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University libraries are not only crossroads of scholarly communities but are also now connecting business proprietors to places, institutions, and resources that support business growth. Therefore, through creating new formal and informal partnerships, university libraries can create friendly environments where external users like small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can work together to access and use research and innovation (R&I) information for the sustenance and growth of their business ventures. Vibrant and reengineered university library partnership programs can go a long way in engaging national, regional, and international business growth activities.

This chapter reports on a study carried out on Ugandan university libraries and how they can serve SMEs with their university’s research output. The purpose of the study was to investigate the need for restructuring university library partnerships in order to serve SMEs better through their R&I information services. The study used an exploratory research design and used questionnaires and interviews to collect data. This chapter reports on available formal and informal innovative university libraries’ partnerships with different organizational levels of SMEs; the communication and organizational structures between university libraries and SMEs; shared visions, missions, standards, and policies of Ugandan university libraries and SMEs; and the roles and collaborations with professional library bodies such as the Consortium of Ugandan University Libraries (CUUL), Uganda Library and Information Association (ULIA), and the International Association of Technological University Libraries (IATUL), among others.

This chapter explores the feasibility of establishing a consortium for the sharing of electronic resources between two libraries: the University of the West Indies at Mona and the University of Technology, Jamaica, both of which are located in Kingston. After a description of the institutional and library contexts, the two libraries are compared in terms of missions, staffing, funding, and collections and other differences and similarities including the e-resources. To analyze the feasibility of establishing a partnership/consortium, the exploration and evaluation of formation of a consortium were done using three kinds of analysis: a literature review, interviews, and a review of existing processes and documentation. The data gathering methods and results are described followed by a potential blueprint for implementation. The researchers did not interview or solicit the views of the university administrators and governing bodies or government officials as to the feasibility of such cooperation in light of the tentative nature of the investigation. The authors however worked with the premise that with the proper infrastructure, a consortium between the two universities would be viable. Other institutions considering development or formation of potential consortia might find the approach and methods in this chapter useful as a possible methodology.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of scholarly electronic journals at the Indian Institute of Science.

The paper examines the methodology and results from a questionnaire‐based survey of networked electronic services in India at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) libraries, serving a variety of disciplines. A random sample of the main cohort was selected and, during five months from January 2004 until May 2004, 700 copies of the questionnaire were distributed among 40 departments of IISc; 397 completed and valid questionnaires (56.7 per cent) were received.

The results showed a growing interest in electronic journals among the users at IISc. Electronic journals were mostly used for research needs and PDF was the most preferred format. The fact that users have free access to electronic journals at all hours from their own computers seems to be the most appealing feature.

There are many factors that may affect the use of scholarly electronic journals. An attempt is made in this study to see how these resources are being used in a multi‐disciplinary institute in India. Limiting its focus to one institute, this paper provides useful empirical evidence for library staff and the research community.

The results of the study will be useful for library staff at IISc and similar institutes in India.

The paper provides original data from Indian end users regarding their use of scholarly electronic journals.

The purpose of this paper is to review consortia efforts in developing countries.

This paper reviews the literature on library consortia in developing countries in general and India in particular. The paper also outlines the advantages and disadvantages of consortia.

“Library consortia” refers to co‐operation, co‐ordination and collaboration between, and among, libraries for the purpose of sharing information resources. Libraries in developing countries have been working on consortia at national, regional and international level. However, some barriers such as poor technological and communication infrastructure, inadequate finances, culture and context, attitudes toward consortia and multiple efforts are reported to be limitations of consortia activities in developing countries.

The paper provides a useful overview of consortia in developing countries, particularly in India.

This paper aims to address the problem of enhancing the selection of titles offered by a digital library, by analysing the differences in these titles when they are cited by local authors in their publications and when they are listed in the digital library offer.

Text mining techniques were used to identify duplicate references. Moreover, the process of identifying syntactically different data was improved with the automated discovery of thesauri from correctly matched data, and the generated thesaurus was further used in semantic clustering. The results were effectively visually represented.

The paper finds that the function based on the Jaro‐Winkler algorithm may be efficiently used in the de‐duplication process. A generated thesaurus that utilises domain‐specific knowledge can also be used in the semantic clustering of references. It was shown that semantic clustering may be most useful in partitioning data, which is particularly significant when dealing with large amounts of data, which is usually the case. Moreover, those references that have the same or similar scores may be considered as candidate matches in the further de‐duplication process. Finally, it proved to be a more efficient way of visually representing the results.

This function can be implemented to enhance the selection of titles to be offered by a digital library, in terms of making that offer more compliant with what the library users frequently cite.

By using three key factors – namely, funding, stakeholders, and legitimacy – this study seeks to analyse the successful entrepreneurial experiences of a non‐profit small to medium‐sized enterprise: the Taiwan EBook Supply Cooperative Limited (TEBSCo).

The paper takes the form of a case study.

From a legitimacy perspective, TEBSCo is the only registered organisation facilitating e‐book consortia in Taiwan. From a stakeholder perspective, TEBSCo is managed by a board of directors, who are elected from the member representatives. In addition to creating value for its members, TEBSCo also creates value for non‐members and vendors. Its major funding is from annual membership fees. TEBSCo's innovation process, as a collective entrepreneurial activity in a non‐profit SME, creates intangible as well as tangible value. The successful experiences of TEBSCo can be used as examples for new entrants.

TEBSCo is the only registered organisation facilitating e‐book consortia in Taiwan. The successful experiences of TEBSCo can be used as examples for new entrants, and shows a new form of entrepreneurial activity.

The paper seeks to explore the impact of a fibre optic network and increased bandwidth on access to electronic resources for libraries in Malawi.

This research adopted a case study methodology. Online interviews were conducted with ICT Directors in colleges of the University of Malawi and Mzuzu University. The ICT Directors provided information on bandwidth levels and estimated costs for libraries using VSAT and fibre optics for internet connectivity. User statistics from INASP for the years 2006, 2011 and 2012 were the main sources of information.

Libraries in Malawi have been affected by the fibre optic network. The fibre optic network has increased bandwidth from a maximum of 1,024 in Kbps around 2006 to between 4 and 8 Mbps per month. Bandwidth costs have been reduced from an average of $US3,000/Mbps in 2006 to around US$1,700/Mbps per month in 2012. The number of articles downloaded has increased from 6,075 in 2006 to 50,860 in 2011, representing a 737 per cent increase. Half‐year statistics for 2012 reveal that the number of articles downloaded increased from 50,860 in 2011 to 81,633, representing a 60.5 per cent increase.

The paper has practical implications on the impact of a fibre optic network and improved bandwidth on access to e‐resources in libraries.

There is an information gap on the impact of fibre optic internet connectivity and improved bandwidth on access to e‐resources in libraries in Africa, and in Malawi to be specific. This research paper seeks to fill and bridge the gap.

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 evaluate academics' information‐seeking behavior, information needs, and their attitudes and perceptions towards the library system in Sri Lankan universities.

The population of the study consisted of management and commerce academics selected from three universities. The sample included 50 percent from the population and stratified random sampling technique was employed for the sample selection. Data gathering was done by means of questionnaire survey and the received raw data were analyzed accordingly.

The study found that the majority of academics were more interested in research than teaching. They had good library skills for finding information and accessing services. Most of them were unable to keep in touch with current information due to insufficiency of current resources. The attitudes of the academics towards the library staff were rather unsatisfactory. The interlibrary loan service was not effectively utilized due to academics' unawareness. Most academics were not informed when new publications had arrived, though the library requested their recommendation while acquiring new materials.

This study focused on only one discipline selected from multi‐disciplinary universities in Sri Lanka. This limitation affects in generalizing results within the university system in the country.

It was found that there had been no previous study which had studied information‐seeking behavior of business, management or commerce scholars in Sri Lanka. Hence, this study features distinctiveness within the available literature in the context of Sri Lanka.