The impact of digital library resources on scholarly communication: challenges and opportunities for university libraries in Pakistan
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-07-2013-0046 |
| Published date | 14 October 2013 |
| Date | 14 October 2013 |
| Pages | 12-29 |
| Author | Amjid Khan,Shamshad Ahmed |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology |
Background of the study
University libraries are considered
the “heart” of the learned society (Zhang
et al., 2011, pp. 271-273), and they
provide a base for academicians and
researchers to accomplish their research
work and increase their knowledge
(Simmonds and Andaleeb, 2001,
p. 626). During the last two decades,
the emergence and growth of
information and communication
technologies (ICTs) and the world
wide web (www) have enabled
libraries to provide quick and easy
access to human knowledge (Halbert,
1999). However, the creation of
information in various formats and
development of databases and
transformation of information rapidly
via networks has led to a dramatic
growth in the application of digital
technologies in libraries (Tiwari, 2006,
pp. 271-273). These technological
developments allow university libraries
to serve their users more effectively.
The introduction of the web was a
base phenomenon for the establishment
of digital libraries (DL). The networked
information system and www have
introduced new and powerful too ls
and directions for storing, finding,
retrieval and sharing of information
(Arms, 2005, pp. 22-29).
Realizing the importance of DL,
Wisner argued that “our buildings will
disappear gradually over the next 100
years, and the portable e-book, once
perfected, will drive the nail into our
collective coffins” (Shill and Tonner,
2003, p. 431).
The significant benefits of DL are that
they contain several formats of
information in a much more universally
accepted environment than is possible
within a traditional environment (Gorton,
2007). Thus, faculty and research scholars
often depend on DL as opposed to printed
materials (Stahley and Platt, 2002, p. 359),
and they have now become the most
important tool as they provide extensive
opportunities for research scholars,
learners and teachers to access, evaluate
and use information to create new
knowledge (Ne uman, 1997). DL not
only offer new opportunities to retrieve a
bulk of information from various sources,
but also make scattered resources spread
across the network seem to be a single
associated source (Feng et al., 2005, p. 1).
Downs and Friedman (1999) stated that
DL, comprising representations of
original works, provide opportunities for
users to conduct research from personal
computers and workstations located
anywhere.
Experts all over the world have
acknowledged the significant role of
research scholars in the promotion of
research both in developed as well as
developing countries. They need
authentic, high quality and easy access to
the world of scholarly information. Easy
access to the latest and most authentic
information are the main reasons for using
e-journals (Borrego et al., 2007;
Kortelainen, 2004). Bhardwaj and Walia
(2012) have pointed out that most users
now rely on the use of full text e-journals;
e-abstracting and e-indexing databases for
academic and research requirements
(Hetreck, 2002). Bazillion (2001)
believed that DL have changed the
research trend as they provide new ways
of dealing with preserving and accessing
human knowledge. Lee and Boyle (2004)
highlighted that easy and quick access to
information, enhanced functionality, easy
organization and management,
multimedia formats, interoperability and
cheap storage devices are the main
features of the digital library that attracts
users to give preference to it over the
traditional library system.
Digital library development
Thefirstfreeelectronicbooks
(e-books) produced by Guttenberg in
1971 were the result of a series of
innovations begun by Michael S. Hart to
provide services to its users in digital
formats (Bazillion, 2001). The Mercury
CampusDigitalLibraryprojectatthe
Carnegie Mellon University (1987-1991),
Bellcore Cornell University, OCLC and
the American Chemical Society (1991-
1995s) digitization projects were a
paradigm shift towards the provision of
information into electronic formats.
Similarly in 1993, the Association for
ComputingMachinery (ACM)initiated a
database of journal articles, conference
proceedings, magazines and newsletters
for their future publications. Such
policies were adopted by Wiley, Science
Direct, JSTOR (digital contents in 1995),
Academic Press, MIT Press, university
presses,Library of Congress (digitization
project 1989-1994) and other large
commercial publishers (Arms, 2005,
pp. 47-48, 54). According to Sharma
et al. (2011), DL and e-journals have
taken their places as a top priority for
academicians, researchers and research
organizations (especially in developing
countries).
In Pakistan, for the last few decades,
the need for changes and improvement
in the quality of education has been felt
in the higher education sector. The
reasons have been:
.the growth of information in
multiple formats;
.an increasing number of students in
higher education;
12
Library Hi Tech News
Number 8 2013, pp. 12-30, qEmerald Group Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/LHTN-07-2013-0046
The impact of digital library resources on
scholarly communication: challenges and
opportunities for university libraries in Pakistan
Amjid Khan and Shamshad Ahmed
.demands of research productivity;
and
.output from the intellectual society
(Bhatti, 2003).
The Higher Education Commission
(HEC) of Pakistan was established in
2002, replacing its old nomenclature of
University Grants Commission (UGC),
with its mission is “to build and
strengthen research culture in
Pakistan” and to make the Pakistani
universities a world class center for
education, research and development
(Rafiq and Ameen, 2012; Said, 2006).
In February 2004, HEC launched a
digital library access program to all
recognized public sector universities,
non-profit research and development
organizations in the country. The
resources contained 30 international
publishers’ databases and over 20,000
full text peer reviewed journals as well
as access to over 45,000 e-books
(Warraich and Kanwal, 2010). Now
about 75,000 pieces of electronic
content have been made available
online (www.digitallibrary.edu.pk/
sed_bl.html) to meet the information
needs of intellectuals in the higher
education and research sector in
Pakistan (HEC, 2012). This led higher
education institutes to serve as an
engine of growth for the socio-
economic development of Pakistan.
The role of HEC digital library and
electronic resources in:
.supporting education;
.research innovation; and
.creativity have been strongly
endorsed by the students,
researchers and faculty members
in Pakistan.
The HEC (2012b) report shows that due
to the HEC, digital library access to the
world of scholarly information, in 2011
alone, the Pakistani universities had
published about 6,200 research papers.
Literature review
In the last two decades, several
research studies have been carried out
on how students, faculty members and
researchers have used DLs to fulfill
their research and academic n eeds.
Similarly, numerous studies have been
conducted to evaluate DLs from
users’ perspectives. Various research
methods, including surveys, interviews,
experiments, observations and
transaction log analyses were used for
this purpose. Each study gave a
different sort of conclusion depending
on the methods applied for, users’
group, discipline and users’
preferences. For example, Nasser Al-
Saleh (2004) evaluated the information
needs of graduate students in the
context of e-resources in Saudi
Arabian universities. The study
reported that digital library resources
played an important role in scholarly
inquiry. More than 50 percent of the
respondents used e-resources for their
needed information (pp. x-xi). Though,
according to Lagier (2002) the effective
use of these resources assumes a certain
level of technological skills, self-
directed inspiration and self-
sufficiency. Notess (2004) compared
real-world digital library usage within
the natural setting of the DL at Indiana
University. Three research methods
(user satisfaction questionnaires, log
files and field observations) were
adopted to collect the data. The study
found that users were happy to use
online resources because they knew that
using the physical library would waste
their time. The study suggested that
digital library interfaces need to be
more user-friendly.
Voorbij and Ongering (2006) used
mixed method (questionnaire and
interview) to evaluate the use of
e-journals among the Dutch faculty
members and researchers in The
Netherlands. The study examined
users’ experience with e-journals,
frequency of use, perceived
advantages and disadvantages, benefits
and effect of e-journals on their
research. The study revealed that more
than 75 percent of scientists and social
researchers had vast experience with
using these resources. They found that
e-journals shorten the time needed for
literature searches which helps in
research innovation and also motivates
interdisciplinary research. On the other
hand, humanities researchers indicated
less than 40 percent experience with
e-journals.
Munnolli (2005) examined the use of
Science Direct online resources and
alert services among the patrons in
India. The study found that users were
keenly interested in using Science
Direct online resources and alert
services for information retrieval.
They were reluctant to use the
advanced features of online databases
due to limited time and lack of
information literacy programs. The
study suggested that user education
and library orientation programs “on
how to access online databases” could
be arranged on a regular basis.
Borrego et al. (2007) surveyed the
use of e-journals among the patrons at
Catalan University. The objectives of
the study were to identify users’
awareness, preferences and extent of
satisfaction with electronic resources.
The study found that the majority of
respondents were aware of these
resources and also adopted their use to
fulfill their information needs. On the
other hand, McMartin et al. (2008)
evaluated the use of the digital library
and e-resources among faculty
members and instructors of 119 higher
education institutions in United States.
The results of the study of a total of
4,678 respondents showed that most of
the experienced faculty members do not
rely on the digital library for their
research needs. Abdul Mannan and
Naved (2009) examined the use of e-
journals by research scholars at Aligarh
Muslim University and Banaras Hindu
University, India. Key objectives of the
study were: to identify the level of
information, purpose of using,
problems faced by researchers and
impact of e-journals on researchers’
work. The study concluded that most of
the respondents were aware and used
e-journals in their research endeavors.
Purpose of using the digital library
Digital library designers must know
users’ information needs and their
purpose for using these resources.
Digital library and e-journals have
become indispensable for research
scholars and teaching faculty in
accelerating their research and
academic tasks (Feng et al., 2005).
This statement verified the Zhang
(1999) findings, where he found that
users generally used e-journals both for
academic and research purposes.
Cherry and Duff (2002) studied the
use of the Canadian digital library over
time. The study concluded that most of
the respondents used these resources for
research purposes. Furthe rmore, the
respondents recommended the digital
Library Hi Tech News
Number 8 2013 13
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