Changing Library Strategies for the New Generation of Users

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012

Changing Library Strategies for the New Generation of Users

National Institute of Library & Information Sciences (NILIS), University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.



NILIS Symposium 2012 Sri Lanka Foundation, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka. 22-23 November 2012 Theme: 'Changing Library Strategies for the New Generation of Users'

Proceedings

National Institute of Library & Information Sciences (NILIS), University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.


Copyright © 2012 by National Institute of Library & Information Sciences All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-955-1183-01-1


NILIS Symposium is an annual academic event organized by the National Institute of Library & Information Sciences (NILIS), University of Colombo. This publication is available through the NILIS Web Site (http://www.nilis.cmb.ac.lk).

Symposium Committee Mr. Upali Amarasiri Mr. P.G. Premadasa Mr. Uditha Alahakoon Dr. Ruwan Gamage Ms. Sajeewani Jayasekara Ms. Asoka Abeyratne

Review Panel Mr.Upali Amarasiri Mr. P.G. Premadasa Mr. Uditha Alahakoon

Chief Editor Dr. Ruwan Gamage

Editorial Board Ms. Nanda Wanasundara Dr. Anusha Wijayaratne Ms. Manoja Samaradiwakara Mr. Nishan Punchihewa


Contents The Programme Summary

i

Detailed Symposium Programme

ii

Preface

vi

Acknowledgements

vii

Keynote Address

1

Session 1 Need for transformation of libraries to meet the new trends in Education (Theme Paper) by Priyantha K. Weerabahu

15

Reforming national library services to meet the needs of digital era; national digital library initiatives in Sri Lanka by Upali Amarasiri

24

Effective Use of Internet and Web 2.0 tools in University Libraries: An Analytical Study in Assam, India by Dr. Sumana Sarmah & Dr. Mukut Sarmah

32

Digitization for wider usage of S&T materials; experience of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka by Sunethra Perera

43

Accessibility of libraries to differently abled users: an evaluative instrument on access to libraries for persons with disabilities by Dr. Anusha Wijayaratne

46

Session 2 Mobile web based library services: a new service paradigm to accommodate new generation of users (Theme Paper) by Dr. Pradeepa Wijetunge

53

Evaluation of Canadian academic libraries’ mobile interfaces by Sandhya Shinde & Digambar

59

Shinde Implementation of a learning commons to meet the demands of the new breed of users by Ruvini Kodikara & Dr. Ruwan Gamage Problems of academic libraries in face of modern challenges; a case from North-eastern India by Sangrang Brahma & Dr. Ch. Ibohal Singh

71 76


Session 3 Opportunities presented in the digital era (Theme Paper) by Prof. Russell Bowden

Role of social media in promoting library and information services in an academic setting by Lionel R. Amarakoon & Ruwani S.K. Amarakoon

89 91

Revision of the legal deposit laws in Sri Lanka to meet user needs & challenges in the digital age by W. Sunil, & Upali Amarasiri

104

Application of Open-Source Software in Library Functions and Services: Experiences of Library

108

Network, Eastern University by M N Ravikumar, & T Ramanan Bibliometric study of on Anada Coomaraswami with special reference to Sri Lankan Libraries by R.M. Nadeeka Rathnabahu, S.K. Illangarathne, & Manori Samarakoon

117

The change management in the information age: approaches of academic library administrators in University libraries in Pakistan by Shidra Shan & Maqsood Shaheen

127

Session 4 Exploring continuing professional development for LIS professionals in higher educational institutions (Theme Paper) by Dr. Mukut Sarmah.

142

Undergraduate students’ preferences for print and electronic information resources by N.D. Peiris

152

Print vs electronic; preferences of members in an emerging research library; a case study by Thushari M Seneviratne

162

Availability and use of e-resources in private tertiary education libraries in Sri Lanka: A study of selected institutes affiliated to foreign Universities by R.A.W. Ruwandhi Rajasinghe

170

A study on the use of e-journals by the academics of humanities at the University of Peradeniya by

180

W.G.A.Dharmarathne

Session 5 Information Literacy, Training & Education (Theme Paper) by P.G. Premadasa

183

Development of scales of measurement for ICT self-efficacy by Champa N. K. Alahakoon

186

Effective approaches of delivering inter library loans; a case study by K.P.K. Dambawinna

189

A pilot survey of the palm leaf manuscripts in private possession in Batticaloa district by

200

S.Santharooban, T. Gayathri, & B. Pirashantha

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 Achieving better relationship marketing through better communication in library by Nalin Abeysekara. & A.H.K Balasooriya,

203

Session 6 Applications and impacts of emerging technologies in academic libraries; a perspective approach by T. Pratheepan, & W.J. Jeyaraj

210

Fostering group learning culture: action research oriented study on group learning facilitation at the

218

OUSL Library by Dr. Wathmanel Seneviratne. A sustainable solution for automation of Sri Lankan libraries by A.H.K. Balasooriya,

222

Marketing library resources and services; out of box ideas by Babita Singh, & Dr P.L.Sharma

231

Strategies for the development of Sri Lankan libraries in light of management through creativity and

237

innovation: a conceptualization by Dr. Tissa Ravinda Perera.


The Programme Summery Day 1: 22/11/2012

09.00

Inauguration & Keynote speech

10.45

Refreshments

11.30

Session 1: The Changing Information Environment

13.00

Lunch

13.45

Session 2: Redefining the Library Space

15.15

Refreshments

Day 2:23/11/2012 09.00

Session 3: The Promise of Information Age

10.30

Refreshments

11.00

Session 4: The E-Librarian

12.30

Lunch

13.15

Session 6: New Strategies and the Way Forward

14.45

Closing Session

15.30

Refreshments

Session 5: The Challenges

i


Detailed Programme Theme: 'Changing Library Strategies for the New Generation of Users' Day 1

22nd Nov. 2012

08.30

Registration

09.25

Inauguration Keynote Speech: Repositioning libraries and librarianship for the information age, by Professor ShaliniR. Urs. Executive Director and Professor, International School of Information Management, University of Mysore, Mysore, India

11.00

Refreshments

11.30

Session 1 (11.30-13.00) Theme: The Changing Information Environment Priyantha K. Weerabahu, Intel Education Program Manager.

Need for transformation of libraries to meet the new trends in Education(Theme Paper)

UpaliAmarasiri, Director, National Institute of Library & Reforming national library services to Information Sciences (NILIS), University of Colombo.

meet the needs of digital era; national digital library initiatives in Sri Lanka

Dr. Sumana Sarmah, Librarian, Central Library,

Effective Use of Internet and Web 2.0

Assam University, India & Dr. MukutSarmah,

tools in University Libraries: An Analytical Study in Assam, India

Assistant Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, Assam University, India Perera, Sunethra. Principal Information Officer, National Science Foundation.

Digitization for wider usage of S&T materials; experience of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka

Wijayaratne, Dr. Anusha - Senior Assistant Librarian, Open University of Sri Lanka. 13.00

Lunch

13.45

Session 2 (13.45-15.15)

An evaluative instrument on access to libraries for persons with disabilities

Theme: Redefining the Library Space for the New Generation of Users Wijetunge, Dr. Pradeepa. Librarian, University of

Mobile web based library services: a new

Peradeniya..

service paradigm to accommodate new generation of users(Theme Paper)

Shinde, Sandhya. Asst. Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, Jayakar Library,

Evaluation of Canadian academic libraries’ mobile interfaces

ii

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 University of Pune, India. & DigambarShinde, Learning Centre, Tata Motors Ltd. Pune, India. Gamage, Dr. Premila. Librarian, Institute of Policy

Digital storytelling for social commentary

Studies (IPS), Colombo.. Kodikara, Ruvini. Librarian, University of Moratuwa& Dr. RuwanGamage, Senior Lecturer,

Implementation of a learning commons to meet the demands of the new breed of

National Institute of Library & Information Sciences, University of Colombo.

users

Brahma, Sangrang. Librarian, Central Institute of

Problems of academic libraries in face of

Technology Kokrajhar, BTC, Assam, India & Dr. Ch. Ibohal Singh, Asst. Prof. Manipur University, Imphal,

modern challenges; a case from Northeastern India

Manipur, India 15.15

Refreshments

Day 2

23rd Nov. 2012

09.00

Session 3 (09.00-10.30) Theme: The information Age Bowden, Prof. Russell. Honorary Fellow IFLA.

Opportunities presented in the digital era(Theme Paper)

Amarakoon, Lionel R. Librarian, University of Bolton

Role of social media in promoting library

Academic Centre & Ruwani S.K. Amarakoon, Graduate and information services in an academic Student in Information Systems Management, setting University of Greenwich, U.K. Sunil, W., Deputy Director - National Library & Documentation Services Board & Upali Amarasiri,

Revision of the legal deposit laws in Sri Lanka to meet user needs & challenges

Director, National Institute of Library & Information Sciences (NILIS), University of Colombo.

in the digital age

Ravikumar, M N Senior Assistant Librarian, Eastern

Application of Open-Source Software in

University & T Ramanan, Senior Assistant Librarian, Eastern University.

Library Functions and Services: Experiences of Library Network, Eastern University

Rathnabahu, R.M. Nadeeka, Assistant Librarian Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology (PGIAR),

Bibliography on Ananda Coomaraswami with special reference to Sri Lankan

University of Kelaniya. S.K. Illangarathne, Assistant Librarian, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka & Manori

Libraries

Samarakoon, Assistant Librarian, Buddhist &Pali University of Sri Lanka. Shan, Sidra. Assistant Librarian, International Islamic

The change management in the

University of Islamabad (IIUI) & Maqsood Shaheen, Reference Specialist Information, Research and

information age: approaches of academic library heads in Pakistan

Communication U.S. Embassy, Islamabad, Pakistan

iii

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 10.30

Refreshments

11.00

Session 4 – Parallel (11.00-12.30) Theme: The e-Librarian Sarmah, Dr. Mukut. Assistant Professor Department of Library and Information Science, Assam University, India

Exploring continuing professional development for LIS professionals in higher educational institutions(Theme Paper)

Peiris, N.D. Senior Assistant Librarian, University of

Undergraduate students’ preferences for

Peradeniya.

print and electronic information resources

Seneviratne, Thushari M. Senior Assistant Librarian, University of Moratuwa.

Print vs electronic; preferences of members in an emerging research library; a case study

Rajasinghe, R.A.W. Ruwandhi. Assistant Librarian, Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT)

Availability and use of e-resources in private tertiary education libraries in Sri Lanka

Dharmarathne, W.G.A. Senior Assistant Librarian, University of Peradeniya.

A study on the use of e-journals by the academics of humanities at the University of Peradeniya.

Session 5 – Parallel (11.00-12.30) Theme: New Challenges Premadasa, P.G. Senior Lecturer, National Institute of Library & Information Sciences (NILIS), University of

Information Literacy, Training & Education(Theme Paper)

Colombo

12.30

Alahakoon, Champa N. K. Senior Assistant Librarian, University of Peradeniya.

Development of scales of measurement for ICT self-efficacy

Dambawinna, K.P.K. Senior Assistant Librarian -

Effective approaches of delivering inter

Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Peradeniya

library loans; a case study

Santharooban S., Assistant Librarian, T. Gayathri,

A pilot survey of the palm leaf

Assistant Librarian & B. Pirashantha, Assistant Librarian. Eastern University.

manuscripts in private possession in Batticaloa district

Abeysekara, Nalin. Senior Lecturer in Management,

Achieving better relationship marketing

& Balasooriya, A.H.K. Senior Assistant Librarian, Open University of Sri Lanka.

through better communication in library

Lunch

iv

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 13.15

Session 6 (13.15-14.45) Theme: New Strategies and the Way Forward Urs, Prof. Shalini. Executive Director and Professor, International School of Information Management,

New strategies to face new challenges(Theme Paper)

University of Mysore, Mysore, India Pratheepan,T., Assistant Librarian, Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka. & W.J. Jeyaraj, Acting

Applications and impacts of emerging technologies in academic libraries; a

Librarian, Eastern University.

perspective approach.

Seneviratne, Dr. Wathmanel. Librarian, Open University of Sri Lanka

Fostering group learning culture: action research oriented study on group learning facilitation at the OUSL Library

Balasooriya, A.H.K. Senior Assistant Librarian - Open University of Sri Lanka

A sustainable solution for automation of Sri Lankan libraries

Singh, Babita & Dr P.L.Sharma. Library, NHPC

Marketing library resources and services;

Limited., India.

out of box ideas

Perera, Dr. Tissa Ravinda. Faculty of Management & Finance, University of Colombo.

Strategies for the development of Sri Lankan libraries in light of management through creativity and innovation: a conceptualization

14.45

Closing session

15.30

Refreshments

v


Preface NILIS is proud to present the NILIS Research Symposium 2012 on the theme ‘Changing Library Strategies for the New Generation of Users’. I thank both paper presenters and the participants for their enthusiasm on the symposium. Though the review panel worked hard with the respective authors to improve the standard of papers, we confess that still there are weak areas. We hope to go through another round of editing and make the publication available as an online edition through NILIS Web Site. Special thanks are due to Prof. Gamini Samaranayake, Chairman/UGC, Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama, Vice Chancellor, University of Colombo, Prof. Ranjith Senaratne, Chairman/NILIS and Vice Chairman/UGC, Members of the Board of Management and Academic Committee of NILIS for their enthusiastic support for the symposium. I specially thank our keynote speaker, Prof. Shalini R Urs for accepting our invitation to deliver the keynote address and also serve as a resource person. Finally I thank the organizing committee members and the other staff of NILIS for their hard and dedicated work.

Upali Amarasiri Director/NILIS 21st November 2012

vi


Acknowledgements   

All authors and paper presenters Mr. Anurada Kumara Darmadasa for cover design NILIS office staff who helped in all stages of development of the publication

Editor 21.11.2012

vii


Keynote Address

Repositioning Libraries and Librarianship for the new age of omnipresent information Shalini R Urs Executive Director and Professor, International School of Information Management, University of Mysore, Mysore, India 1. The repositioning imperative

It is a cliché to say that we are living in an age of transformative and often disruptive change and we feel it is aoverused phrase. However, it is also a reality! The all-pervasivedigital landscape hasmade repositioning not only a challenge but alsothrown up existential questionsfor libraries and library profession. With the ever expanding digital universe and the plethora of devices offering easy and convenient access to the Internet, our society is experiencing information deluge. The raison d'être for libraries for providing access to information and knowledge seems to have vanished/changed. A recent news item in the library world seems to have sparked a huge debate. The New York Public Library—one of the most famous libraries in the world sparked a heated debateover the $300 million proposal to renovate the iconic branch ( 5th Avenue) and shipping materials to a storage facility in New Jersey. The new room will be used for a circulation library, more lounging and computer space and maybe even a café. This appears to be a growing trend among libraries across North America and has been seen as a move to revamp libraries’ identity, so that they are seen not simply as a source of books but also as community hubs. While this move of New York Public Library has found many critics, interestingly it has also found many advocates. Christopher Hume, columnist on urban issues and architecture for the Toronto Star is one of the many who support this new identity. According to Hume, A library that offers public events, educational series and even coffee is giving its community "more to do, rather than less to do.”Libraries have a greater purpose than to offer resources and physical books. "It's about knowledge, it's about information, it's about education, it's about learning," he said.

1


“If you've got content on your laptop or on your screen, why go to a library at all? If you have the same assets available to you anywhere, why go to a library at all?" This seems to be the refrain of many of library customers. While libraries are millennia old, librarianship as a profession and library science as a discipline is relatively young. Libraries have always been one of the early adopters of technologies into their processes and services be it the technologies of typewriters during the 19th centuries or computers in the 20th centuries or the cloud computing in the 21st. The alliance and at times uneasy tensions between libraries and information and communication technologies (ICTs) has always been a natural one and often times opportunistic as well! Have the ubiquitous Internet and the attendant utilities such as Facebook, Twitter, and the digital media organisations marginalized the relevance of libraries? Has the response of libraries to these challenges been adequate, effective and timely? What are the strategies that the profession has to adopt in order to stay relevant? These are some of the questions that libraries have been confronted with. Libraries and the field have responded in many different ways. Development of the field of digital libraries in the mid 1990s—by integrating the digital medium into the library processes and services is a reflection of the repositioning of the field. With the advent of web 2.0 technologies, libraries evolved into Library 2.0 and today most developed libraries across the world have become more socially networked. The Web 3.0/Semantic Web technologies spawned the emergence of semantic digital libraries or social semantic digital libraries, offering social and semantic services such as bookmarking interesting informational materials in semantically annotated directories and allowing others to see their bookmarks and annotations and share their knowledge within a social network. Responding to the challenges of contemporary technologies, libraries have always repositioned and mostly succeeded in staying relevant. 2. Where and when did it all begin? "What hath God wrought", a message in American Morse code sent by Samuel F. B. Morse to officially open the Baltimore-Washington telegraph line in 1844, perhaps best symbolizes the transformative changes brought about by the technologies in the economy, politics, life, and society in general. “You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you,” said Heraclitus—Greek philosopher known for his insistence on everpresent change in the universe. This aphorism holds true for everything including the venerated institution of libraries. Libraries and the Library and Information Science (LIS) profession has always been in a state of flux, and naturally so, given the nature of its core business—the art 2


and science of knowledge. Knowledge as a process of creation and consumption and a commodity is difficult to comprehend, explicate and manage. Knowledge is intricately intertwined with humans and mental processes and the representations of knowledge in different forms. While the word library, derived from the Latin word, Liber meaning, "to peel," referring to the inner bark of a tree, on which early manuscripts were written, still is evocative of a collection of books; the institution of libraries has changed dramatically over time. 3. What are libraries anyway? Fundamentally, libraries have evolved as institutions that democratized accessto knowledge (as embodied in books and other informational materials) through a system of shared/community ownership and access, leading to a notion of publicgood.Itisa public place for reading and accessing books/information. In order to serve this function, libraries (and librarianship) developed the techniques and tools for selecting, acquiring, organizing, storing, archiving, retrieving, and serving users with the books/documents/information that they demanded/needed. In other words libraries evolved and strengthened their position as the place for information/knowledge in their codified form in service of readers/seekers of books and information. Libraries are thus closely connected to users and the representations of knowledge. This in essence was and is the position of libraries and librarianship. Libraries are the bridges between information and users/seekers of information in pursuit of knowledge. 4. Why/when did libraries reposition? Technologies, especially those related to information production and distribution have always metamorphosed libraries. The birth of the libraries itself may be credited to the invention of writing: the next watershed technologies to impact libraries were the printing technologies. The Gutenberg revolution tore down the walls between the rich and the poor in terms of access to books. The first repositioning of libraries was triggered when the focus and processes of libraries shifted from preservation and custodianship to organization and access with the advent of the printing presses. Somewhere along the way, with the advent of different forms of communication and containers of knowledge/information, libraries also repositioned themselves as information centers going beyond books/documents to information. This was the second repositioning of libraries—from container centricto container free information. Slowly libraries moved from product centric (books/documents) to service centric organisations. There was subtle transition from organization/access to dissemination and user/need specific retrieval. 5. Repositioning Libraries in the context of Internet and digital immigrants/ natives 3


According to business dictionary repositioningis “changing a brand's status in comparison to that of the competing brands. Repositioning is effected usually through changing the marketing mix in response to changes in the market place, or due to a failure to reach the brand's marketing objectives.” In the present day context, libraries are in need of repositioning due to the twin factors of ‘competing brands’ and the changes in the ‘market place’. The Internet (information super highway) and the plethora of attendant utilities and facilities have turned the idea of access to information into a ‘given’. With the United Nations proposing that Internet access be a human right and pushing for universal access to basic communication and information services at the UN Administrative Committee on Coordination in 1997 and making another claim in 2003, during the World Summit on the Information Society, the access to information as a human right is becoming a reality. Countries such as Estonia, France, Spain, Finland and Greece, have already made Internet access a human right. Finland has made 1megabit broadband access a legal right. As Best (2004) argues ‘Internet is a fundamental Human Right in and of itself ‘. Given the above scenario of ubiquitous Internet Access, Libraries’ “brand equity” in terms of access factor has eroded. The power of Internet coupled with the power of search engines all but made access / search synonymous with Google. Users have come to equate the everexpanding Internet (estimated to be 1600 Exabyte’s in 2011) to be ‘the’ information super store and helped enormously by the ease and increasing ‘findability’ through search engines, libraries (if they ever were) are not the place that an user thinks of - to access and find information. The plethora of advanced features including the power of social media has changed the information marketplace. The domain of books and journals—another stronghold of libraries is also slipping away from their folds. Information Technologies have been force of change in the management of scholarly communication systems as well. The demands of technological infrastructure for journal storage, access, and management have made libraries no longer the place for these functions and services. Thus it is time to rethink and reposition libraries. There are diverse views and positions on the future of libraries and strategies for repositioning. Whatever be our approach and strategy we need to focus on /factor in the following:   

The Internet phenomenon and the attendant freedom from the constraints of containers, distribution channels, and institutions The increasing blurring of distinctions between types/kinds of information /document genre Cyberspace as a multitasking multiplex—given that most functions/activities from banking to networking to shopping, have moved online, it is becoming ‘the place to be’ 4

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012  

Increased expectations/intolerance of Digital Natives/Digital Immigrants Diverse/Rich interactions and personalization/customizations (Human-Human and HumanComputer)

6. Emergence of iSchools and the iSchool Movement The iSchool movement began to take shape in the US in the early part of the first decade of the present century. Many of the above factors catalyzed this movement and evolved as a strategy to realign the academic programmes centered on Information, to address the challenges of the Internet era. It is essentially a leadership response in higher education to the demands of the knowledge economy and Information Society. In response to the demands of the information era and the digital age, many universities began to establish iSchools. The hallmark of these iSchools is the multi-disciplinary character in their curriculum, faculty and students. I-Schools have been initiated in the US, UK, Australia and other countries. The identity and the unique positioning of these iSchools are derived from their heterogeneity of disciplines threaded together by their shared vision and outlook on information. Just as the industrial age spurred the evolution of the business management field, the information age has spawned the information studies and management. Given the challenges and opportunities of the data deluge in the digital age, information professionals are now in high demand, as businesses, organisations, and society confront and address the issues armed with the tools and technologies of information management. The study of information is interdisciplinary, fed by multiple diverse fields—Information Technology, Library and Information Science and Computer Science have historically been the primary feeders of the field, but information studies is also supported by and intertwined with fields such as economics, education, psychology, anthropology, business, and journalism—the whole range of social sciences. John Leslie King, School of Information, University of Michigan (2006) observes that the i-School movement is made up of novel academic programs that embrace new intellectual and professional challenges in a world awash in information. While noticing that iSchools built on the intellectual and institutional legacies of their programs, move beyond traditional programs and straddle the academy’s ancient engagement with information and the contemporary challenges of ubiquitous information affecting all aspects of society. He further observes that iSchools being emergent; find equilibrium in an essential tension among competing visions in a world of rapid technical and social change. While defining the iSchool's identity as elusive, he foresees a bright future for these institutions.

5


The iSchools organization (www.ischool.org) was founded in 2005 by a collective of Information Schools dedicated to advancing the information field in the 21st Century. Currently there are thirty-twoschools/departments that are members of thisorganizationprimarily from the US but now broadening to other countries such as the UK, Germany, Singapore and China.These schools, colleges, and departments have been newly created or have evolved from programs formerly focused on specific tracks such as information technology, library science, informatics, and information science. While each iSchool has its own strengths and specializations, together they share a fundamental interest in the relationships between information, people, and technology. The iSchools organization is governed by the iCaucus. With a vision to establish the identity of, promote and champion the brand of iSchools and information profession, the iSchools organization, has been the rallying force behind the iSchool movement. The iConference—an annual gathering of the clans of the iSchool fraternity is sponsored by the iSchools organization and held every year since 2005(almost, except for 2007) . This gathering of information professionals is a shared, onsite experience that fosters interaction, spontaneity, reflection, and forward movement. The 7th edition of the iConference was held during February in Toronto and hosted by the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto and the theme was “Culture, Design, and society”. The iConference has been one of the strategies for defining the emergent interdisciplinary field and create a distinct identity for iSchools. 7. Consortium of iSchools of Asia-Pacific (CiSAP) CiSAP (www.cisap.asia) is an Asian initiative that was formally launched in the International Conference of Asian Digital Libraries (ICADL) 2008 conference in Bali, Indonesia. Broadly modeled after the iSchoolorganisation, but clearly recognizing the need for and the imperatives of the Asian region, CiSAP is building a loosely federated organization of iSchools of the AsiaPacific region. The consortium with twenty two members is an effort towards contributing to the sustainability and the enrichment of the Information Society by—  Providing a cross disciplinary perspective of Information  Embracing the diversity of communities and cultures across Asia Pacific  Advancing information education, research and practice through collaboration and cooperation among iSchools  Recognizing the importance of information products and services to emerging knowledge economies  Collaborating with relevant professional associations which support the ideals, values and skills of our graduates  Promoting the ongoing professional development of our graduates. 6


This Consortium and its members are striving to realign the connections between LIS, Digital Libraries group and the iSchools community. 8. The structure and focus of iSchools: An impressionistic study A desktop study of the iSchool movement has been carried out in order to understand their focus and the strategies adopted. A desktop study is typically iterative and is based on data/information available in the public domain. It usually also involves some consultations with some key people and informal communications. It is more an impressionistic study and the data may not be comprehensive. The advantage of impressionistic methodology is it gives as fairly accurate picture based on some cases and sample of data. Just like an impressionistic painting, the picture is quite clear though not necessarily accurate in terms of dimensions. A review of thirty-two members of the iSchool organization, at two levels (name of the school and the academic programmes) reveals the following  Of the thirty-two schools, only eight of then continue to have the word “library” in their names. That is majority of the schools (75%) do not have the “L” word. Most schools have the word “Information”. Many have just information:some Information science; some information science and technology; some information management/information systems Management; some have communication; some include computer/computing/computer science. Though some iSchools trace their origins to the LIS Departments;the merger of two or three separate departments including Library Science, Informatics and Information Technology has forged many and some have been created as iSchools de novo.  These thirty-two schools run one hundred seventy four programmes and of these only thirty-six are Library Science Programmes (little over 20%) and the rest are information sciences, information management, and others. The most common other programmes are media, communication, informatics, and human-computer interaction. 9. Staying Relevant: Strategies for repositioning libraries/LIS profession 9. 1 Nomenclature and focus—moving beyond libraries: Moving from Library and Information Science to Information and information management and broadening of the focus from library to all information spacesand collections has been the 7


overarching strategy of iSchools. Most iSchools names have just school of information/information sciences, informatics, information studies and such other nomenclature.When libraries and library sciences opted for Library and Information sciences in the nineteen seventies, information was often mistakenly conflated with its container/metadata. This is evident from the early information retrieval systems (IRS). Though we were talking about and developing IRS, basically they were bibliographic reference retrieval systems/ document retrieval systems and not really information retrieval systems. In tune with the emergence of information sciences in the nineteen seventies, the field witnessed coalescing of different definitions and perspectives on information. The search for an identity for information science and the foundations of information science were exemplified by such classics as the Anthony Debons (1974) “ Information Science: Search for an identity” and B.C Brookes four part article series in the Journal of Information Sciences (1980). Nicholas Belkin’s(1978) work on the notions of information is a classic providing an in depth study of the definitions and notions of information. This body of research laid the philosophical foundations for a theoretical framework for the information sciences and arrived at a notion of information that provides the formalism for broader notion and understanding. Another major outcome of this body of research was the emergence of different paradigms and development of an appropriate paradigm of information science. While the LIS profession had adopted the Shannon-Weaver model of communication, these writings brought to focus its limitations and helped probe the matter to reemphasize the nuances of the differences in notions and also paradigms. Rafael Capurro (2010) (http://www.capurro.de/tampere91.htm) identifies three paradigms in information science namely: the representation paradigm the source-channel-receiver paradigm thePlatonistic paradigm. One important factor is all three paradigms consider the knowing subject in interaction with something called information. Moving beyond libraries, iSchools promote an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the opportunities and challenges of information management, with a core commitment to concepts like universal access and user-centered organization of information. The field is concerned broadly with questions of design and preservation across information spaces, from digital and 8


virtual spaces such as online communities, social networking, the World Wide Web, and databases to physical spaces such as libraries, museums, collections, and other repositories. It is worth noting that iSchools include libraries but are not limited to libraries and try and convergence all repositories and memory institutions.

Degree programs at iSchools include course offerings in areas such as information architecture, design, policy, and economics; knowledge management, user experience design, and usability; preservation and conservation; librarianship and library administration; the sociology of information; and human-computer interaction and computer science. Other programmes offered by these schools include—information systems management; information security; telecommunications and network management; Archival Science; Museum Studies; bioinformatics; health informatics; others. Thus it is evident that the iSchools have clearly expanded their horizons and focus on information in all its forms and all forms of channels of information and include archives and museums. Perhaps it is time for different memory institutions such as Libraries, Archives, and Museums (LAMs) to come together under a common broad umbrella and have a shared vision to manage human interactions with the past, present and the future. David Carr (2006) in A place not a place: reflection and possibility in museums and libraries (originally published as Minds in Museums and Libraries: The Cognitive Management of Cultural Institutions) examines the shared cognitive dimensions of cultural institutions like museums, libraries, and parks, and suggests that they make similar situations for transmitting information. The focus of the information profession will have to be (shall be) this broader vision and understanding of information—beyond the confines of not only containers and channels but also organisations. Minds have moved from individual cognition to distributed cognition. 9.2 Broadening the scope of information—from scholarly to business to personal While libraries and LIS profession has typically confined itself to the management of scholarly information (and materials), iSchools have transited towards information in all genres, forms, contexts, and purposes. Many iSchools have embraced this expanding spectrum of information. Given that Internet has spawned the Information multiplex paradigm, today life and people interact and function in a multimodal-multitasking way. Life has moved online. Life has moved from physical neighborhood to digital neighborhoods; life experiences, from shopping to surfing happen at one place—cyberspace. In this context, differentiating tasks (personal or professional) and information (professional/scholarly and personal) will severely limit the 9


relevance of libraries. The iSchools look at information management from the perspective of all kinds of information—business to entertainment to education. Secondly, iSchools also look at the entire life cycle of information from data to knowledge. Whether scientific or business, it is not just about information but data is also the focus of iSchools. Many of the iSchools have been involved in the big data (both scientific as well as other) management. Some examples include the focus of research on big data of science across iSchools. DataOne (https://www.dataone.org/) is one exemplar of this kind of approach towards efforts to build to new innovative environmental science through a distributed framework and sustainable cyber infrastructure that meets the needs of science and society for open, persistent, robust, and secure access to well-described and easily discovered Earth observational data. Supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, DataONE hopes to ensure the preservation and access to multi-scale, multi-discipline, and multi-national science data. DataONE will transcend domain boundaries and make biological data available from the genome to the ecosystem; make environmental data available from atmospheric, ecological, hydrological, and oceanographic sources; provide secure and long-term preservation and access; and engage scientists, land-managers, policy makers, students, educators, and the public through logical access and intuitive visualizations. From data to actionable insights is the approach of businesses and LIS has to transcend from documentary scholarly information to data for purposeful living approach. 9. 3 Going beyond information: From information to interaction Both from a deeply philosophical perspective to more pragmatic management paradigm, we need to refocus on human interaction with information rather than viewing information as some surrogate of/representation of human experiences. Reiterating the user empowerment theme of the conference, interaction is the key to all notions of information and experience. Interaction is the Zeitgeist thing. Referring to the "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age” Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual, and/or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, socio-cultural direction, and mood associated with an era. In today’s social media and social networks era “interaction” has emerged as a fundamental characteristic of all information spaces (whether social networking sites such as Facebook or Scientific Journal sites such as Emerald or Springer). Powered by the Web 2.0 technologies informational experiences transitioned to an era of user participation, engagement,and interaction in all aspects from collection building to tags, tag clouds and folksonomies. The semantic web technologies that are round the corner has enabled the information spaces to move from one way (read only) informational experiences to 10


reading, connecting, engaging, and interacting dynamic spaces bringing out innovative and collaborative practices. There is positive shift from “ information” to “interactions” paradigm. Libraries (whether physical or digital) need to reposition themselves to build and provide platforms /spaces for human-human and human-information interaction. We need to move from a position of information providers to interaction facilitators. 9. 4. TheLibraryasa place: building on strengths and assets Libraries as an institution have one great asset in this virtual world dominated by our competitor Internet,building and space (something that the Internet does not have). Libraries (primarily academic libraries) have literally and figuratively been the heart of the campus and traditionally have had vast physical spaces. While attempting to reposition ourselves we need to leverage on this big asset and align with the new demands. Building on this, libraries have begun to reposition as ‘the place” for community and contemplation (CLIR Report, 2005). One of the things about space on the so-called “psychosocial” aspects of space how they impacts our minds. Given that the library’s primary role is to advance and enrich the student’s educational experience; libraries can and do offer a significant social role. It is a place where people come together on levels and in ways that might not happen in the classroom, or elsewhere. Libraries are beginning to exploit this social role (and going with the present tide of social networking) in real physical settings. Libraries are offering such physical social spaces for collaboration and interactions. Taking the cue from India’s Café Coffee Day (CCD) branding and positioning (a lot can happen over coffee), libraries can reposition their buildings and spaces as “ happening places.” CCD positioned itself beyond coffee (their core product) and proposed and built the image of a “meeting place” or “ hang out place” where in one can also have coffee. Perhaps it is time that libraries (whether academic, public or others) reposition themselves as the place to meet and hang out with friends and colleagues (and also have information) 9.5. Beyond Library walls: Library Services on the Cloud

Today we see the term "cloud computing" virtually everywhere and we are virtually bombarded with the term! However, it is not just hype, but a reality and libraries need to and are moving to the cloud. The term has become ubiquitous and yet there still remains confusion about exactly what cloud computing is and what it offers libraries.Cloud computing is one avenue for this 11


move into the future. It can bring several benefits for libraries and give them a different future.

Libraries are uniquely positioned to explore the cloud computing solutions. There is a demand pull and need push --given their service-oriented mission and need to find appropriate solutions using limited resources. The collective effect of libraries using the same, shared hardware, services and data— rather than hosting hardware and software on behalf of individual libraries—can result in lowering the total costs of managing library collections and enhancing the both library user’s experience and effective resource management. The primary benefits include leveraging rapidly emerging technology to fully participate in the Web’s information landscape and Increased visibility and accessibility of library collections. Some exemplars include National Library of Australia’s Trove, Hathi Trust, OAISTER, and Europeana projects(Goldner, 2010) 9. 6. The possible scenarios of the future: Academic Libraries of the Future (LotF)—a project sponsored by the British Library, JISC, the Research Information Network (RIN), Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) paints three scenarios for the future of the academic libraries. They are the Beehive, the Wild West and the walled garden. The Wild West is a world dominated by capitalism and corporate power, including the HE sector. In this world the private providers competing with each other and the state offering students educational services, including information services and learning material. The power lies in the hands of the consumer (‘student’ )who is able to pick and choose from courses and learning materials to create a personal educational experience. Beehive is a scenario with a typical hierarchical and structured life ; all is ordered to ensure the common good of the whole community. It is consists of a society and a higher education (HE) system which have open values and the state is the primary funder /controller of HE. Overriding aim—the production of a skilled workforce, through a largely homogenous HE system for the masses while allowing the elite to attend the few traditional institutions. A limited market is used to provide competition within the HE system to drive up quality. Walled Garden is an oasis, shut-off from the outside world. Inhabitants of the garden neither know nor care about the world beyond the garden’s comforting walls. HE institutions in this scenario are ‘Walled Gardens’. The closed nature makes HEIs insular and inward looking, isolated from other institutions by competing value systems. Information services are as much concerned with protecting their own materials as it is in enabling access. 12


10. Epilogue: Libraries are threatened by competition and changing lifestyles introduced by technologies and the new digital age. Amidst the gloom of the extinction of libraries there is a silver lining of opportunities. Our continued existence and relevance depends on metamorphosing libraries as places for information and social interaction. Depending on whether one is ready for change and transformations, it is an exciting time to be in a profession that is aligned to information. After all we are in the information age, libraries built on strong intellectual and organizational foundations of the past, are uniquely positioned to not only be relevant but rock! At this juncture of mobile, and Internet revolution, 4Gs, iPads, Kindle Fires, and Microsoft Surface, many have written the epitaph pronouncing the death of libraries. In this background of pessimism on the one hand and excitement on the other—typical glass-is-half-full-half empty scenario, it augurs well for the LIS profession to take a step back and ponder about repositioning libraries for user empowerment. References: Belkin, N. J. (1978). Information Concepts for Information Science.Journal of Documentation, 34, 55-85 Best, Michael L (2000).“Human Rights and the Internet” edited by Steven Hick, Edward F. Halpin, and Eric Hoskins. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. 276pp. Brookes, B. C. (1980). The foundations of information science.Part I. Philosophical aspects.Journal of Information Science, 2, 125-133. Capurro, Rafael (2010): Foundations of Information Science. http://www.capurro.de/tampere91.htm Carr, David (2006).A Place Not a Place: Reflection and Possibility in Museums and Libraries. Rowman Altamira, 2006. Council on Library and Information Resources (2005): Library as a place: rethinking roles and rethinking spaces , Washington DC (http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub129/pub129.pdf) Debons, A. (1974): Information science: search for identity: proceedings of the 1972 NATO Advanced Study Institute in Information Science held at Seven Springs, Champion, Pennsylvania, August 12-20, 1972 King, L. Identity in the I-School Movement. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science. April/May 2006. http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Apr-06/king.html

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UN Administrative Committee on Coordination. 1997. ACC Statement on Universal Access to Basic Communication and Information. http://www.unites.org/html/resource/acc1997.htm. UN WSIS. 2003. Declaration of Principles. UN Doc WSIS-03/GENEVA/DOC/4-E. Available http://www.itu.int/wsis/documents/doc_multi-en-1161|1160.asp. www.ischool.org www.cisap.asia http://www.futurelibraries.info/content/page/scenarios-2050-0

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Need for transformation of libraries to meet the new trends in Education Priyantha K. Weerabahu

Abstract The paper on "Need for transformation of Libraries to meet the new trends in Education" looks at the innovation economy, global education trends, future of learning, and need for transformation of libraries. Today the market competitiveness is extremely high due to increased access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the need for creativity and innovation to compete globally, which is essential for success as well as survival during rapid political changes and economic downturn. Knowledge is the most valuable commodity in innovation economy and 21st century skills are essential in addition to the core subjects we learn in traditional school system. These skills incorporates critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity, leadership, accountability, adaptability, people skills, self direction, and social responsibility as well as content on civic engagement, business, financial, and economic literacy along with ICT skills. ICT has become an essential path to education, through knowledge acquisition, creation and dissemination as most are in digital form with Internet becoming the primary source of information.

In education, the traditional teacher centered classrooms are moving towards student centered in order to incorporate 21st century skills into teaching and learning processes. Students are guided to be self reliant with more opportunities for creativity with sharing and caring attitude, which is essential for work life. Therefore, traditional libraries need to transform itself to cater to needs of ICT savvy patrons. They should be web enabled with access to latest online resources, applications, and systems. Library professionals too need to be tech savvy, with skills to use Internet, e-mail, forums, 15


blogs, wikis, chats, as well as creation of digital content with related awareness on intellectual property rights to suit the 21st century library environments. 1. Innovation Economy Innovation economics is a doctrine that gives center stage to knowledge, technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation. It believes that the central goal of economic policy should be to spur higher productivity through greater innovation, and thereby economic growth. It is believed that what primarily drives economic growth in today’s knowledge-based economy is not capital accumulation, but innovative capacity spurred by appropriable knowledge and technological externalities. Economic growth is considered the end product of knowledge. Increasing innovative capacity to create processes that are more effective, products, and business models through the growth of knowledge and new technology in institutions of research, government, and society is the primary focus. Innovation needs to be the core of any countries' progress. All nations are concerned about the state of innovation in their countries due to the vital role it plays in sustaining and building upon the local competitiveness in the global economy for its continued development and future progress. Innovation alone is not sufficient, it must be backed with entrepreneurship and marketing to generate economic value. Entrepreneurship needs to be the principal driver of change and development. Today the market competitiveness is extremely high due to increased access to information and communication technology (ICT) and the need for creativity and innovation to compete globally, which is essential for success as well as survival during rapid political changes and economic downturn. To compete and win in the global economic race, change of mindsets and update of national policies is a must. Especially science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) education needs to be a national priority to have the necessary human resources to innovate and spur the growth in 21st century. Knowledge is the most valuable commodity in innovation economy and 21st century skills are essential in addition to the core subjects we learn in traditional school system. 16


Today in the 21st century the most important commodity is knowledge and the skills required to succeed in knowledge economy are quite different from the traditional reading, writing and computational skills. They can be broadly classified as follows.

Fig. 1 Source: http://www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework Core subjects such as languages, arts, mathematics, economics, science, geography, history, government and civics, and 21st century themes such as global awareness, financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy, civic literacy, health literacy, and environment literacy. Learning and innovation skills such as creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration. Information, media, and technology skills such as information literacy, media literacy, and ICT literacy. Life and career skills such as flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural, productivity and accountability, leadership and responsibility.

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2. Global Education Trends Information and communication technology (ICT) has become an essential part of education, supporting knowledge acquisition, creation and dissemination as most of them are now in digital form and the Internet is becoming the primary source of information. Today, the availability of learning resources ranging from digital textbooks, open-source curricula, and social media technology is helping to create personalized, relevant, and authentic learning environments. Especially with the advent of mobile ICT as mobile devices has surpassed the traditional computing devices. Digital learning environments with one-to-one (1:1) learning where each learner have access to a learning device is becoming necessary and practical. They are also supported by mobile applications and gamified assessment and monitoring tools. Now we are into pervasive learning due to the availability of new technologies and emerging learning paradigms. Technologies that are durable, wearable, ubiquitous, context aware, mobile, wireless, and networked with personalized services helps to create lifelong, ubiquitous, contextual, situated, collaborative, social, individual, and learner centered learning environments.

Fig.2. Ubiquitous Computing: Google Images http://203cr-gurmeetsg.blogspot.com Even the Bloom's taxonomy of education objectives is revised and known as Bloom's digital taxonomy to reflect the new behaviors and actions emerging due to technological advances and its ubiquitous nature. Now it consists of remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating as elements with collaboration being part of all. Due to all these technological advances and innovations, learning in classrooms too has 18


inverted. Traditionally the transmission of knowledge is happening in the classroom from teacher to the student and assimilation is happening outside the classroom with the help of other resources, parents and guides. Inverted learning allows for more differentiated instruction by putting students in control of learning process, while teachers act like guides. In this method, students study resources outside the classroom and absorb the material as homework and apply the lesson with the teacher in the classroom. This gives the flexibility to students to use their preferred learning style, which makes class time more productive for all. 3. Future of Learning In education, the traditional teacher centered classrooms are moving towards student centered in order to incorporate 21st century skills into teaching and learning processes. Students are guided to be self reliant with more opportunities for creativity with sharing and caring attitude, which is essential for work life.

Fig. 3. Student Centered Blended Learning: Google Images http://blogs.ncs-nj.org 4. Need for Transformation of Libraries Anywhere, anytime, life-long learning is the need of the times for rapidly evolving world with so many new technologies, resources and knowledge generated. Libraries continue to be affected by rapid and transformative changes in information and communication technology and the networked environment. Libraries and their staff need to 19


respond to these new challenges to keep up with the pace and direction of these changes. Traditional libraries need to transform itself to cater to needs of ICT savvy patrons. They should be web enabled with access to latest online resources, applications, and systems. Library professionals too need to be tech savvy, with skills to use Internet, e-mail, forums, blogs, wikis, chats, as well as creation of digital content with related awareness on intellectual property rights to suit the 21st century library environments. Due to ICT, the amount of new knowledge created and disseminated is happening extremely fast. The traditional book publishing mechanisms, selection and distribution of printed books to libraries would fallback in these scenarios. This does not mean that the traditional book publishing mechanisms and libraries would become redundant. However, our patrons will move away if they find that the information they obtain is outdated and not relevant to the times. What is necessary then is for libraries to move to the next level making use of the very same technology to make the life of its patrons better. As mentioned earlier, a new trend in education is that the transmission of knowledge is happening outside the classroom with the help of Internet, mobile, television, videos and many other media and devices. The content, which was usually in book form and was available in libraries, is mostly now online. There are two things the libraries can do here. One is to provide books in electronic format as much as possible. This is faster, cheaper, and easier as e-books versions are available for most new publications. Even if not, they could be easily created as all publications are first made in electronic form and it is quite easy to convert them into e-book format. For education, this content can be organized by subject and grades as required by the students in the locality as per the advice of their teachers. The second is to make these e-books available for download/transfer to mobile devices of patrons and also a place for anyone without such devices to access them. This is very much relevant to developing countries, where traditional libraries can provide accessibility by providing computers with Internet access similar to the services provided by tele-centers and Internet cafes. In addition to computers, devices such as tablet PCs and e-book readers can be provided by securing them with cables so that under-privileged too could get an opportunity to use these technologies. They could also provide high-speed wireless access to those who bring their own smart devices. 20


This would make the library a collaboration room rather than simply a reading and reference room even though it would make the libraries a little bit noisy places rather than silent places we usually experience. The libraries can also become electronic publishing houses for the patrons by providing facilities to convert their local knowledge and experience into e-books and once published promoting them using traditional methods as well as Internet and social media. The Internet is almost like a utility today and it is prudent to provide a web site for the library providing at least the contact information, location map, the services provided and mostly a searchable catalog of books and reviews available. Libraries could also setup their own Intranets for the members to access and provide facilities to refer e-books. Some publishers do not provide everything in e-book format but most provide a preview of them in e-books format. These previews could be made available to the patrons so that they could request hard copies to be bought and made available. This network could be extended to the member libraries through a secure login mechanism so that they could collaborate and share applications and information to update the internal databases of catalogs and other local information from where ever they are. This central web site could also integrate with other relevant stakeholders such as book publishers, printers, government bodies as well as other local/international library related organizations to form an Extranet to collaborate and share information once again with secure login mechanisms. The library members should be given user accounts and passwords to access this online network from anywhere they would like and get customized services for knowledge exchange and creation. Some of these services could be such as:  Researching the topics of interest of its members and providing relevant catalog of books.  Referring its members to other libraries when relevant books are not available.  Readers' advisory service based on the interests of its members.  Provide free or discounted memberships to online publications and library systems.  Discounted book purchasing and publishing for its members. 21


    

Online forum for its members to interact with each other through social media technology. Help to form local reading clubs and events. Provide printing, scanning, and translation services for selected contents by its members. Help Desk to answer queries of its membership and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on the web site. Free or discounted Internet access to its members at the library and help to obtain discounted Internet connections through local Internet Service Providers (ISP).

Once a Web site is available, it could provide e-commerce opportunities to earn some revenue too. One way of doing this is to provide Online selling of local publications with the acceptance of credit card and other payment mechanisms. Local delivery mechanisms could be built through the library network or postal system and extended overseas with courier facilities for additional payment. Another option is to become an affiliate of international book publishers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and many others, so that affiliate commission could be earned for anyone referred from the library web site. With necessary infrastructure, libraries could also provide ICT literacy courses to its members as well as courses on library science and even on authoring and book publishing too. There would be many creative patrons who would like to put their knowledge and experience into print and the libraries could help them in doing so and possibly earn some revenue too. 5. Recommendations Transformation of Libraries is not only needed to meet the new trends in Education but also for its own survival in the knowledge based innovation economy. Therefore, some of the recommendations based on what was discussed would be: 1. Become a local repository of relevant, authoritative electronic content as per the needs of the patrons. 2. Provide access to computers and reading devices with high-speed Internet access. 3. Provide wireless Internet access to patrons who bring their own devices. 4. Become an electronic publisher of local knowledge and a promoter of it using Internet and social media. 22


5. 6. 7. 8.

Provide cost effective access to global databases and online resources. Setup a Web site with Internet, Intranet and Extranet facilities. Use a suitable library management system. Train the library professionals on ICT, use of Internet, e-mail, social media, and electronic publishing. 9. Provide training on basic ICT, electronic publishing, and social media skills to local community. 10. Loaning of multi-media equipment to patrons and helping with research and information to make presentations. 11. Make library a collaboration and business centre for patrons with the provision of needs beyond books like refreshments, recreation, etc. With the right approach, libraries could become the center stage of learning in innovation economy too. However, we need to transform ourselves to make it a reality. References KnowledgeWorks, World of Learning: what's happening now, http://futureofed.org/resources/whats-happing-now OECD (2012), Education at a Glance 2012: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2012-en Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Framework for 21st Century Learning, http://www.p21.org/overview The Innovation Economy, Issues & Reports, http://www.theinnovationeconomy.org/_layouts/IEC/IssuesReports/IssuesAndReports. aspx?LinkId=IR

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Reforming national library services to meetrequirements of the digital era: nationaldigital library initiatives in Sri Lanka and key issues

UpaliAmarasiri Director, National Institute of Library & Information Sciences (NILIS), University of Colombo

Information resources have different formats and among them, print, audio-visual and digital formats are the most common. Digital information sources are becoming increasingly significant in the present day human communication, library resources, publishing and other day-to-day activities. In the field of Library and Information Science (LIS), digital information resources are considered as the digital library, a new term which denotes the importance of digital material as library resources. Creation of a national digital library has become a priority of most of the developed and fast developing countries. It is considered an essential prerequisite of economic and social development of a country. Goncalves et al (2007) identifies six major areas of a digital library; Digital objects, Metadata specifications, Collection, Catalogue, Repository and Services. National Digital Library (NDL) includes developing digital libraries and also working in several other fronts by providing access to digital/online resources, collecting and organising national digital resources and also developing necessary human resources. ‘It should support information access and delivery via electronic communication: Information preservation; Storage and retrieval; Information management; consultation and training; new forms of scholarly and scientific communication and development of the knowledge network ’. Deegan& Tanner (2002). During the past decade, several attempts have been made by a number of organisations to develop a national digital library for Sri Lanka. These include National Library and Documentation Centre (NLDC), National Science Foundation (NSF), Universities, Department of National Museums (DNM), Department of National Archives (DNA) and Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA). NLDC Initiatives The National Library and Documentation Centre (NLDC) which functions under the National Library and Documentation Services Board (NLDSB) initiated the NDL project by automating some of the national 24

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 library services - e.g. National Library Catalogue, National Union Catalogue in the 1990s. Subsequently some of the bibliographic services publications - e.g. Newspaper Article Index, Sri Lanka Conference Index, Directory of Government Libraries, ISBN/ISSN Directories, National Bibliography, Retrospective National Bibliography and special bibliographies were converted from print format to digital format and made available online. In addition digitisation of special collections (e.g. Sri Lankan folklore Collection, some rare books and manuscripts) of the national library has commenced. ‘Inexpensive hardware – digital camera and personal computer – have been used for basic digitisation work’. Varuni&Amarasiri (2007). Subscribing to international online journals and databases, e.g. Science Citation Index, LISA as well as acquiring digital materials coming into the purview of the national library acquisition policy have been gradually increased. Attempts have been made to revise the present Legal Deposit legislations to cover digital publications as well. Special training facilities have been provided to improve the necessary knowhow on digitisation among staff as well as managing digital collections. Both international and local experts on the subjects of automation, digitisation, web development and other related areas have been sponsored as short term consultants to train and guide staff. The NLDC also invested in acquiring both hardware and software necessary for running a digital library service. A number of attempts have been made to launch consortium of online journals either with the NLDC as the centre or some other organisation (UGC, NSF) as the centre. NSF Initiatives The National Science Foundation (NSF) has been acting as the national centre for science and technology information in Sri Lanka. The National Science Library & Resource Centre of the NSF taking the leading role in fulfilling the mandate. It commenced the Digital Library Project in 2006 and digitized its main collections and made them available for online access within the NSF LAN through a searchable database. National DigitisingProgramme/Network of Institutional Repositories Project is the main digitisation project of the NSF. The programme implementation period is from 2012 to 2017 and funds are coming from the government. Under the project the NSF will assist digitising a selected collection of the institution and will also support setting up Institutional Repositories (IR) at each institute with digitised material and facilities made available for public access. The selected institutions are research institutes, universities and similar organisations with rich research library collections. Special attention will be on theses, dissertations, unpublished reports and working papers, books, journal articles, multimedia and audio-visual materials, learning objects, datasets, patents, manuscripts, statistical information, etc. MOUs have been signed with seven institutions which have been selected for the first phase of work. The selection of the materials will be done by the relevant institute and the actual digitisation will be done by a private sector company selected for this purpose. The NSF will provide the training to staff of the selected institutes on selection, handling of material and maintaining the deposit. Expenses related to digitisation will be borne by the NSF. In return NSF will receive an extra set of digital copies to be stored at the NSF. Maintenance of the Sri Lanka Science Index Database, Sri Lanka Association of Advancement of Science (SLAAS) Database and provide online access, provision of database with access to full text of all final reports/theses of NSF awarded research grants, maintenance of Union List of Scientific Periodicals database with information on scientific journals available in Sri Lankan libraries, planning to establish a 25

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 consortia of S&T online journals and provision of training facilities at national level are the other main projects conducted by the NSF as digital library initiatives. NDL Initiatives in the University Sector The Standing Committee on Library and Information Services (SCOLIS), the university librarians’ of the University Grants Commission took a number of initiatives in the past few years including modernising the university libraries which includes provision of grants to purchase ICT materials, making an attempt to create online journal consortium to serve the university sector, providing a forum to discuss professional and administrative issues pertaining to university libraries, helping librarians to formulate plans and identifying problems and possible solutions. University libraries also made substantial progress in improving their library and information services by automating library catalogues, introducing new ICT related services, developing e-resources, including subscribing to e-journals, online databases and colleting and organising university e-resources. The major university libraries have their own information repositories with digital material including digital material generated by university academics. The SIDA/SAREC library support programme provided free e-resources including academic journals to Sri Lankan university libraries a few years back which was well appreciated. Jayasuriya (2008). This was the first encounter with e-journals to many librarians and users. The Sri Lanka Journal Online Project is another positive step forward in the correct direction initiated under SIDA/SAREC project. This is an online platform of local e-journals which is freely available for users. The project was initially managed by the Peradeniya University library and later by the Colombo University library. The project ended in 2008. In comparison university libraries are in an advantageous position to their counterparts in other library sectors in resource allocation, human resources and infra-structure facilities. Hence they could contribute to the National Digital Library Project in great deal. On the other hand the largest segment of researchers in the country is in universities and the university libraries bear a legitimate responsibility in providing high quality, modern service. Kelaniya University & DIRI Digitisation Project One of the successful digitisation projects is the Digitisation of Sinhala Manuscript Project carried out by the Kelaniya University in collaboration with the Dhammachai International Research Institute (DIRI) of Thailand. Subsequent to signing agreements between the Kelaniya University and DIRI the project commenced in 2009. Under the project the DIRI provides funds and technical assistance for the project while the Kelaniya University acts as the local facilitator. The technical team of the project visits the major temples and other repositories of palm leaf manuscripts in Sri Lanka and carry out digitisation. To date approximately 100,000 palm leaf manuscripts have been digitised under the project. Initiatives of the Departments of National Archives and the National Museums In addition to their own responsibilities the Department of National Archives (DNA) and the Department of National Museums (DNM) are in possession of a part of the national library collections and also carry out some national library functions. Both these institutions initiated digital microfilming of their collections during the last two decades. In addition the DNM developed a digital collection of images of the artefacts in their possession. The National Archives received assistance from the Netherlands to 26

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 microfilm the old Dutch records under several projects. In addition they commenced microfilming their newspaper collections. A few decades ago DNA carried out a major project in microfilming and preserving the palm leaf manuscripts deposited in temples in Sri Lanka. In mid 1990s DNM initiated a project in digital microfilming of its rare Sri Lankan collection. Subsequent to making heavy investments on microfilm cameras and other hardware the project was later abandoned. Digital photographing the thousands of artefacts in the museum is also currently being carried out. The purpose of the project is to provide researchers the necessary information on the historical objects without physically endangering the items. Technically these projects of Department of National Archives and Department of National Museums do not come under the National Digital Library project except perhaps the digital image collection developed by the DNM. Still these efforts are relevant to the National Digital Library project on the long-term basis. These microfilm collections can be converted to digital format saving time and resources of digitizing the original material. ICTA Initiatives The Information and Communication Technology Agency in Sri Lanka (ICTA) among other areas is responsible for providing necessary infrastructure facilities, legal and legislative reforms required to facilitate ICT development in the country and also improve the IT literacy rate. All these are necessary prerequisites of developing the National Digital Library. A number of programmes have been launched to achieve the objectives including improving information infrastructure, enacting e-laws to facilitate egovernment and e-commerce, ICT human resource development and re-engineering the government by modernising the public sector. Other Initiatives The Survey Department, one of the oldest government departments in the country, took the initiative of digitising the vast map collection of the department while the Industrial Technology Institute digitised part of its research paper collection. NERD Centre, Arthur C Clerk Centre for Modern Technologies, Coconut Research Institute and a few other libraries maintain e-repositories. In 2011 and 2012 the Sri Lanka Library Association submitted pre-budget proposals to the Presidential Secretariat for consideration when preparing the national budget. In its proposals the SLLA requested the government to create a National Online Consortium on e-journals and other online resources for the benefit of researchers, scientists and libraries of the country. Since this hugely expensive task is beyond the capacity of a single organisation, SLLA requested the government to step in. Although the proposal has not got the attention of the government, SLLA will be persisting with its demand in the coming years. This paper will discuss the major reasons for the slow progress in national digital library initiatives. The author is familiar with the situation to some extent due to his close association with the digital initiatives undertaken by the NLDC, NSF and UGC/SCOLIS. Facts have also been gathered through a questionnaire distributed among library professionals and senior staff of the relevant institutions, conducting in-depth interviews and studying related documents.

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NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 Fragmentation of the National Collection The biggest hurdle for the digital national library in Sri Lanka is the fragmentation of the national collection. Due to historical reasons the national collection is scattered among a number of institutions. Although most other countries (e.g. Britain) with a similar situation managed to combine the collections and build strong national libraries, Sri Lanka has not achieved it as yet. This has understandably a negative impact on creating the National Digital Library. Digitising the library collection is not a major objective of some organisations which possess a part of the national collection at present. Departments of National Archives and National Museums have their own objectives and priorities in their respective professional spheres. While the National Archives gives priority to preserving the historical archival collection, the National Museums has its museum artefacts and other valuable objects to be preserved. This situation forces the authorities to find a sustainable solution for the problem. There are two obvious solutions of which one is to unify the national collections under its official custodian, the National Library, and the other is to amalgamate all three memory institutions under a single authority. Both these solutions have been implemented in other parts of the world. Lack of a National Plan & Collaborative Projects When the national collection is scattered among a number of organisations, it is imperative to have collaborative projects in preservation or improving access through digitisation. Perhaps one obstacle for collaboration is that these major institutions come under different ministries making joint projects somewhat difficult but not impossible. In the mid-1990s the NLDSB led an agitation on the poor and dilapidated facilities of the national museum library collection. This led to the microfilming project as well as providing better buildings and other infrastructure facilities for the museum library. Obviously major part of the credit should go to the management of the DNM and the Cultural Ministry. Recently the NSF offered its help to digitise some collections of the National Library under its National Digitisation Project. There is an increasing realisation of the importance of having consortium for e-journals and other online resources. The high cost of e-journals has forced librarians and managers to go for a joint solution. Very soon all these stakeholders will be looking for a similar solution in digitising the collections they possess. The government is also trying to redistribute the functions of government departments and institutions more logically avoiding overlaps. As a result there is a good possibility of merging some of the above mentioned organisations in the future which will undoubtedly facilitate projects such as the National Digital Library. But at present we can witness the negative impact of lack of collaborative efforts which have hampered the development of the National Digital Library. The nonexistence of national policy, non-optimal usage of available human and financial resources, wastage can be clearly identified as a result. Scarcity of Resources Scarcity of financial and human resources is obviously a major reason for slow implementation of NDL project. Those who commenced substantial projects either received foreign assistance (National Archives) or special local grants (NSF and National Museum). The investment for hardware and software comes to a substantial amount and it is difficult to obtain them from annual restricted treasury 28

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 allocations. The three decade old internal civil war has had devastating effects on the National Digital Library project as well. Ranasinghe (2012) pointed out during the 2009-2011 period 61.53% of university libraries had not allocated any funds for subscribing to e-journals. When it comes to human resources the situation is no different except in the university sector. Due to the low remuneration in the government and semi-government sectors, it is difficult to attract qualified people for the available positions related to ICT field in these organisations. Even if they manage to fill the positions it is difficult to keep them for a long time as they tend to leave the organisation in search of greener pastures after gaining the necessary experience. Comparatively universities are in a better position. Still the filling of cadre positions and creating new positions, and finding people with high ICT qualification are problems even in the university sector. Library schools and training centres have a great responsibility to modernise the curricula/syllabuses to meet this growing challenge. Inadequate usage of E-resources Inadequate demand for e-resources is a major obstacle specially in subscribing for e-journals or databases. The librarians have an embarrassing and frustrating experience at the end of year when they are required to justify the high cost of the subscription which ultimately serves a fraction of users. The NLDSB subscribed to the Science Citation Index for a number of years and gave publicity of it through newspaper advertisements and other standard methods, but the annual usage never exceeded 50 users and in some years it was less than 20 users. The NSF and some other leading academic/research libraries are facing the same dilemma. Ultimately when the management as well as government audits question the wisdom of spending large sums of money for the benefit of a handful of users in the midst of financial hardship, the subscription had to be ceased. When we question the research community, their response is that they prefer e-resources which can be accessed from their home or workplace rather than going to a library to consult it. They also complain about the lack of publicity on the availability of resources and also their preference of full text versions rather than abstracts. From the point of view of libraries, the cost of subscribing to full text databases is prohibitive. Though full text databases are available occasionally, most can afford only the next best alternative which is the abstract format. Again, purchasing the web sharing model is prohibitively expensive. Though we have an array of brilliant scientists and researchers, in general our research community is not vibrant or adequately large. This naturally creates a problem for libraries in justifying subscribing to very expensive eresources. Legal Framework There were a number of successful efforts in improving the legal frame work to suit the current requirements in the recent past through the initiatives of the ICTA. But still in areas like copyright and legal deposit legislations there are a lot to be done. The Sri Lankan copyright law (Intellectual Property Act 2003) protects the copyright during the lifetime of the author and 70 years after his death. Anonymous work is protected 50 years from the publishing date. Protection is awarded without any formal registration and in valid in all member countries of the Berne convention. The general criticism is that the copyright law is overly favours the rights of the authors and very little consideration on the 29

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 needs of the users and the country in general. Although there are exceptions on fair use, these provisions are not strong enough. This situation is not conducive in developing a National Digital Library and needs reconsideration and revision. Current legal deposit legislations which were framed in the 19th century need new revisions for better implementation of the law and also to collect new form of material to the national collection. Department of National Archives in collaboration with the NLDSB has been engaged in revising the age old legal deposit legislations to prepare a more conducive atmosphere for the NDL. Positive Steps In the same breadth the great encouragement by some organisations to try new ideas or out of the box solutions should also be pointed out. The NSF launched ‘S&T Innovative Strategy 2011-2015’ encouraging the staff to go for new and innovative strategies to meet the objectives. Its National Digitisation project is a well planned, practical, sustainable project which suits the Sri Lankan situation. The NLDSB started its digitisation work with a simple digital camera without waiting for expensive hardware. Universities of Peradeniya and Colombo managed the SIDA/SAREC free e-journal project admirably giving the taste of e-journals to hundreds of librarians and thousands of users. Kelaniya University Faculty of Social Science launched a successful palm leaf manuscripts digitisation project with foreign collaboration. With the help of visionaries such as late Mr N U Yapa, Sri Lanka Library Association introduced new courses on ICT to improve ICT awareness among its students providing necessary human resources. The National Institute of Library and Information Sciences not only upgraded its curricula with more ICT components, it has also launched new postgraduate diploma and masters programmes in Information Management with more emphasis on ICT and digital library environment. Conclusion All the major organisations related to the national library services have shown a considerable interest in developing the national digital library in the past few years. It needs to overcome many challenges to become a reality. Planning, allocation of resources, collaboration among memory institutions and development of necessary human resources, revising the legal deposit law are some of the key hurdles which need to be overcome for the development of the national digital library in Sri Lanka. References Deegan,Marilyn and Tanner, Simmon. Digital Futures: Strategies for the Information Age. London: Library Association. 2002 Gangabadarachchi, V and Amarasiri, M.S.U. (2007) Digital Collection Building Initiatives of National Library and Documentation Centre. Sri Lanka Journal of Librarianship and Information Management, Vol. 2, Issue 1&2 2007 Goncalveset el (2007) What is a good digital library? A quality model for digital libraries, information processing and Management, Vol. 43, pp1416-1437

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NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 Jayasuriya, S. (2008). Access to electronic information: Challenges and initiatives. Journal of University Librarians Association of Sri Lanka, 12-18 Ranasinghe, W.M.T.D. (2012) E-Journal Applications in Sri Lankan University Libraries. Proceedings of the 09th National Conference on Library and Information Science (NACLIS 2012) 108-121

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Effective Use of Internet and Web 2.0 tools in University Libraries: An Analytical Study in Assam, INDIA Dr. SumanaChakrabartySarmah Librarian I/c Central Library, Assam University, INDIA E-mail: [email protected] & Dr. MukutSarmah Assistant Professor Department of Library and Information Science Assam University, INDIA E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: The services of the university libraries have been expanding as they contribute significantly to the learning process and research activities. In the recent years significant developments have been taken place in library and information services and the university libraries are shouldering newer responsibilities in higher education. In the accreditation process of Indian universities, evaluation of libraries has been gaining importance, where other than collection, infrastructural facilities etc., the services are also carefully assessed. Innovative use of Web 2.0 technologies enables library and information professionals to reach both local and remote users much more easily and effectively. Instant messaging, blogs, social media, wikis etc., among web 2.0 tools are effectively used to provide various library services. In this paper an attempt has been made to present the results of the study conducted to understand the quality of Internet service and applications of Web2.0 tools in the five university libraries of Assam which include Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University, Assam Agricultural University, Tezpur University and Assam University. The paper also attempts to bring to light a few notable, free Web 2.0 based interactive communication tools that can help library and information professionals in the university libraries. Keywords: Internet Use, Web 2.0, University Libraries, Assam, Case Study

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1. INTRODUCTION Teachers and students in universities are depending more and more on the Internet for their various educational purposes. Providing Internet access facility to the users in university libraries has become one of the essential services and application of Web 2.0 has opened up even more opportunities for the library and information professionals to better engage library users, essentially making communication and online work easier and more productive. Web 2.0 is considered as a new opportunity, a possible way to better collaboration and communication. It helps to interact, share, create, and publish information online.Today, it is beyond the working ability of any library to cater and satisfy the information requirements of the users without using web 2.0 tools and services.As university libraries in Assam have been providing Internet facility to academic community and expect users to utilize it for educational purposes, it is felt necessary to conduct a study to determine how the Internet is being used for academic activities. It is also under the purview of the study to identify how the Web 2.0 tools has influenced the academic efficiency of the target users of the surveyed university libraries of Assam. 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Main objectives of the study are as follows: * To assess internet facilities provided by the university libraries in Assam; * To identify the different purposes for which the Internet is being used by the students, research scholars, teachers, and staff; and * To study the information professionals’ attitude towards the usage of Internet and status as well as benefits of introducing Web 2.0 tools in university libraries. 3. METHODOLOGY FOLLOWED The university libraries of Assam have been contributing significantly to the teaching-learning process and research activities of the region. Although, there are nine universitiesasrecognised by University Grants Commission, but five universities have been selected for the study as they were quite old and well established universities in Assam in terms of courses, infrastructure, faculty and library service. The five universities underthe study include: GauhatiUniversity(GU), Dibrugarh University (DU), Assam Agricultural University (AAU). Tezpur University (TU), and Assam University (AU). Out of these TU and AU are central universities and others are state universities. Survey Method has been adopted aiming at studying the present state or condition of the university libraries and for pointing out the future needs. One structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to the libraries to gather information. Some randomly selected users have been surveyed to understand their views on Internet use. 4.

INTERNET USAGE AND WEB 2.0 APPLICATIONS 33


4.1

Internet Usage: World and Indian Scenario

day The use of Internet has been growing exponentially day-by-day. day. Table 1 revels that the Internet usage growth in the world has been 566.4 % during 2000 – 2012. It is surprised to note that the usage growth iss 3,606.7 % in Africa which is highest among all the world regions. Asia is seen in second rank among the World’s Internet Users by Regions with a growth of 841.9% which is more than world’s total growth of Internet usage. Table 1: Internet Users Growth in the World between 2000 - 2012

Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm During the last twelve years, the users of Internet in India has been growing very rapidly. Internet users in India during 1998 were 1.4 million only while as on December, 2011 the Internet users were increased to 121 million where the rate of penetration was 8.5%.

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Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm Figure 1: Top 10 Internet countries in Asia

Figure 1 presents the top 10 Internet countries within Asia. China is in the top of the list with 513 million of users followed by India. 2010 With 615 universities as well as 33023 colleges as per the UGC’s Annual Report 2010-11, the Indian University system is one of the largest higher education systems in the world. It is a great challenge to ensure effective coordination and communication amongst 169.7 lakh students and 6.8 lakh teachers. Rapidly Rapidly changing curricula and frequent introduction of new subjects impose a great demand on the system in general. The exponential growth of Internet usage is seen in all sectors including university and college libraries in India. There are 9 universities and 507 colleges as per the same report in Assam andInternet usage in these institutions is quite significant. Internet usage by the students and teachers in the university libraries in Assam has been found an exponential growth. 4.2

Web 2.0 Applications

The term Web2.0 refers to the development of online services that encourage participation, collaboration, communication and information sharing. The concept of Web 2.0 was being popularized during 2004 as it was a shifting from static to dynamic web pages to provide a new communication environment with users’ participation(Linh, 2008). Tim O’Reilly is of the opinion that Web 2.0 represents a shift from the passive experience of static “read only” web pages to the participatory experience of dynamic and interactive interactive web pages. Davis (2005) expresses Web 35


2.0 not as a technology but as an attitude. Birdsall (2007) is with the view that Web 2.0 is a social movement. Web 2.0 services are often referred to as “social media” due to their role in supporting communication and building online communities.Libraries and librarians all over the world are using Web2.0 technologies to promote user services, and share information. Following are the major reasons to use Web 2.0 in libraries:  Reaching the large number of users within or outside the library: The libraries can reach a large number of users, serving more people in the virtual world which would not have been possible at a physical location. Establishing a presence on blogs, social media websites, libraries can reach beyond the four boundary walls of the library to interact with users anytime and anywhere in the world online than passively waiting for users. A strong web presence, improves awareness of library services which may in turn lead to increased physical visits.  Developing interactive user services: Dynamic webpages which are usefulfor presenting information about the library servicesalso allow for the interaction of users. The integration of Web2.0 tools, could enable libraries to deliver some of the online services. Libraries hostbook discussion groups using a blog or wiki and providing update information about the library. Some libraries have produced promotional videos on YouTube, which are inexpensive to make. Library can seek comments from the users to improve the services.  Up-to-dateness of information and promotion of library service: Up-to-date information could be made available to the target users if Web2.0 is used. The services can be updated quickly and published instantly. Time delays associated with traditional web publishing, can be minimized by using blogs or micro-blogs. Library and information professionals can go straight to the user with news and up to date information related to newservices introduced, materials received or service developments.  Professional developmentin LIS staff: Library and information professionals have learnt using the Web 2.0 to communicate, share ideas and offer support for its users. The advent of Web2.0 technologies presents new opportunities for professional collaboration and cooperation. Many LIS professionals now use micro-blogging like Twitter, for example, to get information about activities and initiatives going on elsewhere; and to share ideas or ask colleagues for support. The concept of Library 2.0 has been emerged after the introduction of Web 2.0 in library and information services and changed the entire range of users services. Library 2.0 is the application of interactive, collaborative, and multimedia web-based technologies to web-based library services and collection.

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The study conducted by the researchers came up with some findings. Following section presents the major findings derived out of the study conducted in five university libraries in Assam. 5. FINDINSGS Various aspects of the universities have been studied and analysed out of the data gathered. The major findings have been discussed below.  The growth of universities in Assam is shown in the Figure 2. It reveals that GU is the first university established in Assam in the year 1948 which is followed by DU and AAU in the year 1965 and 1969 respectively. TU and AU established in the same year in 1994. 2000 1994

1994

1990 1980 1970

1969 1965

1960 1950

1948

U A

A

TU

AU

U D

G

U

1940

Figure 2: Growth of Universities in Assam * The university libraries have introduced computer in different library activities in different times. All the university libraries have client–server library network except GU. * The university libraries have introduced Internet service in different dates. GU was the first to introduce Internet service to the users followed by AU in 1998 and 1999(Figure 3). DU and AAU started introducing Internet service in the year 2000 and 2002 respectively. TU introduced the service at last among the university libraries in 2007. 2008 2006

2007

2004 Years

2002 2002

2000 2000

1998 1996

1999

1998

1994 1992 KKHL

LNBL

BMPL

TUCL

RL

University Libraries

Figure 3: Introduction of Internet Service 37


 When librarians were asked to respond to objectives for introducing Internet service in the library all of them responded positively that it was introduced ‘to provide instant & current information as required’ and ‘to improve access to the outside Table 2. Objectives to Introduce Internet Service Rank Option Objectives No. 1 D3.c. to provide instant & current information as required. D3.a. to improve access to the outside electronic resources. 2 D3.b. to participate easily with the networks. to help the staff for managing the D3.e. library activities. 3 D3.d. to improve the image of the library. i. Better interaction with peers outside. 4 D3.f. ii. To access e-journals / e-books / Others database etc. DeLNet service.

Out of five Percentag Univ. Libs. e(%) 5 100% 5

100%

4 4

80% 80%

3 1 1

60% 10% 10%

electronic resources’. Again four of them(80%) marked as ‘to participate easily with the networks’ and ‘to help the staff for managing the library activities’. Three libraries agree to the fact that introduction of Internet was ‘to improve the image of the library’. One respondent says that the objective was also to better interaction with peers outside and another respondent says to access e-journals. * All the university libraries are members of e-consortium but of-course the consortia are different. GU, DU, RL and TU are members of UGC-Infonet. AAU mentioned that they have been subscribing to ICAR & Elsevier Agricultural Collections and DELCON also(Table 3). Table 3. Membership of any E-consortium Sl. No. Name of University Membership 1 2 3

GU DU AAU

Yes Yes Yes

4

TU

Yes

5

AU

Yes

To Whom UGC - Infonet UGC - Infonet ICAR & Elsevier Agricultural Collection UGC-Infonet, Science direct, ASME, ACM etc. UGC-Infonet, DELCON

38


 Library and Information professionals must understand the benefits that the Internet is providing for the academic community. Some of the important benefits were selected and asked in the questionnaire to respond by the information professionals. Their responses are analysed and the professionals strongly agree to the point that “Internet facilitates cooperation and resource sharing among the libraries”. DU and AU strongly agree and other three libraries agree but not strongly that “Internet helps the users to get desired information that is not available in the library.” AU and AAU undecided to the point that “Internet helps in performing all house keeping operations like acquisition, classification, cataloguing, serial control, circulation control, information retrieval etc.” Only DU strongly agree to this point. TU disagreed to the point that “Internet facilitates wider access to all kinds of information sources from remote place.”  Application of Web 2.0 in the university libraries were studied. The result presented below shows that only two libraries are adopting web 2.0 tools like IM and Blogs. These two also not using the tools effectively (Table 4). Table 4: Major Web 2.0 tools used in University Libraries IM Blogs RSS Bookmarking No GU No No No No No No DU No

Wikis No

SNS No

Podcast No

No

No

No

AAU

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

TU

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

AU

No

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

The respondents believe that the users of Internet are increasingly using Web 2.0 tools for social interactions with members of the family, friends and other communities. But library and information professionals are not in a position to integrate the technology which could have been right approach to meet their users’demands irrespective of time and location using social networking applications. As most of the libraries having financial constraint and Web 2.0 applications are offering services free of cost, libraries could have got benefits from these if these are effectively used.

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Podcast SNS

AU

Wikis

TU

Bookmarking

AAU

RSS

DU

Blogs

GU

IM 0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

Figure 4: Use of Web 2.0 tools by the University Libraries Figure 4 presents the different Web 2.0 tools used in the university libraries of Assam. Only two libraries (40%) are using the tools, which is also in very limited way. 6.

DISCUSSION

University libraries play a prominent role and must be considered as an integral part of the teaching and research programme. The University libraries of Assam require more emphasis on on-line line services through Web 2.0 tools to meet the users’ ever increasing demand. LIS professionals should keep themselves abreast of latest knowledge on Web 2.0 application and use of Web 2.0 in university libraries should have five basic features: parti participatory, interactive, collaborative, convergent, and open (Chen, 2007).

Figure 5: Five basic features of Web 2.0 in Academic Libraries 40


They can adopt tools like, social networking (eg., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Hi5 etc.); video and photo sharing (eg., YouTube, Flickr etc.); blogging(eg., Blogger, Wordpress, LiveJournal etc.);microblogging (eg., Twitter, Tumblr etc.); tagging; podcasting; social bookmarking (eg., del.icio.us, Digg etc.) wikis (e.g., Peanut Butter, TikiWiki etc.); resource organising (eg., Pageflakes, Netvibes etc.) and others. Systematic efforts to expand access to information outside the walls of libraries should be carried out by the university libraries. The researchers believe that participation in this online community can significantly improve staff development, skills and motivation, leading to direct benefit for library services.Web 2.0 applications should be thoroughly taught in LIS departments of Assam by integrating it in different LIS courses. The LIS professionals will then get awareness about the potential usage of these technologies. It will help to equip the library professionals with skills and competencies that are necessary to design dynamic and modern user oriented services. 7.

CONCLUSION

The Internet service in university libraries has been observed as an important facility that assist academic community like students, research scholars and teachers in the pursuance of knowledge, learning and research. University libraries in Assam should not only provide the Internet access facility in the library but also integrate the Web 2.0 technologies in their library ser. They need to move out from the perception of online social networks as time-wasting personal pursuits and come to appreciate their value as worthwhile professional tools, which cancontribute to organisational objectives as well as personal development.If libraries do not keep up with emerging technologies, continuously striving to provide responsive services, it will become increasingly difficult to satisfy the users. It is important that everyone involved in delivering library services realises the importance of Web2.0 and makes the most of this opportunity to communicate and collaborate with the rest of the world with efficient user services. References: Asemi, A. (2005). Information searching habits of Internet users: A case study on the Medical Sciences University of Isfahan, Iran. Webology, 2(1), Article 10, Retrieved from: http://www.webology.ir/2005/v2n1/a10.html Barsky& Purdon (2006).Introducing Web 2.0: social networking and bookmarking for health librarians.Journal of Canadian Health Libraries Association, 27, 65-67. Boyd, D.M. & Ellison, N.B. (2007). Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230.

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Bridsall, W. F. (2007), Web 2.0 as a social movement, Webology 4(2), Retrieved from http://www.webology.ir/2007/v4n2/a40.html. Casey, M.E. and Savastinuk, L.C. (2007). Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Library Service. Medford, NJ: Information Today. Chen, ChirleyXu. (2007). The academic library meets Web 2.0: Applications & implications. Retrieved from http://eprints.rclis.org/bitstream/10760/10779/1/The_Academic_Library_Meets_W eb_2.0-_Applications_&_Implications.pdf Chu, Samuel Kai-Wah. (2012). Social networking(SN) tools for libraries. Retrieved from: https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/id/159259/Chu_S_Social_Networking_Tools_2012.p df Connell, R. S. (2009). Academic libraries, Facebook and MySpace, and student outreach: a survey of student opinion. Libraries and the Academy, 9(1), 25–36. Davis, I. (2005). Library 2.0: The next wave of the field. Retrieved from http://internetalchemy.org/2005/07/talis-web-20-and-all-that. Habib, Michael C. (2006). Toward academic library 2.0: Development and application of a library 2.0 methodology. Retrieved from http://mchabib.com/2006/11/22/toward-academic-library-20-development-andapplication-of-a-library-20-methodology-my-masters-paper/ Krosky, Ellyssa. (2011). Social networking and libraries: Best practices and challenges. Retrieved from http://www.ellyssakrosky.com. http://www.neal-schuman.com/uploads/pdf/0137-web-2-0-for-librarians-and-informationprofessionals.pdf Lihn, N. C. (2008). A survey of the application of Web 2.0 in Austalian university libraries.Library Hi Tech. 26(4), pp 630-653. O’Reilly, Tim. (2005). What is Web 2.0. Design patterns and business models for the next generation of softwareRetrieved from http://www.oreillynet.com/ pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html. Rehman, Araur and Shafique, Farzana. (2011). Use of Web 2.0 ad its implications for Libraries: Perceptions of information professionals in Pakistan. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/rehmanshafique.htm Reneker, M. (1992).Information–seeking among members of an academic community .DLS thesis. New York: Columbia University. (AAT 9313665). University Grants Commission, (2011).Annual report 2010 – 2011.Retrieved from http://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/pub/annualreport/anualreport_english1011.pdf Watters, Carylon (2007) Improving access to information on the World Wide Web. New Delhi, EssEss. 42


Extended Abstract

Digitization for wider usage of science and technology literature: experience of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka Sunethra Perera Principal Information Officer National Science Foundation Sri Lanka [email protected]

Scientific Research makes a major contribution in paving the way for new knowledge, ideas and innovations. It is of paramount importance to provide the academia, scientists, researchers, policy makers and the industry adequate access to comprehensive information on past and current research carried out in the country. The National Science Foundation by mandate caters to this need and acts as the National Repository of locally created S & T Literature. In-spite of the many efforts made, many important research findings escape entering the national collection specially those appearing in leading international journals. On the other hand, ancient scientific writings, maps, statistical information etc. housed in academic and research institutions too remain invisible. A mechanism to bring this wealth of information into the visibility of scholars for easy consultation to support new thinking and productive research is an urgent need. Preservation of the material is also equally important. As an effective mechanism to bring such hidden material into global visibility, the NSF recently launched a national programme to develop a ‘Network of Institutional Repositories' across the country coupled with a ‘Digitizing programme’. The programme was commenced in 2012, and will be implemented over a period of five years under the leadership of the NSF. It supports and promotes setting up Institutional Repositories (IR) at each university and key research institute enabling depositing copies of a significant fraction of their intellectual output for public access.

43


The IR content will cover journal articles; theses and dissertations; unpublished reports and working papers; books, chapters and sections; multimedia and audio-visual materials; learning objects; datasets; patents, ancient writings, statistical information etc. Already, around seventeen (17) IR exist in the country including the NSF, universities and research institutions. The NSF, the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM), the HeLLIS network and the University of Moratuwa are several examples for such repositories. However, NSF repository is in the forefront with regard to types of materials, subjects, and numbers, and providing access to full-text. Although the aim of these repositories is clearly to accommodate the full text, certain constraints could be identified towards achieving this aim. Two such constraints are (a) unavailability of sufficient funds to digitize the material and (b) Institutional policies currently in force on providing access to documents to the outside community. The NSF programme is designed to overcome both these problems. The NSF will bear the full cost of digitization of local literature collections, provide training to staff on administration and maintenance of the repository and provide temporary staff to build up the databases (recording of metadata and uploading of documents in to the repository). NSF also supports conversion of information of the existing databases and batch transfer of the same in to the newly set up DSpace IR. As a measure to influence the change of the existing Institutional Policieson access level to information, NSF plans to conduct an awareness programme on open access publishing and self archiving practices highlighting the advantages and benefits to the scholarly community. Open Access publishing and self archiving still being a new concepts to Sri Lanka, it is hoped that the programme will be successful in promoting these practices and to achieve the final objective of the National IR network. When the number of universities and research institutions in the country is considered, seventeen IRs is only a small proportion. The aim of the NSF programme is to set up IR s in all relevant institutions in the country. A national team has been formed to set up IR s at each institution and to attend to any trouble shooting requirements. The programme also considers providing necessary hardware for libraries to set up IR s and provision of temporary staff for data entry and document uploading. The National repository of the NSF will serve as the central point of the network. At present it functions as an Open Archive providing free full text access to over 3000 NSF copyright owned material and the contents of 09 other locally published journals (with due permission from the publishers). The NSF Repository is incorporated with Metadata Harvester software to serve as a central common platform to search through the contents of other IRs in the country (federatedsearching). The aim is to provide a single window to showcase and bring into visibility

44


the collective research output and the rich local literature in the library collections in the country. It will also provide a tool to screen local research findings to avoid duplication of research thus avoiding waste of human, time and financial resources.

45


Accessibility of libraries to differently-abled users: an evaluative instrument on ‘Access to libraries for persons with disabilities’

Dr. AnushaWijayratne Senior Assistant Librarian Open University of Sri Lanka [email protected]

Abstract This paper discusses about an Evaluative Instrument that measures the level of accessibility of libraries for differently-abled users. The Instrument, which is under constructing, aims at revealing the threats and opportunities existed in the libraries; indicating the areas that need to be modified or redesigned; and introducing measurements for improvements. Librarians may use the evaluative instrument as a tool of assessing the existing status of accessibility of their libraries or as a guide to formulate short term and long term development plans.

Introduction Creating a barrier-free environment for differently-abled citizens is an enormous challenge for the developing countries such as Sri Lanka. There were several policy documents - Right of persons with Disabilities Act (1996), National Health Policy (1996), General Educational Reforms (1997), RanaviruSeva Act (1999), National Disability Policy (2003) - that aim at providing differently-abled Sri Lankans with equal opportunities to enjoy a full and satisfied life as any other citizens of Sri Lanka. Due to the 30 year long civil war and increasing number of road accidents, there is a significant number of physically or visual impaired persons, between ages of 20-30, in our society. Engaging them in the socio-economic mainstream is essential for

46


both their wellbeing and for the development of the country. Unhindered access to information and education is the key for empowering them to become useful contributors for the national development. Hence, as information professionals of the country, librarians of all types of libraries – school libraries, public libraries, university libraries, special libraries - have a significant as well as a crucial role to play. However, there is hardly any evidence to believe that the Sri Lankan librarians are adequately mindful or sufficiently knowledgeable towards this aspect. The main reason behind this ignorance may be the lack of opportunities for obtaining necessary skills and knowledge. Therefore, integrating the modules on library services for disability into the library and information science (LIS) curriculum as well as introducing continuous professional development programs that provide knowledge upgrading and skills training on different areas of disability library services are, essential. It will take a while to modify the LIS education system to offer comprehensive coverage of the subject. Meanwhile, librarians should pay attention to the resources - rich content of literature, international conferences and workshops - that are at hand to empower themselves to be able to identify and eliminate the barriers and reinforce the library system in the perception of differently-abled users. Another aspect that Sri Lankan librarians should invest their time and effort is to explore the current situation through small-scale and large-scale research studies and propose appropriate mechanisms for enhancing the library services for differently-abled users. Based on the findings of previous studies and observations, author felt the necessity of a tool that could assist the librarians in assessing their libraries and guide them in formulating their future plans. The tool that is discussed in this paper is the first draft of an evaluative instrument that is being developing in order to fulfill this timely need. Methodology The first draft of the Evaluative Instrument was compiled by the author through a series of selfevaluations after carefully examining the literature. The main documents that contributed for the development of the tool were National Policy on Disability (2003); Disabled Persons (Accessibility) Regulations, No. 1 (2006); International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Checklist on ‘Access to Libraries For Persons with Disabilities’ (2005); and American Library association (ALA) Policy on ‘Library Services for People with Disabilities’ (2001).

47


It is planned to validate the Instrument through a focus group discussion with the participation of a group of librarians followed by a pilot study. The validation process is scheduled to be carried out from January to March 2013. The Evaluative Instrument The Evaluative Instrument consists of two modules namely; Evaluative Worksheet and Data Analysis Techniques Sheet. Both these tools are available for downloading - Worksheet (http://tinyurl.com/9pujc95) and Data Analysis Techniques Sheet (http://tinyurl.com/8gvm7px). The Worksheet consists of 7 columns. ‘Appropriate conditions’ given in the 5th column provides indicators for the users to decide the ‘Status Point’ for individual elements while ‘Measures to be taken for enhancement’ given in the 6th column suggests recommendations for short term and long term future plans. The objective of Data Analysis Techniques Sheet is to provide calculation formulas, marking schemes and coding systems for measuring the level of accessibility of libraries for differently-abled users in terms of 3 parameters namely; sectionwise, overall, and disability group-wise. Sample Data-set In order to demonstrate the use of the Evaluative Instrument in assessing a library, the author assessed the Library of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). The Evaluative Worksheet with the sample data-set is given in the Appendix A. Note: All the following calculations and the categorizations have been carried out according to the algorithms stated in the ‘Data Analysis Techniques Sheet’ (see Appendix B). Accessibility of OUSL Library in terms of Sections The level of accessibility of OUSL Library in terms of 10 Sections was measured. The results are given in Table 1. Table 1 Level of accessibility of OUSL Library in terms of Sections

Section no.

Section Title

Total Status Section-wise Points of Score the Section

Section 1

Outside the library

2

0.33

2nd Level

Good

Section 2

Library entrance

1

0.50

2nd Level

Good

48

Accessibility Level

Status


5th Level

Section 3

Inside the library

-8

-0.80

Very Poor

Section 4

Resources

-2

-0.33

4th Level

Poor

Section 5

Services

-6

-0.60

4th Level

Poor

Section 6

Library website

6

0.75

1st Level

Excellent

Section 7

Documentation

-3

-0.50

4th Level

Poor

Section 8

Promotion

-2

-0.50

4th Level

Poor

Section 9

Staff

-2

-0.33

4th Level

Poor

Section 10

Security

-6

-1.00

5th Level

Very Poor

The results indicate that the Library’s level of accessibility is unsatisfactory in terms of 7 Sections out of the 10 Sections measured. The level of accessibility in terms of ‘Inside the library’ and ‘Security’ is very poor. Nevertheless, the Library is doing well in terms of ‘Outside the library’, ‘Library entrance’ and ‘Library website’. The ‘Overall Score’ is -0.36 (-23/64). The figure indicates that overall accessibility status of the library is ‘Poor’ (4th Level). Accessibility of OUSL Library in terms of Disability Groups Table 2 Level of accessibility of OUSL Library in terms of Disability Groups

Group Group Title

Total DisabilityStatus group-wise Points of Score the Group

Accessibility Level

Status

A

Mobility problems

-21

-0.44

4th Level

Poor

B

Blind or low vision

-19

-0.40

4th Level

Poor

C

Hearing difficulties

-21

-0.53

4th Level

Poor

D

Cognitive impairments

-14

-0.50

4th Level

Poor

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As shown in Table 2, the level of accessibility of the OUSL Library in the perspective of all 4 disability groups is poor. Measures to be taken to enhance the accessibility for disabled users The measures that should be considered for immediate action are;  Setting up parking spaces closer to the library  Display the international symbol in a clearly visible manner to indicate the parking spaces for disabled  Rearrange the furniture and other equipments to remove the obstacles that cause difficulties for wheelchair users in moving inside the sections and between sections  Build ramp/s where there are differences in floor levels  Install a lift with appropriate features  Redesign the signage system to include necessary indicators  Build accessible toilet with appropriate space and toilet fixtures  Assess the existing collection of media formats, assistive devices and furniture and identify the items that need to be repaired or replaced  Allocate funds to purchase new items (materials, assistive devices, furniture)  Introduce new in-house services and strengthen the existing services  Introduce new online services and strengthen the existing services  Introduce new outreach services and strengthen the existing services  Introduce new personal assistance services and strengthen the existing services  Update the website periodically to maintain the usability and the accessibility of the website  Formulate a new disability policy  Design the alternative formats for library manuals, handbooks and promotional materials  Conduct a survey to identify the specific user needs of disabled users  Organize familiarization and awareness programs for disabled users  Conduct in-house training programs for all library staff to teach effective techniques for providing services for users with disabilities  Enroll selected staff members to outside training programs and study programs  Take necessary persuasions to minimize accidents within the library premises  Install an emergency warning system that support vocal and vibrating alarms  Provide special training for selected staff members  Define a special evacuation pathway  Formulate a set of instructions on safety measures and make them available in alternative formats

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Concluding Remarks Remember that it is your responsibility to make persons with disabilities feel welcome in the library (IFLA Checklist, 2005). However, creating a fully accessible library system for the widerange of disability users is a huge challenge that may not be feasible in many libraries. Besides, as pointed out in the ALA Policy (2001) librarians should accommodate only the reasonable measures without fundamentally altering the library’s services or without taking undue burden on the library. Further, it all depends on the individual libraries and their parent institutions to decide which groups/s of disabled users they are going to accommodate immediately and which group/s to be considered later or leave out. Similarly, librarians can select the improvement measurements that are best suited for them out of the measurements suggested in the Worksheet. Librarians are also encouraged to find alternative measurements or arrangements for the ones that cannot be implemented due to lack of funds, space or staff. For example, staff members or volunteers could be assigned to get down the materials that are located at unreachable areas or heights instead of installing a lift or building rams and purchasing new shelves. As we all know the existing situation of Sri Lankan libraries in terms of the capacity of serving the differently-abled users is earnest. There is no sign of proper mechanism to build a barrierfree environment not only in libraries but also in most sectors of the society. One of the main reasons for the above drawback is the nature of the Sri Lankan culture which induces to see the disabled people as dependants who should be tenderly taken care of by their families and friends. The current situation of the country demands a prompt change in attitudes and actions. Librarians as information professionals hold the power to contribute extensively to make this change a reality. It is sincerely hoped that the Evaluative Instrument presented in this paper, once finalized, would be a useful tool for librarians who are going to be important contributors of this historical change. Before concluding, I wish to bring to your notice a statement mentioned in the IFLA Checklist (2005) “Many improvements can be implemented with very small amounts of money – or possibly without any costs. The solution can often be found through a change of staff attitude and thinking in new ways”.

Useful Links 

American Library Association Policy on ‘Library services for people with disabilities’ (2001) http://tinyurl.com/89jtevc 51




Disabled Persons (Accessibility) Regulations, No. 1’ (2006) http://tinyurl.com/8s9q87n



Government Policies http://tinyurl.com/9sh9re5



International Federation of Library Associations Checklist on ‘Access to Libraries For Persons with Disabilities’(2005) http://tinyurl.com/9kxf3p5



National Policy of Disability (2003) http://tinyurl.com/8oq9s2c

Note: All the URLs given in this paper are in the shortened versions generated by the TinyURL.com service at http://tinyurl.com/

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Mobile-web based library services: challenges and opportunities for librarians Pradeepa Wijetunge University of Peradeniya Peradeniya, Sri Lanka [email protected] 1. Introduction

1.1 MOBILE WEB-BASED LIBRARY SERVICES A mobile device (also known as a handheld device, handheld computer or simply handheld) is a small, hand-held computing device, typically having a display screen with touch input and/or a miniature keyboard and weighing less than 2 pounds (0.91 kg) (Wikipedia 2012). They can be categorized as follows; Mobile computers 1. Mobile collaboration a. Mobile internet device b. Mobile Web c. Smartphone, Tablet computer i. Personal Digital Assistant/Enterprise Digital Assistant d. Calculator e. Handheld game console f. Portable media player g. Digital still camera (DSC) 2. Digital video camera (DVC or digital camcorder) 3. Mobile phone 4. Smartphone, Feature phone a. Pager 5. Personal navigation device (PND) (Wikipedia 2012) 6. Apple, Nokia, Samsung, LG, Research in Motion (RIM) and Motorola are just a few examples of the many manufacturers that produce these types of devices. A handheld computing device (smartphone, mobile Internet device or tablet computers) has an operating system (OS), i.e.RIM, iOS by Apple, Symbian, Android, and can run various types of application software, known as apps.

1.2 MOBILE WEB Mobile Web is the “World Wide Web which as accessed through a mobile device ranging from a cellular phone to an iPod Touch. It constitutes the entirety of the Internet and is not limited to websites which have been specifically designed for mobile viewing. Handsets and mobile phones which have Web 53

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 capabilities can search and browse the Internet from anywhere they can get a cellular signal. Websites which are made especially for the small screen appear as scaled-back versions of their desktop counterparts, often with a numbered menu system for quick access to content” (Kroski 2008 p.4). The mobile web lives up to its name in that people often access information while actively moving or engaging in multiple tasks (Tarasewich et.al. 2008). Mobile websites and apps must display information that can be understood given a short attention span and issues of cognitive load. People engaged in physical activity such as walking while using a mobile device may focus as little as four seconds continuously on the mobile task. There is a plethora of mobile-web applications and Kroski (2008) has made an enumeration of emerging mobile web applications; 1) any time access to e-mail via “push” technology which delivers e-mails directly to user’s mobile phone 2) Text messaging 3) downloading ring-tones and wall papers 4) music and radio 5) software and games 6) Instant Messaging 7) Social networking 8) Social mapping networks 9) Searching 10) Mapping 11) Widgets which are free mini applications providing access to web-based information 12) e-books and audio books 13) TV and video 14) Travel information 15) Browsers 16) News 17) Bogging and microblogging and 18) Reading RSS feeds are some of the key applications. However more research is required in the Sri Lankan context to establish the purposes for which the mobile phones are used.

1.3 MOBILE-WEB IN THE LIBRARIES Within the context of libraries the mobile-web based library services are not wide ranging as the general applications but several could be identified from the literature; Kroski (2008) discusses several applications; mobile library web sites, mobile OPACS (MOPACs), mobile collections, mobile library instructions, mobile databases, mobile audio tours, library SMS notifications, SMS referencing, and mobile library circulation. Wilson and McCarthy (2010) discusses introduction of mobile library services in the Ryerson University, Canada. In a survey carried out in 68 academic libraries in the Pacific North West (Oregon, Washington and Idaho), Ashford and Zeigen (2012) has established that about 50 per cent of the libraries offer mobile websites and mobile interface to catalogue and about 38 per cent providing SMS referencing and 18 per cent providing other services like links to databases with mobile interfaces. Aldrich (2010) conducted a survey in 111 English speaking members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), mostly within the research intensive universities in the US and Canada and established that 24 university library mobile websites provide about 20 different services. They vary from displaying library hours, library directory, catalog and databases to computer availability, floor plans, proxy server access, loan periods, full text article finder, new books and webcams and podcasts.

1.4 MOBILE DEVICES IN SRI LANKA Telecommunication sector of Sri Lanka has not lagged behind. According to Central Bank of Sri Lanka (2012) the total number of mobile connections increased by 6.1 per cent to 18.3 million compared to 54

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 17.3 million connections in 2010. The mobile penetration (mobile connections as a per cent of total population) reached 87.8 per cent in 2011 from 83.6 per cent in 2010. The telephone density (telephones per 100 persons including cellular phones) increased to 105.1 in 2011 compared to 100.7 in 2010. Increase of telephone usage in the Northern and Eastern provinces and the value added services offers at competitive prices are considered as reasons for this increase. A global market research organization has further established that mobile penetration stands at over 80 per cent corresponding to more than 16 million mobile connections among a population of nearly 20 million and ownership is much higher in the 16 to 35 age group (Saheed 2011). Saheed (2011) further reports that there are nearly two million internet users in Sri Lanka representing 14 per cent of the population. Today it is hard to find an academic who is not a mobile phone user in the developed or developing countries. This is not any different in Sri Lanka. Our university academics use mobile phones everyday for a wide variety of purposes varying from sending SMSs related to family affairs to making an appointment with a physician or checking e-mails. However, evidence of them using mobile phones, especially smart phones (which provide non-voice facilities) to obtain information for their academic purposes are absent. Any evidence of Sri Lankan university libraries currently offering mobile-web based library services is also absent. Observation, inquiries or searches in the Google Scholar, (http://scholar.google.com/) Emerald Insight (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/) and Ebscohost (http://search.ebscohost.com/) could not retrieve any records under this subject in the Sri Lankan context. 2. Expectations of library users In order to survey the expectations of the library users of mobile-web based library services an opinion survey was carried on a Saturday at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo. Student of four programmes; Master of Business Studies (MBS), Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM), Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems Management (PGDISM) and Postgraduate Diploma in Development Studies (PGDS), who attended class on the particular Saturday were distributed a questionnaire. Table 1 indicates the response rate. The survey instrument contained four closed-ended questions; 1) Biographic details, 2) Course followed, 3) Ownership of mobile devices and 4) Service preferred through Mobile-web based library interface. Table 1 – Response Rate Course

MBM PGDIMS PGDS PGDBM Total

Total Present received questionnaire 40 40 23 40 143

& Responded

15 31 14 40 100 55

%

38 78 61 100


Figure 1 illustrates the mobile device owner ship of the 100 respondents and it proved that 66% of them use a mobile device with which Internet can be accessed. Laptops are not generally considered to be mobile devices as they are not small enough to hold in one's hand and this paper pays attention only to the devices which could be used to access Internet i.e. mobile internet device, smart phones and tablet computers. Figure 1 – Usage of Mobile devices

Other(PDA)

1

Laptop

45

Notebook

4

Tablet

4

Smart phone

57

Mobile phone

34 0

20

40

60

80

100

Percentage

Percentage

Figure 2 – Preferences of Mobile – web based library services 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

PGDISM PGDBM MBM PGDS

Services

Figure 2 illustrates the responses for the fourth question which inquired abiout there preferences of 12 different services that can be offered through mobile web. Downloading articles(Dwn/Art), searching 56

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 databases (Sch db), reserve library books (ResB), reading library guides (LRsGuide), checking the due date (DueD), receive messages from the library (MsgL) and searching the library catalogue (Libcat) are the most preferred services. The comments made by the respondents proved that they expect the libraries to offer these services and are eagerly and enthusiastically waiting for them. This is not an opportunity to be overlooked by the librarians. 3. Why Librarians should pay attention Librarians cannot ignore the need to adapt to their social relevance in the rapidly evolving mobile phone landscape which provides university students and academics with ample opportunities to access information through their smart phones. Lippincott (2008; 4) correctly asserts that “this is not the time to sit on the sidelines as other campus units are developing services for mobile users and licensing content for devices. Academic librarians should make conscious choices about what they want to offer in this arena and act accordingly”. Mobile-web based library services are well established in the developed countries and they are drawing the attention of the LIS professionals in the other South Asian countries. Yet, so far no research has been undertaken to underpin mobile-web based library services provision in the Sri Lankan university libraries. Therefore this is an area which needs urgent attention of Sri Lankan LIS researchers if we are to sustain in the knowledge society. There is an urgent need to fill many gaps in the LIS knowledge domain by conducting surveys on the conduciveness of the environment and readiness of university academics to accept mobile-web based library services. Following are some of the questions that need to be answered without more ado;     



What are the latest mobile phones (hardware/software) available in Sri Lanka? What library services are offered through mobile-web by the university libraries in the international context? What are the trends of using mobile-web based library services by the university academics in the international context? What are the expectations and attitudes of Sri Lankan university academics towards mobile-web based library services? What are the perceptions (infrastructure, training, funding, psycho-social barriers etc) of the Sri Lankan university librarians towards a conducive environment to offer mobile-web based library services? What initiatives do we need to implement the services?

5. Challenges to be encountered There will be many other challenges for the librarians to overcome in planning and implementing mobile-web based library services. Attitudes of self as well as others towards the change of service 57

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 delivery model, necessity of IT and other related skills, pedagogical and content development skills to cater to a new user category accessing the library services through their mobile devices, developing infrastructure facilities, resources for re-shaping the existing service delivery models and content (time and manpower etc) and CPD opportunities are some major challenges and the library schools also have a responsibility to address some of these issues to underpin the libraries’ shift of paradigm in service delivery. References Aldrich, Alan (2010). Universities and Libraries Move to the http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/universities-and-libraries-move-mobile-web 16.09.2012

Mobile Web. Accessed on

Ashford, Robin and Zeiger, Laura (2012). Mobile Technology in Libraries Survey, conducted January 2012 http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/library/about/staffdirectory/upload/mobile_survey_ACADEMIC_final.pdf Accessed on 20 09. 2012. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. (2012). Annual Report 2011. Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Kroski, Ellyssa (2008). On the move with the mobile Web: Libraries and mobile technologies, Library Technology Reports, 44(5). http://robertoigarza.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/lib-on-the-move-withthe-mobile-web-libraries-and-mobile-technologies-kroski-2008.pdf (Accessed on 20.09.2012) Lippincott, J.K. (2008). Mobile technologies, mobile users: implications for academic libraries. ARL. 261(8). www.arlorg/bm ~ doc/arl-br-261-mobile.pdf. Accessed on 20.09.2012 Saheed, Zulfath (2011). Sri Lanka mobile internet usage poised growth: http://www/lbr.lk/fullstory.php?nid=201103041615077468 Accessed on 18.09.2012.

Nielsen.

Tarasewich, Peter et.al. (2008). Mobile Interaction Design: Integrating Individual and Organizational Perspectives. Information Knowledge Systems Management, 7, pp. 121-144. Quoted in Aldrich, Alan (2010). Wikipedia (2012). Mobile device. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_devices Wilson, Sally and McCarthy, Graham (2010). The mobile university: from the library to the campus. Reference Services Review. 38(2), pp. 214 – 232.

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Evaluation of Canadian academic libraries’ mobile sites Sandhya Shinde* and Digambar Shinde** *Assistant Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, Jayakar Library, University of Pune, Pune, India. [email protected] **Junior Officer, Learning Centre, Tata Motors Ltd. Pune, India. [email protected]

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to find out the growth in providing academic library services through smart phones in speedily changing mobile environment in the Canadian academic libraries of the member institutions of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). The researcher carried out the further study which was conducted by Canuel, Robin and Crichton, Chad (2011). Based on this study, the paper describes that the growth of AUCC libraries currently possessing mobile library site to provide the library services is 22% compared to 12% in previous study. The study also gives an insight into future directions to provide mobile library services in developing countries such as India. Keywords – Mobile technology, Smartphones, Mobile sites, Academic libraries, Canada INTRODUCTION Communication is the process of exchanging information, using a common protocol. As technology develops, communication protocols also evolve. The pattern of communication today is changing as new technologies emerge, changing the ways people communicate and organize information. Mobile phones have revolutionized the daily lives of ordinary people. Mobile phones do not use wires or cables, but work with radio waves and can be carried about and used anywhere. (Iwhiwhuet al., 2010). With the advent of information technology, the library is changing its way to provide services. The user is demanding all the library collection at his desk. Use of internet and mobile technology has made it possible. Hence, more and more libraries are adopting existing mobile technologies to provide innovative services. A variety of mobile web applications in libraries have been developed, including mobile library websites and MOPACs (Mobile OPACs), mobile collections, mobile library instruction, mobile databases, mobile library tours, mobile learning, library SMS notifications, circulation, QR codes, 59

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 access to services (such as reserving study rooms and computer availability and SMS reference (See Image 1 and 2). (Chun-Yi Wang et al., 2012).Mobile library website is also known as mobile optimized site or simply mobile site. The author specifically selected Canadian academic libraries which are member of Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC).

Image 1: Ryerson University

Image 2: York University

A previous study has been carried out by Canuel, Robin and Crichton, Chad (2011). They had conducted the search during October 10-14, 2010. The study found that out of 95 libraries of the member 60

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 institutions of the AUCC, 13 (only 14 percent) were found to have some type of mobile-specific web presence3. This included eight libraries with some manner of mobile web site. However, the present study found 21 mobile library sites i.e. 22% out of the 95 member institutions of the AUCC, which is a remarkable. This shows how rapidly Canadian university libraries are accepting the change in communication technology especially mobile technology. 1. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the change and growth in Canadian academic libraries in context of rapidly evolving mobile technology. The objectives of this study are 1. To identify libraries of AUCC having mobile library website 2. To identify the library services which can be provided through mobile 3. To find out which Canadian University library provides more mobile library services 4. To find out which mobile library services are mostly provided 2. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS The researchers have selected 95 libraries of the member institutions of the AUCC (Association of University and Colleges of Canada). Amongst them 21 libraries, which are having mobile site are evaluated for the study to fulfill the objectives. 3. LITERATURE REVIEW Bala, Adarsh and Gupta, B. M. (2010) studied the perceptions, knowledge and awareness among the health professionals (doctors and MBBS students only) working in government hospitals of Chandigarh regarding the use of mobile communication technologies and devices for dissemination of various library and information services on the basis of a survey. The findings showed the positive attitude of the medical respondents towards the provision of library and information services on mobile devices. Bridges, Laurie and et al. (2010) provided overview of the current state of worldwide mobile usage, mobile technologies, libraries’ use of mobile technologies including and future directions for mobile library services. The paper presents a useful source of information for both libraries wishing to create a proposal for a mobile library site, and for libraries that simply want an overview of the current state of mobile use and technologies. Canuel, Robin and Crichton, Chad, (2011) assessed how Canadian academic libraries had responded to the rapidly evolving mobile environment and identified gaps in the services provided, suggested areas for future development. Findings showed only 14 percent of AUCC libraries currently advertise some type of mobile web presence, with mobile web sites being prevalent over downloadable apps. Chandhok, Seema and Babber, Parveen, (2011) discovered the perspectives of M-Technologies in Distance Education Libraries. It proposed a model for providing e-resources and other information services through mobile technology to its learners in Indira Gandhi National Open University, India. The proposed m-library services architecture suggests developing an M-library web site at IGNOU Library to effectively facilitate m-library services, hence strengthening the M-Learning in Distance Education System. 61

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 Cummings, Joel, Merrill, Alex and Borrelli, Steve, (2009) examined an academic library user population and the potential demand for using the library’s catalog with handheld mobile computing devices. A total of 58.4 percent of respondents who own a web-enabled handheld device indicate that they would use small screen devices, such as PDAs or web-enabled cell phones to search a library OPAC. Iwhiwhu, B. E., Ruteyan, J. O. and Eghwubare, Aroghene (2010) studied the prospect of providing library services with mobile phones in the Delta State University Library, Abraka, Nigeria. The data collected shows that all the respondents have mobile phones of their own. Karim, Nor Shahriza Abdul, Darus, sitihawa and Hussin, Ramlah.(2006) studied the utilization of mobile phone services in the educational environment, explored the nature of mobile phone use among university students, and investigated the perception of university students on mobile phone uses in library and information services. They collected data from 206 undergraduate students from two academic faculties in a Malaysian public university to explore the respondents’ perception and the nature of wireless phone use. Findings showed the Respondents’ very positive perceptions on the application of wireless hand services in the context of library and information services. Mills, Keren, (2009) carried out a short on-line survey at both the Open and Cambridge universities. The finding showed that 55% of total respondents were in favor of being able to access the library catalogue from a mobile phone, a quarter of respondents would like access to audio tours of the libraries and only 9% would download audio tours to their mobile phone, but 16% would download them to their own MP3 player. Paterson, Lorraine and Low, Boon, (2011) demonstrated the proliferation of mobile device usage within the Edinburgh University and library context and indicated which services students would find most useful on a mobile device. Their findings showed that 60 per cent of students rated search the library catalogue service as very useful for mobile devices. Seeholzer, Jamie and Salem, Joseph A, Jr. (2011) explored student use of the mobile web in general and expectations for an academic library’s mobile web site in particular through focus groups with students at Kent State University. Participants expressed more interest in using their mobile Web device to interact with library resources and services than anticipated. Results showed an interest in using research databases, the library catalog, and reference services on the mobile Web as well as contacting and being contacted by the library using text messaging. Trivedi, Mayank and Suthar, Vishnu, (2011) presented the proposed M-library system design of the Smt. Hansa Mehta Library (HML), the University Library of M S University of Baroda, Gujarat. They identified the following conditions as favorable to embarking on a mobile technology-based library service for Smt. HML considering the library web portal such as Fully automated catalogue with web-based OPAC, Automated circulation system, Online Services, Automated Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) service, System-generated new acquisition lists, Web-based HMUL portal, etc.

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NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 4. METHODOLOGY This study examines the change and growth in Canadian academic libraries especially the member institutions of the AUCC in the context of mobile technology. In the beginning, a search for a mobile library site within the homepage of library websites of member institutions of the AUCC was conducted. Once identified each mobile library site was systematically recorded and evaluated to meet the objectives of the present study. The analysis provides a scenario of use of mobile library site to provide innovative services and identifies the most frequently provided mobile library services. Beginning with a list of the 95 member institutions of the AUCC a search was conducted during June 2012 to July 2012 to locate the mobile web presence within any of the institutions libraries. All these mobile library websites are evaluated. This study covers only those libraries having a mobile library website link available on homepage of the University library website. Out of the 95 member libraries of the AUCC, 21 i.e. 22% were found to have mobile optimized website of library. The following table shows the presences of mobile optimized site for Canadian academic libraries of AUCC along with web addresses of each mobile library site. Table 1: List of Canadian University Mobile library website

Sr.No.

NAME OF THE UNIVERSITY

MOBILE LIBRARY WEBSITE

1.

Royal Roads University

http://m.library.royalroads.ca/

2.

Simon Fraser University

http://www.lib.sfu.ca/m/

3.

The University of British Columbia http://www.library.ubc.ca/m/index.php Library

4.

University of Regina

http://www.uregina.ca/library/mobile/index.php

5.

University of Saskatchewan

http://sundog.usask.ca/airpac/

6.

Brock University

https://m.library.brocku.ca/

7.

King's University College at the UWO

http://kingsmobile.ca/cardinal-carter-library/

8.

Lakehead University

http://library.lakeheadu.ca/m/classic.html

9.

Ryerson University

http://m.library.ryerson.ca/

10.

The University of Western Ontario

https://m.lib.uwo.ca/

11.

University of Toronto

http://m.library.utoronto.ca/

12.

Wilfrid Laurier University

http://library.wlu.ca/m/index.htm

63


13.

York University

http://m.library.yorku.ca/

14.

University of New Brunswick

http://m.lib.unb.ca/

15.

Saint Mary’s University

http://library.smu.ca/mobile/

16.

Acadia University

http://library.acadiau.ca/m/

17.

McGill University

http://m.library.mcgill.ca/

18.

Concordia University

http://library.concordia.ca/m/

19.

University of Calgary

http://libguides.ucalgary.ca/mobile/1143

20.

University of Alberta

http://m.library.ualberta.ca/

21.

The University of Lethbridge

http://www.uleth.ca/lib/mobile/

5. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION The table two shows availability of mobile library site among all the member institutions of AUCC. There are 21 (22%) Canadian academic libraries having mobile optimized site. Table 2: Availability of mobile library site

Number of libraries Libraries with mobile 21 site Libraries with without 73 mobile site Total 95

% 22 78 100

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Availability of mobile library site Libraries with mobile site 22%

Libraries with without mobile site 78% Figure 1: Availability of mobile library site

The researcher has selected some prominent mobile library services such as shown in table 3. The evaluation of mobile library site is done using only the selected mobile library services. Table three shows availability of each mobile library services in each selected Canadian University library mobile site. Table 3: Mobile Library Services

Royal Roads University

Simon Fraser University

University of British Columbia

University of Regina

University of Saskatchewan

Brock University

King's University College at UWO

Lakehead University

Ryerson University

University of Western Ontario

University of Toronto

Wilfrid Laurier University

York University

University of New Brunswick

Saint Mary’s University

Acadia University

McGill University

Concordia University

University of Calgary

University of Alberta

University of Lethbridge

Mobile Library Services

MOPAC

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

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√

√

√

√

Library hours

√

√

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√

×

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×

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NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 Location/Maps

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×

×

×

×

√

×

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×

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×

×

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News

√

×

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×

×

×

×

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Full site link

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Citation Management S/W Social Networking Course Reserves Computer Availability Virtual Tour

Table four shows the Percentage of each Mobile Library services adopted by Canadian academic library mobile site. It shows that MOPAC (Mobile OPAC) is offered in all (100%) mobile library sites which shows its significance. Also the e-resources are available on all (100%) mobile library sites followed by Library Hour, Contact Us, Full site link, etc. Table 4: Mobile Library services offered by Canadian academic library mobile site

Sr. No.

Mobile Library Services

Percentage

1.

MOPAC (Mobile OPAC Search)

100

2.

Library hours

95

3.

Contact us

95

4.

Library Account

57

5.

Location/Maps

57

6.

News

52

7.

Full site link

90

8.

Feedback

57

9.

E-resources

100

10.

Citation Management S/W

43

66

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 11.

Social Networking

33

12.

Course Reserves

19

13.

Computer Availability

33

14.

Virtual Tour

19

Mobile Library services offered

120 100 100

95

100

95

90

80 60

percentage 57

57

57

52

43 33

33

40

19

20

19

0

Figure 2: Mobile Library services offered

Figure three shows the total percentage of mobile library services provided by each Canadian University library mobile site. The University of Lethbridge, Concordia University, McGill University and University of British Columbia Library provides more number number of Mobile library services i.e. 79% followed by Lakehead University (71%) and University of Toronto (71%). The University of Saskatchewan is having minimum number of Mobile library services i.e. 7% as it contains only MOPAC and not the full site.

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NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 90

79

80 70 60 50 40

64 57

University wise offered Mobile library services 79 79 79 71 71 64 64 64 64 64 64 57 57 57 50 43 36

30 20 0

7 Royal Roads University Simon Fraser University University of British Columbia University of Regina University of Saskatchewan Brock University King's University College at… Lakehead University Ryerson University University of Western Ontario University of Toronto Wilfrid Laurier University York University University of New Brunswick Saint Mary’s University Acadia University McGill University Concordia University University of Calgary University of Alberta University of Lethbridge

10

total % of mobile library services

Figure 3:: University wise offered Mobile library services

6. PREVIOUS STUDY

The previous study by Canuel, Robin and Crichton, Chad (2011) had found eleven (12%) Canadian academic libraries having mobile sites in October 2010, while the present study conducted in July 2012 has revealed twenty-one (22%) libraries having their mobile sites, which is almost double growth in numbers within two years.

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Growth of Mobile library sites 25 20

22

15 10

12

5 0 2010

2012

Figure 4:: Growth of Mobile library sites in Canadian Academic Libraries

7. CONCLUSION The current study proves significant growth of mobile websites in Canadian academic libraries as compared to the previous study. The study shows rapidly changing mobile environment and the appropriate response from Canadian academic libraries with adapting new technology to provide variety of library services to attract their users. As a result, to fulfill the user needs by coping up with the technology trends the Canadian academic libraries are responding to them very rapidly. If the same trend continues in n future, every library will have a mobile web site or application to provide the library services to the users in Canada. The developing countries like India, the trend to provide library services via mobile have to face so many challenges in the years to come. Some academic libraries in India have already started some kind of services through mobile like alerting services. There are some online databases with mobile website to separate mobile applications access their contents such as JStor, EBSCO host. They have also developed separate to download which is great initiative to provide the information in hand. This is a tremendously emerging trend in developed countries such as Canada. In developing counties, there is an interesting work on this new technology. Even though the user of Smartphone in and enormous scope for us to work developing countries are increasing in high rate the libraries have a lot of chance to take an initiative to gear up the services to attract the users by mobile devices.

bile technology where the end user can have the globe in hand to travel virtually This is a wave of mobile around the world. The technology opens up tremendous opportunities for the librarians by enhancing the services to encourage the users. However, the mobile library services provided by each library vary. In suggestion, there has to be some standard for providing the mobile library services rather the libraries should come together to talk about this concern and form common interface for mobile library site. 69

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 REFERENCES Bala, Adarsh and Gupta, B. M., (2010), “Perceptions of health professionals regarding use and provision of LIS through mobile technology”, Journal of library and information technology, (3), pp.7-12 Bridges, Laurie. Rempel, Hannah Gascho.and Griggs, Kimberly. (2010). Making the case for a fully mobile library web site: from floor maps to the catalog. Reference Services Review.Vol. 38 No. 2. pp. 309-320 Canuel, Robin and Crichton, Chad.(2011). “Canadian academic libraries and the mobile web”.New Library World, Vol. 112 No. 3/4, pp. 107-120 Chandhok, Seema and Babbar, Parveen, (2011), “M-Learning in distance education libraries”.The electronic library, (5), pp-637-650. Chun-Yi Wang, Hao-RenKe, Wen-Chen Lu, (2012),"Design and performance evaluation of mobile web services in libraries: A case study of the Oriental Institute of Technology Library", The Electronic Library, Vol. 30 Iss: 1 pp. 33 – 50 Cummings, J., Merrill, A. and Borrelli, S. (2010)."The use of handheld mobile devices: their impact and implications for library services", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 28 Iss: 1 pp. 22 – 40 http://www.aucc.ca/ retrieved on 02-07-2012 Iwhiwhu, B. E., Ruteyan, J. O. and Eghwubare, Aroghene (2010).“Mobile Phones for library services: Prospects for delta state university library Abraka”, Library Philosophy and Practice, PP.1-8. Johnstone, Brian T. (2011). "Boopsie and librarians: connecting mobile learners and the library", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 28 Iss: 4 pp. 18 – 21 Karim, N., Darus, S. and Hussin, R., (2006), “Mobile phone application in academic library services: a student’s feedback survey”, Campus-Wide Information Systems, (1), pp. 35-51 Lippincott, Joan K., (2010),"A mobile future for academic libraries", Reference Services Review, Vol. 38 Iss: 2 pp. 205 – 213 Mills, Keren. (2009). “M-Libraries: Information use on the move,” Retrieved June, 12, 2012 from http://[email protected] Paterson, Lorraine and Low, Boon (2011),"Student attitudes towards mobile library services for smartphones", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 29 Iss: 3 pp. 412 – 423 Seeholzer, Jamie and Salem, Joseph A. Jr. (2011). Library on the Go: A Focus Group Study of the Mobile Web and the Academic Library, Coll. res. libr. 72(1), 9-20 Trivedi, Mayank and Suthar, Vishnu, (2011). A plan of M-Library for Smt. Hansa Mehta Library: A study, International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Research, 1(3), 91-95

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Implementing a learning commons in an academic library; challenges faced during the initial stages Ruvini Kodikara Librarian, University of Moratuwa

Ruwan Gamage Senior Lecturer, National Institute of Library & Information Sciences, University of Colombo [email protected]

Abstract In 2010-2011, University of Moratuwa Library did a survey on user needs to know what users need, and which requirements the library was unable to fulfill. Based on this, and a series of meetings with the representatives from the students and staff, library developed a modernization plan. This included improving the library environment (appearance, physical conditions, and services). It also included some breakthroughs such as facilitating barrier free learning (learning commons), visiting the library with own bags, promoting discussions in discussion areas etc. The Library has now gone through the half of the project which is a large scale enhancement to the building, other physical resources, services, and the approach in providing library services. This paper describes the project as a case study, highlighting important milestones of the process. The output of the study could be useful for academic libraries planning similar projects. 1.0 Introduction Learning or Information Commons is a new library concept taking root around the world. Many libraries have changed the layout of their libraries, and provided hardware and Internet access free of charge to facilitate active learning, and collaboration. Sri Lanka had not initiated a similar project. However, with the knowledge gained from some site visits, and after reading literature on the above, University of Moratuwa planned to start a learning commons for its library. University of Moratuwa Library (UML) did an external quality review in 2009 with the mediation of the Quality Assurance & Accreditation Council of the University Grants Commission, Sri Lanka. As a result of this review, more attention was gained by the library as a leading information provider. This resulted in winning a proposal to enhance library services and facilities available at the library. This grant opportunity was coupled with the long felt need of initiating a learning commons at UML. This paper describes the challenges faced in implementing the initial stages of the project. 71


After creating partnerships with other campus departments to create a space to enhance teaching, learning and technology and to bring together faculty and students into a flexible learning environment is an integral part of the learning commons idea. Many of today's learners favor active, participatory, experiential learning—the learning style they exhibit in their personal lives. Students are highly social, connecting with friends, family, and faculty face-to-face and online. They find great value in being with other people and want their college experience to promote those connections. Yet the way they establish and maintain their personal and professional networks may be anything but traditional. To most faculty and administrators, students appear to have no fear of technology. Students and faculty use a variety of tools, from smart phones to laptops, to communicate and access information. Browsing, downloading, and messaging happen anywhere and anytime. With student attention pulled in multiple directions, our question was how learning spaces can be designed to bring students and faculty together, ensuring that the environment promotes, rather than constrains, teaching and learning. 2.0 Literature Review For the past so many years, academic libraries have been designed first and foremost as places in which to collect, preserve and access printed books. The planning and design of libraries have been primarily concerned with the preservation and security of materials and the efficiency of the library collections and services (Freeman, 2005). McDonald (2006, p.115) observed that “libraries have not been replaced by ICT: rather the technology and technology-based services have moved into libraries:

The “information commons” is one of method employed to integrate technological and information resources. Interpretations of this concept vary. Brewer et al (2004) see it as providing “community spaces for inquiry-based learning and out-of-classroom activities”. Outlining the characteristics of a common place in the library, Gayton (2008, p. 61) distinguishes the communal academic library from the social academic library” Faulkner-Brown (1999) recognized that the trends was toward emphasizing a people-centered approach. Demas (2005) listed the following possible reasons for users to go to a library: reading and relaxing in a safe and quiet environment; individual study; group study; checking e-mail and using the internet; finding information for class assignments and academic projects; information production (computing, writing and creating presentations); classroom-based teaching and learning; browsing, “non-library” uses (conference rooms and seminar rooms are the most popular facilities, but cafes, art galleries, auditoriums and writing labs are also popular): using other academic support services; meeting and socializing , eating and drinking, participating in cultural events and civic discourse, having fun;

72

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 visiting/touring; viewing exhibitions, and appreciating are, design and nature. The library designer must decide which of these uses the library will facilitate and how much emphasis will be placed on each. 3.0 Design/Methodology

In early 2011, UOM library submitted a proposal for “Improving library services to enhance the learning environment of University of Moratuwa” to UGC (estimated project budget amount being 50m.). The main purpose of the proposal was to change the atmosphere of the library, catering to the needs of current users and to modify the library’s image from a place filled with stacks and computers to a place where people will relax and enjoy reading. The feedback received in the preliminary survey for identifying improvement needs in March 2010, assisted to develop the proposal in many ways. Also the views, and guidance of academic staff especially on architectural and mechanical aspects were obtained when preparing the proposal. UOM library has 06 floors and the floor directory is as follows:      

Attic floor: closed stacks of books and back issues periodicals less used 3rd floor: Circulation desk, open stacks and new addition book display shelf and office 2nd floor: Membership counter, computer lab and study area 1st floor: Current periodicals special collections, photocopy room, TV lounge, discussion Room, User education unit & office Ground floor: Acquisition, Cataloguing, Bindery sections & offices Basement: Study area

4.0 Planning The main idea for the refurbishment was to make the library a lively place, especially the entry floor which was entirely allocated for study of own notes. In order to promote the library more accessible both mentally and physically, views of opinions of many were solicited from the initiation of the project. The basic suggestion that renovated space would encourage and increase frequent use was agreed. The architect who joined the discussion is well experienced in the interior design of public spaces. Many extensive discussions with interior designer who is a senior academic staff member was held to transform the 2nd floor of the building to a Learning Commons area, much weightage given to get the cozy environment suitable for quiet, reading, group discussion and interactive. Several discussions and awareness programs between different stake holders were held to publicize and obtain views on the project. 73


5.0 Challenges faced After the report was submitted, Librarian decided to hold brain storming sessions to all stake holders including library staff. Proposal was submitted in February, 2011 and UGC allocated a grant of 25m accepting the proposal in March, 2011. Though/ Since little progress of the plan was discussed with Architects, library did not either have a confirmed site plan or permanent idea of what changes should take place. Two of the major alterations had to be done to the roof and front door and maintenance division was instructed to attend. At this juncture, hoping the above alterations will take place soon, the study tables occupying the entry floor were shifted to the basement which was informed to students at an earlier forum. Yet the gravity of the project was noticed only when Works Engineer informed the Librarian to prepare BOQ (Bill of Quantities), obtain required approval of TEC , Tender Board etc.

In order to expedite the project and to obtain the specifications of each drawing, assistance of Architect was sought several times, which was provided voluntarily among other academic commitments. Meanwhile since there was no visible progress or construction, students agitated requesting to shift the furniture back to study area. They showed their dislike for the basement area and on 9.11.2011, an open dialogue was held to explain the status of the project to the student community.

Several changes were made to TEC members due to many reasons. As a result every new member had to be enlightened about the project from the beginning. The TU action by staff did have a certain impact on the project but was able to go forward but slowly. These delays had an impact on students’ patience and though the basement was provided with all facilities, their preference was for the entry floor which was selected for the introduction of LC and re-zoning project. 6.0 Methods Initially the focus would be to convert the entry floor area implementing following items, 1. Help desk 2. Collaborative technology/work areas 3. New and different furniture 4. Periodicals browsing area 5. Access to computer terminals

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NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 In addition, a study table would be fixed along the wall near the windows of each floor to increase the use of library resources. 7.0 Conclusions and Future projects Once the first phase of the project completes, feedback should be obtained to ascertain whether the project has been successful in achieving the goal, that the library has provided the necessary amenities, atmosphere and tools needed by users. The challenge is not only creating an environment which looks like a “learning commons” but making the library, UOM a successful place , physically and virtually.

All floors, walls and outer area of the building will undergo major changes. More funds will be required to conclude the whole project.

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Problems of Academic Libraries in Modern Era and Remedial Measures Sangrang Brahma Librarian, Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar, BTC, Assam, India [email protected] and Dr. Ch. Ibohal Singh Asst. Prof. Manipur University, Imphal Manipur, India [email protected]

ABSTRACT Kokrajhar is one of the important districts of Assam of India and can be described as the gateway to the Northeastern region of India. Moreover Kokrajhar is also head quarter of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) which was created on 10th February, 2003 under the amended Sixth Schedule of Indian Constitution. The main objective of this paper is to find out the exact problems of academic libraries of Kokrajhar district and suggest some remedial measures. Kokrajhar has a number of colleges and a University but most of the libraries of these institutions are facing numerous problems in serving the user needs in the present era of modern library services. There is need to suggest some remedial measures after studying the problems so that concerned authorities can take necessary steps in improving the library services so as to serve the users in a better way. A questionnaire was sent to all the academic institutions of Kokrajhar district which have degree level courses of study or higher. This paper unveils the undisclosed problems of academic libraries of Kokrajhar district and brings concrete remedial measures to solve the problems with the objective 76


ofmodernizing the academic libraries of Kokrajhar district to cope up with the present trend of Library and Information services.

1. INTRODUCTION With the advancement of Information Communication Technology (ICT) the need for information and information seeking behavior has been changed a lot in the modern era.To meet the changing demands of users the way of providing library services also has been changed. ICT has influenced all the aspects of library services, such as collection, acquisition, administration, security, management etc. In modern era the traditional book collection is being replaced by digital collections, the print journals are being replaced by online journals and the management system, security, acquisition etc. has become more efficient with the application of information communication technology. But with the fast advancement of ICT and its application in the library services the academic libraries of Kokrajhar district are far behind facing several problems. The district having more numbers of academic institutions in the BTC area is still not competent enough to accept the fast advancement of ICT due to various reasons. But to meet the needs of the present user’s demand the educational institutions need to improve the library services using modern ICTs in the modern era. 1.1 A Brief Profile of KokrajharDistrict Kokrajhar district can be termed as one of the fast growing districts of Assam in terms of road communication, railway network, economic and other aspects. Both road and rail touches this district at Srirampur before they go on to other districts in Assam and the other northeast states. The district has a total area of 3, 169.22 sq. km. and a total population of 9, 30,404 according to the census-2001. Kokrajhar district is located on the North bank of the river Brahmaputra that slices the state of Assam into two, identified as north and south banks. The district is bounded on the north by the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, by Dhubri district on the south, Chirang district on the east and the Indian state of West Bengal on the west. The area is mainly dominated by the tribal population. The kingdom of Bhutan is intricately linked with the district of Kokrajhar in many vital aspects of life of the people living both in the Bhutan hills and the plains of Kokrajhar. There ishassle-free movement of the people across the international border for the purpose of business and tours. The Bhutanese town of Gelephu is a nice place to visit from Kokrajhar as it is just across the international boundary. There is a fine road leading from the Shyamthaibari point on the National Highway 3l(c) to Gelephu. Kokrajhar was Head Quarter of the Bodoland Autonomous council (BAC) which was created in 1993 and now it is the head quarter of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) which was created on 10th February of 77


2003 after signing an accord with Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), Assam Government and the Government of India. This accord gave the status of Sixth Schedule area under the Constitution of India and provided autonomy to the tribal people for their self rule.

Kokrajhar

Figure.1: District Map of Assam Showing Kokrajhar District

2. METHODOLOGY Interview & survey methods were used. 2.1 Survey Method Using Prescribed Questionnaire In this method the present status of libraries of the different educational institutions were surveyed using prescribed questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed in such a way that it finds out the present status, present problems, suggestions and other aspects of the library in the modern era. Total 11 numbers of questionnaires were sent to the libraries of different educational institutions of the district and all of them responded in time.

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2.2 Interview Method In this method, I personally visited most of the libraries and had personal interview with the librarians regarding the topic. The responses of the librarians were quite impressive and enthusiastic. 3.AIMS AND OBJECTIVE The study has some definite aims and objectives. The objectives of the study are: o To make aware of the need for improvement of library services of the academic institutions so as to serve the users in a better way in modern era, o To identify the exact problems being faced by the academic libraries of Kokrajhar district in the modern era, o To know the present trend of academic library services in the district, o To find out the remedial measures for improved library services in the modern era in the area, o To understand the potentials of academic library services in the district, o To inform the concerned authorities about the importance of academic libraries and need for improvement in the modern era, 4. ACADEMIC LIBRARIES OF KOKRAJHAR DISTRICT AND THEIR STATUS: There is a limited number of academic institutions which imparts higher level courses in the district in comparison to the other developed districts. The condition of the libraries of these institutions is not fit in the present trend of modern library and information services. The libraries of higher educational institution of Kokrajhar district need to be improved drastically so as to coup up with the present trend of library and information services. Some of these libraries are taking bold steps to make their libraries to make fit in the present modern era of library and information services. There is only one State Government College, two deficit colleges, two technical institutions one under State Govt. and another under Central Govt., and other institutions colleges are private but Government aided. These academic institutes play a vital role in providing technical and non-technical educationin the area. Thus the libraries of these institutions need to be improved properly using latest technologies to serve the changing dimension of users demand. 79


Table 1: List of Academic Libraries of KokrajharSurveyed

The above table shows aprofile of academic institutions of Kokrajhar district and their libraries along with the year of establishment. Kokrajhar Govt. College is the oldest academic institution in the district offering Bachelor Degree in both Science and Arts stream and it is the only State Government College in the BTC area. Janata College, Gossaigaon Colleges are the two deficit colleges in the district which get financial support from State Government and University Grants Commission on sharing basis. Commerce College, Kokrajhar, Girls College Kokrajhar, Fakiragram College and Science College Kokrajhar are the private colleges imparting education in various fields like Arts, Science, Commerce, etc. but getting funds from State Government, BTC Government and University Grants Commission (UGC) time to time. Bodoland University is the only university in the Western part of Assam providing Post Graduate courses in Arts and Sciences and other disciplines. Central Institute of TechnologyKokrajhar is the first technical institution in the Western part of Assam imparting technical education in various branches of engineering and technology which is under the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). Bineswar Brahma Engineering College (BBEC) is the second engineering college in the area imparting bachelor degree in some selected branches of engineering and technology which is under the control of State Government of Assam.

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The libraries of these leading academic libraries of the district are not to the up to mark so as to serve the library users of modern era. 4.1 Status of Collection Development: The collection developments of these academic libraries are not satisfactory for the library users. Most of the libraries do not have sufficient collection in their library and some of them are outdated not fit for use. The following table shows the status of collection development of academic libraries of Kokrajhar district: Table 2: Status of Collection Development

Kokrajhar Govt. College has the largest collection but do not have the online subscription of periodicals. BB Engineering College which is a newly established institution,has the smallest collection with 3000 Books. Only two institutions i.e. Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar and Girls College Kokrajhar have the subscription of E- Journals through AICTE INDEST Consortium and NLIST Consortium respectively. Other institutions do not have subscriptionstoonline E-Journals. 4.2 Status of Infrastructural Facilities (Technical &Non Technical) Up to date modern infrastructural facilities both technical and non technical has become inevitable for the libraries to meet the modern trend of library and information services. The following table indicates the present status of infrastructural facilities in the academic libraries of Kokrajhar district.

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Table 3: Showing Status of Infrastructural Facilities

The above table clearly shows the present status of infrastructure facilities in the academic libraries of Kokrajhar district. Most of the libraries do not have separate buildings except Kokrajhar Govt. College.More interestingly, Bodoland University hasa separate building for the library but the building is being used by other department. That shows negligence on library and information services in the academic institute of highest level. Separate buildings are under construction for the Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar and Girls College Kokrajhar. That indicates a positive gesture towards realizing the potential value of library and information services. With regard to IT facilities in the libraries, only six libraries have Internet connection where Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar has multiple types of connections which provide seamless Internet access. But the library of Bodoland University which is the institute of highest level does not have Internet connection. Numbers of Personal Computers (PC) used in the libraries are not sufficient to meet the modern trend of library and information services. Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar has the maximum numbers of PCs used in the library which enables the library users to access online learning materials like E-Journals, Internet Resources, E-Books etc. Most of the libraries do not have sufficient numbers of printers in the library. Only Kokrajhar Govt. College and Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar have 3 numbers of printers in the library. Only Kokrajhar Govt. College and Central Institute of Technology have photocopying machine in the library. The infrastructure facilities that the academic libraries of Kokrajhar district are not up to date in the modern era of library and information services.

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4.3 Status of Manpower No libraries can run without manpower in the library.There has been acute shortage of manpower in the academic libraries of the district. The following table shows the present status of manpower in the academic libraries of the district: Table 4: Showing Status of Manpower:

The above table clearly indicates the present status of manpower in the academic libraries of Kokrajhar district. The maximum number of staff in the libraries is only four which is not sufficient for the efficient service of the library. Most of the libraries are running with single professional staff which is not sufficient in execution of proper modern library services. Bodoland University Library has not recruited a single person for the library. At present a Clerk cum Typist is looking after and running of the library which shows clear negligence in the library services in such an institute of higher learning and research. 5. Problems of Academic Libraries of Kokrajhar District in Modern Era There are several problems of library services in modern era in the academic institutions of Kokrajhar district. Although all the libraries of Kokrajhar district have planned to automate their libraries to meet the challenges of library services in the modern era,theyarefacingvarious problems. Providing library and information services in the modern era may sound simple to undertake, but these require a separatedevelopment budget, awareness of the library authorities (who are not usually librarians),obtaining appropriate software, obtaining the right hardware, a dependable networkingsystem, and a computer literate staff supported by IT professionals. Further, a high speed Internet connection has become an inevitable component 83


to provide modern library services. The problems of academic libraries of Kokrajhar district in the modern era could be discussed under the following sub-headings. 5.1 Financial The academic libraries of Kokrajhar district are facing acute financial problem to meet the challenge of library and information services in the modern era. The academic institutions of Kokrajhar district are not in the position to provide full amount to modernize their libraries.The authority cannotefford initial cost of the establishment of modern ICT equipments. The funds received from various sources like State Government, Central Government, BTC, UGC etc. are not sufficient to completely modernize the library setup using modern ICT equipments. 5.2 Lack of Professionally Trained Manpower There has been acute shortage of professionally trained manpower in the academic libraries of Kokrajhar district without which the libraries cannot compete in the modern era of library and information services. The authorities concerned are not keen to recruit required numbers of professionally trained manpower in their libraries which has become a major problem. 5.3 Indifferent Attitude of the People It has to be mentioned that the traditional concept of library as the mare store house ofbooks is still there in the minds ofthe people of Kokrajhar district and so as in the minds of the authorities concerned. The local people do not think necessary to spend more funds for the modernization oflibraries. The people are very ignorantabout the present trend of library services which is now incorporated with the latest information technology. The librarians need to play a bigger role to convince the authority as well as the local by organizing seminars, detail proper plans, lectures, and public meetings about the need for modernization of the academic libraries. 5.4 Non Cooperation of the Authority There is always need for strong cooperation of the parent authority to modernize any library. The will of the authority concerned are not encouraging for the modernization of academic libraries in the district and has become one of the major problems. If the parent authority is not cooperative then the aim to modernize the libraries cannot be achieved. 5.5 Poor Infrastructural Facilities The infrastructural facilities of the academic libraries of the district are not sufficient to meet the challenge of library and information services in the modern era. The infrastructural facilities

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like building, furniture, ICT equipments, internet connections in the academic libraries of the district are not up to the mark in the modern era and has become a major problems.

5.6 Diversification of Fund The diversification of library funds to other work has also become one of the major problems in modernizing the library services in the area. That is an indication of inability of authorities to understand the importance of library development. 5.7 Lack of Leadership There is lack of leadership in the field of library and information services in the area. There is no professional organization or association working for the modernization of library and information services in the area. 5.8 Lack of Positive Attitude of the Government Kokrajhar has obtained self autonomy to govern the area named BTC (Bodoland Territorial Council). However, this small administration set upalso has not given much importance towards the modernization ofthe academic libraries of Kokrajhar district. Yet, someblock grants have been received by some libraries, which hasimproved the collections a little bit. The University Grants Commission (UGC) also has taken some steps to modernize the academic libraries which are affiliated to the universities. 5.9 Insufficient Power Supply Power (Electricity) plays very important role in providing efficient and modern library services. But the irregular and insufficient power supply has become one ofthe major problems of library services in the modern era in the Kokrajhar district. 5.10 Lack of Regular Training of the Staff Most of the academic librariesdo not have regular training provision for their staff which is an essential need to improve the library services. 6. SOME REMEDIAL MEASURES Modernization of library services in the Kokrajhar district is not difficult, but need integrated effort from all concerned.Andthe library professionals should take the modernization of higher academic libraries in Kokrajhar as a challenge. Some remedial measures for improving academic libraries of Kokrajhar district in modern era follows: 

Appointment of qualified professional librarians to existing vacant posts, 85


         

Latest ICT equipments be procured by the authority as per the latest configuration, Advice from the experts should be invited to modernize the library services, Uninterruptable power supply should be connected by installing high capacity UPS and power generators, Sufficient funds be provided, The attitude of the governments needs to be changed towards library services, There should be a leadership role in the field of library and information services in the area, Adequate infrastructural facilities need to be procured There should be sufficient supply of trained manpower, Librarians need to be working closely with authorities to ensure that library funds are not diverted to other projects, There should be cooperation among the librarians of the area.

7. CONCLUSION Academic libraries plays very important role in the learning and research process of an academic institution. To make learning and research process complete from all aspects there is need for a up to date library and information services. The academic libraries of the area need to be looked seriously by the all sections of the people so as to make fit these libraries in the modern era. The problems mentioned above need to be solved. The librarians ofthe concerned institution and the authorities take the profession as thechallenging one to provide modern library services. The local people specially the intellectuals should understand the need for the modern library services and come forward for the modernization ofthe academic library servicesofKokrajhar district. As the library is the integral part of the educationalinstitution it should be planned properly and the best possible services should be provided. Training is a very important aspect of human resource development. The survey revealsthat all the librarians have understood the need for sufficient number of training programs to itsstaff members before acquiring the new technology. The also mentioned that centralized or mobile training programme should be provided to the old and outdated librarians. Thus, all concerned need to be enthusiastic to modernize the academic libraries of Kokrajhar district so as to serve the users in better away and help in a better way in carrying out academic activities smoothly.

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REFERENCES

Bhuyan, S., &Devi, D. (2007).Automation scenario of rural libraries in NE India.InL. Narendra (Ed.), Rural libraries in North East India problems and prospects (pp. 368-374). Kolkata: Central Reference Library. Lahkar, B.M. (2007). Automation in rural libraries of Assam: problems and prospects. In N. Lahkar (Ed.),Rural libraries in North East India problems and prospects(pp. 343-359). Kolkata: Central Reference Library. Lal, C. & Kumar, K. (2007).Descriptive questions in library and information science (pp. 326-378). New Delhi: Ess Publications. Lovecy, I. (1999). Automating library procedures: a survivor's handbook(pp. 1-178). New Delhi: D.K. Agencies. Malwad, N. M. (2000). Digital libraries: dynamic storehouse of digitized information(pp. 23-32). New Delhi: New Age Intemational Publishes. Parthasarathi, S. (1997).Computer application to libraries IR and networking(pp. 24-45). New Delhi:Esspublications. Paul, A. K. (2007). BTC our land, our people(pp. 1-30). Guwahati:Ragati Publishers. Rajesh C. P. & Murthy T.A.V. (2002). INFLIBNET centre: bridging the digital divide in Indian academic libraries. In H.K. Kaul, &M.D. Baby (Eds.),Library and information networking (pp.45-54). New Delhi: Delnet. RavichandraRao, I.K. (1997). Automation of academic libraries in India: status problems and future. In A.L. Moorthy& P.B. Mangla (Eds.),Information technology applications in academic libraries (pp. 1-4). Ahmedabad: INFLIBNET Centre. Salgar S.M. (1997). Automation of academic libraries in India: status problems and future. In A.L. Moorthy&P.B. Mangla (Eds.), Information technology application in academic libraries (pp.78-81). Ahmedabad: INFLIBNET Centre. Satyanarayan, N.R. (2001). A manual of computerization in libraries(pp.24-40). New Delhi:New Age International Publishers. Shukla, R.K. (1995). Automation of libraries and information centers(pp.13-34). New Delhi: ConceptPublishing.

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Satyanarayana, V.V.V. (2006). Modern librarianship ushering in digital library (pp. 1-153). New Delhi: Authorspress. Verma, K. (2004). ICTs in Libraries(pp. 1-284). New Delhi:Akansha Publishing House.

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Extended Abstract

Opportunities Presented in the Digital Era Professor Russell Bowden Honorary Fellow of IFLA The presentation [with support from Karen Bonanno, via Facebook, of Australian School Library Assocn] will concentrate on opportunities in the digital era for libraries and information science education. It will propose theses that (i) education [secondary and higher, vocational and technical] is failing because outside Sri Lanka innovations are taking place at a rate never speedier that are in the main being ignored by local educators represented by the technologies that have caused the ‘social ???’ (ii) Consequently education for those information managers involved with education has failed to be adequately motivated to innovate. In comparison to these situations (iii) are the facts that in secondary and higher education its recipients are enthusiastically engaging with the ‘social tools’ of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linked-in, Tweets, Blogs and e-mailing within and without the country. Outside Sri Lanka educationalists, social network suppliers [phone / tablet manufacturers], information managers and others use Facebook etc to share information on myriad of related topics from which to be instructed. [Examples will be provided]. Consequently many are in advance of - the education system including (a) what they are taught [i.e. what the curricula contains]; (b) how subjects are taught [teaching / learning methodologies applied in schools & higher education]; (c) accessing and using ‘information’ available from social tools’; (d) what they expect from assistance to learning [teachers and curricula]; (e) the skills and knowledge necessary to acquire information necessary for learning [the information managers [‘librarians’] and necessary resources. Resolutions of these situations require incremental leaps forward to move (i) curricula ahead of student [and employer expectations], (ii) teachers ahead of students’ ‘social hub’ skills; (iii) information managers ahead in order for them to instruct students and teachers. The wherewithal exist already – essentially (i) understanding significance, and operation, of information literacy; (ii) telephones, tablets equipped with Apps; (iii) enthusiastic ‘learners’; (iv) reliable forecasts of increased services from future phone /tablet developers. Lacking are (a) teachers’ ‘social hub’ skills; (b) imaginative curricula [for all subjects] adapted to exploit these learning /teaching opportunities and enthusiasms; (c) knowledge, skills, and 89


abilities from all [except learners / students]; (d) innovative administrations [at central, provincial, zonal & institutional levels] released from traditionalisms and conservatisms; (e) corporate & individual desires to innovate. Opportunities, for decades, never have been so encouraging. Where to commence? NILIS [as a relatively independent body] will be proposed to provide the ‘engine’ and energies & the most suitable opportunities for success to achieve the initiatives mentioned.

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Role of Social Media in Promoting Library and Information Services in an Academic Setting: With Special Reference to University of Bolton (Uob), Academic Centre Sri Lanka Library Lionel R. Amarakoon, Librarian,University of Bolton Academic Centre, Sri Lanka [email protected] & Ruwani S. Kumari Amarakoon M.Sc in Information Systems Management (Reading) University of Greenwich, London [email protected] ABSTRACT Web 2.0 and Social media networking tools are now being used by number of academic libraries in Sri Lanka in order to enhance service delivery to library clientele. The paper attempts to explore the different applications of social media for promoting of library and information resources and services in an academic setting. Authors recommend the use of social media and online groups etc., for marketing library services. Also, an attempt to assess the effectiveness of social media in promoting library services too has been made. The paper indicates that inadequate training opportunities, lack of knowledge, privacy and identity theft, slow speed of internet and electricity failure are the problems for applying social media in libraries of Sri Lanka for promoting library resources and services. Authors recommend that library and information resource centers should develop their marketing plan with incorporating social media for news, service alerts and quick updates to online users, and fund raising. They argue that the use of social media is important to capture the attention of online users and which will help in distance learning and knowledge sharing. Keywords: Web 2.0, Social Media, Library Publicity, Library Marketing, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Skype

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1. PREAMBLE 1.1 Definition of Social Media A social network is a network of users that are linked together either through similar interest of who one may know in real life or virtually. Joining a social network involves creating an online profile with your personal information and gaining friends. One can gain friends either through joining similar online interest groups or through requesting persons, with whom you interact with, to join your network. The media that supports such interaction is called social media. 1.2 Purposes of Social Networking Social networking is a way for people to connect and share information with each other online. Millions of people worldwide regularly access these types of services from mobile devices, applications, and websites. According to statistics published by some of the most well-known social networking services, there are more than 500 million active users on Facebook1, 175 million registered users on Twitter2, more than 100 million users on MySpace3, and more than 80 million members on LinkedIn4. The reason that information professionals should engage in active use of social networking tools is to attract their library users to the library by existing in the same online space as their patrons. The world over several library systems have taken steps to develop an online presence on the most popular social networking sites. The National Library and Information Systems Authority in Trinidad and Tobago provide links to its Facebook, Twitter and YouTube content via its homepage and Halifax Public Libraries on its teen page provides a link to its teen Face book page. There is, however, a disturbing trend that in spite of the library’s presence on social networking sites, these library pages are not well subscribed to. For example, though Halifax Public Library serves a large community their teen Face Book page has a mere 102 fans. What could be accounting for the low numbers, despite these institutions engaging in technological innovation and existing in the same digital space as their clientele? The new generation of library users will not simply come to the library’s Facebook page but rather the library has to actively engage the user. Being an information professional involves proactivity in connecting to your users, and that means being as dynamic and outgoing digitally as the users with whom you are trying to interact. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING OF LIBRARIES Social media marketing of libraries is the way of advertising a library, its brand product and services via web 2.0 technologies. By using social media, libraries can engage with their clienteles and enable them to participate in the production of library products. Social media 92


includes networking web sites like Face book, MySpace, micro blogging web sites like Twitter and other media like blogs, podcasts, photos and videos. By posting library material via social media on library page, it can be used by the variety of locations on the Web (Tuten, 2001). The shift of paradigm from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 is offering new challenges for libraries on how to capture the attention of remote users who are engaged in social media activities. Different applications of Web 2.0 in form of social media are being used by millions of people in the world. Social media is an instrument of communication. It is a broad term and covers a large range of web sites which enable people to interact with other visitors. These media are Social news (Dig, Propeller), Social Bookmarking (Del.lcio.us, Simpy, Blinklist), Social Networking (Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn), Social Photo and Video Sharing (YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr) and Wikis (Wikipedia, 2011). According to the statistics of July 2011, it has been reported that there are 750 million users of Facebook around the world. Twitter is being used by 250 million users worldwide., 115 million people use LinkedIn, MySpace is being used by 50 million users and the users of Google Plus are 25 million (Googlefan, 2011). Social media provides more opportunity to reach your community, target specific audiences, and give them a chance to interact with your library. Statistics of Social media usage shows that there are nearly 700 million active Facebook users, over 100 million LinkedIn members, 5 billion+ images on Flickr, 24 million pages on Wikipedia, 300 million Twitter users posting over 7,000 tweets per second, over 2.9 billion hours of YouTube watching per month (Tortorella, 2012). The whole business of libraries is about connecting people with information and this is what social media is really all about. Social media helps in reaching out to our communities and providing them information that they need in a very accessible way. There are a number of libraries that used Wikis, Flickr, or Blogs for publishing historical photos and ask people to identify people, places, or events pictured. Different libraries use Wikis for content creation and to create a collaborative relation between library and the community. Hence IM (Instant Messaging), SMS, Twitter and email are being used for answering questions (Convertive, 2011). 3. LITERATURE REVIEW In developed countries libraries are using latest trends to market their services. U.S. libraries of all types are increasingly using social media tools and Web 2.0 applications to connect with library users and to make library programs and services accessible (ALA, 2001). Library of Congress is also utilizing social media for marketing its services and to interact with its online users. Library uses Blogging, Flickr, YouTube, Social Networking, iTunes and Twitter for its different services (Braziel, 2009). National library of Australia has embraced the use of social media as a corporate communications and community building tools. Library supports every employee to have the opportunity to communicate online via social media, professional 93


networking sites, blogs and personal web sites (NLA, 2010). The National Library of Australia uses a variety of social media for notifying news, relevant items from collection and library events. Facebook is used by the library to inform the library users about major events, activities and recent acquisitions through posting photos, videos and links to resources about the library. Library uses YouTube for sharing videos of many of the events held at the library. Presentations and talks organized on different topics by the library are disseminated via podcasts (NLA, n.d). Hendrix and Zafron (2009) found that the main purpose of using Facebook in libraries is to market the library and push out announcements to library users for promotional purpose. In order to have a presence in the social network, libraries post photos and provide chat reference services. Studies conducted at International level show positive results regarding the use of social media in libraries to market their products and services. According to the survey report conducted by the South Carolina State Library, it was observed that the majority of respondents (92.2 %) considered Web 2.0 tools important for marketing and promoting library services (ALA, 2001). Similarly, Burkhardt (2009) identified that library can market its services and events by using fliers, bookmarks, announcements in calendars of events, newspaper ads, press releases. Rogers (2009) reported that many public libraries in America are embracing social networking tools to promote library marketing services for library patrons. Internet based social media tools like blogs, podcasts, online videos and social networks are giving voice to the opinions of millions of online users. Mickiernan (2009) stressed that libraries should think to fulfill the need of online users i.e. professors, librarians or parents who are in social space. It was found that students were willing to access the library through this unique plate form in the right circumstances. Different studies have shown that social media tools are very much popular among new users' generations. As they grow up with modern information technologies, they rely on social media and use it as a tool for communication, information sharing and discussions. Bart (2010) studied the social media usage among college faculty. It was found that 80% of the respondents had at least one social networking account. They used it for professional purpose. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were found as most recognizable names among more than 90% of the faculty. It was found that teachers used Facebook, LinkedIn, Skype and YouTube for communicating with peers and students. It appeared that social media use is more among faculty in the Humanities and Social Sciences than those in Mathematics, Science, Business and Economics. Like Bart (2010), Kamdani and Kumbar (2006) also found that the majority of the respondents visit institutional web site regularly. It was observed that respondents agreed that libraries should 94


maintain the portal by hosting the Web OPAC. Library portal should provide facility to the users to access library databases. It was concluded that libraries should provide web-based services to their user. Suraweera et al. (n.d.) explored that social networks are being used by teachers, lecturers and students as a communication tool. Many students use this tool in a very wide range. Teachers, lecturers and professors use this tool for discussions to post assignment, tests and quizzes. Social networking sites are being used to foster communication between teachers and parents. Chand, Suman and Nirmalendu (2008) concluded that adding Web 2.0 studies to the curriculum may also serve to improve the position of LIS programmes. RSS is also very useful to library and information science education and research purposes. With the help of RSS library science students can monitor high school and college scholarship opportunities by using RSS feeds. Library and information science department can also use RSS to communicate departmental news with their students, announcing staff changes, new courses or any other news that is relevant and of interest to the student population. 4. PROBLEM STATEMENT Increasing use of social media by the Internet users is offering new challenges for libraries to keep their image alive in the minds of community that work in virtual environment. Statistics have shown the tremendous use of social media sites by the users all around the world. In Sri Lanka, the use of Internet by the community is increasing day by day. The Internet users in Sri Lanka were last reported at 2503193.88 in 2010, according to a World Bank report published in 2012. Internet users are people with access to the worldwide network. In spite of years of civil war, the country has recorded strong growth rates in recent years. The main sectors of Sri Lanka's economy are tourism, tea export, apparel, and textile and rice production. Remittances also constitute an important part of the country's revenue. Computer literacy is very high in Sri Lanka when compared to other countries in South and Central Asia. In countries with developed education and library systems, libraries are utilizing contemporary trends for marketing their library and information products and services to their remote users. On the other hand, review of the literature shows that in Sri Lanka, no study has been conducted so far to investigate the ways for libraries to market their products and services among the users in online social space. Research should be conducted in Sri Lanka (keeping in view the typical problems and challenges being faced by Libraries in Sri Lanka), to investigate the attitude of LIS professionals towards the use of social media in marketing of library resources and services and to find out the ways for optimum utilization of social media tools for marketing library services.

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5. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The study seeks to achieve the following objectives: 1. To explore the different applications of social media for promoting of library and information resources and services in an academic setting. 2. To explore whether inadequate training opportunities, lack of knowledge, privacy and identity theft, slow speed of internet and electricity failure are the problems for applying social media in libraries of Sri Lanka for promoting library resources and services. In countries with developed education and library systems, libraries are utilizing contemporary trends for marketing their library and information products and services to their remote users. On the other hand, review of the literature shows that other than in Pakistan, in Sri Lanka no study has been conducted so far to investigate the ways for libraries to market their products and services among the users in online social space. Research should be conducted in Sri Lanka in future, keeping in view the typical problems and challenges being faced by Sri Lankan libraries, to investigate the attitude of Library and Information Science professionals towards the use of social media in marketing of library resources and services and to find out ways for optimum utilization of social media tools for marketing the library and information products and services. (This can be examined at the 2nd stage of the current ongoing study (planned). 6. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN SRI LANKA Social Media Marketing in Sri Lanka is gaining momentum every day. Not only some of the popular brands; but also we can see some artists, politicians, celebrities, photographers and even some religious organizations trying to make their presence on social media tools like Face book and other social media channels to carry out their marketing efforts. Among many other sources, Face book remains the most popular Social Media Marketing tool for Sri Lankan businesses. Face book advertising is more popular in Sri Lanka, than advertising on Google Adwords. However, I have met several Sri Lankans, who keep asking me “what is all this buzz about Face book marketing?” In Sri Lanka, the internet penetration is very low and as a result some companies don’t see it as important to get a social media or Facebook marketing campaign going on. Meanwhile, the traditional consultants and advertising agencies in Sri Lanka also don’t know much about these latest trends in social media marketing and online media. Companies and businesses in Sri Lanka find it a much difficult task to figure out how to do 96


marketing on Face book, or how to use the social media channels like YouTube, Twitter and other tools to promote their brands in Sri Lanka. We can see a clear gap of expert knowledge about these new social media marketing channels in Sri Lanka. This blog will focus on keeping you up to date with the latest Social Media trends in Sri Lanka. 6.1 Social Media Marketing in Libraries in Sri Lanka After an academic institute creates a Face book page, users can “Like” the page to become a fan, and updates and messages about the library will then appear in their newsfeeds. We at University of Bolton, Academic Centre, in Sri Lanka have created a page for its library and information resource centre (LIRC). Previously, the two Facebook pages we continued to maintain here at WCMT were sort of insipid Facebook pages. Since we needed a more effective social media marketing program the challenge we faced was how to make them into a dynamic and engaging platform for our target audiences. On the other hand we need to develop a stronger “Reference Market” to be the flagship for our marketing campaign(s). Hence we made a Facebook which is unique and standing out from the rest in the market. We thought that we need to educate our users, provide them assistance if needed, provide them resources and disseminate Information which might be useful for their programs and projects in hand. Hence we convert our pages from generic landing page(s) into pages specifically tailored for them. We give a little background about our organizations, and convince them with great reasons why they should join our page(s). We thought that our die-hard followers (current student population) won’t need any reason for joining our page. But if WCMT wants to grow our FB presence, we need to give something back to them. Thus we commenced to provide resources, helping them to solve problems and even guiding them. We all know that people on FB want to see a variety of photographs. It is no doubt that FB is the biggest photo sharing site on the web. We made a large photo of our campus, the brand and our vision and mission statements etc., as our profile picture. These will help us with branding and adds trust to WCMT profile. We were really keen on getting the number of fans increased and hence we started tagging the fans on our photo albums. Therefore it is important that you tag your fans in photos. We have taken a number of pictures at the events that took place at the WCMT premises and at various exhibitions we participated in. But we have failed to tag the people in those pictures earlier. Usually many people have Facebook notifications that alert them when they have been tagged 97


in photos, and this will bring them back to our page(s) and that is how we gradually build a “Reference Market” for our products and WCMT as a whole. Do not forget that our target audiences also have the ability to upload photos as well. Surely, this might require some moderation on our part in order to avoid spam etc. The beauty of the FB is that by allowing our fans (target audience) to upload and tag themselves and friends in our pages automatically it adds a nice social “hook” to our pages. Not only have we given back by adding photos, we also keep our brand planted firmly in the mindset of our target audience. Contents are a great way to make our pages more engaging and they also give incentive for potential fans to join in. We can use multiple Facebook applications to pull in our other already existing accounts from other social networking sites. We need to tryout to pull in LinkedIn, Twitter, Flicker, YouTube and many others fairly quickly. Do not forget to thank people for becoming your fans. When someone becomes a fan on FB, we need to thank them immediately. It is absolutely necessary for us to give them something in return, such as an e-newsletter, e-resource etc or at least send them a quick “thanks” message. Some proactive information professionals may wish to create an individual profile page. This page is professional in nature and is separate from any personal Facebook page that an information professional may have. This is a good idea as some library users may not wish to be a fan of the library as an organization, but if they choose to be friends with the librarians, they may gain access to updates and information in this manner. All these different Facebook presences are used with varying degrees of success. Organization Page works well with a large library system that seeks to have a wide reach. However, groups work well with smaller, close-knit libraries where the information displayed would be relevant to only certain people, rather than the wider public. Individual profile pages are also a good idea, since they have the effect of personalizing the library’s connection with the library users. Miller and Jensen (2007) offer some suggestion on how to connect with your patrons. In spite of their focus on the high school library, some of their suggestions may be applied to public libraries and even academic libraries as well. Libraries can create three types of Facebook presence: Organization/business page Face Book Groups

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Librarians becoming Facebook friends of all the users of a library are a good idea. Then you can send the suggestion to join the library’s Facebook page or group. Also, encourages student members to tell their friends to join the library group or page as well. 7. CONCLUSIONS Our observations revealed that although few librarians have commenced to use social media such as, Facebook in their library promotion in Sri Lanka, still they need proper orientation on how to make their Library Facebook more dynamic and engaging. Without such training on how to use social media more effectively, the Library Facebooks will not serve its purpose, i.e. “the role of effective library promotion”. Inadequate training opportunities, lack of knowledge, privacy and identity theft, slow speed of internet and electricity failure are the problems for applying social media in libraries of Sri Lanka for promoting library resources and services. Librarians needed training on social media usage and suggested that libraries should adopt social media for maximum exploitation of library services. We recommend that library and information resource centers should develop their marketing plan for utilizing social media for news and service alerts and quick updates to online users. The use of social media is important to capture the attention of online users and helps in distance learning and knowledge sharing. REFERENCES Bart, M. (2010).Social media usage among college faculty. Retrieved from: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/trends-in-higher-education/social-media-usageamong-college-faculty/ Braziel, L. (2009). Social media marketing example #12: Library of Congress. Retrieved from:http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/social-media-examples/social-mediamarketing-example-library-of-congress/ Burkhardt, A. (2009). Four reasons libraries should be on social media. Retrieved from: http://andyburkhardt.com/2009/08/25/four-reasons-libraries-should-be-on-socialmedia/ Chand, S.N., Suman, D., &Nirmalendu, P. (2008).Application of Web 2.0 in library and information science: With special reference to RSS. Retrieved from:http://ir.inflibnet.ac.in/dxml/handle/1944/1157

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Citing

Wikipedia.(2011). In Wikipedia, the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media

free

encyclopedia.Retrieved

from:

Hendrix, D., &Zafron, M.L. (2009).Use of Facebook in academic health sciences libraries.Journal of Medical Library Association, 97(1), 44-47. Khan, S.A., &Bhatti, R. (2012).Application of social media in marketingof library and information services: A case study from Pakistan.Webology, 9(1). Retrieved from: http://www.webology.org/2012/v9n1/a93.html Libraries making good use of social media and Web 2.0 applications. (2001). Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries/socialnetworking Mickiernan, G. (2009). Friends: Social networking sites for services.Retrievedfrom:http://onlinesocialnetworks.blogspot.com/

engaged

library

Rogers, C.R. (2009). Social media, libraries, Web 2.0: How American libraries are using new tools for public relation and to attract new users. Retrieved from http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/social-media-libraries-and-web-20how.html Social network user statistics as of July 2011. (2011).Retrieved from:http://googleplus.com/598/social-network-user-statistics-as-of-july-2011/ Suraweera, N., et al. (2011). Value of social networking in libraries and information organizations in Asia and Oceania. Retrieved from http://www.ifla.org/files/hq/papers/ifla76/145-suraweera-en.pdf Tortorella, D. (2012). Library marketing and promotion via social media.Retrieved from: http://infopeople.org/training/library-marketing-and-promotion-social-media Tuten, T.L. (2001). Advertising 2.0 - Social media marketing in a Web 2.0 World. Retrieved from:http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-advertising-20-social-media/ Using

(2011). social media in major library systems. Retrieved from:http://www.convertiv.com/using-social-media-in-a-major-library-system/

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Appendix 1 – Restructuring of the WCMT Library Facebook Page

WCMT before making its FB more dynamic was like this:

After adopting the tips for creating a more dynamic Facebook page for WCMT Campus Library (Images 1-5)

1

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2

3

4

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5

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Extended Abstract

Revision of the Legal Deposit Laws in Sri Lanka toMeet the User Needs &Challenges in the Digital Age W. Sunil Deputy Director National Library & Documentation Services Board [email protected] Upali Amarasiri Director National Institute of Library & Information Sciences Sri Lanka’s Legal Deposit (LD) laws were enacted in the 19th century. Despite the numerous changes that occurred in the cultural, social, economic, political and other spheres during the last century, the basis of the local LD legislations has not been changed. As a result, Sri Lanka has one of the most archaic LD legislations in the region. Now the legal deposit authority in Sri Lanka, the Dept. of National Archives (DNA), has commenced the revision of the LD legislation. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the weak areas of the present LD legislations in Sri Lanka and make suggestions for improvement. The main drawbacks of the present Legal Deposit legislations in Sri Lanka 1) The objectives of the Legal Deposit Law have not been clearly spelled out in the law. 2) Inadequate coverage of print publications 3) Zero coverage of Audio-Visual and Digital Publications 4) Inadequate coverage of publications of the government, semi-government, NGO and other organizations 5) Requesting too many copies (Complaint of the publishers, especially considering expensive publications) 6) Need of rationalization of the deposit libraries 7) The time gap between the date of publication and the deposit 8) A number of legislations covering books, newspapers and a number of revisions

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The proposed revisions 1) Indicate the objectives of the Legal Deposit Law; Dr Jean Lunn’s ‘Guidelines for Legal Deposit Legislations’ (UNESCO, 1981) and Jules Lariviere’s ‘Guidelines For Legal Deposit Legislation’ (2000, UNESCO) (a revised, enlarged and update edition of the previous publication) are probably the best and most comprehensive publications on the subject. The generally accepted objectives of the LD legislations are 

To collect the country’s cultural heritage for the future



To preserve the cultural heritage



To create standard bibliographic records of the nation’s publications and publish the National Bibliography



To provide access to the nation’s publications

2) To improve the coverage 

Improve awareness on LD Law and its objectives



Reduce the number of deposit copies; As the British Library relinquished its entitlement to have a copy in 1979, the number of copies can be reduced from 5 to 4 without any difficulty. For a normal publication, depositing 4 copies will not be a problem for the depositor. Their complaint is depositing a number of copies in expensive publications.

Possible Solutions: a. British model; Under the revised law, (UK, Legal Deposit Library Act 2003) only the British Library gets a free copy. For the other 5 deposit libraries, they can request a free copy from the publisher within a year if necessary. In Sri Lankan situation two copies – 1 for the Dept. of National Archives (DNA) and 1 for the National Library and Documentation Services Board (NLDSB) should be compulsory. The copies for the the Dept. of National Museum (DNM) and University of Peradeniya (UoP) can be made optional. b. Canada & Singapore model; Only 2 copies should be deposited under the law. If we follow it, we will have to remove the Museum Library and the Peradeniya University Library from the deposit status. There are pros and cons for the decision. The biggest plus point is that the depositors will have to deposit only 2 copies, which will improve the deposit. Since the DNM library is situated in close

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proximity to both DNA and the NLDSB this might not affect the users. According to the available information UoP deposit collection is being hardly used. c. New Zealand model; In New Zealand, if the price of a copy is more than $1,000 ND, only 1 copy is required. In Sri Lanka, perhaps we can say the price of a copy is more than SLR5,000 or 7,500 only 2 copies are required.This will be the answer to the depositors’ main complaint. d. Japanese model; In Japan the National Library pays a part of the price (the publishing cost) to the depositor. This may not be the ideal solution for Sri Lanka. 3) Coverage of Digital Publications; Digital and Multi-media publications should be added to the LD legislations without further delay. The offline digital publications will not cause much difficulty as they are available in special packing etc. The challenge will be to get the online publications. Due to this reason most of the countries exclude the online publications. Possible Solutions: a. New Zealand model; All printed documents, offline documents (DVD), Internet publications and Web Sites should be deposited. b. South African model; Films, Video and Sound recordings should be deposited with a separate institute called National Film, Video and Sound Archives (NFVSA). c. Canadian / German model; Only offline electronic publications are included in the LD law. For the online publications Canadian National Library &Archives and German NL negotiate with e-journal publishers and other online publishers and come to an agreement case by case basis. d. Develop a shared infrastructure for digital materials at the DNA or at the NLDSB to avoid duplication, reduce the burden of publishers, pooling expertise and knowledge 4) Coverage of Govt. departments/institutions/NGOs etc.; As a result of the improvement of printing technology, a large number of small time publishers, govt. departments, institutions etc. started printing publications. Since they are not registered printers or publishers, their publications are not being covered under the present LD law. 5) Other a. One single Legal Deposit Law covering all materials b. Legal Deposit Advisory Panel (similar to UK) to advise the DNA on LD matters comprising independent members, librarians and publishers c. Explore the possibility of identifying separate institutions to deposit films, videos etc.

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d. Either DNA or NLDSB to develop necessary infra-structure facilities to deposit, preserve the digital publications. It is not practical or economical to keep them in two places.

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Application of Open-Source Software in Library Functions and Services: Experiences of Library Network, Eastern University,Sri Lanka M N Ravikumar Senior Assistant Librarian Eastern University, Sri Lanka [email protected] T Ramanan Senior Assistant Librarian Eastern University, Sri Lanka [email protected] ABSTRACT With the advancement of information and communication technologies, the university libraries of Sri Lanka have been gradually implementing sophisticated services through library automation and digital information services to the user community. In the path to automation, these libraries adopted different integrated library systems falling under both commercial and free/open-source software (FOSS). However, the depleting financial strength of these libraries curtails the independence to select expensive proprietary options to automate their functions and services. Therefore, some of the libraries have ventured into exploiting open-source software, such as Koha, NGL, DSpace, and Joomla that are coming under GNU/GPL projects. In this paper, the authors present the experiences gained with proprietary system and OSS in the library network of Eastern University, Sri Lanka. Keywords: Library Automation, Integrated Library System, Open-Source Software, Digital Library Services Abbreviations: EUSL – Eastern University, Sri Lanka, OSS – Open-Source Software, LMS – Library Management System, ILS – Integrated Library System, NGL – New Generation Libraries, CMS – Content Management System.

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1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Library Network The Library Network, Eastern University, Sri Lanka encompasses the main library and three branch libraries, namely Trinco Campus library, Faculty of Health-Care Sciences library, and the library of Institute of Aesthetic Studies. The main library caters to the users from faculties of Agriculture, Arts and Culture, Commerce and Management, and Science. 1.2 Collections Currently, the collection at the main library amounts to 85,143 numbers of titles, enriched with latest, relevant books as well as rare materials. And, the library acquires about 3500 (on average) number of books and 205 periodicals (purchased and donated) and other publications such as hand books, undergraduates’ project reports that are leading to a gradual building of the collection at a steady level, every year. Since 2011, it has started subscribing to 76 international journals, both printed and online. The Main Library provides access to online Erecourses through Internet and Intranet made available across the university. Most of the Eresources are made available free of charge through INASP (International Network for Availability of Scientific Publications)/ PERii Programme, and others are from open-access online data bases. 1.3 Users’ Growth Every academic year, the number of user community steadily increases along with the introduction of new subjects and modules in the curriculum. Eastern University Library Network has to serve a wide range of users coming from different backgrounds, cultures and languages. This implies the importance of faster and effective information services, which is intertwined with scarce resources. Table 1: Library Users - Students Students Science Com. Mgt. Agric Arts Total

2009 353 270 65 1156 1844

2010 631 263 88 1151 2133

2011 435 255 180 1243 2113

2012 555 312 220 1335 2422

Source: Library Development Plan 2012 -2025

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Table 2: Library Users - Academics Academic

2009

2010

2011

2012

Science

42

42

32

67

Com Mgt

22

22

22

22

Agric

28

29

37

40

Arts

44

40

40

89

Total

136

133

131

218

Source: Library Development Plan 2012 -2025 According to the above tables, the user growth is steadily increasing every year, thus the library has to ensure the efficiency in its functions and services by implementing appropriate technologies. 2. LIBRARY AUTOMATION 2.1 History In the late 90s, the main library had devised a database, Library System, built on using Microsoft Access 98, which facilitated data entering, circulation, retrieving, clientele registration, cataloguing and searching. This database was introduced in 2002. Nevertheless, the database could not be used to link with databases of branch libraries and other universities. Not only did it possess defective technical features on its functionality, but also it had difficulties with building up the records as collection grows fast (therefore, it was not conducive for the enormous volume of data entry), periodical data could not be operated, no support for multi-user logins, and no room for the Web OPAC. Therefore, the library procured commercial software, namedLibSysversion4.0,in 2008, through consortia basis arranged by the UGC, to automate its functions and services. 2.2 Initial Experiences with Automation The new integrated library system was installed in 2009 and has been used to date. With one week of training provided by LibSys resource person from India, the library had successfully installed its new system and started operating the basic functions and services. Except for the acquisition module on the system, all other modules have been utilized by the library functions. Along with that the library has accomplished bar-coding its collection, and installed security gates. However, the library is gradually facing technical and financial issues in operating the current library management system (LMS). 110


3. PROBLEMS FACED WITH COMMERCIAL LMS To be effective in its services, the library’s expenditure should be rationalized. Therefore, high priced product needs to be effectively functional throughout a longer period; however the proprietary system being used has presented the following issues: 3.1 Post-Sale Services and Training From the date of installation of the commercial library system, obtaining timely post-sale services was not at satisfactory level. Second, the training given by the vendor to the library staff was not sufficient nor was it continuous. Thus, the technical staff and professional librarians encountered drastic problems related to updating the bibliographic data and running the circulation seamlessly. 3.2 Financial Obstacles Not only was the capital money large to buy the commercial system, but also the library struggles to renew the license or to upgrade the system. Since yearly allocations are not allowing the library to pay the charges of upgrading, defects in smooth running of the library management system is not possible. In addition, administrative barriers are also associated in the above issue. When the library automation is intended to expanding to the branch libraries, installation of the commercial ILS on a new server requires separate license and payments, which is not possible with the present financial strength of the library. 3.3 Technical Issues Firstly, data migration or import from other sources such as Library of Congress (OCLC) has been difficult as the function that enables MARC forms is not operating in the system. Second, Unicode support is not uniform throughout the system and Sinhala language is not supported though Unicode support for Tamil language was obtained lately. However, searching on the system does not seem to be interactive as it produces more ‘noise’ in the results display. Therefore, the Boolean search techniques are not effective on this system. It is more difficult with records entered using Tamil language. Moreover, members’ records are also very difficult to search. In addition, report generation does not function properly due to technical faults, which could not be rectified by both the vendors and technical professionals of the library. Finally, OPAC 111


could not be customized by the library according to its needs and objectives. Furthermore, compiling a common OPAC to access to the catalogue records of branch libraries and main library is difficult (e.g. Union Catalogue). 4. INTRODUCTION OF OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE 4.1 What is Open-Source Software? Open-source software is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code (Wikipedia). It can also be defined to be a program where source code is available to the general public for their use and/or modification from its original design without paying any charge for such changes (http://www.opensource.org). 4.2 Why Open-Source Software? Open source is today’s world approach which stresses upon innovation, collaborative development and sharing of knowledge (Dora & Maharana, 2008). One of the reasons as to why firms and governments have increased their adoption of open source software is the total cost of ownership (TCO) which is lower than that of proprietary software. Another reason is its high or equivalent quality in the improved programme functionality than many proprietary software alternatives (MacCormack, 2003). OSSs are cost-effective, especially in time of shrinking budgets as it is a great crisis for organizations worldwide. In such a crucial situation, OSS has great impact to empower the users in 21st century since this software is totally license-free and has lower acquisition, implementation and support cost (Meng, 2002). According to MacCormack (2003), availability of Source Code for OSS systems has made it easier for developers and users to discover and fix vulnerabilities, often before a flaw can be exploited. Hence, it helps the user communities for any number of experiments till satisfaction is reached. Further, being an active member and part of OSS community, an organization’s team members will learn the minimum required know-how of software and technologies. Most importantly, unlike proprietary software formats, open-source software allows accessing the source code for the applications and stores data in open standard (non-proprietary) formats, therefore, users are not tied to any particular supplier.

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Table 3: Widely Used FOSS Applications No. Application FOSS Example 01 Operating System Linux 02 Web/ Proxy Server Apache/Squid Cache 03 Web Browsers Firefox 04 Blogs Wordpress, BlogSpot 05 Wikis Media Wiki, TikiWiki 06 Open Software Openoffice.org, PDF Creator 07 Content Management System Drupal, Joomla 08 Instant Messengers Gaim, Pidgin Source: Mallikarjun Dora and BuluMaharana (2008) Table 4: Open Source Software in Library Applications Software/ System No. Application 01 Integrated Library Management System KOHA, Evergreen, NGL 02 Digital Library and Repositories Dspace, Eprints, Fedora, Greenstone 03 Metasearch Resolver LibraryFind, CUFTS 04 OPACs Vufind, SOPAC, Backlight Source: Mallikarjun Dora and BuluMaharana (2008) 4.3 Exploitation of FOSS in Sri Lankan University Libraries In Sri Lanka, university libraries have utilized proprietary software and open source software for the automation purpose; as a result they would encounter issues when working in cooperation that will demand uniformity in data sharing. Open source software (OSS) has become famous since many libraries strive to gain financial support to maintain commercial software (Ramanan&Ravikumar, 2012). The areas of library function and services that utilize OSS are automation, digital library services, development of institutional repositories, and development of library websites. In case of library automation, majority of the libraries are using LibSys – proprietary software for automation – along with which Alice for Windows (commercial software). Koha and NGL (OSS) are also being used. However, most of the universities using DSpace, an OSS means, to develop their digital library collections, and Joomla, a Content Management System (CMS) to develop library websites (Ramanan&Ravikumar, 2012).

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Dreamweaver 33%

22%

33%

Joomla

67% 45%

D-Space

HTML/ CSS Editor

Greenstone

Figure 1:: OSS for Digital Library

Figure 2: Software used to create c Websites

The Figures 1 & 2, exhibit the extent to which the open-source open alternatives are being utilized in though the the university libraries in Sri Lanka. In Figure 1, both software are open-sources, open degree of exploitation varies based on applicability and interest. In Figure 2, Joomla has superseded other software that is m mostly not free and/or open. 4.4 Endeavors on Open-Source Source Software by the Library Network, EUSL The library network, EUSL has started exploiting open open-source source software to automate its branch libraries to overcome the problems entangled with commercial system. In the journey on exploiting open-source source software, the library had first tried Koha. Despite this, it ventured another OSS alternative called NewGenLib (shortly known as NGL), and trialed in its three branch libraries, where the system works without any complaints. However, the main library still operates its functions and services with the proprietary system in order to avoid gaps in the services until it fully implements an OSS alternative. The library has initiated digital library services by using DSp ace and Greenstone, for providing DSpace access to past-papers papers and theses, respectively. In addition, digitization of newspaper articles, leaf manuscripts and Ceylon collection is also underway. Therefore, rare materials, local palm-leaf users will enjoy greater and unrestricted unrestricted access to a wide range of information resources. Third noteworthy attempt of the library to exploit OSS is its website, which has been developed applying Joomla, content management software. This content management system (CMS) enables to build d Websites and other powerful online applications. Another advantage of using a CMS is that it requires almost no technical skill or knowledge to manage (joomla.org/). Open-source source software is becoming a trend setter in libraries. Many open source software are Open available for various automation purposes and digital library services. Open-source digital library and institutional repository software are very popular among librarians at present anka are no exception to (Kumar & Thomson, 2009). Therefore, the university libraries in Sri LLanka

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adopt open-source alternatives to enhance service qualities in the era of information technology. 5. CONCLUSION In conclusion, open-source software in library management helps to solve basic challenges such as budget shortages for maintaining proprietary ILS, management of ever-increasing bibliographic records, large number of members, and lack of efficient administration. And, open-source library management systems provide access to library-owned data and provide much more flexibility for the library than commercial ILS. OSS are now well represented in ILS products to which libraries can provide better library services to their users and motivate librarians to reshape their libraries. Koha, NGL, DSpace, GSDL, E-prints are the most popular open source software which is widely used in library business. Due to the constraints faced with the propriety software the library network of Eastern University, Sri Lanka, has commenced to adopt the open-source alternatives for the purposes of library automation, digital library management, and service marketing on webpage to ensure better and uninterrupted library services. Hence, the library network, EUSL started using NGL as an automation solution in its branch libraries, whereas, it continues operating with the current proprietary system. In addition, it utilizes OSS such as DSpace, GSDL to develop the digital library contents such as past-paper collection, theses collections, and rare materials. Moreover, it provides web-based electronic library services using Joomla (ver2.5.7) content management system. Despite its benefits and extensive utilization, open-source software needs authentication through constitutions, library legislation or standardization, which could be authorized by the UGC Sri Lanka, to have a standardized direction in usage, application policies, and local forums for its growth in Sri Lankan libraries. Further to that, there are apparent requirements for more workshops to help library professionals to learn about utilizing open-source software in the light of growing scope for OSS in the country. REFERENCES Dora, M. & Maharana, B. (2008). Open Source Movement in Indian Libraries: An Analytical Study. In: ETTLISProceedings 2008, International Symposium, New Delhi, India. pp 181189. Kumar, V.V. & Thomas, A. (2009).Eight Things you should know about Open Source Integrated Library Systems.eLiS. Retrieved from:http://eprints.rclis.org/bitstream /10760/13858/1/20.pdf. 115


MacCormack, A. (2003). AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, mimeo. Retrieved from: http://regulation2point0.org/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor /download.php?id=168.

Meng, T. T. (2003). The Case for Open Source: OSS vs. Proprietary Software. Cospa Knowledge Base, 14. The Open Source definition. (2012).Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opensource_software. Ramanan, T. & Ravikumar, M.N. (2012). In Exploitation of Open-Source Software in Library Automation, Digital Library Initiatives and Library Consortium: Possibilities and Problems in University Libraries in Sri Lanka.Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium: future of libraries in digital age, India(pp. 213-220). Tennat, R. (2000). The Role of Open Source Software.Library Journal.Retrieved from: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA156513.html. What is Joomla?.(2012). Retrieved from: http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla.html.

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Bibliometric Study of Ananda Coomaraswamy: With Special Reference to Sri Lankan Libraries R.M. Nadeeka Rathnabahu S.K. Illangarathne Manori Samarakoon ABSTRACT The main objective of the present study is to conduct a bibliometric study of Ananda Coomaraswamy (AC) & his academic work and to develop an online Database Management System (DBMS) which can be accessed via the World Wide Web. Twenty one (21) Sri Lankan libraries were selected as the sample using stratified random sampling technique. Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), WEBOPACs, card catalogues and on-site visits were used to capture all related bibliographical data. The bibliography covers only the books, and the project will be extended to include relevant research articles as well as his art work. The study found that the library of the University of Peradeniya houses maximum number of AC’s scholarly work within Sri Lankan context and other selected libraries archive as much as his published titles as paying special tribute to his mastering contribution to world history. Total number of 86 entries was available in the 21 libraries and 27 entries were published during the years 19261950. Online bibliography of Ananda Coomaraswamy, named “InforSys Ananda Coomaraswamy” helps researchers find bibliographic information via the URLs; http://thakshana.nsf.ac.lk/wwwisis/bisac/form.htm. and http://www.libraryfriends.net/resources/. Keywords: Ananda Coomaraswamy Bibliography, Bibliographical Information System, Publications of Ananda Coomaraswamy, InforSys Ananda Coomaraswamy, WIN ISIS, Web Based Data Base Management Systems, Sri Lankan Libraries

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1. INTRODUCTION According to Murray Fowler (1947), Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) was a Ceylonese philosopher and metaphysician, as well as a pioneering historian and philosopher of Indian arts, particularly arts history and symbolism, and an early interpreter of Indian culture to the West. On the other hand, Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy was one of the great arts historians of the twentieth century, and there are multi-faceted bibliographical contents of Ananda Coomaraswamy (AC) online, offline and as printed forms. Bibliometric is the quantitative study of written products of research. It is assumed that scientific subjects develop at an international research frontier (Price, 1963). Therefore, two main objectives of this study were to conduct a bibliometric study of the AC and developed an online bibliography of his academic work. It is difficult to find bibliographical data of him which can be accessible within the Sri Lankan context. In order to fill this gap, an online Data Base Management System (DBMS) has been created for utilizing bibliographical data of AC’s and to obtain accessible details of them through Sri Lankan libraries. 2. OBJECTIVES Two main objectives of this study was to conducted a bibliometric study of Ananda Coomaraswamy and develop an Online Data Base Management System (DBMS) which can be accessed via the World Wide Web. It will help all researchers as a dynamic searching tool for all documented publications related to the foremost art historian of the 20th Century, Dr.Ananda Coomaraswamy (AC) and his academic and artistic work. 3. POPULATION & SAMPLE Sri Lankan libraries were used as the population of this study and stratified random sampling technique was used to select required libraries. As a result, 13 University libraries, 05 Special Libraries, 01 National Library and 02 Public Libraries were selected as a sample. Because of the time limitation, it was not possible to select all the libraries as the sample. 4. DATA COLLECTION METHOD Observation method was used as the method of primary data collection and secondary sources were also used. Card catalogues, Online Public Access Catalogues and Web Online Public Catalogues, were used to capture the bibliographic data from their official web pages. On-site visits were also used to verify the bibliographic information. The background data of the 118


libraries were also collected from their official web pages, annual reports and directory contacts. 5. MATERIALS & METHODS The library automation application named WinISIS which was developed by the UNESCO was used to create a Database Management System (DBMS) for this purpose. The reasons that we selected this particular software was its sustainability towards virus or malware attacks, facility to create backups, reforming facility of the source code, Boolean and truncation search facilities, expert and guided search facility, and mainly the system package is supplied free of charge etc,. Microsoft excel package was used to analysis bibliometric data. 6. LIMITATIONS The study identified two limitations. This study covers only books, and the project will be extended to cover relevant research articles as well as his artworks in the near future. It was difficult to select all the libraries in Sri Lanka for the study. Time and travel limitations were there. Therefore, we selected several libraries using stratified sample method. 7. RESULTS & DISCUSSION According to the first main objective of this study, bibliometric analysis was done under the entry types, entry locations, distribution year and subjects. Second objective was discussed under the AC’s online bibliography. 7.1 Entry types According to the analysis of data, it was found that the total number of 86 entries were available in twenty one (21) libraries in Sri Lanka. Following Table 1.1 shows the entry types of the AnandaCoomaraswamy’s (AC) academic works. All entries represented books (monographs). Table 1.1: Entry Types Entry Type

Number of entries

Percentage (%)

AC

80

93

Others

06

07

Total

86

100

119


According to Table 1.1, 93% was represented the AC’s bibliographical data and next 7% was represented the AC’s work which were done by others. Following Figure 1.1 describes it further.

Number of entries 7% Ananda Coomaraswamy (AC) Others 93%

Figure 1.1: Entry Types 7.2 Distribution by Location Table1.2: Locations of the Availability Name of Libraries

No of Entries

Budhdha Srawaka Bhiksu University Library (BBU) Buddhist & Pali University Library (BPU) Colombo Public Library (CPL) D.S Public Library, Kandy (DSPBL) Jaffna University Library (JUL) Mahaweli National College (MNC) National Lib. & Doc. Services Board(NLSDB) National Museum Library (NML) Open University Library (OUSLL) Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology Library (PGIARL) Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Library (RJL) Royal Asiatic Society Library(RASL) Sabaragamuwa University Library (SUL) South Eastern University Library (SEUL) University of Colombo Library (UCL) University of Kelaniya Library (UKL) University of Moratuwa Library (UML) University of Peradeniya Library (UPL) University of Ruhuna Library (URUL) University of Sri Jayawardanapra Library (USJPL) 120

22 14 01 01 35 01 28 24 03 28 15 19 09 01 28 33 21 54 30 36


Wayamba University Library (WUL)

02

Table 1.2 shows the locations of the availability of the AnandaCoomaraswamy’s monograph entries. This will be advantageous to Sri Lankan researchers to find out availability of his works without going physically to the library. According to the above Table 1.2, first highest numbers of 54 entries were available in the University of Peradeniya Library. Percentage wise it was 62.79%. Second highest numbers of entries were available in University of Sri Jayawardanapura Library. It represented the 41.86% percentage of the total number of entries. Third highest number of entries was available in the library of the University of Jaffna and it was 40.10%. It is found that the Library of the University of Peradeniya houses maximum number of AC’s scholarly works within Sri Lankan context and other most selected libraries archive his many titles as a special tribute for his master contribution to the world. 7.3 Distribution by Year Table 1.3 shows the years and number of items available with related to AC’s monograph entries. Table 1.3:Distributions by Year Year 1904-1925 1926-1950 1951-1975 1976-2000 2001-2008

No of Entries 26 27 7 23 3

According to the above Table 1.3, First highest 27 number of entries were published during the years of 1926-1950. Second highest 26 numbers of entries and third highest 23 number of entries were published during the years of 1904-1925 and 1976-2000 respectively. 7.4 Distribution by the Subject Table 1.4 shows the subject availability of the Ananda Coomaraswamy’s monograph entries. According to that, highest number of entries represented the Arts subject. Entry wise it was 34. Sociology is the second highest available subject within the sample. But there was a big gap between these subjects. Hence, Ananda Coomaraswamy has written the majority of books under the Arts discipline. Other than those areas he has written books on Archeology,

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Architecture, Buddhism, and Fine Arts, Eschatology, Hinduism, Geology, Iconography, Mineralogy and Philosophy. Table 1.4: Subjects Availability Subjects Archeology Aesthetics arts Architecture Arts Buddhism Fine arts Eschatology Hinduism Geology Iconography Mineralogy Museology Philosophy Religion Sociology

No of Entries 05 03 05 34 05 04 01 03 02 01 02 02 04 05 10

8. ONLINE BIOGRAPHY OF AC Bibliography of AnadaCoomaraswamy is an Online Bibliographical Information System of AnandaCoomaraswamy’s scholarly works and this is named as an “InforSysAnandaCoomaraswamy”. Picture1.1 shows the official logo of the bibliography.

Figure 1.1: Official Logo of the Online Bibliography Collected data was fed into the master file named “BISAC” using two worksheets named “Book” and “Lib”. The display formats arranged according to the International Standard Book Description (ISBD) .There were two interfaces and named as an online and offline. Online interface was created using GenISIS Data Base, while offline interface was created using CDS/ISIS for Windows (WinISIS). Both applications were introduced and updated by UNESCO and provided downloading facility free of charge to the libraries and similar organizations specially located in the Developing Countries. Screen shots of offline and online bibliography 122


can be seen bellow.

Figure 1.2: WinISIS Interface

Figure 1.3: GenISIS Online Interface

This “InforSys Ananda Coomaraswamy” bibliography is hosted by the Sri Lanka National Science Foundation (NSF) in its official server. This powerful Online Searching Interface provides comprehensive bibliographical information of the project as well as their accessibility information about his scholarly works (Books) within Sri Lankan Library Context. InforSys AC is compatible both with the Boolean and truncation searching modes and users can retrieve information via Keywords, Titles, Accessible Libraries or publishing years of the work etc. 8.1Bibliographic Data Covered by InforSys AC  Bibliographical data of books authored by AC or edited by contemporaries can be seen at the academic, special and public libraries including the National Library of SL  Publishing Data of above works.  Pagination, ISBN and Republishing Data of above works.  Names of the Libraries (Through the CODE) which can be accessible to those books within Sri Lankan Library Context. (It covers at least one or more library for each province of SL) 

Relative Keywords help to retrieve the appropriate work.

Therefore, this bibliography shows title of the book, sub title, authors of the work, publishing data as well as pagination clearly and consequently with the code of accessible library list. This bibliography covered following details.

123


8.2 Screen Shots of Bibliographic Details

Figure 1.4: Searching Online Database

Figure 1.5: Result of the Searching 9. FINDINGS Total number of 86 entries were available in twenty one (21) libraries and it covered a large geographical area in Sri Lanka.

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It is found that the Library of the University of Peradeniya houses maximum number of AC’s scholarly works (54 entries) within Sri Lankan context and other selected libraries archive his many titles as paying special tribute for his master contribution to the world. Percentage wise it was 62.79%, 41.86% and 40.10%. These highest entries were available in Peradeniya, Sri Jayawardanapura and University of Jaffna libraries respectively. According to the analysis ,93% was represented the AC’s bibliographical data and next 7% was represented the AC’s work which were done by others. Majority of 34 number of entries represented the Arts subject. In addition to that, Archeology, Architecture, Buddhism, and Fine Arts, Eschatology, Hinduism, Geology, Iconography, Mineralogy and Philosophy etc., different subjects also were represented. Limited number of books translated in to Sinhala language. This Online Bibliography can be used as a powerful online searching interface which provides comprehensive bibliographical information on the subject. Researchers can find the bibliographic information via fallowing URLs http://thakshana.nsf.ac.lk/wwwisis/bisac/form.htm /http://www.libraryfriends.net/resources/ 10. FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS This bibliography covers only books, and the project will be extended to relevant research articles as well as his art works. 11. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Prof. Anura Manatunga for encouraging authors to do this type of research project, Prof. Piyadasa Ranasinghe, Prof. W.A.Weerasooriya, and Mr.J.A.Amaraweera from Dept. of LIS, University of Kelaniya and Dr.Ruwan Gamage, NILIS for their valuable guidance and instructions given us in the process of development of the system. Academic staff members of our Institutes (RUSL, PGIAR & BPUSL) are gratefully mentioned here for their supportive views to develop this system. Librarians and their staff are acknowledged for their assistance to us to collect primary data for the sample. National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka (NSF) is specially acknowledged with gratitude for sponsoring the hosting of the database and the system in their official web site. Many others, who our family members, colleagues and AC followers, are appreciated for every encouragement given us to develop this information system.

REFERENCES

125


Ananda K. Coomaraswamy : bibliography/index (1998).

R.P. Coomaraswamy (ed.),

Tweedmouth :Prologos, viii, 64p.; 21 cm. Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy : a working bibliography [19--]. Rama P. Coomaraswamy (ed) , New Delhi : Lalit Kala Akademi. Crouch, A.K (2002). A Bibliography of Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, New Delhi : James Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. Fowler,Murray (1947). In Memoriam: Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, ArtibusAsiae, Vol. 10, No. 3 , pp. 241-244 Price, D.S. (1963). Little science, big science. New York: Columbia University Press.

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The Change Management in the Information Age: Approaches of Academic Library Administrators in University Libraries in Pakistan Sidra Shan Assistant Librarian International Islamic University, Islamabad Maqsood Ahmad Shaheen Reference &Research Specialist U.S. Embassy, Islamabad 1. INTRODUCTION Change is critical factor for development in any field of life as it minimizes the risks to diminish and optimizes the opportunities to survive. Change management is an approach to get into desired state from existing situation. As libraries have been facing internal and external change pressure from many years and now it has become vital to adopt changes for the survival of its identity. Academic excellence cannot be achieved by ignoring the libraries and educational institutions. For this purpose strategic vision and strong leadership is required to bring change. This is why we have selected top management as a sample of the study. A strong and positive leadership is also essential to influence and motivate people to achieve organizational objectives as well as to create, admit and carry out the shared vision. The objective of this research is to identify the response of library leaders towards understanding of change management, the resistance factors, approaches, potential successes and challenges in the implementation process of change management. The study on the change management process would include the areas of information communication technology, reference & research services, performance management, virtual libraries, organizational structure and human resource management. The study involves the supervisors of fifteen public sector university libraries of Islamabad (capital of Pakistan) and Rawalpindi region as a sample and data was gathered by a questionnaire, based on quantitative research method. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Managing change is vital for the survival and development of any organization. Change is a transition of current state to desired state and management of that transition stage is called management of change. SHRM glossary of human resource terms defined change management as “change management means defining and adopting corporate strategies, structures, 127


procedures and technologies to deal with changes in external conditions and the business environment.” Change has to be dealt on both levels, individual and organizational and management of change process includes the detection of change, planning towards change, communication of change through defining new values, behavior skills required to bring change, agreement of all stake holders to avoid resistance to change, implementation and controlling of process. The swift pace of internal and external environmental change pressure not only impacts the individuals, governments, economies, education, businesses but also libraries to redesign and redefine their activities while forecasting the future trends. Libraries’ adaptation towards change is also required for the existence of them. Ameen (2011) states that if libraries may further lose their already neglected status unless they devise better offerings for their communities than mere collectors and organizers of information resources.” Siddiqui (2003) expressed his views that the amount, diversity and speed of information available through state-of –the-art technological developments have forced academic libraries to change the mode of library services and operations for the benefit of library users. Among many forces of change, advancement in information technology (IT) has greatly impacted academic libraries of Pakistan. Now academic libraries are reframing their organizational structure, roles and responsibilities, competencies required for staff, services and collections. Change in information seeking behavior also force libraries to reorganize their units like reference, cataloging, acquisition and circulation comprising the activities of automation, digitization, RDA, content management system (CMS), online purchasing, and virtual reference & research services to satisfy their students’ and faculty members’ informational needs. Besides using advanced information tools, and soft wares, academic libraries also needed the skilled human resource to provide satisfactory services. Malhan (2006) said that “because of globalization, growing competition in the higher education sector and external pressure of market forces, the universities are undergoing change to stay current and competitive in their areas of operation.” Further he explains that skilled library personnel are equally important in current information environment and increasingly changing work requirement. Honea also expresses the importance of specialized knowledge increasing responsiveness to the environment and effectiveness in coping with change. “The library culture is moving rapidly toward values of specific knowledge and expertise in the work force and general knowledge in its leaders.”(Honea 1997)

128


Academic libraries leadership and change management goes side by side to create balance between coping with change and achieving organization goals. Strong and visionary leadership translate the vision, mission and objective of organization into planned activities that caused improved organizational performance. “Positive leadership focuses on social inﬂuence— inﬂuencing others to attain group, organizational, and societal goals. The purpose is to motivate people to develop, accept, and carry out a shared vision”. Hernon and Schwartz (2008) “Institutions of higher education are characterized by one quite distinctive trait, they place a much higher emphasis on the correlation of power with expertise (education) than with hierarchical position”(Honea). Gill (2003, p. 307) describes the relationship between change and leadership: “While change must be well managed—it must be planned, organized, directed and controlled—it also requires effective leadership to introduce change successfully. It is leadership that makes the difference”. Islamabad and Rawalpindi public sector university library heads have great opportunities to negotiate, pursue and get approval of implementing new ideas and new technologies. Conversely they are facing problems from universities’ authorities and subordinates in process of implementing new ideas and technology. What they need is consensus and cooperation from all stakeholders considering the factors of resistance and fear towards change. Perception, fear, trust (or lack thereof), and other internal human factors may multiply in the organizational setting to create generalized reactions to the unfamiliar or to change that is inconsistent with the prevailing culture, personal influence and autonomy (Stephens & Russell, 2006). Harding (2001) also focuses his research on the successful development and implementation of a change management program and strategic planning initiatives in an organization, sufficient support from all areas of the organization, Public Services, Human Resources, Marketing, Development and Communication Systems, and of course Finance. Change in Islamabad and Rawalpindi academic libraries is accruing more quickly because the acclimatization of new information technologies is much higher compared to any other types of libraries. In these libraries change not only includes the information technology, resources and services, culture and values but also strategic planning, decision making, translating vision into achievable targets and operations and evaluation. In theses academic libraries, heads are working in bureaucratic structural organizations where centralized decision making and strict hierarchy encourages standards and dogmatic rules while discouraging creativity and innovation as well. Nevertheless public sector library heads emphasize on continuing education

129


and on training & development of their staff that can produce a positive impact on operations and overall performance of libraries. 3. METHODOLOGY A questionnaire was developed to know about Islamabad and Rawalpindi public sector universities library heads’ understanding towards change management, their approaches to cope with change and factors affecting their efforts to manage change. Approaches used to cope with change are categorized as dependent variable. Approaches can be changing job descriptions, focusing on human relations, use of power and authority and use of examples/case studies to manage change. Library heads education and their respective professional experience including the experience of being head librarians have been taken as an independent variable in this study. The questionnaire comprises 19 questions that cover the areas of organizational information, library heads perception about change management, how change is administered and adoption of different approaches to manage different types of change by library heads. The web based questionnaire using online survey management service “Datagle” (http://www.datagle.com) was sent to fifteen library heads. Ten library heads completed the questionnaire successfully, four didn’t respond while one library head refused to provide feedback due to sensitivity of organizational information. 3.1 Significance of the Study The result of this study reveals the understanding, behavior and response of library leaders towards change management. It is useful to see their preferred approaches to manage different types of changes (planned, unplanned etc). This study also gives insight to the time and efforts library leaders put into change management and how they are accepting new strategies in the field of information technology. Lastly the result of this study consented to library heads to review their different options, analyze the credence of these options and better understanding of factors impacting on their approaches to manage change. 3.2 Sample Size Public sector universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were chosen for this study. Fifteen University libraries were sent questionnaire. The data about universities were taken from higher education commission Pakistan website and particulars of library heads were collected from each university website. 130


4. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION All the 10 respondents were male. The results show gender imbalance at top positions in the academic libraries of Islamabad/Rawalpindi. Table 1: Gender of Respondents Gender % Count Male 100 10 Female 0 0 Majority of the respondents (60%) were of age 50 to 59. Only one respondent was above 60 year old. The results reveal that majority of respondents are near their retirement in the library science profession. Table 2: Age of Respondents Age % Count 30-34 10 1 35-39 10 1 40-44 10 1 45-49 0 0 50-54 30 3 55-59 30 3 Over 60 10 1 Fifty percent (50%) of the respondents had dual degree other than library Science, while 25% of the respondent have only MLIS degree (no other subject degree). 25% have other qualifications like diplomas in computer science and certificate courses in information technology. No respondent had advanced degree in library and information science, e.g. Mphil or Ph.D degree. The results reveal that no respondent had qualifications in management sciences, e.g. MBA. Table 3: Qualification of Respondents Qualification % Masters degree other than 50 library science MLIS 50 Other (Please specify) 0 Mphil/MS 0 PhD 0

Count 5 5 0 0 0 131


Respondent position titles were recorded as; 60% of the respondents were chief/head/senior librarians while 30% were librarians/documentation officer and one was a Chief Librarian. Table 4: Respondents’ Position in Administrative Hierarchy Variable % Count Chief/Head/Senior Librarian 60 6 Librarian/Documentation officer 30 3 Dean/Director 0 0 Deputy Director 0 0 Other (Please specify) 10 1 Majority (50%) of the respondents had 1-3 years experience in current position while twenty per cent had 4-6 years experience in current position. Response to question for years of all directorship/headship experience varied as 30% of respondents said they had total 1-3 year directorship experience. Twenty percent said 4-6 and 7-9 years respectively. Significantly twenty percent said they had over 22 years experience in respective role. 30% of respondent said that they were involved in librarianship profession between 13-18 years while 20% percent responded that they were in profession between 1-6 and 19-24 years. The results revealed that majority of the respondents were new at top management position of their library and are still early learners of management skills. Table 6: Number of Years at Present Position Rank % Count 1 to 3 50 5 4 to 6 20 2 7 to 9 10 1 13 to 15 10 1 10 to 12 0 0 Over 15 10 1 Respondent were asked to select activities that they adopted to cope with change. This question was designed to know about library heads’ perception and understanding towards change management. Majority (25%) of respondent considered redesigning process, system, tools and job responsibilities are core element of change management process while 21% thought that awareness of need analysis is important activity. 17% also selected the need of starting new projects and importance of human relations. Only 4% respondents consider personal development in change management process. 132


Table 7: Number of Years as Library Administrator Years % Count 1-3 30 3 7-9 20 2 4-6 20 2 10-12 10 1 13-15 0 0 16-18 0 0 19-21 0 0 Over 22 20 2 Table 8: Number of Years Involved in all Library Services Years

%

Count

1 to 6 7 to 12 13-18 19-24 25-30 37-42 31-36 Over 43

20 10 30 20 10 10 0 0

2 1 3 2 1 1 0 0

Table 9: Activities Related to Change Management Process Statement Redesigning processes, systems, tools, job roles, organization structures Awareness of the need for change Starting new projects and initiatives Building consensus among users, staff and authorities on specific change Minimizing resistance to organizational change through involvement of all stakeholders Change in Individuals Reinforcement to sustain the change

133

%

Count

25

6

21 17

5 4

17

4

13

3

4.2 4.2

1 1


Seventy percent respondents said that they manage planned change in which they gradually put efforts to make change in system and work while 30% respondents said that they also have to face unplanned change as well. Respondents were asked to choose the approaches they most often used in dealing with change. Forty four per cent said that they always realigned the job description and responsibilities, 40% said that they often trained their staff to meet the change requirements, 50% often used authority to control the situation, 55% always encouraged staff participation and 60% respondent communicated with upper management to meet the challenges of change forces. Table 10: Change Management Approaches Library Heads Adopt Statement Never Occasionally Sometimes I realigned the roles, 0.0% 33.3% 0.0% duties and/or (0) (3) (0) relationships of staff. I provide training and 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% support for people (0) (1) (2) I helped resolve conflicts, negotiated compromises 0.0% 10.0% 10.0% and /or helped to form (0) (1) (1) coalitions I told many stories, shared many social events, and 0.0% 11.1% 44.4% /or used a variety of (0) (1) (4) rituals with staff I used many task forces or 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% project teams (0) (1) (2) I promoted staff 0.0% 0.0% 11.1% participation and (0) (0) (1) involvement. I communicated with top level management 0.0% 10.0% 10.0% concerning change (0) (1) (1) initiative or projects.

Often

Always

22.2% (2)

44.4% (4)

40.0% (4)

30.0% (3)

50.0% (5)

30.0% (3)

44.4% (4)

0.0% (0)

70.0% (7)

0.0% (0)

33.3% (3)

55.6% (5)

20.0% (2)

60.0% (6)

Library heads were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of change management. In response 37.50% said that they visited library sections to see the improvement while the same 134


percentage of respondent said that they asked for user feedback. Only six percent have formulated any committee to check the change management process. Table 11: Procedure the Respondents’ Adopt to Assess Effectiveness of Change Management Statement % Count I visit all departments related to the implementation of large-scale change to observe whether anticipated improvements have been made.

37.5

6

I assess the effectiveness of change projects or programs by interviewing library users.

37.5

6

18.8

3

6.2

1

I conduct an assessment survey to examine if the implementation of change has attained specific goals and objectives. I establish an evaluation committee to assess implementation of change.

Library heads were asked to give their view on authorities’ support in change management process. Among all only 33% strongly agreed that their authorities support change initiatives while 22% strongly disagreed with this statement, while 44% respondents said that there are sufficient funds to run activities and programs while 11% respondents strongly disagreed with this statement. Table 12: University Support and Availability of Funds Strongly Statement Disagree Neutral disagree University presidents, rector or vice-chancellors 22.2% 11.1% 0.0% like and support library (2) (1) (0) change initiatives or programs. There are adequate university support funds 11.1% 22.2% 22.2% for library change (1) (2) (2) initiatives or programs in resources and services.

135

Agree

Strongly agree

33.3% (3)

33.3% (3)

44.4% (4)

0.0% (0)


Academic library heads spent most of their time in managing resources and services. This is true in academic libraries as they have to change their collections and mode of services according to need of students. 50% percent of respondents spent their time in supervising the activities of their subordinates and assigning and synchronizing the resources for explicit projects. Table 13: Time and Effort on Different Tasks to Support Effective Implementation of Change Management on a LikertScale Statement Least Little Moderate Much Most Managing changes in resources, services and administration. Creating a clear long-range vision and direction for change project. Presenting and explaining the needs of library changes to university administrators. Maintaining contacts with university administrations.

0.0% (0)

0.0% (0)

20.0% (2)

60.0% (6)

20.0% (2)

0.0% (0)

10.0% (1)

20.0% (2)

50.0% (5)

20.0% (2)

0.0% (0)

0.0% (0)

40.0% (4)

30.0% (3)

30.0% (3)

0.0% (0)

0.0% (0)

30.0% (3)

30.0% (3)

40.0% (4)

Supervising subordinates work during the change process. Allocating and coordinating resources for specific change tasks.

0.0% (0)

0.0% (0)

20.0% (2)

30.0% (3)

50.0% (5)

0.0% (0)

0.0% (0)

50.0% (5)

40.0% (4)

10.0% (1)

All academic libraries’ heads paid attention to development of their human resource while 50% of respondents opt for decentralization of power where they distributed decision making power to their subordinates for the completion of tasks. 100% responses have been received in regard to upgrading technologies and facilities. It is not strange because academic environment is very diverse and evolving, demand for quicker adoptability is much higher compared to other libraries. In Pakistan University libraries are in a transition stage, they are in the process of full or partial automation. Surveyed libraries are developing modern resources, upgrading their computer labs and using different software to digitize their collections. Library departmentalization is also reframed, reference services are not limited to physical users, virtual reference and research services, shared cataloging, online acquisition of material, audio video material, digitization and use of online databases played a great role in changing framework of library core sections. 136


Information technology revolution also demands change in budget and policies to formulate adequate up-to-date collection; services and skills needed to provide services; local and international cooperation to attract more users and meet ever-changing requirements of them. Table 14: The Changes Respondents Brought to their Respective Libraries Regarding Change Management Statement Yes No 100% 0% Development of staff’s new skills. (10) (0) 50% 50% Decentralization of power in library administration. (5) (5) Reorganization of specific units such as reference cataloging, and acquisition. Upgrading technologies and facilities. Budget adjustments. Policies

88.9% (8)

11% (1)

100% (10) 70% (7) 60% (6)

0% (0) 30% (3) 40% (4)

Increasingly transforming, demanding and dynamic environments forced librarians to develop their technical, human and conceptual skills to better perform at the workplace and satisfy their library users. All respondents showed great interest in devolving human resource to deal with change. It is pertinent to mention that in this study we surveyed public sector universities where the administration follows a strict hierarchy, centralization of power, clear chain of command. So it is an encouraging aspect that library heads are taking feedback from their subordinates and involving them in the decision making process. Among all, 80% of respondents used decentralization to manage the change. By commencing this activity heads became more flexible and responsive towards changes accruing in internal external environment and moreover they could seek better understanding, cooperation and motivation towards solving problems.

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Table 15: Respondent’s Approaches to Manage the Change in their Respective Libraries Statement Yes No N/A I manage change by developing employees’ new skills.

100% (10)

0% (0)

0% (0)

I mange change through the decentralization of power

80% (8)

20% (2)

0% (0)

I manage change by redefining the meaning of work in high-technology environments.

80% (8)

0% (0)

20% (2)

Respondents of survey categorized information technology, library resources, policies and human resource development equally important for potential change while library facilities remained as top priority. Meanwhile budgeting and library collection is inadequate for change according to 20% of respondent. Table 16: Library Sections Where the Respondents’ Most Likely Implemented the Change Statement Yes No 90% 10% Information technology (9) (1) 90% 10% Technical services (9) (1) 90% 10% Library resources (9) (1) 66.7% 33.3% Public services (6) (3) 80% 20% Library collections (8) (2) 90% 10% Library personnel (9) (1) 100% 0% Library facilities (10) (0) 80% 20% Budgeting (8) (2) 90% 10% Policies (9) (1)

138


5. FINDINGS 1. Most library head positions are occupied by males as in our sample size all of the respondents were found to be male leaders. 2. Most library heads have dual degrees other than library science and they have sufficient experience of directorship/headship in their respective field. 3. Understanding towards change management is very low among library leaders as most of them didn’t give importance to factors like personal development, starting new projects, creating consensus among all stakeholders, minimizing resistance towards change and reinforcement of sustainable change. 4. Most respondents said that they managed planned change but results also found that they didn’t formulate any committee to manage change. 5. Library heads most of the time adopts the approach of resolving conflicts and negotiation of compromises using autocracy to manage change whereas realignment of roles and responsibilities is also a famous approach to manage change. They also encouraged staff participation and motivated their subordinates by telling stories, quoting examples and sharing social events. 6. Most library heads have support from university authorities to initiate programs to cope with change while some academic libraries are facing financial crises to initiate programs, upgrade resources or services to meet change requirements. 7. Library heads spent most of their time on supervising subordinates, creating vision for change project, managing change in resource services and administration with less time on allocating and coordinating resources for specific change tasks. 8. Most library heads witnessed changes in development of staff’s new skills, upgrading technologies and facilities. 9. Most library heads gave importance to development of human resource and decentralization of power to manage change in Information technology. 6. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 1. In this study data was collected from public sector universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi region. Accordingly result of this study cannot be generalized to private sector universities and other institutional and college libraries. 2. The study was entirely dependent on the response of academic libraries’ heads. Their willingness to respond accurately was not in the researcher’s control. 3. Response or views of library heads may differ from other librarians (not on top managerial position) in terms of managing change.

139


4. Lack of understanding or misconception and personal bias might influence results as the data has been collected from senior level management so it is quite possible they wanted to give a good impression about their leadership and their assumed approaches towards change management. 7. FUTURE RESEARCH Research can be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of change management process.Other library staff apart from library heads should be analyzed to know their perception about change management. Private sector libraries’ trend towards change management is also a potential research area or the research can be done on the comparison of both sectors.

REFERENCES Ameen, K. (Summer, 2006). Challenges of Preparing LIS Professionals for Leadership Roles in Pakistan. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science , Vol. 47 (No. 3), 200-217 . Harding, P. (2001 ). Planning and Change Management: A Strategic Partnership. Public Library Quarterly , Vol. 20 (Iss. 2), 3-16. Stephens, D & Russell, K (Summer 2004). Organizational Development, Leadership, Change,. LIBRARY TRENDS , Vol. 53 (No. 1), 238–257. Siddiqui, M. A. (2003). Management for change in acquisitions in academic libraries. Electronic Library ,Vol. 21 (No.4), 352 - 357. Hernon, P &Schwarts, C (2008). Leadership: Developing a research agenda for academic libraries. Library & Information Science Research , Vol. 30, 243–249. Ameen, K. (2011). Changing scenario of librarianship in Pakistan: managing with the challenges and opportunities. Library Management , Vol. 32 (Iss: 3), 171 - 182. Honea, S. M. (May 1997,). Transformingadministration in academiclibraries. The Journal of Academic Librarianship , Vol. 23 (Issue 3), 183–190. Gill, R (2003). Change management—Or change leadership? Journal of Change Management , Vol. 3 (4), 307–318. Malhan, I. (2006). Developing corporate culture in the Indian university libraries: Problems and challenges of change management. Library Management , Vol. 27 (Iss: 6/7), 486 - 493. 140


Society for Human Resource Management. (2012). Retrieved 2012, from http://www.shrm.org Robbins, S. P and Coutler, M. (2005). Management.Newyork: Prentice hall.

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Exploring Continuing Professional Development for LIS Professionalsin Higher Educational Institutions Dr. Mukut Sarmah Assistant Professor Department of Library and Information Science Assam University, INDIA E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Library and information professionalsin the higher educational institutions around the world are faced with the constant challenge of remaining abreast of developments in their field. Significant changes and developments in information communication technologies threaten to make the librarians’ skills obsolete unless they undertake constant professional development. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of continuing professional development and challenges before those who manage and work in library and information centres in higher educational institutions. Keywords: Continuing Professional Development, Self Learning, Skills, CPD Plan, Higher Educational Institutions 1. INTRODUCTION The training and development for information professionals has been accepted as important issues for providing better service to the user community in the rapidly changing digital era. Like other professionals, the information professionals also believe that "training is a priority". It is no longer possible to do all the learning at the start of individual’s career and then spend the rest of his working life using what he has learned. The sell-by datefor professional learning is getting shorter and shorter. Exploring CPD assists information professionals of colleges, universities and other higher educational institutions that in reviewing a path to a more fulfilling career and a more exciting life. For libraries it is the means of supporting staffin their development and keeping fresh their knowledge, skill and engagement with work. LIS professionals’ competencies and knowledge need frequent review and development.Successful professional review and development brings about practical improvements in the libraries and directly benefits users by raising the quality of their services. It is therefore a crucial part of the quality improvement process which benefits the whole of the library and information 142


service.Professional review offers an opportunity for recognizing good performance and making clear to librarians that they are valued and appreciated. As with other activities, there is a need for college and university authorities to evaluate the outcomes of the professional review and development process to ensure that it is effective in improving the service of the library. 2. WHAT DOES CPD ACTUALLY MEAN? Continuing Professional Development or CPD is a process by which individuals take control of their own learning and development, by engaging in an on-going process of reflection and action. This process is empowering and exciting and can stimulate people to achieve their aspirations and move towards their dreams (Megginson and Whitaker, 2007).CPD ensures that professions remain up-to-date in a changing world. CILIP explains that “CPD is the planned and systematic updating of professional knowledge and improvement of personal competence throughout the individuals life”.Wikipaediadiscusses CPD as the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives. Thus CPD is a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help individual manage his / her own learning and growth. Wherever the individual is in his career now and whatever he would like to achieve in the future, the process will help him to identify and acquire the skills and experience he needs to realize his goals. 3. THE NEED FOR CPD The need for CPD arises because security for individuals no longer lies in the job or organisation where they work for but in the skills, knowledge and experience that they have within themselves. Tamkin et al. (1995) highlights CPD as a major intervention that individuals can make into their own development. It challenges individuals to make timefor regular personal reflection and review. It reminds individuals that they have the responsibility for developing themselves. CPD is;    

for everyone not just the ambitious and young; about personal satisfaction as much as professionalism and making full use of ones abilities at whatever level you choose; about making conscious decisions to update professional knowledge and improve professional competence throughout your life; a commitment to being and staying professional, keeping up to date and continuously seeking to improve.

4. THE BENEFITS OF CPD FOR INDIVIDUALS AND EMPLOYERS 143


Continuing professional development has benefits for the individual and the employer.Sadler Smith et al. (2000) found that the three main benefits of CPD for individuals. These are: updating (maintenance), competence (survival) and enhanced mobility. Following are some of the individual benefits:  Planning and recording individual’s CPD is essentially an investment that he makes in himself;  By engaging in CPD individual can develop his professional skills and boost his confidence. Enhanced professional performance will also prepare him for greater responsibilities and accelerate his career prospects.  CPD allows him to become a more effective, independent and directed self-learner. Through reflective self-assessment and learning he will gain a clear idea of his strengths and areas for self-development.  Keeping a clear CPD record will greatly enhance individual’s CV and enable him to showcase his achievements. He will also be able to confidently discuss these skills and abilities at appraisals or with future employers.  CPD makes individual’s work life much more interesting and can significantly increase his job satisfaction.  Increases self-esteem by looking back on your record of achievements boosts confidence.  Potential financial reward as evidence of CPD could support a claim for promotion.  Employers are increasingly concerned that employees undertake CPD, because it contributes to staff keeping their skills, knowledge and experience up to date. Many employers like staff to take responsibility for their own development and CPD provides it. For some organisations in highly competitive sectors, CPD is a means of retaining staff. (Megginson and Whitaker, 2007). 5. ACTIVITIES INVOLVED IN CPD CILIP discusses that CPD encompasses all kinds of learning - both formal (training courses) and informal (e.g. meetings; learning at work). Individual can do CPD anytime anywhere and it doesn’t have to cost money. Activities that constitute CPD are wide ranging and diverse:  Learning on the job (workplace)  Learning off the job (outside the workplace)  Reflective Practice  Research and Reading  Formal Structured learning e.g Qualifications  Networking  Contributing to the profession 144


  

Learning from Colleagues Teaching and training others Learning a skill e.g. IT; management; cataloguing

Library Association of Singapore has categorized 3 types of professional development activities that they need to engage:

Figure 1: Categories of PD Activities Fe Angela M. Verzosa mentioned following learning Activities: Keeping current with new developments, issues, and gaining expertise and more knowledge / skills by:  Attending formal courses or distance-learning programmes, tutorials, etc.  Independent self study  Reading professional literature in print or online such as e-newsletters, web-based resources (magazines, journals, full-text articles);  Job rotation  Attending professional conferences, especially those sponsored by library associations, publishing groups, or academic societies related to your work or subject specialisation;  Joining sponsored training sessions on additional skills;  Monitoring new developments in the field by joining appropriate list-servs, e-discussion groups, and networking; 6. MODELS OF CPD Continuing professional development, CPD, staff training, ongoing learning, P.D., capacity building, up-skilling, work development; these are just some of the many terms that are used to label what is essentially a process of making sure that people in the workforce remain up-todate and on top of their game. Continuing professional development implies making available a suite of ways and means for ensuring that people within organizations learn how to perform together both effectively and harmoniously.There are different models of CPD and following is one of them. 145

NILIS Symposium 2012, 22-23 Nov 2012 Reflection on Practice (What do I need to know / be able to do?) Evaluation (Reflection on learning)

Planning

What I have learned?

(How can I learn?)

How is it benefiting my practice? Action (Implemention)

Source: www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/pharmacy/cpd/ Figure 2: Four Staged Model of CPD The second model is more detailed but fundamentally it traverses the same interrelated staircases –viz– articulating professional development goals, identifying learning and development needs, planning strategies for further and ongoing development, appraising performances, reviewing progress, and so on.

Source: 146information.net/ir/12-4/colis/colisp06.html Figure 3: Spiral Model of CPD 7. CORE CPD CYCLE: Professionals’ CPD, to be effective, should be planned, executed, evaluated, and reflected upon. Figure below presents the core CPD cycle and its activities in four different stages: Plan the activities: These should be realistic within the context of individual’s personal and professional goals (taking into account those of individual’s employer) and should include SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results oriented &Timely) objective setting.

146


Figure 4: CPD Cycle Execute and record activities: Carry out the activities individual has planned and monitor the progress of achieving his objectives against that plan. Record the outcomes: Once he has completed his activities, identifies the results and the achievements and records them. Identifies benefit to him as an individual and to his employer. Reflect on experience: Once he has been able to put what he has learnt into practice (which may be after a few weeks or even a few months), looks back at the experience as a whole; 147 identifies learning points both positive and negative to help prepare the next cycle. One’s personal development is unique to him, so it is important to plan and monitor own CPD. Planning one’s CPD will ensure that time doesn’t just go by without him getting the development he needs. Over time, his career aspirations may change and his career direction may change, so he will need to modify his development plans to reflect those changes. 8. HOW TO GET INFORMED How does a LIS professional / staff finds out what external training is available is important to know. Following are some of them:  Direct mailing from training providers;  CILIP calendar of events;  E-mail list;  Specific web sites & RSS feeds;  Searching on the Internet. LIS professionals use a range of sources to find out about available training events. Directmailings by e-mail or post by LIS forums are the most used sources. Organisation like INFLIBNET, DELNET, NISCAIR, DRTC, NCSI etc. provide information on training programmes through their sites or mails to individuals. CILIPtraining courses / calendar of events available on the CILIP website is also another source. 147


Source: http://www.cilip.org.uk/jobs-careers/training/pages/default.aspx Figure 5: CILIP’s Web Page Showing Training Courses Here, mention may be made that the Professional Development Scheme (PDS) of Library Association of Singapore recognizes the effort and achievements of librarians in their continuous professional training and development effort. They advertise this through their website. The award of “Practicing Professional (PP)” is given to librarians who have attained a prescribed level of training and professional development activities. LASconfers the award to individuals on the recommendation of the PDS Board. 9. TOOLS FOR RECORDING CPD There are many tools that can be used to record continuing professional development and following are some tools which can be recommended.

148


Independent Blogs (Eg. blogger.com)

Research Works (Eg., mendeley.com)

Independent Wikis (Eg., pbwiki.com

Tools for Recording CPD Virtual Learning Environment (Eg., blackboard.com)

Independent Portfolio tools (Eg., wetpaint.com)

Staff Portal (Blogs in sharepoint)

Figure 6: Tools of Recoding CPD Many of the tools suggested in this diagram cross over each other, for example, Blackboard contains Wikis and Blogs already built into each module and independent blogs/wikis can also be integrated into Blackboard modules.There is no right or wrong tool, just the tool that professionals find easy to use and suitable for their needs. Professional may need to try a couple of tools before find the right one for him. 10. CONCLUSION Library and information professionals who embrace CPD appear to be more engaged, engag less stressed, more interested in new opportunities and open to working with new colleagues. CPD can bring excitement and change into individual’s performance. CPD is not a panacea; itis a natural process – we are always changing and growing. LIS profe professionals ssionals in higher educational 149


institutions frequently do not consider going beyond, experimenting with new ways of being and doing, creating a unique path. CPD should remind them of the need not only to dream their future but also to take active steps to create their dream in reality. The information professionals may feel that lack of funding impose constraints to meet most of their training needs but it cannot stop them to get trained and up-to-date.Willingness to be skilled, competent, up-to-date are the only things which required. REFERENCES Best

practices professional development for librarians. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/verzosaf/best-practices-professional-development-forlibrarians

Cheong, F. Continuing Professional Development. Retrieved from http://www.las.org.sg/pdspresentation.pdf Continuing professional development.Retrieved careers/training/cpd/pages/default.aspx

from

http://www.cilip.org.uk/jobs-

Gibb, S. &Megginson, D. (1999) Employee development in Commercial & General Union. In Redman, T. &Wilkinson, A. (Eds).Contemporary human resource management: text and cases. Harlow: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall. Handy, C. (1994).The empty raincoat: making sense of the future. London: Hutchinson. Industrial relations services.(1998).Learning strategies. London: IRS. Jackson, R. &Mckergow, M. (2002).The solutions focus; the simple way to positive change. London: Nicholas Brealy. Jobs-careers.Retrieved fromhttp://www.cilip.org.uk/jobs-careers/training/pages/default.aspx Library

Association of Singapore.CPD https://sites.google.com/site/laspds09/Home.

Scheme.Retrieved

from

Megginson, D. & Whitaker, V.(2007).A free sample from continuing professional nd

development(2 Ed.).Retrieved from:http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/82D1068E95E3-42B2-8314-71BDA4631298/0/9781843981664sc.pdf. 150


Rothwell, A. &Arnold, J. (2005). How HR professionals rate continuing professional development. Human Resource Management Journal, 15(3), 18–32 Tamkin et al. (1995).Exploring continuing professional development – chartered. Retrieved form:www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/82D1068E.../9781843981664sc.pdf.

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Undergraduate Students’ Preferences for Print and Electronic Information Resources N.D. Peiris Senior Assistant Librarian University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. [email protected]

ABSTRACT The availability of both printed and electronic information resources in academic libraries offer almost unlimited access to users for their information needs. The arrival and proliferation of electronic information resources and digital libraries have influence and changed the way of using print resources and it has also sparked new wave on the preference of print and electronic information resources. A survey concerning the undergraduate students’ preferences for print and electronic information resources was conducted in University of Peradeniya.Population in this study were undergraduate students who study in 08 different faculties; Arts, Agriculture, Medical, Dental Sciences, Science, Engineering, Allied health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine & Animal Sciences. Total number of sample was consisted of 310 students. Questionnaire was used as main research tool for data gathering. Out of 310 students, 85% response rate was obtained. Analysis discusses the use of different type of resources and ranking of different types of information resources. Analysis further shows the selection of electronic and print format if same information available in both formats, reasons for the selection, priorities of students for information provision in libraries. Students’ preference for the traditional and digital library was also analyzed. Based on the findings it is possible to identify trends and issues influencing the user preference for information resources and it may assist librarians in making decisions about collection management with limited resources to satisfy the information needs of their users.

152


1. INTRODUCTION The availability of both printed and electronic information resources in academic libraries offer almost unlimited access to users for their information needs. In addition to traditional printed materials, as the World Wide Web (WWW) is used increasingly to facilitate electronic communication, library users are bombarded with free internet resources as well as paid academic electronic resources (Agboola, 2010, Gupta, 2011, Melgoza et al. 2002). The content of information in electronic form is growing and as the literature further shows the changes from print and other forms to electronic forms have already brought significant changes in the nature of information available to users (Kim and Sin, 2011). Also the arrival and proliferation of electronic information resources and digital libraries have influenced and changed the way of using print sources by the users and it has also sparked new wave on the preferences and perceptions of print and electronic resources. Several authors (Liu, 2005; Johnson, 2004; Condic, 2004; Dilevko and Gottlieb, 2002) have demonstrated that reading preferences, perceptions and use of print and electronic information resources vary among different user categories such as Scholars (Sheeja, 2010) academic staff, undergraduate students (Kim and Sin, 2011, Agboola, 2010) and postgraduate students (Liu, 2006). Most of the users desire to meet their information needs through a mix of print and electronic information resources, while others prefer electronic information resources, to print resources. However, some users prefer printed versions than electronic. Therefore, today librarians are facing the problem of deciding which resources to acquire and in what format. An additional wrinkle is how to balance new electronic acquisitions with traditional print formats or even slightly older electronic resources such as CD-ROMs. Therefore this study is focused to achieve following objectives.   

To find out users’ preferences for print and electronic information resource collections at the University of Peradeniya To identify factors affecting the preferences of users for each type of information resources To find out users’ expectations and concerns with regards to electronic and print information resources in future

Based on the findings of this survey, it is possible to identify trends and issues influencing the user preference for information resources and it may assist librarians in making decisions on collection development with limited resources to satisfy the information needs of their users.

153


2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This research was conducted at the University of Peradeniya. Survey method was adopted, and the main research tool for data gathering data was questionnaire. Population in this study were undergraduate students who study in 08 different faculties, such as Arts, Agriculture, Medical, Dental Sciences, Science, Engineering, Allied health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine & Animal Sciences of the University of Peradeniya. Sample was selected using the proportionate stratified random sampling method. Stratification was done according to the faculty and the year of study. Simple random sampling technique was used for selecting individuals from each stratum. The students who study in second year and above were selected. Total number of sample was consisted of 310 students (Agriculture 29, Arts 101, Medical 38, Dental Sciences 12, Science 52, Engineering 51, Allied health Sciences 19 and Veterinary Medicine & Animal Sciences 08). The refined data were also analyzed as percentages. Results of the analyses were represented in forms of tables and bar charts. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Response Analysis Out of 310 students, 264 students were returned the questionnaires and the response rate was 85%. It was clearly showed that 100% response rate was obtained from the faculties of Dental Sciences and Veterinary Medicine & Animal sciences. Lowest response rate (76%) was obtained from faculty of Arts. Ninety three percent (93%) from faculty Agriculture, 92% from faculty of Medicine, 79% from faculty of Allied Health Sciences, 78% from faculty of Engineering and 77% from faculty of Science were responded. 3.2 Use of Different Types of Resources Students were asked which type of resources (electronic, printed or both types of resources) that they are using. Figure 1 shows that only 100% students of faculty of Agriculture and majority of students of other faculties use both types of resources. Thirteen percent (13%) student from faculty of Arts & Allied Health Sc., 25% from faculty of Dental Sciences, 2% from faculty of Engineering, 17% from faculty of Medicine, 12% from faculty of Science & Veterinary science are use printed resources only.

154


No of Respondents

87%

98% 83% 100%

Both types (printed & electronic)

88%

Printed only

75%

88%

87% Electronic only

Faculty

Figure1: Choices of Types of Information Resources 3.3 Ranking of Types of Information Resources

No. of Respondents

Then students were asked to rank the type of information resources (printed books, printed journals, online resources, WWW, CD-ROMs CD ROMs and ask someone) that they usually use to fulfill their information needs.

Rank 3 Rank 2 Rank 1

Faculty

Figure 2: 2 Ranking of Printed Books Figure 2 shows the ranking pattern of printed books of students by different faculties. Except students of faculty of Engineering, the majority of students of other faculties first confer with (64%) 4%) from Agriculture, 81% from printed books when they want to find information. Sixty four (6 155


No. of Respondents

Arts, 91% from Dental, 94% from Medicine, 60% from Science, 75% from Veterinary Sc. and 47% from Allied Health Sc. indicated first priority as printed books. Only 39% students from Engineering have given first priority for printed pr books.


Faculty Figure 3. Ranking of Online resources which which were from thethe library’s webWeb site site Figure 3: Ranking of Online Resources wereavailable Available vailable from Library

No. of Respondents

Figure 3 displays the ranking of online resources which were available from the library web site for the students in different faculties. Except students of faculty of Arts, none of the students of other faculties ranked as first priority for online resources. resources. Only 4% students of faculty of Arts has given first priority for online resources. Also none of the students from Veterinary Sc, and Allied health sc. were ranked online resources as second priority.


Faculty Figure 4: Ranking of156 WWW


According to the Figure 4, it can be commented that majority of students in the faculty of Engineering (44%) turned first WWW as their preferred source of information. Only 42% students of Agriculture, 12% of Arts, 20% of Dental, 8% of Medicine, 39% of Science 11% of Veterinary Sc. and 36% of Allied Health Sc. students indicated WWW as first priority. 3.4 Selection of Electronic and Print Format if Same Information Available in Both Formats

No of Respondents

58%

58%

60%

69% Printed books

61% 73%

57%

47%

Electronic books

Faculty

Figure 5: Selection of printed books & electronic books for same information Figure 5 displays the selection of printed books and electronic books, if the same information available in both formats by the students of all faculties. Except faculty of Allied Health Sciences, majority of students of other faculties prefer to use printed books. Majority of Students of Allied Health Sciences (53%) prefer to use electronic books.

No of Respondents

55% 60% 65%

75% 68% 67% Printed Journals 83%

Electronic Journals

67%

Faculty Figure 6: Selection of Printed Journals &Electronic Journals for Same Information 157


Figure 6 shows the data relating selection of format of journals (electronic and print), by the students of all faculties. Unlike for printed and electronic books, if the same information available in both formats, majority of students in all faculties prefer to use electronic journals. 3.5 Reasons for the Selection of Printed and Electronic Formats of information Resources There were many reasons given by the respondents for their selection of types of resources. Out of total respondents, 231 were commented. All comments were grouped into statements and shown in table1. Table 1: Reasons for the Preference for Print Format Comment Easy to read / Easy to access Can use at any time anywhere Technical problems associated with computers (No facilities such as internet & computers, limited knowledge about computers) Discomfort with online reading Preference for physical browsing Non availability of electronic formats Reliability

% Respondents 48% 18% 11%

6% 3% 3% 1%

Majority (48%) students who prefer print format stated easy to read/easy to access was the main reason for their choice. Print formats can use at any time any were, technical problems, and discomfort with online reading were some other reasons given by them. Table 2: Reasons for the Preference for Electronic Format Comment Accessibility User friendliness Time saving Ability to store Currency Value added features involved with it

% Respondents 27% 9% 7% 4% 4% 3%

On the other hand, 27% students stated accessibility was the main reason for their choice for electronic format (Table 2). In addition to that user friendliness, time saving, ability to store them and value added features were the other major reasons for their choice. 158


3.6 Priorities for Information Provision in Libraries Further, students were asked to indicate their priority in terms of Information Provision in Libraries which they used. Priorities were given by the researcher as indicated in Table 3. Table 3: Priorities for Information Provision in Libraries Priority % of Respondents Maintain print collection

65%

Provide access to electronic resources

42%

Supply more computers

40%

Provide training to use electronic resources

38%

Majority (65%) of students were selected ‘maintain print collection’ as choice for information provision in libraries and 42% students were select ‘provide access to electronic resources’ as a choice. Forty percent (40%) students asked to ‘provide more computers’ and 38% were asked to ‘provide training to use electronic resources’. 3.7 Preference for the Traditional Library / Digital Library When analyzed the students’ preferences for the type of library (Traditional Library or Digital Library) it can be commented that majority of students of Agriculture, Arts, Engineering and Science prefer to digital library while majority of students in Dental Sc., Medical, Veterinary Sc. And Allied Health Sc. prefer to traditional library (Figure 7.). 50 45 40

no. of respondents

35 30 Traditional Library Digital Library

25 20 15 10 5 0

Ag

tu ul ric

re

ts Ar

a nt De

c. lS

in er ne i g En

g

ne ici ed M

Faculty

ie Sc

e nc t Ve

159

y ar in er

. Sc lie Al

d

H

l th ea

. Sc

Figure 7: Preference for the Traditional Library / Digital Library


4. CONCLUSIONS 

It was found that 100% students in the faculty of Agriculture and majority of students in other faculties use both types of resources.



Except students of faculty of Engineering, the majority of students in other faculties first use printed books to find information.



Majority of students in the faculty of Engineering (44%) turned first WWW as their preferred source of information.



With regarding the printed and electronic books, if the same information available in both formats except faculty of Allied Health Sciences, majority of students of other faculties prefer to use printed books. Majority of Students (53%) of Allied Health Sciences prefer to use electronic books.



Unlike for printed and electronic books, if the same information available in both formats for the journals, majority of students in all faculties prefer to use electronic journals.



Easy of use/easy access, ability of use at any time anywhere, technical problems associated with computers (No facilities such as internet & computers, limited knowledge about computers), discomfort with online reading and non availability of electronic formats were major factors of influence to use printed information resources.



Accessibility, user friendliness, time saving, ability to store and value added features involved with it were the factors influencing to use electronic information resources.



While maintain print collection, students of the University of Peradeniya expect provide access to electronic resources, supply more computers and provide training to use electronic resources as priorities in terms of information provision in libraries.



Majority of students at Agriculture, Arts, Engineering and Science prefer to digital library while majority of students of Dental Sc., Medical, Veterinary Sc. And Allied Health Sc. Prefer to traditional library.

160


REFERENCES Agboola, I.O. (2010). Use of print and electronic resources by agricultural science students in Nigerian universities. Library & Information Science Research, 12. 62-65. Condic, K. (2004). Students preferences for purchase given limited library budgets. Collection Building, 23 (1), 5-12. Gupta, D.K. (2011). Use pattern of print and electronic journals at the Kurukshetra University, India. Program: electronic library and information systems. 45 (2), 213-230. Johnson, Q. (2004). User preferences in formats of print and electronic journals. CollectionBuilding, 23 (2), 73-77. Kim, K. & Sin, S.J. (2011). Selecting quality sources: Bridging the gap between the perception and use of information sources. Journal of information Science, 37(2), 178-188 Liu, Z. (2006). Print vs. electronic resources: A study of user perceptions, preferences and use. Information Processing and management. 42. 583-592. Melgoza, P., Mennel, P.A. &Gyeszly, S.D. (2002). Information overload. Collection Building, 21 (1), 32-42. Seeja, N.K. (2010). Surveying scholars’ perception of electronic environments: A case study of university libraries in Kerala (India). The International Information & Library Review, 42, 262-268. Zimerman, M. (2010). Periodicals: print or electronic?. New Library World, 111 (9/10), 426-433.

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Print vs. Electronic: Preferences forEmerging Research Library: A Case Study Thushari M. Seneviratne Senior Assistant Librarian University of Moratuwa Moratuwa [email protected]

ABSTRACT Emerging research library will furnish the transition from print information resources to electronic information resources since researchers have been stepped in to the digital world of information. Digital world carries many attractions with respect to information needs of researchers while traditional libraries and librarians challenged to maintain both print and electronic information resources with limited budgets. Therefore, present study focused on the preferences for emerging research library in context of type of information sources; factors affecting the type of information sources and expectations and concerns with regard to print and electronic resources in future. This case study was carried out at University of Moratuwa adopting survey method. 150 postgraduate students - currently performing research activities - belonged to three faculties of University of Moratuwa were selected as the research sample. The study received 74.7% response rate. According to the results, it was revealed that majority of postgraduate students use both type of resources though they have been attracted to the functions and features of digital world of information. Majority of postgraduate students prefer library providing access to electronic resources than maintaining the print library collection. However, they are satisfied with the present library book collection but do not use print journals or the electronic journals adequately. Majority expect emerging research library to be a digital library than traditional library but postgraduate students were willing to get library instructions since user education has become vital in digital world. As such, university library has to take an advantage of features of digital library and must play a pro-active role in utilizing its tools, technologies and services to cater information needs with respect to research intensive library. Keywords: Academic Libraries, Research Libraries, Postgraduate Students, Information Resources, Print Information Sources, Electronic Information Resources, Digital Libraries 162


1. INTRODUCTION Information and communication technologies have redefined the role of libraries especially academic libraries earlier responsible solely for organization, access, distribution and use of knowledge. Hence the “emerging research library will be virtual and real, flexible and networked, multidimensional and integrated and part of a library ecosystem sustained through collaboration” (Wilson, 2010). The role of the research library has become complex since to researchers have been stepped into the digital world of information. Researchers have access to plethora of information and ultimately become expert information seekers beyond boundaries of traditional libraries. On the other hand libraries have the reputation of providing reliable, accurate and trustworthy, specific information to satisfy information needs of users mainly derived from scholarly print sources. At the same, librarians are challenged to prove their value to the university or mother organization in investment on collection development and offering research-oriented services. Hence librarians are at crossroads in context of researcher expectations, transition from print information sources to electronic information sources, restricted budgets and future of libraries. As such investigation of user preferences in these contexts is of utmost importance. University of Moratuwa being a leading technological university in the region is renowned for her research carried out through three faculties; Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Information Technology and their respective research units. University of Moratuwa promotes research culture at the university through various activities. In her mission statement, University of Moratuwa identifies the importance of carrying out ‘nationally relevant and high impact research to expand the boundaries of knowledge’ (University of Moratuwa, 2010, p8) be a leading knowledge enterprise in Asia. To ‘achieve excellence in research, innovation and creativity national relevance and international recognition’(University of Moratuwa, 2010 , p9) University plan to enhance resources for research by improving journal collection of the library ; subscribing reputed e-journals ; improving ICT facilities etc. to develop the library as research intensive library. At the same time University of for Moratuwa Library is facilitating research through providing access to research collections print as well as electronic, creating digital repositories etc. At present, University Library has a collection of over 100,000 items consisting of print information resources and audio-visual materials. To add up university subscribes over 1000 journal titles including print and electronic. However Library experiences the current trend of the research generation shaped by digital world of information and in the process of redesigning library services to keep pace with their demands and expectations. Therefore this study has been carried out to assess the user preferences in terms of types of information resources to fulfill the objectives of:

163


To find out postgraduate students preferences for print and electronic information resources To identify the factors affecting the users preferences for types of information sources To find out the users’ expectations and concerns with regard to electronic and print information resources in the future. 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research was conducted as a ‘user study’. University of Moratuwa was selected as the case study and survey method was adopted. Postgraduate students belongs to three Faculties of the University who were carrying out their research were considered as the target population. Hence both fulltime research students as well as taught-course students doing their research were included. Proportionate stratified random sampling method was performed to select the sample. Sample size was 150. Questionnaire was used as the main research tool. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 112 out of 150 Postgraduate students responded to the survey at a rate of 74.7%. Among the participants, 25 respondents were from Faculty of Architecture; 92 respondents were from Faculty of Engineering and 5 respondents were from Faculty of Information Technology. There were 38 male Postgraduate students (34%) and 74 female Postgraduate students (66%). Primary language of the students varied as 101 Sinhala, 6 Tamil and 5 English speaking students. Out of 112 postgraduate students responded, 8 students were reading for fulltime research degrees. It has to be noted that majority of the Postgraduate students responded to the survey were attached to the Department of Civil Engineering. 3.1 User Preferences for Electronic and Print Information Resources Information needs of postgraduate students related to research needs are fulfilled using variety of sources of information. Therefore, in accordance with the first objective of the study, use of information resource type/format, choices for different information resources, frequency of use of different information resources, attitude towards existing library collection were explored. In context to format or the type of information resource, it was revealed 99.1% of postgraduate students used both print and electronic resources. None of the Postgraduate students used only print resources. However, 0.9% of Postgraduate students used merely electronic resources. Table 3.1 displays choices of postgraduate students when different information resources are available to fulfill their information needs.

164


Choice

Printed Books

Printed Journals

Electronic Books

Electronic Journals

AV Materials

WWW

Table 3.1: Choices for Different Information Resources

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

41.70% 24.30% 13.60% 14.60% 3.90% 1.90%

6.90% 19.50% 31.00% 20.70% 12.60% 9.90%

12.70% 1.40% 15.50% 9.90% 40.80% 32.15%

18.80% 17.60% 16.50% 20.00% 12.60% 9.10%

10% 30% 40% 10% 10% 10%

65.40% 19.60% 9.30% 4.70% 0.90% 0.00%

According to the above table, 65.40% Postgraduate students rated WWW as their choice one. When compared to some previous research at University of Moratuwa, the percentage respondents using WWW to fulfill information needs has been increased steadily. Wijepala (2001) reported 54 % of the respondents from, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa used Internet. Seneviratne (2003) presented 94.4 % of the respondents including academic staff members, postgraduate students, undergraduate students and diploma students used Internet with respect to their academic needs. However, 41.70% prefer printed books as their first choice. Electronic books and electronic journals had been rated as first choice by 12.70% and 18.80% respectively. Audio-visual Materials have been first choice only for 10% and printed journals have been first choice for 6.9%. In 2008, Punchihewa and Jayasuriya carried out a survey among 400 selected library users of University of Moratuwa to investigate the use of online journals and databases. It was reported 11% of postgraduate students used only print journals; 13% of the postgraduate students used only electronic journals; 76% of the postgraduate students used both print and electronic journals. Moreover, frequency of use of different information sources is in par with choices (Table 3.2).

Electronic Journals

AV Materials

WWW

Sometimes Rarely Never

Electronic Books

Most of the Time

Printed Journals

Frequently

Printed Books

Frequency

Table 3.2 Frequency of Use of Information Sources

42.50% 36.80% 19.80% 0.90% 0.00%

15.30% 34.70% 42.90% 6.1% 1.0%

20.80% 25.00% 30.20% 19.80% 04.20%

27.50% 20.90% 33.00% 18.70% 0.00%

8.00% 8.90% 33.90% 20.5% 7.10%

70.5% 16.1% 6.2%, 0% 0%

165


According to the above table, 70.5% of the respondents surfed WWW frequently; 42.50% prefer to read printed books frequently; electronic books and electronic journals had been frequently used by 20.80% and 27.50% respectively. Printed journals have been frequently used by 15.30%. audio-visual materials have been frequently used only by 8%. However, it essential to find out their information needs are satisfied through the university library. University of Moratuwa Library holds more than 100,000 volumes to her account in the categories of books, conference proceedings, thesis and dissertations, audio-visual materials etc. to date. Since university library is established, supported and maintained by university administration to cater the information needs related to curriculum and research, it is critical to investigate the user attitude towards existing library collection.

Collections

Very Satisfied

Somewhat Satisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied

Very Dissatisfied

Do Not use

Table 3.3 Attitudes towards Existing Library Collection

Books Print Journals Electronic Journal AV Materials

18.6% 8.9% 10.2% 8%

68% 60% 45.5% 8.9%

0% 8.90% 12.5% 33.9%

3.1% 1.1% 8.0% 20.5%

10.3% 21.1% 23.90% 7.1%

According to the Table 3.3, research students have favourable attitudes towards existing book collection, print journal collection and electronic journal collection but they are not satisfied with the audio-visual collection initiated in 2008. However non-users of electronic journal collection accounts for 23.9% which is considerable higher than expected and university library does not holds an electronic book collection to-date. On the other hand its necessity has not been questioned according to their preference when same information is available in both formats (Fig. 3.1). Figure 3.1 depicts printed books are preferred than e-books. On the contrary e-journals are preferred than printed journals.

166


100.00%

Journals, 83.30 %

Books, 90.30%

90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00%

Books

40.00%

Journals Journals, 16.70 %

30.00% 20.00%

Books, 9.70%

10.00% 0.00% Print

Electronic

Fig. 3.1 User Preference when same Information is Available in both Formats 3.2 Factors Affecting the Users Preferences for Types of Information Sources Factors associated with information seeking behavior were investigated in context of print resources and electronic resources. Accuracy, accessibility, completeness, cost, currency, ease of use, full text, quality, subject relevancy, speed were the factors investigated. In context to print information resources, postgraduate students have recognized accuracy, subject relevancy, currency and cost as the prominent factors and following percentages have been received. Accuracy Subject Relevancy Cost Currency Ease of Use Full Text Accessibility Completeness Currency Speed

-

65.5% 59.3% 54.0% 54.0% 51.3% 46.0% 44.2% 21.2% 15.9% 8.0%

However, factors influencing electronic information search can be prioritized as follows:

167


Speed Accessibility Subject Relevancy Ease of Use Completeness Quality Accuracy Currency Full Text Cost

-

72.3% 69.6% 56.2% 54.5% 51.8% 43.8% 42.0% 42.0% 33.9% 27.7%

Undoubtedly, speed, accessibility subject relevancy have been rated high. 3.3 Users’ Expectations and Concerns with Regard to Electronic and Print Information Resources in the Future Hence users’ expectations with respect to information provision in the emerging research library were investigated. 67.9% of the respondents would be pleased if the library could provide access to electronic resources. On the other hand 55.4% are concerned of maintaining the print collection as well. 37.5% of the respondents of the university and 31.2% of the respondents are interested in conducting training sessions about electronic resources. Overall, 71.6% of the respondents have in favourable view to have a digital library than the traditional library. Only 28.4% of the respondents were in a position to support the traditional library. However, 73.9% of the respondents are willing to get library instructions with respect to their information needs. Hence, user education becomes vital in context of traditional or digital libraries 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Since Internet brings plethora of information to the researcher and has a reputation of provision of fulfillment of information needs in a second, research community surveyed had more favourable attitudes towards electronic information resources than print information resources. Hence digital library will be the option for emerging research library. Librarians may have to take pioneer role in utilizing its tools, technologies and services to redesign library and information services to cater the research needs.

168


REFERENCES Punchihewa, C.N.D. &Jayasuriya, S. (2008). Use of online journals and databases: a case study based the University of Moratuwa. Journal of University Librarians Association of Sri Lanka, 12,124-149. Seneviratne, T.M. (2003). Internet and its impact on university libraries: a case study at University of Moratuwa (Unpubliushed master’s thesis). University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka. University of Moratuwa (2010).Corporate plan (2011-2015).Moratuwa, University of Moratuwa. Wijayapala, W.D.A.S. (2001). Engineering productivity of Sri Lankan engineers.(Unpubliushed master’s thesis).University of Moratuwa, Katubedda, Sri Lanka. Wilson, L.A. (2010). The emerging research library. In S.H. Lee (ed.) The emerging research library: Our role in the digital future (pp. 1-13). Oxon:Routledge.

169


Availability and Use of Electronic Resources in the Private Tertiary Educational Institution Libraries in Sri Lanka: A study of Selected Institutions Affiliated to Foreign Universities in Colombo District R.A.W. Ruwandhi Rajasinghe Assistant Librarian – Law Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT) – Sri Lanka [email protected] ABSTRACT Emergence of Electronic Resources (ER); which can be broadly defined as material accessible through computerized devices has dramatically revamped the aspects of modern libraries. The advancement of science and technology has paved the way for the libraries to embrace this new mode in order to provide enhanced services to their user communities. A significant improvement can be seen in the higher education sector in Sri Lanka; especially among the private tertiary education providers affiliated to foreign universities in initiating and implementing access to electronic resources. This study was conducted with the objectives of investigating the availability of electronic resources in the private tertiary educational institution libraries, to determine the usage of ER and to discover the demand for ER compared to print material. A total of 1400 undergraduates reading for degrees at five private tertiary educational institutions were identified in which 302 undergraduates were selected as the sample according to Anderson’s sample frame. While using questionnaires in order to ascertain data from the undergraduates, interview method was used to determine the views of the librarians in the selected institutions. Furthermore, Stratified Random sampling method was administered as the sampling methodology. The findings revealed that undergraduates in the private tertiary educational institution libraries have access to both print and electronic material and more than half of the sample (72%) use electronic resources for academic purposes. Furthermore it is apparent that respondents prefer print material over ER due to 170


eye strain, requirement of additional equipment, convenience and etc. Nevertheless, majority have shown a positive attitude towards electronic resources. This study is restricted exclusively to electronic resources as type of material and the undergraduates at private tertiary educational institutions affiliated to foreign universities in the Colombo district as the population in its scope of discussion. Keywords: Electronic Resources, Private Tertiary Educational Institution Libraries, Sri Lanka 1. INTRODUCTION Electronic Resources (ER) have become a necessity in the modern information society. Today the advancement of science and technology has given more opportunities for the information seekers, scholars and researchers with busy schedules in order to acquire relevant information without physically visiting libraries or information centres. This new trend has changed expanded and added value to the library collections as well as has widened the scope of the library user communities. The phrase “electronic Resources” has broadly been defined as, information accessed by a computer, (Graham, 2003 cited in Swain & Panda, 2007). According to IFLA International Standard Bibliographic Description for Electronic Resources (ISBD – ER, 2008); “Electronic resources are products of a volatile technology that continues to generate changes at a very rapid pace.” In the Sri Lankan context, both government and private higher education providers have embraced this new advancement and provide services to their academia. Electronic versions of resources have helped the academic libraries to solve many constrains they face i.e. the space issue in libraries. In relation to private tertiary education providers in Sri Lanka, most of them act as offshore universities and provide high standard foreign education to Sri Lankan student community. Today the private Tertiary educational institutions have become popular within a short period of time with modernized classrooms, well equipped laboratories, and fully-fledged library facilities - equipped with both electronic and print resources. The significance of this study is that as the private tertiary educational institution libraries spend a larger portion of their budgets to acquire and disseminate ER to their users, it is important to find out whether the usage is adequate in par with the facilities provided. Furthermore less number of studies has been done in order to determine the availability and usage of ER in Sri Lankan private tertiary educational sector. Moreover this study may help the 171


State and Private sector tertiary education providers to have awareness about the availability of ER and have collaboration in order to provide better service to the user communities. Therefore this research was conducted with the objectives of investigating the availability and usage of electronic resources in the private tertiary educational institution libraries and to discover the demand for ER compared to print material. 2. PREVIOUS STUDIES A number of surveys on electronic resources have been carried out during the last decade. Studies related to usage patterns, perspective, awareness as well as comparative studies related to print and electronic resources are included in this study. Libraries develop as a result of the urge of human beings to keep records and documents of their culture, discoveries and achievements (Agboola, 2010). Today, technology has penetrated all areas of life and the use of information technology (IT) has work procedures and approaches. Libraries use IT for better services and satisfying diverse user needs which have increased the global dissemination of information (Ansari &Zuberi, 2010).This new advancement has made electronic resources easily accessible in the remote areas and also solve storage problems and control the flood of information. Furthermore electronic resources add lively substance to the modern library’s collection and satisfy the varied needs of students, faculty and research scholars with minimum risk and time (Swain & Panda, 2007). Electronic resources are regarded as the mines of information that are explored through modern ICT devices, refined and redesigned and more often stored in the cyber space in the most concrete and compact form and can be accessed simultaneously from infinite points by a great number of audience (Swain & Panda, 2007). Thus libraries have been increasing their number of electronic collections over the past decade. Most university libraries are gradually cancelling their print journal subscriptions while building electronic journal collections (Gregory, 2008). Although there is still debate over whether e-books will replace printed books, libraries have been expanding their acquisitions of e-books over the past few years (Wu & Chen 2011). With regards to electronic resources, most libraries face the problem of allocating funds in par with the increase of subscription rates. Nevertheless a considerable amount from the budget is allocated for electronic resources. Though most of the university libraries allocate a large amount of funds every year in order to subscribe or purchase electronic resources, the problems arise with lack of usage. Hence marketing of electronic resources in libraries are essential as it will make the library a more interesting place and also the students will be more willing to contact the library assistance for their studies (Poe, 2006). 172


The digital information environment has dramatically changed the way that faculty and students access information offered by academic libraries (Franklin & Plum, 2004). A vast and growing amount of information available through electronic resources and its accessibility to the students should be seen as an opportunity to enhance their academic performance (Tella, Ayeni,Omoba and Tella, 2007). Students are more and more Web-savvy (Ozoemelem citing Kibirge, 2000), many of them having been brought up around computers and the Internet. However, they matriculate with a diversity of computer and Web-searching skills and experience (Ozoemelem, 2009).Users often prefer increased access to databases of onlinerefereed journals and to the Web which provides information that is up to the minute, international in scope, and sometimes not available elsewhere (Renwick citing Dalgleish& Hall, 2005). It also provides an atmosphere that encourages sharing of knowledge in the creative process and collaborative efforts among educationists, students, researchers etc. But the question is do the students make use of this opportunity? Does this opportunity yield them any positive result? (Tella et al., 2007). It was highlighted in a research conducted on use of e-resources of the academic staff, undergraduates and postgraduate students at the university of Peradeniya that other than email and internet, use of databases and e-journals and other e-resources are surprisingly low and the users were not satisfied with the e–services offered by the libraries (Damayanthi, 2006). On the other hand in a case study done in 2008 by Jayasuriya and Punchihewa revealed that library guides, library staff have highly supported in popularizing online resources. The introduction of information technology (IT) into library operations has brought about tremendous improvement in library and information services. To cope with the changing character of information services in the future, library and information centers need to impart basic IT knowledge and skills to their staff and users. Furthermore information technology facilities are needed to manage the acquisition, storage, and dissemination of relevant information at the right time and in the most efficient manner, irrespective of a user's location (Agboola, 2010). Nevertheless there is still a lack of research that indicates use of ER in the Sri Lankan context. 3. METHODOLOGY The total student population those who have access to electronic resources (ER) of five selected educational institutions were selected for the study. In line with the data provided by the Academic Administrations of the selected institutions, 1400 undergraduates diversified in different disciplines were identified and as it is inconvenient to obtain data from the whole population, sampling; the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the 173


population was done in representation of the whole population according to Anderson’s sample frame (Sekaran, 2003). Stratified Random sampling method; a Probability sampling methodology which involves a process of stratification or segmentation followed by random selection of subject for each aran, 2003) was selected for this study. Two research instruments; questionnaires stratum” (Sekaran, and interviews were administered in association with the data collection. Identification of subgroups of elements within the population was done as follows; firstly the subject ect areas or the disciplines of the population were identified such as Computing, Fashion Designing, Law, Engineering and etc. Secondly the undergraduates from each stratum were drawn using Stratified Random sampling method where each single element in the stratum has same or equal probability of being chosen for the study (Sekaran, 2003). Once the subject areas that the undergraduates belong to were identified, questionnaires were distributed among the sample randomly. 4. FINDINDS AND DISCUSSION This research earch paper focuses on the availability and usage of Electronic Resources (ER) in the Private Tertiary Educational Institution libraries and the demand for ER compared to print material. 302 questionnaires were distributed amongst the undergraduates studyi studying at the selected institutions and 213 responses were received back with the overall response rate of 72 percent. User responses have shown in Figure 4.1 according to their disciplines. Structured interview method was administered in order to collect data from the librarians.

User Responses ( Discipline wise) 2% 12%

Business

30%

Law

29%

Sci &Maths 12% 15%

Computing Design Other

Figure 4.1 - User Responses (Discipline wise)

174


4.1 Availability of Electronic Resources The findings revealed that the collections of the selected institution libraries are consisted of both print and electronic material and relatively smaller collection of audio visual material (1%). The print collections are consisted of textbooks, supplementary reading books, magazines, periodicals, dissertations and etc. whereas the electronic collections are consisted of CD-ROMs, CD books, peer reviewed articles, ee-thesis DVDs, online journals, e-books, thesis and etc. Furthermore undergraduates also have access to institutional websites, online student portals, Moodles i.e. Blackboard VLE, library catalogues and indexes.

Availability of Resources Printed only

Electronic only

Both

other

No response

1% 1% 38% 59%

1%

Figure 4.2 – Availability of Resources Availability of resources has depicted in Figure 4.2 and the largest percentage (59%) holds both electronic and printed. The speciality in relation to acquisition of online electronic resources in the selected institutions is that the affiliated universities universities who pay subscription in order to acquire resources enable the registered students and staff to access resources through books, peer reviewed individual usernames and passwords. Students are able to access ee-books, Dissertations, tations, case studies and etc. through their individual logins. journal articles, study guides, Disser Some libraries also have taken initiative to obtain institutional memberships to access ER databases such as Emerald, ScienceDirect, Jstor, Proquest and etc. in order to provide enhanced services to their users. 4.2 Usage of Electronic Resources When considering the ER usage, 53 percent of the users retrieve ER by using their own password while 12 percent obtain assistance from the library. Furthermore more than half of the respondents (71%) have ve access to full full-text databases. 175


According to the user responses, it is evident that students mostly access electronic books, journals and websites and the electronic thesis collections are the least preferred (1%) electronic resource. This could be due to the scarcity of e-theses e theses or most institutions maintain ns. Moreover, majority of the undergraduates use ER collections. their own physical dissertation collectio for academic purposes i.e. assignments, research, report writing, subject related references and etc.

Usage - Electronic Resources 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

daily few times once a month never

Figure 4.3 – Usage - Electronic Resources As shown in Figure 4.3 most of the respondents use newspaper newspaper archives daily. Also a considerable number of respondents have never used websites. The results also revealed that the users sers are satisfied on use of ER in relation to speed and easiness of use but are not satisfied in par with cost and the availabilit availability of full-text articles. In librarians’ perspective, ER usage in the respective institutions is low compared to the amount spent for acquisition of resources. ompared to Print Material 4.3 Demands for ER Compared The third objective of this study is to discover the user demand for ER compared to print material. It is apparent that overall respondents prefer print material over ER. Similarly, according to Kelly and Orr (2001), overwhelmingly students use e-resources e resources as preferred mean of library resources from off campus locations. According to the results, more precisely, respondents prefer print format mostly for general knowledge and news where as both electronic and print material were given preference in relation to research purposes. Even for other academic purposes rposes preference for print material is slightly higher than electronic material as shown in the Figure 4.4.

176


Preffered format 3%

43% 54%

Printed electronic No response

Figure 4.4– Preferred Format

Furthermore respondents prefer print material due to easiness, printed format is realistic, more reliable, can be taken aken anywhere, no additional equipment required and no eye strain. Those who prefer electronic format have indicated as speed, accuracy, updated resource availability, less time consuming, quick access, and more material availability as preference factors. It is apparent that though majority of users prefer print material over ER, they have realized that it alone cannot fulfill their information needs. Moreover the users have indicated below constrains that they’ve experienced when using ER. Accessibility issues, ssues, less terminals available in the institutions for ER access, unavailability of full-text text articles, unawareness of resource availability, lack of training. 5. CONCLUTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Electronic Resources have become a vital necessity in the modern information society. It not only has opened up new avenues for library collection development but also has created more challenging environment for librarians. This paper sought to explore the the availability and use of electronic information resources in the private tertiary educational institution libraries in Sri Lanka. The findings of the study revealed that private tertiary educational institution libraries are consisted of print as well as electronic resources and the undergraduates use ER mostly for academic purposes. Furthermore respondents prefer print material over ER in order to fulfil their information needs. Based on the findings of the study, following implications can be made;

177




Efforts should be made to organize effective training and information literacy programmes continuously or at regular intervals in order to educate users on use of ER.



Library assistance in an electronic environment is vital for better information retrieval. Therefore libraries should create mechanisms to permit users to seek assistance during online research.



Librarians should take initiative to find new avenues to expose users to more resources.



Librarians may need professional development to enhance their information retrieval skills with regard to ER access.

REFERENCES Agboola, I.O. (2010). Use of print and electronic resources by agricultural science students in Nigerian universities.Library & Information Science Research, 32, 62-65. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740818809001467 Ansari, M.N., &Zuberi, B.A. (2010).Use of Electronic Resources among Academics at the University of Karachi. Library Philosophy and Practice, 2010, 1-12. Retrieved from: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/ansari-zuberi.htm

Damayanthi, K.P.N. (2006). An assessment of electronic information resources usage and management: A case study of university of Peradeniya(Unpubliushed master’s thesis). University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Franklin, B., & Plum, T. (2004).Library usage patterns in the electronic information environment.Information Research, 9, 1-18. Retrieved from: http://informationr.net/ir/94/paper187.html. Gregory, C.L. (2008). "But I Want a Real Book" An Investigation of Undergraduates' Usage and Attitudes toward Electronic Books.Reference & User Services Quarterly, 47, 266273.Retrieved from: http://www.rusq.org/2010/01/03/but-i-want-a-real-book-aninvestigation-of- undergraduates-usage-and-attitudes-toward-electronic-books/ ISBD (2008). IFLA International Standard Bibliographic Description for Electronic Resources, Retrieved from: http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s13/pubs/isbd2.htm#3 178


Jayasuriya, S., &Punchihewa, C.N.D. (2008). Use of Online journals and Databases: A case study based University of Moratuwa. Journal of the University Librarians Association, 12, 125149. Retrieved from: www.sljol.info/index.php/JULA/article/view/332 Kelley, K.B., & Orr, G.J. (2003). Trends in Distant Student Use of Electronic Resources: A Survey. College and Research Libraries, May 2003, 176 -190. Retrieved from: http://crl.acrl.org/content/64/3/176.full.pdf Ming-der W. & Shih-chuan C. (2011). Graduate students' usage of and attitudes towards ebooks: experiences from Taiwan. Electronic library and information systems, 45, 294-307.

Changing Library Strategies for the New Generation of Users

Changing Library Strategies for the New Generation of Users

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