue, lack of training and limited access to terminals are also present while using e‐journals.

The present study consists only of e‐journal users of IIT Delhi and Delhi University. The geographical coverage is restricted to Delhi. The responses have been taken from users and the data have been collected during the months of March‐May 2011 only.

The problem is selected by the investigator to understand the use of e‐journals by IIT Delhi and Delhi University users so that libraries can make further improvement in their e‐journal services depending upon the results and suggestions.

The paper provides suggestions derived from the analysis of data which in turn will help to enhance the use of e‐journal services and fulfill the needs and requirements of users in the libraries of IIT Delhi and Delhi University.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent to which research scholars at Central Science Library, University of Delhi are aware and make use of e‐journals.

A survey was designed to collect basic information about the level of use of electronic journals as well as other factors contributing to and associated with their use. A well‐structured questionnaire was administered among research scholars to collect the necessary primary data, keeping in view the objectives of the study.

The findings clearly reveal that more than 60 per cent of users in the Central Science Library are using e‐journals weekly for the purpose of research. Printed journals are consulted by the majority of users compared with e‐journals. Keyword is the most popular search method for searching e‐journals among research scholars, whereas the date of publication carries the least percentage among all the options. However, if is found that slow downloading of PDF files is the major problem that would discourage users while using e‐journals.

The present paper consists only of e‐journal users and the geographical area is restricted to the CSL at the University of Delhi. The scope of the paper could be extended to additional centrally funded universities. An intra‐comparative study could also be made between some select central and state universities for users of e‐journals.

There are a number of studies on the use of e‐journals, but this is the first of its kind within Delhi University. As such, it should pave the way for research in other Indian universities as well as elsewhere.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the use of electronic journals (e-journals) by the scientists of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) – a center of excellence in the field of genomics and integrative biology situated in Delhi, India.

The paper is based on the results of a well-structured questionnaire administered to all the scientists of the institute for the purpose of data collection.

The main findings are that the scientists are more attracted toward e-journals specially on those provided by CSIR-NISCAIR Consortia, NKRC than those available via direct subscription. From this survey, the investigator has been able to find out that almost all the scientists are consulting e-journals from their campus cabin, not only for research purposes but also to update their own knowledge. The infrastructure to use e-journals are superb and there is no technological problem specially hardware and software support with high bandwidth of Internet speed exists here, as CSIR-IGIB uses largest computing facility (four Tflop/s) in Asia outside Japan (ranked 158th among the World’s Top 500 Super Computers). Respondents also identified that there is dire need for training in using e-resources and retrieving pinpointed information from the databases.

The present paper consists only of scientists and the geographical area is restricted to CSIR-IGIB, Delhi. The scope of the paper can be extended to additional CSIR libraries. A comparative study can also be made among some biological research libraries of CSIR Institutes.

There are a number of studies on the use of e-journals by CSIR scientists, but this is the first of its kind which covers scientists of IGIB that has the largest computing facility (four Tflop/s) in Asia outside Japan. As such, it should pave the way for research and lead a model role for other CSIR Institutes as well as elsewhere.

The purpose of this study is to report the results of a survey conducted at Bharathidasan and Alagappa Universities to determine the research scholars' awareness, use of Open Access (OA) resources, reasons for using, impact of OA on the research scholars' research, satisfaction and problems faced.

In this study, a self-assessed questionnaire was developed to collect data from the research scholars pursuing their research degrees from Bharathidasan and Alagappa Universities of Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 400 research scholars from various disciplines responded were used for analysis.

The results indicated that the majority of research scholars aware of few OA resources to a large extent and afraid to redistribute the sources as they fear of copyright issues. Easy to use, more informative and global research at one place were the major reasons for accessing the resources. The research scholars were aware of OA features and OA's impact such as freedom to use, modify, resources available with source code, reliability, self-archiving, quick publishing, more citations etc. Delay in downloading and lack of computer terminals to access the resources were the major issues faced by the research scholars. On the whole, the researchers are considering OA model as an alternative to business model and expect the university librarians to promote and enhance the accessibility of OA resources.

The outcomes of the results will enable the librarians and authorities in universities to formulate appropriate decisions to remove the issues faced by the research scholars and develop a framework for new literacy instructions.

The study undertaken is new to the Indian continent and the Tami Nadu state in particular. The findings of the study will be useful to improve the awareness level and use of OA resources effectively.

This paper focuses on the use of e-resources by research scholars and post-graduate students at Kashmir University. The main aim is to determine the use of e-resources, users skills in handling e-resources and the purpose of their use. Further, this paper aims to highlight the problems faced by research scholars and post-graduate students in accessing e-resources.

The survey was conducted through a structured questionnaire circulated among 250 research scholars, both (M.Phil./Ph.D.) and post-graduate students, from different departments of Kashmir University, and the response rate was 80%. Random sample method was used for the selection of respondents and interacting with them. The responses received from the research scholars to 14 questions are presented in the form of tables.

Major findings of the study reveal that the majority of the students reported using electronic journal resources for various purposes including working on assignments, research proposal writing, literature review writing, research report writing, current awareness and leisurely exploration of ongoing scientific debates through peer-reviewed papers. The challenges encountered in the use of electronic journal resources include a power outage, inadequate bandwidth, slow download speed, inability to access the resources from home, lack of training, lack of awareness, limited access to computers and difficulty in searching. The paper concludes that electronic resources have become an integral part of the information needs of research scholars’ post-graduate students at Kashmir University. Further, it finds that e-resources can be good substitutes for conventional resources, if the access is fast, and more computer terminals are installed to provide fast access to e-resources. Finally, recommendations for improving the use of electronic journal resources are provided.

The paper restrains the study exclusively to use of e-resources by the research scholars and post-graduate students of Kashmir University.

The paper highlights the use of e-resources by research scholars and post-graduate students of Kashmir University and makes some constructive suggestions for the improvement of electronic resources and services. This is the first time an effort has been made to assess the use of electronic resources by post-graduate students at Kashmir University. The study could be used to assess the post-graduate students’ needs for electronic resources at the Kashmir University and other users in higher learning institutions.

This paper delineates the appraising and comparing the circumstances that may influence the choices and preferences of the undergraduates of National Institutes of Technology (NITs) of the north-western region of India for using library’s print versus electronic resources. The author investigated the circumstances in knowing whether different situations impact their choice for using print or electronic resources concerning their demographical characteristics for their academic learning.

The study used a survey of undergraduates at six NITs in the north-western region of India. The responses were analysed using Chi-Square, Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis statistical analysis tests, via SPSS software.

The study revealed that respondents preferred a mix of both forms of sources for their academic studies under different circumstances. The results reveal that the institution of respondents affected the choice of print resources over e-resources and vice versa in many different circumstances. Respondents’ year of study affected the choice of using print over e-resources and vice versa in certain situations. The residential backdrop affects the choice of using e-resources over print in some situations. Gender of respondents affects the choice of using e-resources over print under some situations.

The study will further aid librarians at six NITs in the north-western region of India to know whether print resources still have the same importance among library users or their preference switched towards using electronic resources.

This study offers new perspectives on the use of print verses electronic resources among the undergraduates at six NITs in the north-western region of India so that the libraries can procure desired resources rather than moving with the market trends.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the internet as an educational tool and to explore what role it plays in the educational system.

The study was purely conducted on a sample of 120 users of Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) Library. The questionnaires consisted of 20 main questions with many of the main questions having a number of subquestions. The questionnaire contained five open‐ended questions.

This case study provides awareness of various internet tools and services used by the library staff and library users. The library will aware of new internet services and provide their users.

This is case study of Delhi College of Engineering (Central Library) and this study will also be useful and important to those users who are already studying in different institutions and colleges.