Collection management of electronic resources in engineering college libraries of Aligarh, India: a study
| Pages | 89-96 |
| Date | 08 January 2020 |
| Published date | 08 January 2020 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-09-2019-0028 |
| Author | Muzamil Mushtaq ,Ariba Tausif |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Collection building & management |
Collection management of electronic resources
in engineering college libraries of Aligarh,
India: a study
Muzamil Mushtaq and Ariba Tausif
Department of Library and Information Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to analyze the e-resource collection development practices of the engineering college libraries of Aligarh.
The research includes budgeting, collection development policy, collection evaluation, sources of funds, modes of procurement, pricing models and
other aspects related to collection development activity.
Design/methodology/approach –The descriptive method was used for conducting the study, in which a well-structured questionnaire was
administered followed by interview of the librarians of six engineering college libraries under study.
Findings –It was found that these colleges are much more interested in focusing on building a strong e-resource collection in their libraries. During the past
few years, the budget has also been increased in majority of libraries for the acquisition of e-resources. The study found that the major factors affecting the
selection of electronic resources (e-resources) in these colleges are quality, subject coverage, license agreement and vendor support. It was also revealed that
majority of libraries lack proper collection development policy, especially for e-resources. The study suggested that these libraries should build their collections
keeping in mind the different areas of specializations of engineering studies and the contemporary changes in the field.
Research limitations/implications –The paper is restricted exclusively to the study of collection development process of e-resources and the
librarians of six major engineering colleges of Aligarh as respondents.
Practical implications –This study has great importance for the librarians of the similar engineering colleges in India. The findings and suggestions of the
study can help not only in understanding the engineering college librarianship and its current trends but can also help library professionals who are facing
similar challenges in their libraries.
Originality/value –The present study is about the e-resource collection development practices followed in engineering colleges of Aligarh, which
can serve as a pedestal for future studies in other academic and special libraries in India and elsewhere.
Keywords Collection management, Electronic resources, Aligarh, Collection development, Engineering colleges, Engineering colleges libraries
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In this era of information and communication technology (ICT)
and internet, the sources of information are moving rapidly from
print to electronic format. Today, the influenceof ICT is evident in
almost every discipline, including education. It is affecting, in fact,
improving every aspect of education, and libraries are no exception.
It has resulted in the emergence of electronic books (e-books) and
electronic journals (e-journals), and readers are now getting more
acquainted with reading on ICT-based platforms. Consequently, to
provide better services to their patrons, libraries cannot only depend
on traditional print collection (Santos, 2017). Electronic resources
(e-resources) give flexibilitytousers,asonlyelectronicgadgetis
needed to download and access information. Owing to this ease of
information access, library users today want desktop access
to information resources which have forced libraries to change the
way information is served from physical to virtual world. Over the
years, the way information is generated, stored and accessed has
changed considerably because of the extensive application of ICTs.
Therefore, to meet the changing needs and demands of the users,
libraries are upgrading themselves by developing e-resource
collection (Babu, 2015). This increased dependency and usage of
the internet, and Web-based technologies have resulted in shifting of
the focus of academic libraries from print source to electronic
materials. The major change that can be seen in an academic library
today is the widespread availability and usage of e-resources such as
e-journals, online databases, e-books, e-reference collection,
OPACs, CD-ROM. This change of focus is apparent from the
significant increase that can be noticed in the amount of library
budget spent on acquiring e-resources through the report of
National Center for Education Statistics carried on over 4,000
college and university libraries across the USA. It was found that,
during the fiscal year 2012, academic libraries in the USA had spent
approximately $2.8bn on acquisition of information resources. Out
of which, $1.4bn were spent on subscribing electronic current
serials, and another $123.6m were spent on bibliographic utilities,
networks and consortia. The figures clearly show that over 54.4 per
cent of the library budget was spent on acquisition of e-resources
Thecurrentissueandfulltextarchiveofthisjournalisavailableon
Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9326.htm
Collection and Curation
39/3 (2020) 89–96
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2514-9326]
[DOI 10.1108/CC-09-2019-0028]
Received 8 September 2019
Revised 20 November 2019
Accepted 25 November 2019
89
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