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Increasing the discovery and use of e-resources in university libraries. By Dr M Ishwara Bhat Librarian Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani (Rajasthan) PIN 333031 Email : ibhat@bits-pilani.ac.in. An inconvenient truth : Use of e-resources is very much less than what we expect
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Increasing the discovery and use of e-resources in university libraries By Dr M Ishwara Bhat Librarian Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani (Rajasthan) PIN 333031 Email : ibhat@bits-pilani.ac.in
An inconvenient truth : Use of e-resources is very much less than what we expect • BITS example • Duke University study • OCLC Study on Perception of libraries • Pew Internet and American Life Project
E-resources are expensive IEEE download : Rs 95 per article CRC & Springer e-book : $ 30 per book year Average license fee for an e-journal (As per Indest prices 2009) ASCE Journal : Rs 5852 per journal Emerald : Rs 1939 per journal ASME : Rs 6556 per journal Elsevier (Engg) : Rs 4743 per journal
Prime reasons for low usage • Low awareness of e-resources • Too much information; ‘Googling’ effect • Lack of good infrastructure
Good infrastructure • Campus LAN • Wi-Fi in the library • Bandwidth • Leased line • VPN • Quality of PC • Maintenace and upkeep • Helpline
Access control • User ID/Password • IP authentication • Athens (UK) Internal Marketing to staff
Good library website • Make it simple to use • Provide a link from the university homepage • Make the e-resources visible • Provide subject guides • Provide facility for online registration • Promote the library website
Traditional methods of promotion • List of journals on the library website/OPAC • Integrate e-book records into library OPAC • Subject guides on the library website • Banners, posters, brochures, bookmarks • Posters in the physical library • Book dummies in the stack area
Library newsletters • In house magazines brought out by student bodies • Distribute research articles pulled out from online databases • Encourage users to review databases
Face to face interactions • Visits to departments • Subject training programs • As a part of Institute’s events • User meets • Competitions • Launches • Stalls and road shows • Training sessions, Workshops • Promotional workshops by vendors
Promotion through the web/Intranet Emails – global E-mails – targeted Screen messages Online tutorials Table of contents RSS Feeds Wikis Blogs Facebook
Measuring the effectiveness of promotional programs • Usage statistics • Surveys • Open Houses • Feedback from the staff
Thank You • Email : ibhat@bits-pilani.ac.in View of BITS-Pilani Library