ARVIND MITTAL
Senior Librarian,
Sukham Memorial Central Library,
Bhai Gurdas Group of Institutions,
Sangrur, Punjab
E-Mail:- arvindmittal14@gmail.com
Mobile: - 09872828291
INTRODUCTION
In the past few decades information technology has progressed at
a very rate. The impact of technologies have convert the libraries
into paperless. Everyday new techniques come into existence.
Each and every library is step-by-step going to be digitized.
Modern society is changing towards a paperless society (Satija,
2003). Libraries electronic collection is increasing day by day.
Everyday new technological advances affect the way information is
handled in libraries and information centers (Krubu et al. 2011).
Past studies prove that electronic information can be easily stored,
retrieved, accessed and disseminate. The digital medium has been
well received and accepted as the medium of choice for large
number of people as it has become quite easy and convenient to
create, acquire, access, process, organize, store, retrieve,
distribute, disseminate and communicate information in digital
form. The emergence and use of information technology is the
century’s most significant development affecting scholarly
communication (Egberongbe, 2011). These new form of libraries
provide the flexibility to the users to get information at anytime,
anywhere or in any form with very low cost.
Thapar University was established on October 8, 1956 as an engineering college
named ‘Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology’. It got status of deemed
university in 1985 vide Sec.3 of the UGC Act, 1956. At present university is
running B.E/B.tech, ME/M.Tech., MCA, MBA, M.Sc., PhD. University library is named
as Nava Nalanda Library came into existence from the very first day and it is
housed in a separate wonderful building and planned into different sections. The
services which the library was providing include reference service, Internet surfing,
OPAC/Web opac, circulation service, ILL service, reprography/ printing, old
question papers, , Book Bank service etc. The Library caters to the needs of the
students, teachers, and the staff of the university as well as the scientific staff. The
Library has completed automation in 1996 with SOUL by using the Bar coding
facility for Issue/Return of the Books. The Library services and the Web OPAC can
be accessed at http://cl.thapar.edu/opac/books.asp. The Library has a total
collection about 60,000 printed volumes including books, textbooks, standards
and theses & dissertations. Books are organized on open access shelves in various
collections. Library has acquired all important e- resources collection such as ACM
Digital Library, American Chemical Society (1876), American Institute of Physics,
American Physical Society, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Annual Reviews, Blackwell, Cambridge
University Press, Elsevier Science, Encyclopedia Britannica, IEEE/IEE Publications(IEL Online), Institute of Physics, Nature, Oxford University Press, Portland Press,
Project Euclid, Project Muse, Royal Society of Chemistry, Society for Industrial &
Applied Mathematics, Springer & Kluwer, Taylor & Francis, EBSCO, Emerald
(Management Package), UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium, World
Scientific,. It has a good collection of E-Books, E-Journals and E-thesis.
Kumar et. al. (2014) found out in the study on use of E- resources among Students,
Researchers and faculty members of integral University and revealed that 91% users use
the e-resources daily for education purpose. Konappa et. al. (2014) found out in the
study that most of the faculty members are well aware of the premiere e-databases such
as Science Direct (95.29%). JSTOR (74.12%), Web of Science and Springer (61.18%) and
BIOSIS (57.65%). Pareek (2013) found in the study on information seeking behavior and
library use pattern of researchers in the Banasthali University and revealed that IT based
information resources are less used in comparison to print resources by the research
scholars. Mostly they use books and e-journals for their research work. It was also noted
that there was little use of e-resources because of little awareness of it among the
research scholars. Chandrasekharan et. al. (2012) found out in the study on usage
pattern of Electronic Information Resource. Among the Engineering Research
Community in Kamataka and assessed the use of CeRA digital resources by the users of
NARS institutions/universities and found 10,585 full text articles were used by member
institutions under NARS (National Agriculture Research System) in the year 2008. This
use increased to 51,827 full text articles in 2009 and 1,08,552 in 2010. Three months
later i.e. till March 2011 a total of 1, 38,354 full text articles was used by the users of
member institutions of NARS. Hadagali et al. (2012) found out in the study on use of
electronic resources by post graduate students in different universities of Karnataka
State and revealed that the advent and proliferation of e-resources has changed the
approaches of liaison activities and collection development especially in university
libraries. Mulla (2011) found out in the study on use of electronic resources by the
faculty members in HKBK College of engineering in Bangalore that 70 percent of the
respondents stated that access to e-resources is very beneficial for their research and
studies. Thanuskodi (2011) found out in the study on the usage of electronic resources
at Dr T.P.M. Library, Madurai Kamaraj University and revealed that M.Phil. students
undertake more searching of e-resources followed by postgraduate students and Ph.D.
Scholars the least. It also indicates that users are aware of the e-resources and their
various types but recommends the improvement in the access facilities with high
internet speed and increasing subscription base of the electronic information resources.
Kaur et al. (2009) found out in the study on Use of Electronic Information
Resources and revealed that the use of print resources decreased due to the use of
e- resources. Therefore print resources are replaced by e-resources in the
libraries. Asok Kumar et al. (2008) found out that in the study on the use of
electronic resource by scholars and identified their acceptance toward e-learning.
The study focused mainly on how frequently the scholars are using the eresource. The study also determined the purpose of using electronic resources.
They concluded that still few scholars are depending on printed information
sources and consulting indexes, abstracts and journals in the library, but they
must adopt the current transformation the scientific communication systems,
which is now progressing at a spend they cannot easily escape. The e-publishing
will continue to evolve, mutate and change as technology and society evolve.
Kindilchie et. al. (2008) in his study Electronic Information Resources use by Qatar
University Faculty, found out that majority of faculty members have good
knowledge of computer systems and they use the e-resources for their personal
use. Use of e-resources for the purpose of teaching and research is very limited.
Kaur et al. (2006) in the study on use of Electronic Resources at TIET Library
Patiala, revealed that users use all the sources available to them regularly, like
CD-ROMs, online databases, Web resources and audio/video tapes. Doraswamy
(2005) in his study on familiarity and use of the available electronic Information
resources by the students in U.R. Siddhertha Engineering College Library, Vijay
Wada.: concluded that some of the students use CD-ROM and most of the
students use electronic information resources for the communication purpose.
The main problem faced by the students in using the e-resources is lack of
training and time.
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To know the availability of e-resources in
university library
To know the awareness of e-resources
among the library users
To know the frequency of use of e-resources
by the users
To know the problems faced by the users
while accessing e-resources
To know the purpose and utilization of eresources by library users
The sources of data collection were both primary
and secondary. So, the survey method is mainly
used to collect primary data with the help of
structured
questionnaire,
interviews
and
observation. And for the collection of secondary
data, available and relevant documents to the
study such as periodical reports, circulars, and
official documents of the university, official web
sites, journals pamphlets, and text books were
used. Total 120 questionnaires were distributed
but only 96 responses got. Then the data were
analyzed and interpreted for the outcomes and
presented in the following manners.
54
60
42
Male
40
Fem ale
20
0
Gender
Figure1: Gender wise Response
Figure 1 show 43.75% Male respondents and
56.25% Female respondents. So there is minor
difference in male and female ratio.
USER WISE BREAK UP
Table 1: User Wise Break Up
Types of Respondents
Students
Research Scholars
Faculty
Total
Responses
54 (56 %)
20 (21 %)
22 (23%)
96 (100%)
FREQUENCY OF LIBRARY VISIT
Daily
Weekly
57, 60%
S…
C…
Monthly
C…
10
0
C…
29, 30%
2, 2%
C…
8, 8%
Occasionally
Figure 2: Frequency of Library Visit
Figure 2 show that 60% users visit the library daily. This category
includes maximum research scholars and faculty members and only
2% users in the university that visit the library occasionally.
FREQUENCY OF INTERNET USE
Table 2: Frequency of Internet Use
Frequency
More than Once in a Day
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Total
Responses
80 (83.33%)
10 (10.42%)
1(1.04%)
5 (5.21%)
96 (100%)
Table 2 shows that frequency of internet use by the library users.
The results show that 83.33% users use the internet more than once
in a day and there are only 5.21% respondents that uses internet
monthly.
AWARENESS OF E-RESOURCES
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
85
Yes
11
NO
Awareness
Figure3 Awareness of E-Resources
Figure 3 shows the awareness of e-resources among the
library users. 88.54% respondents are aware about the eresources. Only 11.46% don’t know about the e-resources.
SOURCES OF AWARENESS
Figure 4: Sources of Awareness
Figure 4 shows the sources of awareness about the e-resources of the
library. Maximum respondents i.e. 59% aware about e-resources
from the library user education programs like orientation,
workshops, conferences, training etc. and only 5% aware about eresources from the outside the campus.
PLACE OF ACCESSING OF E-RESOURCES
Figure5: Place of Accessing of E-Resources
Figure 5 shows the place of accessing of e-resources by the
respondents. 36% respondents use e-resources at the central library of
the university and the only 6% users use the e-resources at the cyber
cafes.
TIME SPENT ON USE OF E-RESOURCES
Table 3 Time Spent on use of E-Resources
Time Spent Daily
Responses
Less than One Hour
32 (33.33%)
1-2 Hours
28 (29.17%)
3-4 Hours
26 (27.08%)
More than Four Hours
10 (10.47%)
Total
96 (100%)
Table 3 shows the time spent by the respondents on the use
of e-resources of the library. 33.33% users spent less than
one hour per day in using the e-resources. There are only
10.47% users who spent more than four hours a day on using
of e-resources.
PURPOSE OF USING E-RESOURCES
Table 4: Purpose of Using E-Resources
Category
Responses
Research Work
43 (44.79%)
Assignments/Writing Papers
20 (20.83%)
Current Awareness
23 (23.96%)
Any Other
10 (10.47%)
Total
96 (100%)
Table 4 shows the purpose of the respondents for using of eresources. Majority of respondents i.e. 43 (44.79%) use eresources for their research work. And only 10(10.47%) uses
the e-resources for any other purpose.
SATISFACTION LEVEL OF RESPONDENTS
Figure 6: Satisfaction Level of Respondents
Figure 6 shows the satisfaction level of respondents for the eresources. 83 (86.46%) respondents are fully satisfied with the eresources provided by the library. Only 3 (3.13%) respondents are
not satisfied with the e-resources.
WHICH E-RESOURCES PROVIDES REQUIRED INFORMATION
Figure 7: Which E-resources Provides Required Information
Figure 7 shows that which e-resources provide the respondents their
required information. Most of the respondents i.e. 80 responded
that e-journals provide the required information according to their
needs. There are only 5 respondents who have the opinion that ebooks provide the required information.
CAN PRINT RESOURCES REPLACE WITH THE E-RESOURCES
Table 5Can Print Resources replace with the E-resources
Opinion
Yes
No
Total
Response
50 (52.08%)
46 (47.92%)
96 (100%)
Table 5 shows the replacement of print resources with the
e-resources. Figure shows that majority of respondents
i.e. 50 (52.08%) have the view that print resources can be
replaced with the e- resources of information. On the
other hand 46 (47.92%) have the view that print resources
can’t be replaced with the e-resources.
PROBLEMS FACED IN USING OF E-RESOURCES
Figure 8: Problems faced in Using E-Resources
Figure 8 shows that majority of respondents i.e. 51 face the problem
of insufficient IT infrastructure like shortage of computer systems,
lack of printing facility, less bandwidth etc. and only 10
respondents face the problem of lack of knowledge about eresources.
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There is not much difference in male and female ratio of
respondents i.e. 43.75% Male and 56.25% female.
Majority of respondents (60%) visit the library daily.
83.33% users use the internet more than once in a day. So
it is assumed that all the users are familiar with the
internet.
88.54% users have the knowledge about the available eresources in the library.
59% respondents know about e-resources from the library
users’ education program. So we can assume that
university library is properly arranging orientation,
workshops, training programs, seminars etc for updating
the users and staff.
36% users use e-resources in the university library. 24%
use at the departmental library and 18% use at the hostels.
So it is clear that library is providing all the e-resources
services in the whole campus as well as in the hostels also.
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33.33% users spent less than one hour daily for using e-resources of the
library. This is very less time for proper use of e-resources. So library
should promote the use of e-resources by arranging seminars,
workshops etc.
44.79% users use the library e-resources for Research work and 20.83%
for projects, assignments and Paper writing and 23.96% use for current
awareness. This percentage is very low. It should be increased by
arranging user awareness programmers about e-resources.
86.46% users are very satisfied with the e-resources. This is very good
percentage and only 3.13% are not satisfied with the e-resources of the
library.
Majority of users prefer to use E-journals in comparison to the other eresources like e-books, e-databases, e-newspaper, e-reports, e-thesis
etc. Because these provides required information to the users.
Most of the users face the problem of insufficient IT infrastructure this
problem can be solve by providing sufficient computer systems in the
library, proper power backup, printing facility, increasing bandwidth etc.
Most of the users i.e. 52.18% have the view that print resources can be
replaced by e-recourses in the future.
In the ICT era, e-resources provide enormous opportunities to
the library users to access and utilize information from any
corner of the world. Many past studies on the e-resources had
proved that e-resources are taking place of print resources.
Users are giving preference to these resources due to their best
features over the print resources. In this study it is observed that
library has good collection of e-resources and library users are
fully aware about the Internet use and have good knowledge of
e-resources. It is also observed that there is greatest use of eresources and users are fully satisfied with the library services.
On the other hand libraries are also providing orientations,
workshops, seminars etc for making aware to the users
regarding the new resources of information and also providing
access to these resources to the users’ doorsteps. So there are
good signs for expansion of e-resources in the near future.
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Asok Kumar, N., Saravanan, T. and Balasubramani, R. (2008). Users attitude measurement
towards e-resources in Madras University library. Library Progress (International), 28 (1), 19.
Chandrasekharan H., Pandey, Sarita Patle, Mishra, P. S., Jain, A. K. Goyal, Shikha, Pandey,
Amit, Khemchandani, Usha, and Kasrija, Rajkumari. (2012). CeRA-the e-Journal
Consortium for National Agricultural Research System. Current Science, 102 (6), 847-851.
Doraswamy, M. (2005). Familiarity and Use of the Available Electronic Information
Resources by the Students in U.R Siddhartha Engineering College Library, Vijay Wada: A
Survey. NACLIN, 234–244.
Egberongbe, Halima Sadia (2011). The use and impact of electronic resources at the
University of Lagos, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved on 10th June, 2013.
Hadagali, Gururaj S, Kumbar, B. D., Nelogal, Shankar B. and Bachalapur, M. M. (2012, JulySeptember). Use of electronic resources by post graduate students in different universities
of Karnataka State. International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology, 2
(3), 189-195.
Kaur B. and Verma R. (2006). Use of Electronic Resources at TIET Library Patiala: A Case
Study. ILA Bulletin, 42(3), 18-20.
Kaur Baljinder. and Verma Rama. (2009). Use of Electronic Resources: a case study of
Thapar University. DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, 29(2), 67-73.
Kindilchie, A.I. and Samarraie, I.F. (2008). Interaction and impact of electronic information
resources on Qatar University Faculty. Libri, 58.
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Konappa, D and Dastagiri, D. (2014, April 22-24). Use of E-resources by faculty
Members of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (A.P): An Analytical Study. In Ramesha,
B. (Chief Ed.). Managing Libraries in the Changing Information World: From Surviving to
Thriving. Paper Presented at 59th ILA International Conference, IIT, Roorkee (892-899).
New Delhi: Indian Library Association.
Krubu, Dorcas Ejeemeh, and Osawaru, Kingsley Efe. The impact of information and
communication technology (ICT) in Nigerian Universities. Library Philosophy and
Practice, Paper 583.
Retrieved from. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/583/
Kumar, Aklesh, Verma Pooja and Choudhary, R.K. (2014, April 22-24). Use of Eresources among students, researchers and faculty Members of Integral University: A
Case Study. In Ramesha, B. (Chief Ed.). Managing Libraries in the Changing Information
World: From Surviving to Thriving. Paper Presented at 59th ILA International Conference,
IIT, Roorkee (887-891). New Delhi: Indian Library Association.
Mulla. (2011, May). Use of electronic Resources by faculty members in HKBK College of
Engineering: a survey, Library Philosophy and Practice.
Pareek, A. K. and Rana, Madan S. (2013). Study of information seeking behavior and
library use pattern of researchers in the Banasthali University. 63.
Satija, M.P. (2003). World Wide Web: Handbook for Librarians. New Delhi, Ess Ess
Publications.
Thanuskodi, S. (2011). Usage of electronic resources at Dr T.P.M. Library, Madurai
Kamaraj University: a case study. DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology,
31(6), 437-445.
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Qualification:- M.Com, M.Lib.I.Sc., M. Phil. (Lib. Sci.), PGDCA
WORK EXPERIENCE: More than eight years as a
Librarian/Senior Librarian in reputed institutions.
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER: Two International Journals
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PUBLICATIONS:
◦ Articles in Journals: Seven
◦ Chapters in Books/Conference Proceedings: Nine
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SEMINARS/CONFERENCES ATTENDED AND PAPER
PRESENTATED
◦ International Seminars/Conferences: Nine
◦ National Seminars/Conferences: Ten