Perception and usage of e‐resources and the internet by Indian academics

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the perception and use of e‐resources and the internet by the engineering, medical and management academics in Bangalore City, India. The prime objective is to find out how academics compare e‐sources with print sources and how they perceive the advantages of e‐sources and problems for accessing them. It further aims to establish the extent of internet use, the purpose of such use and factors influencing it.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 300 students and faculty members in selected engineering, medical and management colleges of Bangalore City. The questionnaire consists of 15 main questions with many of them having a number of subsidiary questions. The questions are designed for the students and faculty members to elicit their experience with the e‐sources and internet use for their study and research work.

Findings

Study results show that the students and faculty who participated in this survey are aware of e‐sources and also the internet. Even though a majority of the academic community use electronic information sources for their academic‐related work, most of them prefer print to electronic information sources. Many of the students and faculty learned about the electronic information sources either by trial and error or through the advice of friends.

Practical implications

Librarians need to reallocate more budget to expand the availability of electronic resources for students and faculty. Library professionals should also help users to ascertain what high‐quality free resources are available on the internet and how to search these resources more effectively and efficiently.

Originality/value

This is the first comprehensive study of the use of e‐sources and internet by engineering, medical and management students and faculty members in India. Its findings will help library professionals in respective college libraries to plan for effective and efficient use of the internet to fulfil information requirements of the students and faculty members.

Citation

Sampath Kumar, B.T. and Kumar, G.T. (2010), "Perception and usage of e‐resources and the internet by Indian academics", The Electronic Library, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 137-156. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471011023432