Social Sciences

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Academic Libraries

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    Impact of Internet on Library and Information Services: Experience of an Academic Library in a Technical University.
    (Department of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Seneviratne, T.M.
    Internet technology has been used to enhance teaching and learning in higher education. Computer literate population is ever increasing and the majority of the students have basic computer skills when they arrive at the university and able to use online resources and interact via social media. In such circumstances, Internet can be heavily used as an information resource, retrieval tool, communication tool than the physical library.As such, academic libraries have also taken advantage of the trend and made them visible online.Though, Internet has not replaced the physical library but has made an impact. Therefore, objective of this paper is to highlight some changes Internet has brought to an academic library in a technical university. Trend analysis of library reader services data within year 2011 to 2016 along with the observation of usage of electronic information sources and services was done. According to the data, library registration of undergraduates and diploma students are parallel to university admissions but postgraduates registrations have declined by 22% and academic staff registrations by 50%. Registration renewals have increased in undergraduates (170%). Issuing of library materials has recorded a decline by 27% in undergraduates; 19% in diploma students; 36% in postgraduates and 42% in academics. Reservations of library materials has also reduced (70-80%). However, online renewal of library materials has increased by 110 % -150% in four user categories. Usage of online databases has been greatly increased and 27275 average total article downloads have been recorded for online databases subscribed by Consortium of Academic Libraries and 68545 average total article downloads by self-subscribed databases over the period 2014-2016. Since its inception, digital library has archived nearly 4000 documents and over 6000 user logins and 500, 000 searches have been recorded. In conclusion, all categories of library users have a declining trend in using physical library materials and services and have positive developments towards electronic information sources and services. Hence, it is recommended to design novel user education programmesteachmedia and information literacy for undergraduates and diploma students. It is essential to include subject specific library skills programmespostgraduate students and new academic staff members.
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    A Study on User Satisfaction of Undergraduates of Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka
    (Department of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Shanmugathasan, S.
    Academic libraries play a pivotal role in the transmission of information and knowledge in higher educational institutions. The user community is the most important component of a library. Every information service exists for the sole aim of satisfying its users. This study investigates to explore the utilization and user satisfaction of the Vavuniya Campus Library. The study was carried out using a survey methodology by employing 150 undergraduates chosen across two faculties of five degree programs on the stratified random sampling technique for the study. The results showed that though overall satisfaction with the Library services recorded a satisfactory rating, there is more room for improvement as far as the services and resources. There is lack of adequate facilities, especially inadequate space and non conducive environment, and internet or ICT services in the Campus Library. It is recommended to house the library in a permanent building with full fledged facilities.
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    Preservation and Conservation of Digital Resource Practices in Academic Libraries in Coimbatore: A Study
    (Department of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Sarangapani, R.; Mangiyakarasi, A.
    A survey using a structured questionnaire was adopted to study preservation and conservation practice in academic libraries in Coimbatore. The study revealed that there was no written policy on preservation and conservation in nearly all libraries. In addition to the lack of written preservation policy, the lack of trained manpower and lack of funding were the main constraints for preservation and conservation practices. Higher authorities and policy makers need to be initiated inn of staff and budget not just for preservation but seemingly for the long term survival of libraries.
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    Accessing the User Satisfaction of Information Literacy Skill Development Program: Special Reference to Faculty of Business Studies and Finance, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka
    (Department of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Gamlath, W.G.P.; Thusithakumari, W.M.; Malkanthi, D.G.A.S.; Jayawardana, K.G.I.
    The innovations in information communication technology have influenced libraries to serve better and adopt the changes. The introduction and spread of electronic information sources are major developments in the libraries and information services in past decades. Today’s information seekers has been offered different opportunities to access to information resources in an increasing array and format. Therefore, role of the academic libraries changed in preparing students to handle the rapidly expanding range of information formats. Traditional Orientation programme is primarily concerned with ways of introducing general techniques of library use and services available, organization layout and facilities of the particular library. Academic libraries are given a fresh opportunity to attract first year students to the library and its services. Therefore, Information Literacy Skill Development (ILSD) Programme changed the traditional scenario and adopted according to new strategies. This paper mainly focused on user satisfaction of ILSD Programme special reference to Faculty of Business Studies and Finance (FBSF), Wayamba University of Sri Lanka (WUSL) also to share experience with other academic librarians. Survey method applied for the study and focus group was the new comers who actively attend fulltime to the ILSD Programme. Selected sample was 287 new comers of FBSF. A self-structured questionnaire with 9 main factors was distributed among the sample. According to the results, the satisfactory level of factors; clear explaining of library service/ facilities, effective multimedia usage, hands on training on e-resources, Brainstorming and Mind Mapping Techniques , OPAC, Library Classification System, Library Tour, integration of library staff and Time allocation is in the range from 87% to 98%. The study investigates that application of innovative practices to the ILSD Programme is more productive in challenging for this changing environment of global information era. Hence, the study recommended to libraries should go extra mile passing traditional Library Orientation ideas with strategies in more practical IL skills for sustainable development.
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    Access and Usage of the Online Databases in the Wayamba University Library Network (with special reference to Makandura Premises)
    (Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Thusithkumari, W.M.
    Electronic databases play a major role as information sources in libraries at present. Many of the indexed and abstracting journals appear as electronic bibliographic databases and information retrieval systems. Other than indexes and abstracts, there are different types of electronic databases, which are now very popular among the librarians and library users due to several factors like speed, flexibility, wide range and accuracy. The objective of this study is to measure the online database usage of academics in Wayamba University Makandura Premises, and to find the obstacles they face. The methodology used for this study was the survey method. Online questionnaires were used as the data collection method. The questionnaires were distributed to the academic staff in two faculties of the Makandura premises. Usage statistics of vendors were also used in data analysis. Online questionnaires were given to the academic staff in order to identify the most useable databases, and also to understand the obstacles in using online databases. Vendor’s statistics (2012-2015) are utilized to see the usage pattern of databases. The study shows that there had been a steady growth rate in the usage of the online database.. However the general usage of online database of Wayamba library network is at a satisfactory level. Several obstacles to online database usage were identified in this study. These include the lack of full text availability, the high cost of online databases, the lack of search skills among users, the lack of knowledge about scholarly e-journals. The following recommendations were made to overcome above obstacles: increase the subscriptions of scholarly online databases, allocate sufficient funds by the university and conduct continuous information-seeking literacy training by library.