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Open educational resources (OERs) are internet-based digital content that is used for academic purposes by instructors, students and researchers in the era of the information economy. Hence, this study aims to systematically review the literature, focusing on OERs’ benefits and challenges in the academic world.

The relevant literature systematically reviewed following the preferred reporting items for systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The pertinent literature was obtained from four main scholarly databases, and finally, 21 papers that met the inclusion criteria were included in this study.

The findings revealed that the key benefits of OERs include expanded access to knowledge, supporting lifelong learning, pedagogical benefits and enhancing students’ learning outcomes. However, the key challenges include lack of time to find appropriate resources, lack of awareness about the usage and copyrights, quality assurance and technological limitations and lack of organizational support.

The practical and policy implications highlight the joint venture of academia and library professionals to help the students evaluating OERs, quality assurance, copyright issues and lifelong learning.

Earlier studies missed few significant insights of OERs, such as they did not address the quality assurance of OERs; the issue of understanding of copy right (creative common license) challenges related with OERs; and lack of time for finding suitable resources. Hence, this study identified significance insights related with OERs.

In the digital age, public libraries are facing numerous challenges, and the Balochistan public libraries are no exception. This study aimed to identify current digital trends adopted by the public libraries in Balochistan and to find out about challenges and potential solutions regarding digital trends from library users.

A quantitative study was carried out and data were collected through the survey method, employing a structured questionnaire. The target population consisted of 17,953 users of 17 public libraries in Balochistan. A sample of 510 users both male and female was selected by using random sampling technique from the target population.

The analysis revealed that patrons of public libraries are dissatisfied with the services offered, as they now require access to new digital trends such as fast Internet, download facilities, unlimited content on numerous resources, Wi-Fi, online reference services, universal accessibility and user-friendly interfaces. Unfortunately, public libraries in Balochistan are still lagging in terms of development. The study recommended that public libraries in Balochistan should develop and implement digital services, increase access to digital resources, hire professional librarians, professional development and collaborate with other libraries.

The study’s findings can assist in improving public library services and granting patrons access to current information and resources in Balochisthan and other developing countries. This study’s originality stems from its use of a quantitative survey approach to gather data from 17 public libraries in Balochisthan and provide a comprehensive view of the digital challenges they face. The study’s focus on digital tendencies is relevant in today’s world, where technology is rapidly changing the way, we access and consume information.

Open access (OA) is often considered as particularly beneficial to researchers in the global south. However, research into awareness of and attitudes to OA has been largely dominated by voices from the global north. A survey was conducted of 507 researchers from the developing world and connected to INASP's AuthorAID project to ascertain experiences and attitudes to OA publishing. The survey revealed problems for the researchers in gaining access to research literature in the first place. There was a very positive attitude to OA research and OA journals, but when selecting a journal in which to publish, OA was seen as a much less important criterion than factors relating to international reputation. Overall, a majority of respondents had published in an OA journal and most of these had paid an article processing charge. Knowledge and use of self-archiving via repositories varied, and only around 20% had deposited their research in an institutional repository. The study also examined attitudes to copyright, revealing most respondents had heard of Creative Commons licences and were positive about the sharing of research for educational use and dissemination, but there was unease about research being used for commercial purposes. Respondents revealed a surprisingly positive stance towards openly sharing research data, although many revealed that they would need further guidance on how to do so. The survey also revealed that the majority had received emails from so called “predatory” publishers and that a small minority had published in them.

Open-access repositories (OARs) are essential for openly disseminating intellectual knowledge on the internet and providing free access to it. The current study aims to evaluate the growth and development of OARs in the field of technology by investigating several characteristics such as coverage, OA policies, software type, content type, yearly growth, repository type and geographic contribution.

The directory of OARs acts as the source for data harvesting, which provides a quality-assured list of OARs across the globe.

The study found that 125 nations contributed a total of 4,045 repositories in the field of research, with the USA leading the list with the most repositories. Maximum repositories were operated by institutions having multidisciplinary approaches. The DSpace and Eprints were the preferred software types for repositories. The preferred upload content by contributors was “research articles” and “electronic thesis and dissertations”.

The study is limited to the subject area technology as listed in OpenDOAR; therefore, the results may differ in other subject areas.

The work can benefit researchers across disciplines and, interested researchers can take this study as a base for evaluating online repositories. Moreover, policymakers and repository managers could also get benefitted from this study.

The study is the first of its kind, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to investigate the repositories of subject technology in the open-access platform.

This paper focuses on the use of e-resources by research scholars and post-graduate students at Kashmir University. The main aim is to determine the use of e-resources, users skills in handling e-resources and the purpose of their use. Further, this paper aims to highlight the problems faced by research scholars and post-graduate students in accessing e-resources.

The survey was conducted through a structured questionnaire circulated among 250 research scholars, both (M.Phil./Ph.D.) and post-graduate students, from different departments of Kashmir University, and the response rate was 80%. Random sample method was used for the selection of respondents and interacting with them. The responses received from the research scholars to 14 questions are presented in the form of tables.

Major findings of the study reveal that the majority of the students reported using electronic journal resources for various purposes including working on assignments, research proposal writing, literature review writing, research report writing, current awareness and leisurely exploration of ongoing scientific debates through peer-reviewed papers. The challenges encountered in the use of electronic journal resources include a power outage, inadequate bandwidth, slow download speed, inability to access the resources from home, lack of training, lack of awareness, limited access to computers and difficulty in searching. The paper concludes that electronic resources have become an integral part of the information needs of research scholars’ post-graduate students at Kashmir University. Further, it finds that e-resources can be good substitutes for conventional resources, if the access is fast, and more computer terminals are installed to provide fast access to e-resources. Finally, recommendations for improving the use of electronic journal resources are provided.

The paper restrains the study exclusively to use of e-resources by the research scholars and post-graduate students of Kashmir University.

The paper highlights the use of e-resources by research scholars and post-graduate students of Kashmir University and makes some constructive suggestions for the improvement of electronic resources and services. This is the first time an effort has been made to assess the use of electronic resources by post-graduate students at Kashmir University. The study could be used to assess the post-graduate students’ needs for electronic resources at the Kashmir University and other users in higher learning institutions.

The study aims to determine the extent of COVID-19’s impact on the libraries and information centers within Benguet. It identified the key differences in the effect of the pandemic on each type of library: public, special, school and academic. It recalled and documented the challenges faced by libraries and librarians. It determined which aspects of their library were affected and how they were modified in terms of their policies, personnel, physical space, services, collection, infodemic response and marketing.

The study used the qualitative descriptive method approach, specifically narrative research design and conducted online focus group discussions in which 14 librarians with managerial or supervisory functions participated. This method was used to explore the topic holistically by using qualitative inquiry. It best suited the purpose of fully understanding the experiences of libraries during the pandemic. The recorded online focus group discussions conducted through Zoom were reviewed and analyzed to identify key themes and responses from the participants. The themes identified from the thematic analysis were further validated with the participants through correspondence, chats or e-mails.

The findings showed that libraries were faced with challenges brought on by the lack of a written policy for the pandemic response, a lack of information communication and technology skills and resources, strict requirements on physical setup for pandemic compliance, budget cuts or realignments and delayed procurement, misinformation and users’ lack of awareness of the new services offered by the library.

The study focused on the pandemic experiences of libraries and information centers in Baguio-Benguet, which was hailed as a model for local pandemic response, through the lenses of librarians with supervisory roles or functions.

Libraries could reflect on their experiences in this pandemic to plan for future strategies that would be best implemented in situations where face-to-face services are not allowed.

This study presented various best practices from different library institutions that could be emulated in the future. Many of these are still relevant regardless library services are going back to normal.

This study aims to discuss the case of the Università degli studi di Milano in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as a point of departure for a new concept of digital library that is closer to users and publishers.

In this case study, processes and statistical data related to the library system and its usage and digitization at the Università degli studi di Milano during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed with focus on users’ behavior regarding access to and usage of digital library. The outcome of the innovative measures implemented by the university was analyzed, including the procedures for purchasing bibliographic material, the organization of work in libraries, the management system of bibliographic resources and their monitoring, teaching, communication and the organization of knowledge in general.

The library system of the Università degli studi di Milano has responded effectively and efficiently to the pandemic crisis by creating a collaborative network with publishers, teachers and students. The awareness of the central role of the Digital Library as the primary place for accessing content, an environment of carefully curated resources and a place for individual and collaborative studies to support learning has increased.

This analysis charters the effects of the lockdown, which has accelerated digital transformation and created an innovative model of academic libraries more connected to community goals. This study points toward the good practices resulting from the COVID-19 experience: closer relationship between users and publishers, change in organizational flow and the relevance of communication in creating a closer connection with users.

This study aims to explore various skills of library professionals working in management institutions of Kerala State, India.

A survey method was used by distributing online questionnaire as a data collection tool. The questionnaires were distributed to the library professionals working in management institutions in Kerala State, India.

The study’s results revealed that the library professionals were competent with managerial, communication and interpersonal skills. Conversely, they were lacking skills in statements such as institutional repository, web 2.0 and social networks. Their familiarity level with reference management tools, research and academic ethics, electronic publishing and management of open-access resources, were also not satisfactory. They need knowledge of other ICT skills such as designing and maintaining in-house databases, video conferencing tools, advanced troubleshooting creating and managing metadata, handling RFID technology and knowledge in solving issues while organizing webinars. Based on the findings, the study has suggested some recommendations which will enable the government/institutions to take appropriate measures to improve their skills.

This study will enable the policymakers to identify in which area the library professionals are weak and develop a strategy and framework for increasing the level of their skills.

This study provides the views of the library professionals working in management institutions in India and warrants the library professionals to enhance their skills, especially on research ethics and publications and ICT skills.

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a digital medical library, including department-based electronic journal access, library training course participation and scholarly publications.

The data on full-text electronic journal access, participants of library training courses and scholarly publications were exported from a digital medical library database during 2017–2021. In addition, electronic journal access and library training courses were divided into high-level and low-level groups, while scholarly publications were divided into physician and non-physician groups.

The scholarly publications had a positive correlation to library training courses and electronic journal access. Furthermore, scholarly publications showed a significant difference between the high-level and low-level electronic journal access groups but not between the high-level and low-level library training course groups. Scholarly publications and electronic journal access had positive correlations for both the physician and non-physician groups. Scholarly publications and library training courses, and electronic journal access and library training courses had positive correlations only in the non-physician group.

The importance of electronic journal access for scholarly publications is suggested based on the findings of the present study. The training courses held by the medical library had a positive effect on scholarly publications for the non-physician group.

The current study provides insights relevant to the electronic journal access of library-supported scholarly publications among medical departments. These results can serve as a reference for medical library development planning and decision-making in the future.

In the digital era, the competitiveness of an enterprise is highly dependent on the success of its digital transformation. The effectiveness of such transformation, in turn, relies heavily on the organization's strategic vision and resource fitness. Accordingly, the authors aim to explore the impact of strategic vision on digitalization (SVD) on the digital transformation of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), drawing on the perspective of resource orchestration theory.

Based on first-hand interview data from 347 Chinese SMEs, the research model was tested empirically by both Structural Equation Modeling and Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA).

The study results supported that the positive effect of SVD on digital transformation, and the mediating effect of resource orchestration (resource structuring, resource bundling and resource leveraging) accounts for the relationship between SVD and digital transformation. Further, the fsQCA showed that neither SVD nor resource orchestration alone constitutes a necessary condition for high digital transformation in SMEs, and that SVD and resource orchestration elements constitute three configuration paths that drive SMEs to achieve high-level digital transformation.

To the authors knowledge, this is the first study of its kind to theorize and empirically examine how SVD affects SMEs digital transformation. In addition, the authors have highlighted the importance of resource orchestration in forging a link between SVD and digital transformation. The research contributes to the resource orchestration theory and digitalization literature and provides guidelines on how SMEs can realize digital transformation.