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In recent years, electronic resources have become the library's important storage of a university library, and the fund purchased electronic resources also increased quickly, year after year. In order to find out the readers' present conditions, difficulties and requirement of using e‐recourses, The Library of Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, carried out sampling, questioning and investigating of all teachers and students at campus. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of this investigation.

The investigation was carried out in 206.3 at the campus, and the investigative target involves teachers, scientific staff, gadre, graduate students, scientific staff, undergraduate students, and some training students, from 15 institutes in the whole university. It centers on seven subjects, deigns 24 question and 155 selective answers, and everyone is multilateral, 1,000 questionnaires were sent out, 909 reclaimed. The ratio is 90.9 percent.

The investigative result shows that: nearly half of the readers investigated are satisfied with e‐resources of our university. At present, the main way that reader's obtained rebases or literature is from traditional library storage. This illustrated that the printing literature obtained important functions. The e‐book does not substitute the traditional printed book. The construction of library storage should advocate the printed one. Readers selecting the printed and e‐book occupy the greatest majority. This shows that the two type of literature are not completely substituted, only mutually supple. The way readers liked obtaining information is to skim the homepage of the library. This indicated the homepage had become the important window to give publicity and serve the outside. It also shows the use of reading on screen, non‐familiarizing the structure and the retrieval method. Showing that the net condition and computer facilities are the main external factors.

This paper analyses the consciousness of using e‐resources, and the ability of obtaining literature for university readers, by investigating some readers' utility of e‐resources at Shaanxi University of Science and Technology. Therefore the readers' range is limited.

In this paper the result from one side reflects every unit and layer personnel's utilizing condition and difficulty of e‐literature at the whole university. By investigating and analyzing, the work emphasis of the library is defined.

The investigating table does not only look into some teachers and students' utilizing condition, and readers' opinions and proposing to use the library's, but also obtains the disseminated fanfaron to all people using the library. By angling the result, it supplies theoretic foundation of e‐resources' order, storage's construction, readers' serve, etc.

This paper is a study of the current trends and conditions of electronic resources for Chinese studies, based on a recent survey on the Internet of 29 Chinese libraries in North America and eight Chinese libraries in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The survey discussed current electronic resources for Chinese studies, with a union list of major Chinese language databases currently used in libraries in Asia and the US. Current views on the use and development of electronic resources for Chinese studies were summarised.

Illustrates the methods of pointing to remotely‐accessible electronic resources in libraries in a university system ranging from research centers to community colleges. The online catalogs of libraries in the State University of New York (SUNY) system were tested for remotely‐accessible electronic resources. Each library's internet home page was also searched for means of linking to journal titles. The libraries at SUNY campuses have shown different responses to the issues of making available aggregator databases, web sites, and e‐books. A marked decrease in the use of the online catalog to make available remotely‐accessible electronic resources at academic libraries other than those at the research level was noted. The findings are limited insofar that no effort was made to determine the reasons why each library did or not include records for remotely‐accessible electronic resources in their online catalogs. Academic libraries find desirable a single search interface for remotely‐accessible electronic resources, and this may include the library's online catalog. This study will be of value to those who are concerned with the ways in which remotely‐accessible electronic resources are made available in various sizes of academic libraries, particularly those engaged in decision making about online resources.

The purpose of this paper is to encompass the assessment of the effectiveness of the digital library and the value of multidisciplinary databases in terms of user preferences and use frequency by academic ranking.

This paper compares the results of two survey questionnaires carried out in 2002 and 2005. It examines the level of awareness by academic staff of digital library resources along with their use rate and to evaluate the preferences of faculty for specific electronic databases case studies were undertaken by means of separate questionnaires in both years.

Findings were consistent that positive results have been observed in two studies conducted in two years, 2002 and 2005. According to the results of the current survey, increased numbers of the faculty members of Ankara University know about the existence of the digital library. Another result of the survey is that many of the faculty members, although not all, use electronic databases. The most preferred databases have been Web of Science, Science Direct and Ebsco. When use of the electronic databases is analyzed, in respect of faculty rank and level of awareness, associate and assistant professors, assistants are ranked first.

The study presents the first case study in the field in Turkey that compares the current situation of the digital library usage with the initial survey data.

The quality of teaching, research and community service of lecturers coupled with their publication in any university system may depend on the quality of the electronic database they use. Electronic database awareness use is very important to the teaching, research and community service activities of lecturers in the Nigerian university system. It has been established that lack of awareness is the main factor militating against effective use of electronic databases. The study aims to investigate awareness and use of electronic databases as determinants of research productivity of academic staff in private universities in South-West Nigeria.

The descriptive survey research design of the correlational type was adopted. Out of the 27 private universities established and approved between 1999 and 2012 in South-West Nigeria, 21 were purposively covered in the study. The stratified random sampling technique based on probability proportionate to size method was adopted in selecting 1,656 (60 per cent) academic staff from the population size of 2,760. The main research instrument used to collect data for the study was questionnaire. Data generated were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Spearman’s rank was used to test hypothesis at 0.05 level of confidence.

There was a significant positive correlation between awareness and utilisation of electronic databases (r = 0.690; p < 0.05).The result of the analysis showed that there was average level of awareness of electronic databases among academic staff in private universities in South-West, Nigeria.

The study selected 21 out of the 27 private universities established and approved between 1999 and 2012 in South-West, Nigeria.

Based on the findings, the paper recommends increased investment in ICT facilities at the surveyed universities in line with the emerging digital trend in universities around the world to raise the level of awareness of electronic databases utilisation by academic staff in research.

The purpose of this paper is to know-how the university libraries are managing online databases, especially from the Maharashtra state of India. The focus is to study the difficulties and challenges faced by the university librarians.

In this descriptive research, survey of 15 university libraries was conducted. Seven universities are subscribing online databases apart from databases accessible under national consortia. A comprehensive questionnaire comprised of 16 sections and total 47 questions was designed for data collection. Personal contacts helped to a great extent to get back the questionnaire.

The study revealed that the university librarians are trying to cope up with the management of electronic resources. Major challenges are unawareness about the life cycle of electronic resources, lack of standard procedures, collection development and preservation policies, failed to conduct user information need surveys, negotiation skills, competencies of staff and so on.

The scope of the present research was to study the current practices of management of online databases subscribed by the university libraries in Maharashtra. Other types of electronic resources were not considered in the present study. It was found that out of 15 universities only seven universities subscribe the online databases apart from the databases provided by UGC-INFONET. Therefore, the data from these seven libraries were considered for analysis.

This study will provide the guidelines for managing online databases in academic libraries.

Very few studies are conducted to study the management of online databases by university librariesin India.

This article summarizes a study that identified and described federal information inventory/locator systems. Such locator systems provide an important means of accessing a range of government information not previously available to the public or other government officials. Overall, the study's goal was to improve access to and use of U.S. government information. The study produced a final report describing study efforts, identifying issues and conclusions, and recommending the design of an networked‐based government‐wide information inventory/locator system (GIILS) (Volume I), the Federal Locator Database (FLD) — a machine‐readable database of descriptive information on some 250 federal databases, of which fifty‐three met the study's criteria as a locator, and a user's guide to that database (Volume II includes a machine‐readable version of the database and the user guide and codebook). The study recommends that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget develop a policy framework requiring agencies to design and maintain machine‐readable locators, meeting certain requirements and standards and that these be accessible over the Internet/NREN.

Using questionnaires and interviews, a survey was undertaken of publishers/producers of electronic information with regard to retention, storage and access. It was found that, although some large publishers were innovative with their use of electronic material for different purposes, many commercial publishers are only gradually getting involved with electronic production methods and few have policies on electronic archiving. Among publishers, there is a low level of awareness of the Knowledge Warehouse project and a marked disinclination to deposit material with a national electronic archive on a voluntary basis. Database producers have more interest in electronic archiving and take more measures to refresh their magnetic media. There is some evidence of material produced in electronic form only that is in danger of being deleted from databases, electronic newsletters and videotex. CD‐ROM is the medium of the future for several publishers and database producers. The archival life of various electronic media is considered, and standards relating to electronic publishing are discussed. Some initiatives in electronic archiving are described.

This study aims to provide the framework for effective development of electronic information resources (EIRs) in Nigeria; it seeks to explore the levels of developing electronic information resources in university libraries in Nigeria.

The study adopted the survey method in the collection of research data. Validated questionnaires were administered to participants at a national workshop on Electronic Information for Libraries Network (eIFL.net) held at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile‐Ife, Nigeria, from 17‐20 October, 2007.

The findings show that the internet has been the major source of developing EIRs in Nigerian university libraries as 17 (89.5 per cent) of the surveyed libraries have internet connectivity. This is followed by subscription to electronic databases, online databases 13 (68.4 per cent) and CD‐ROMs 11 (57.9 per cent); electronic journals ten (52.6 per cent) and library computerization ten (52.6 per cent) while digitization of library materials received the least responses of three (15.8 per cent). From the survey findings, there is a high level of developing EIRs in Nigerian university libraries through direct subscription for electronic information (online databases, CD‐ROMs etc.) than conversion of information into electronic form in the library through computerization and digitization.

There is a need to encourage local research in Nigeria by improving on the current level of conversion of local information for national and international access by users. Mass computerisation of library services and digitization of relevant library materials should be encouraged in university libraries in the country.

The paper provides insight into the level of development and utilization of EIRs in Nigerian universities

This paper seeks to provide recent case study evidence for the remarkable growth of electronic resources in academic library collections and to analyze growth patterns and impacts.

A case study reviewed electronic resources growth at the University of Saskatchewan Library over a 12‐year time series, from 1996‐1997 to 2007‐2008. The researcher collected data from the library's databases A‐Z lists over the time series, compiled statistics and growth rates for both net holdings and new acquisitions, then analyzed and contextualized the results.

The study reveals three electronic resources growth or development stages corresponding to advances in electronic resource types – i.e. bibliographic, full text and reference – and a pattern of sustained rapid growth. It was found that growth doubled within the last four years of the time series, with ±100 resources being added annually in the same period. Both internal and external events impacted on growth. Just as internal and external events contribute to the growth of electronic resources, new events such as economic decline may contribute to growth decline.

While the study is limited to a single academic library case, it has applications to similar academic library profiles across North America, where sustained rapid growth has had a significant impact on reference workers and researchers.

This research provides a case study for describing electronic resources growth in academic libraries. The data and findings may help support funding increases, and an understanding of the extent of growth and its impact on reference workers and researchers.

Although generalizations from one case study cannot be made, this study of electronic resources growth and its implications substantiates the general conviction that overwhelming growth has occurred and that the consequences for library services and systems is considerable. The paper applies the concept of growth or development stages: bibliographic, full text and reference, to describe the evolution of electronic resources in an academic library.