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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on internet use, with particular respect to academics. The literature on academic uses of the internet is littered with empirical studies, which analyse aspects of the broad spectrum of uses to which the internet can be put, by academics anywhere in the world. This paper begins an initial attempt to provide a broad theoretical framework for internet adoption and utilization by academics, irrespective of rank.

Paper based largely on literature survey and an assessment of the existing models of internet use by academics.

The paper postulates an internet adoption model for academics. The Internet Adoption Model for Academics (IAMA) was conceptualized as an abstract object with five main components: internet for teaching, internet for research, internet for consultancy, internet for administration, and internet for policy making. The Internet Adoption Model for Academics (IAMA) provides a framework for internet use, and has the potential for being instructive for academics who have currently not integrated the internet fully into their professional activities.

The paper presents a modest theoretical contribution to the academic internet‐use literature, and might influence new research streams in this important conceptual area.

The internet growth has created a new scientific communication system with new facilities that are competing with the traditional sources of information. The present study investigated impact of internet use on academic performance of teachers and researcher in university setup. The aim of this paper is to find out how these academics use internet sources and services? What is the user's satisfaction level with internet sources and services? And what problems has the user encountered when searching the information on the internet. It further aims to know how the user compares the internet sources with traditional information sources.

Questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected teachers and researchers in Kuvempu University, Karnataka state. Total 200 questionnaires were distributed out of which 140 duly filled questionnaires were returned. The questionnaire consisted of various questions which are designed for the teachers and researchers to elicit the impact of internet use on their academic performance.

This study has demonstrated the high use of the internet sources and services by teachers and researchers in university setup. Most of them used internet in support of their study and teaching. Majority of respondents learnt to use the internet through self-instruction and trial and error, with the help of friends and by reading books or papers. Study results also indicated that internet has made an impact on their academic performance (i.e. in writing more research papers, in doing better research, better learning experience, etc.).

This is the comprehensive study on the impact of internet sources and services on the academic performance of teachers and researchers in the university environment. Findings of the study will be helpful to university authority to enhance the internet facilities for effective and efficient use by the teachers and researchers. The study also suggested that there is a need to focus on opportunities for providing training on use advanced internet search skills to the academic community. Concerned authorities also need to enhance the internet bandwidth to increase the internet speed.

In Bangladesh, there are only 0.2 million Internet users out of a population of 140 million. Because there is a lack of academic research on Internet usage, the prime objective of this study is to report the level of Internet use by university academics for their information and communication needs. The study also sought to find out whether differences exist among the various levels of academics in terms of their use of the Internet. Six categories of information and communication needs were identified and a survey conducted among the lecturers of Rajshahi University where the Internet was introduced in 2001. Findings showed that Internet use by academics is useful for some common needs and that the academic rank of users is an important factor in determining the priority of needs. It also showed that there are some barriers to adequate use of Internet resources. Suggestions are made for increased use of the Internet, to benefit the nation as a whole.

Reports on the first‐ever nationwide quantitative survey of academic staff use of the Internet. After briefly noting reasons for adopting a mailed‐out survey, the article discusses some of the results obtained. These include daily use of e‐mail, access to the Internet via remote dial‐in services and technical support provided to academics. More than one‐third of respondents seem in need of more training in Net use and time limitations and lack of training are typical barriers to effective use. The study concludes with opportunities for further research at both national and international levels and discusses possible implications for university administrators. The full report of the study is published as Academics Online (Auslib Press, Adelaide, 1998). The research team also included Edna Sharpe of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.

This article examines instructional frameworks for university‐level education in Internet content design. Examined are academic constructs, philosophies and strategies from two disciplines traditionally associated with content ‐ herein defined as instructional science and informational studies. These approaches are then extended into a curricula paradigm for academic studies in Internet content design. The intent of the article is to begin dialog on the development of university‐level curricula and degree programs in Internet studies.

This study aims to investigate the extent and level of internet access and use among scientists at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, Nigeria, its impact on their academic activities and the constraints faced in internet use.

A questionnaire survey with all the 125 scientists in the Faculty of Science of OOU was conducted between March and April, 2009. This was supplemented with interview and personal observations. Demographic data, pattern of internet use, impact of internet on academic activities and problems faced when using internet were assessed. Data analysis was by simple descriptive statistics.

The use of internet use was widespread (100 per cent) among the scientists with the majority (43.6 per cent) using it every day, and mean internet use experience being 6.3 years. The majority of respondents (64.5 per cent) accessed the internet from a commercial cybercafé followed by homes (49.1 per cent). Most of the respondents (59.2 per cent) acquired internet use skills through colleagues and friends and 32.7 per cent on their own by trial and error. The respondents used internet mostly for communication, research and updating knowledge. Email was the most popular internet service, while Google, followed by Yahoo and Scholar Google, were the most used search engines. The majority of the scientists (67.3 per cent) prefer getting information from the internet, while less than one‐third (30 per cent) still prefer the traditional library. More than half of the respondents (53.6 per cent) were not using library free full text online resources such as AGORA and HINARI, and most of the respondents spent 5,001 to 7,500 Naira (USD33 to 50) monthly for internet use. The scientists believed that the internet has enhanced their academic activities by generally holding very positive opinions on the contribution of internet to their job performance. The major constraints faced by the scientists in using internet were the epileptic power supply with 60.0 per cent response followed by slow internet connection/speed (57 per cent) and inadequate institutional internet facilities (49.1 per cent). The findings of the study have revealed the need for the university to improve on its internet infrastructures and effective user education among the scientists for the maximal benefit from utilization of internet.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge in expanding the literature on internet use. It has also profoundly contributed to policy making and planning and it has indicated the need for the university policy makers to provide internet access for the scientists in their offices, library and e learning centres.

This paper has provided useful empirical data on the usage of internet by the scientists in OOU, Ago Iwoye. The results of this study should assist the university management and the library administrators in OOU and also other universities in the country on how to improve on the provision of internet services.

This paper aims to examine how the internet both precipitated and facilitated significant shifts for academic libraries in the kinds of services they provide, and the ways in which they provide access to content. It aims to view this evolution from the perspective of one academic library in an institution that has been at the center of internet and technology development worldwide for over 30 years, the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign.

The first 30 years of the internet in libraries are explored in decade time segments. Each of the three decades is characterized by significant and unique internet developments. Key internet‐based innovations in libraries are explored, in the areas of service, digital libraries, search and discovery. The reasons for the relative impact of these innovations are explored and discussed.

The internet is both foundation and incubator for myriad new social, technical, organizational and legal constructs, including policy and best practices, governance, intellectual property, whole new categories of services, industries, and areas of research. Since diverse stakeholders can participate with little or no investment, the pace of growth and innovation is unpredictable. This pace is sustained over time, occurring on multiple levels. For this reason, the internet does not “grow” simply in one direction, such as exponential user growth, or the systematic installation of infrastructure. In the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign, the internet has fundamentally altered, and continues to enable significant shifts in the direction of the library's programs, services and resources.

This paper contributes to a group of invited papers that addresses the first 30 years of the internet in libraries.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2013.

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

It is widely assumed ‐ and frequently asserted ‐ that university communication practices are being radically transformed by the introduction of electronic communication. Explores the introduction of Internet access in a single university, the University of Canberra, located in the capital city of Australia. The prime objective was to identify the frequency and type of use that academic staff were making of the Internet during 1995, with supplementary objectives being to record perceptions of users toward the Internet, and barriers to its effective use. The principal finding is not unexpected: academics were making very varied use of the Internet. Some staff were utilizing some facilities on a daily basis; others were yet to begin exploring this new communication medium. A particular surprise was that at the time of this survey the Internet was being used very little for teaching.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of awareness and utilisation of the internet for academic research and learning among level 400 (final year) students of Ghana's oldest business school.

The study utilised a cross‐sectional survey approach because it was restricted to final year students in the 2003–2004 year graduating class. The study also employed a convenience sampling technique and was executed by means of questionnaire administration and personal interviews. The final year students were asked to fill the questionnaires before a business policy lecture. The basic research instrument used in this research was a structured questionnaire with both open and close ended questions. Apart from questionnaires, in‐depth interviews with the respondents were also conducted with the respondents because we felt that because we were dealing with a research that had to do with technology, there could be latent issues that could only be uncovered by open discussions. Data were analysed and presented by means of simple descriptive statistics.

Developing countries, especially in sub‐Saharan Africa, are often rich in the resources of people and staffing, if not in material resources. The promotion of information literacy is essentially dependent on using people differently, that is to better effect, not on injecting more resourcing into under‐funded services (although this is also important in many regards). Authorities at teaching universities, including lecturers, and heads of departments, must, as a matter of urgency, adopt mechanisms for creating better information skills and internet usage awareness among the students. This should focus on what the internet is, the services available through the internet, and the basic skills required to use the internet. This policy is not limited by resourcing, it is simply a new way to better use the richest resource of developing nations, the people and their talents.

Owing to the exploratory nature of the research, the results cannot be generalised with certainty. The research however gives pointers to gaps in the internet use propensities of business students in Ghana's business school and an internet education policy has to be instituted immediately to properly prepare students for an increasingly online Ghanaian business environment.

The University of Ghana Business School should move towards the setting up of instructional labs. These labs should work in close association with the school's library to ensure that students are properly trained on business, teaching and research uses of the internet.

One of the first studies focussing on business students at the disadvantaged end of the global digital divides which regards skills training rather than resourcing as a key issue in information usage.