The use of electronic resources by undergraduate students at the University of Venda, South Africa
| Pages | 861-881 |
| Published date | 02 October 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2016-0140 |
| Date | 02 October 2017 |
| Author | Tintswalo Pascalis Tlakula,Madeleine Fombad |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
The use of electronic resources by
undergraduate students at the
University of Venda, South Africa
Tintswalo Pascalis Tlakula and Madeleine Fombad
Information Science Department, University of South Africa,
Pretoria, South Africa
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to establish the level of use of the electronic resources at the University of
Venda, which is one of the previously disadvantaged universities in South Africa. It identifies the different
electronic resourcesused at the university, determines the level of awareness and training in theuse of these
resources and suggests ways in which electronic resources may be enhanced. The rapid changes in the
information and communication technology (ICTs) have influenced service delivery in academiclibraries in
terms of how informationis gathered, accessed, retrieved and used. Hence,electronic resources are invaluable
researchtools in academic libraries in the twenty-first century.
Design/methodology/approach –A qualitative research methodology was adopted, and semi-
structured interviews were conducted with each participant to get in-depth information. The target
population was all third-year students registered with the School of Human and Social Sciences at the
University of Venda. The third year undergraduate students from this particular school where chosen
because statisticsrevealed that these students where ranked among the top in the use of computers.
Findings –The findings revealed that the level of usage of theseresources by undergraduate students is
elementary and limited to SABINET and EBSCO host. Undergraduate student’s level of awareness of the
different electronicresources is low. They confused electronic resourcesto Web-based internet sources. It also
revealed that the level of awareness and training in the use of these resources is still generic, as training is
mostly a once off orientationat the first year.
Research limitations/implications –This paper focuses on third year undergraduate students who
were using computers because the researchers were interested in finding out whether students using
computers were also using electronic resources.It excluded other profiles such as age, gender and computer
usage behaviourof electronic resources.
Practical implications –Adequate use and knowledge of electronic resources at universities is
instrumentaltowards realisation of the country’s ICT Strategy and the outcome-basededucation (OBE) model
of teaching movement. Suggestions are made to the university, the university library, universitylibrarians
and the LibraryAssociation of South Africa on how to enhance the use of electronicresources.
Originality/value –It establishes the level of use of electronic resources in one of South African
historically disadvantaged universities, a point of contact to other previouslySouth African disadvantaged
universities and make suggestions on how electronic resources may be enhanced. It adds to the body of
knowledgeon the use of electronicresources in academic libraries in South African universities.
Keywords Academic libraries, Qualitative research, South Africa, Students, Education,
Electronic resources, Information and communication technology, Disadvantaged universities,
Outcome based education, University of Venda
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The twentieth century wasshaped by the emergence and then rapid changes in information
and communication technologies (ICTs) that influenced service delivery in academic
Use of
electronic
resources
861
Received22 June 2016
Revised12 October 2016
Accepted13 November 2016
TheElectronic Library
Vol.35 No. 5, 2017
pp. 861-881
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-06-2016-0140
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
libraries in the ways in which information is gathered, accessed, retrieved and used. ICTs
have resulted in an exponential growth in the acquisitionof electronic resources (ERs) as an
integral part of academic libraries for research,teaching, and academic activities (Ayoo and
Lubega, 2014;Rioux, 2014).ERs are an information resource that the library provides access
to via a computer and in electronic format. Information in electronic format provides the
advantage of being availableregardless of location or time and, possibly from the viewpoint
of end users, cost, especially if the resource is open access and the user is proxied into the
library’s site where there may be provided extensivelinks to additional resources related to
the topic in question (Dadzie, 2005). Librarye-resources have evolved from the introduction
of machine-readable cataloguing (MARC) and online public access catalogues (OPACs) in
the late 1960s to CD-ROM databases in the late 1980s, to electronic journals, electronic
books, online databasesand Web-based ERs at the end of the twentieth century (Hawthorne,
2008). These resources are delivered over the internet and require different searching skills
than print resources. Online resources comprised e-books; e-journals; electronic articles,
theses and dissertations; and online newspapers and databases, such as those offered
through EBSCOhost, e-journal packages offered by publishers such as Emerald and Sage,
indexing and abstracting databases, reference databases (biographies, dictionaries,
directories, encyclopaedias), numeric and statistical databases, e-images, e-audio/visual
resources, among others (Johnson et al., 2012). These items tend to enhance efficiency and
effectiveness for both patronsand libraries and enable patrons to access digital information
required for investigating issues, solving problems, making decisions and developing new
understandingsin areas of learning and teaching (Aramide and Bello, 2009).
Contextualisation and problematisation
Research statistics show that African countries lag behind those in the rest of the world in the
development of ICT infrastructure (Ojedokun and Lumande, 2005;Stilwell, 2007). However, this
is not exactly the case in South Africa and in South African universities in particular, which
enjoy a high level of ICT integration and adequate ICT infrastructure. One of the milestones of
the country’s National Development Plan, a policy that charts the country’sdevelopmentto
2030 (NPC, 2013) is to ensure that high-speed broadband internet is universally available at
competitive prices in South Africa. South Africa is ranked 111 of 183 countries in fixed
broadband penetration with 2.2 out of every 100 people enjoying fixed broadband
subscriptions (Satgoor, 2015). The South African national government’s Information and
Communication Technology Strategy (info.com 2025) is also evidence of the country’s
emphasis on the development of ICT. Info.com 2025 serves as a collective programme of ICT
projects designed to establish a networked information community and make South Africa
globally competitive. Info.com 2025 addresses issues of policy, infrastructure, human capacity
and local content within ICT industries. One of its objectives is to facilitate and promote
education and training through the use of telecommunications technologies. The plan is to
install public information terminals at the main post offices and to set up community
information centres. The Technology Enhanced Learning Initiative (TELI) is an example of an
important project adopted by the government which focuses on the use of ICT and the
development of the skills to use ICT (De Jager and Nassimbeni, 2002).
South African universities benefit from funding for new infrastructure and renovations
from the Department of Higher Education and Training and, thus, have adequate modern
software, ICT hardware and infrastructure. There are a total of 26 universities in the country
categorised into 11 traditional universities offering theory-oriented university degrees, nine
universities of technology focusing on vocationally oriented education and six comprehensive
universities offering a combination of both types of qualification (Business Tech, 2015). These
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