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CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION
Education aims to impart knowledge and makes good citizens.
Libraries are the repositories of knowledge and form an integral part of
education. Libraries have a long history, starting with the chained and
closed access libraries of earlier times to the present- day hybrid, digital
and virtual libraries that use the latest technology for provision of
information through various services. Accordingly, librarians have also
changed from storekeepers who were concerned with protection of books
against theft, mutilation and pilferage, to that of information officers,
navigators and cybrarians who find themselves in the vast ocean of reading
material and are busy in satisfying their clients who want information
anytime and anywhere.
With the advent of computers, the nature of libraries has changed
dramatically. Computers are being used in libraries to process, store
retrieve and disseminate information. As a result, the traditional concept of
library is being redefined from a place to access books to one which houses
the most advanced media including, CD-ROM, Internet and Remote access
to a wide range of resources. Libraries have now metamorphosed into
digital institutions. Gone are the days when a library was judged by its
quantitative resources. Today libraries are surrounded by networked data
that is connected to a vast ocean of internet based services. Moreover,
electronic resources relevant to the professions are developing at an
unprecedented pace.1
In any human endeavour systematic and assured development can
take place only if it is based on careful planning and faithful
implementation of programmes. In the matter of library development in
India, planning and programming efforts have been many since
Independence. While their outcome may be of varying degrees of
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accomplishment, there is no doubt that the country has been able to
develop and extensive infrastructure for library and information services on
the basis of plans and programs embarked upon at various levels. One
should have a good understanding of the country's library policies,
planning processes and programming endeavours in order to get a good
grasp of the organization of libraries in the country.
Systematic library development started in India only after 1947. The
establishment and development of the National library at Calcutta, public
library legislation in a few states leading to the creation of public library
systems, a growth in the number of university and college libraries and the
rapid development of special libraries and information centers in science
and technology, medicine, agriculture, social sciences and the humanities
are some of the landmarks achieved during the last five decades.
Impressive as these seem to be, they are, inadequate to meet the increasing
demand for knowledge and information required for our socio-economic
development, higher and technical education, higher industrial
productivity, and scientific and technological research, development and
progress. All these points to be need for integrated planning and
programming of activities and tasks on the basis of a national library and
information policy.
The national policy on the library and information system,
formulated by the Department of Culture, and this policy document spells
out an integrated approach to the development of all types of libraries and
information systems. As a sequel to this effort, a national commission on
libraries has been proposed. National policies in other sectors, such as
education, science and technology and information (communication) also
have a bearing on library development in the country.
Several ad hoc committees appointed by appropriate bodies in the
country have made recommendations with reference to the development of
public, academic, medical and agricultural libraries.
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The Five Year plans have given considerable attention to library and
information system development, particularly the Seventh Five Year Plan.
Sectoral plans in science and technology, education, health and family
welfare, environment, biotechnology etc., have also dealt with library and
information systems in their respective areas.
Notwithstanding this impressive record of progress and
development, the present situation of library and information system
development appears to be uneven, piecemeal and uncoordinated. The
application of computer and communication technologies for creating a
network of library and information systems is sure to provide the necessary
coordination and integration. The National Policy on Library and
Information System, excepted to be in force soon, will hopefully result in
an integrated development of the library and information system in
appropriate quality and quantity. But a glance at historical study of
academic libraries in India from ancient period down to modern period will
be helpful in understanding the development of academic libraries in
India.2
Brief History
In the Vedic age instructions were imparted "orally, without the
medium of books." Taxila from 700 B.C. to 300 A.D. was considered to be
the most respected seat of higher learning and education in India but still
there is no evidence found so far in the archeological excavations at Taxila
that there had been a good library system in the Taxila University. Fa-Hien
noticed such libraries at Jetavana monastery at Sravasti (U.P.). In 400 A.D.,
there came into being one of the biggest known universities, the Nalanda
University, which by 450 A.D. became a renowned seat of learning, its
fame spreading beyond the boundaries of India. Nalanda near Patna grew
to be the foremost Buddhist monastery and an educational centre. Most of
what we know of the Nalanda University during the 6 th and the 7th centuries
A.D. is due to the accounts left by Hiuen-tsang, who lived in the institution
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for three years in the first half of the 7th century, and I-tsing who also
stayed there for ten years towards the latter part of the same century.
Information on the Nalanda University Library is also found in the Tibetan
accounts, from which we understand that the library was situated in a
special area known by the poetical name the Dharmaganja, (Piety Mart)
which comprised three huge buildings, called the Ratnasagara, the
Ratnodadhi and the Ratnaranjaka of which the Ratnasagara was a nine-
storied building and housed the collection of manuscripts and rare sacred
works like Prajnaparamita Sutra etc. The library at Nalanda had a rich
stock of manuscripts on philosophy and religion and contained texts
relating to grammar, logic, literature, the Vedas, the Vedanta, and the
Samkhya philosophy, the Dharmasastras, the Puranas, Astronomy,
Astrology and Medicine.
The University of Nalanda and its library flourished down to the
12th century A.D. until BakhtiyarKhalji sacked it in 1197-1203 A.D. 7 and
set fire to the establishment of Nalanda. The world famous universities,
such as, the Vikramasila, the Vallabhi and the Kanchi were coming up in
other parts of the country during the period from the 5th century A.D. to the
8th century A.D. All these universities possessed rich libraries
(Pustakabhandaras) and in the hall containing such books there used to be
an image of the goddess Saraswati with a book in her hand. The Nalanda
and the Vikramshila Universities were under the control of king
Dharmapala. He founded the Vikramshila monastery in the 8 th century A.D.
It had a rich collection of texts in the Sanskrit, the Prakrit and the Tibetan
languages. Regarding the library of the university, the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
informs us that there were great number of books on the religion of Hindus
(Buddhists) there; and when all these books came under the observation of
the Mussalamans, they summoned, a number of Hindus that they might
give them information regarding the import of these books; but the whole
of the Hindu community was killed in the war. Muslim vandalism caused
the disappearance of the excellent collection at Vikramashila. The
JaggadalVihara in Varendrabhumi was also an important centre of learning
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with considerable collection of the reading material. It was established by
the King Kampala, who ruled from 1084 to 1130 A.D. The provision of
facilities for reading, writing, editing and translating manuscripts shows
that this library was in no way less than its contemporary libraries in
importance. Though not as large as the library of Nalanda, it abounded in
private collection of texts. Likewise Mithila had been famous for its
scholars since the days of Rajrishi Janaka and had a rich collection of
various commentaries on the different branches of the Hindu Shastras. The
library of its university played an important role in teaching and learning.
A needle (Shalaka) was pierced through the manuscript on the subject of
the student’s specialization and he was expected to explain the last page
pierced. In this way the students all round mastery of the subject was
tested. Mithila continued to enjoy its all India importance in the field of
learning till the end of the 15th century A.D.
The university at Sompuri, like that of Vikramshila, occupied a
significant position since the days of Dharampala (769-867 A.D.). Like
Nalanda, this university also had its own library. Atisa Dipankar, a noted
scholar, lived there. He with the help of other scholars, translated into the
Tibetan, the Madhyamkaratnapradipa of Bhavaviveka. This university was
destroyed by fire in the middle of the 11th century A.D. Efforts were made
by the monk Vipulsrimitra to renovate the university but it could not regain
its past glory. At a time when Nalanda was famous for its Mahayana
courses of study, the Maitrakakings (475 to 775 A.D.) provided their
patronage to the Mahavihara of Vallabhi. This university was famous for
its Hinayana studies.
University Libraries in Medieval India
The existence of academic libraries during the medieval period of
Indian history is not known, though the Muslim rulers did patronize
libraries in their own palaces. A lone exception, however, was a library
attached to a college at Bidar, having a collection of 3000 books on
5
different subjects. Aurangzeb got this library transferred to Delhi to merge
it with his palace library. During the medieval period, due to Muslim
invasions and political troubles, the powerful empires and kingdoms of
Indian rulers fell one by one. This affected higher education and the
development of academic libraries as well.3
When the Muslims established their rule in India at the beginning of
the 13th century, Muslim emperors paid special attention to libraries, taking
care to establish libraries in educational institutions. They constructed no
separate library buildings; rather, books were deposited and preserved in
educational institutions, mosques, and Khangahs. Many Muslim rulers
were from the East, and they helped enrich libraries with Oriental
literature. Paper began be used as a writing material in the 12 thcentury, and
this helped book production in this periods. Mughal sovereigns and their
courtiers were educated and accomplished, and some maintained personal
libraries. The Muslim sovereigns collected and preserve the Vedas, the
Ramayana, and other Hindu religious books. They also translated a variety
of books in Hindi in to Persian and Arabic, and helped disseminate Hindu
art and culture.
After the establishment of Sultans of Delhi in 1202, a new
period in the history of Oriental libraries came in to existence. These minor
Muslim rulers and nobles encouraged Islamic learning and established
maktabs (primary schools), madrasas (schools of higher learning), libraries,
and mosques. They encouraged Arabic and Persian literatures in all
branches of learning, and enriched Oriental literature in the libraries. They
gave shelter and protection to scholars, who brought literature from other
parts of the world to India.
Shah Jahan (1658-1667), like his predecessors, patronized
learning and education and built a library with a rich collection of Arabic
and Persian manuscripts. Dara Shikkoh, Aurangzeb, and Bahadur Shah
Zafar also contributed to the development of libraries. Mughal rule was a
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period of literary excellence. Most of the emperors were themselves
scholars, and also extended their patronage to scholarship and learning.4
University Libraries in Modern India
During the British rule in India, numbers of academic Institutions
were established by the East India Company, and by the Christian
missionaries. Some of the worth mentioning events which led to the growth
and development of higher education in India during this period were the
establishment of the Calcutta College in 1781, Jonathan Duncan, then a
British agent, founded the Benaras Sanskrit College in 1792. The Calcutta
Fort William College was founded in 1800. All these colleges were having
their own libraries. The Charter Act of 1813, the foundation of Fort
William and Serampore Colleges, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay
universities and their libraries, Hunter, Raleigh and Calcutta University
Commissions, library training programmes, the establishment of Inter
University Board, Sargent Report and appointment of the University Grants
Committee, the establishment of Madras University, University of
Bombay, University of Calcutta and their libraries, the constitution of Inter-
University Board, the appointment of Hartog Committee, the Montague-
Chelmsford reforms of 1919, the Government of India Act of 1935, and the
Sargent Committee Report etc. laid foundation for establishment of
libraries in various parts of the country.
The Fort William College was founded in Calcutta on 18th August
1800 by the Marquis of Welleselay, the Governor-General of India during
1798-1805. Reverend David Brown, Provost of the college was
instrumental in setting up the library which had a well rounded collection
of Eastern manuscripts. In the absence of adequate financial support, the
library could not survive for long and in 1835 it was decided to close the
library and its valuable collection was transferred to the Asiatic Society
Library in Calcutta between 1835- 39.The Charter Act of 1813 passed by
the British Parliament gave the East India Company complete
7
responsibility for educating Indians. The establishment of C.M.S. College
in Kottayam, Hindu (Presidency) college in Calcutta in 1816 and Raven
Shaw College in Cuttack in 1816 was the immediate result of the Charter
Act 1813. These and other colleges came into existence thereafter had their
own libraries the day they were established.
The Charles Wood dispatch of 1854 popularly known as the ‘Magna
Carta of English Education' in India also paved the way for the
establishment of the universities in the presidency towns, and this led to
establishment of libraries in India.5
Maulana Azad Library, Aligarh Muslim University was initially
founded as “Anglo Oriental College (MAOC) at Aligarh in 1875 and raised
to the status of a university in 1920. The personal collection of Maulana
Azad also enriches the library. The library has a total collection of over 1
million volumes and 14,571 manuscripts. The Maulana Azad Library has
the largest collection of Urdu books in the Indian subcontinent, which is
perhaps largest in the world as well.
Hakim Mohammad Syed Library, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi is a
leading university founded in 1906. It has a well known Oriental library,
which has a number of special collections.
Osmania University Library was established in 1918 and is
considered seventh oldest in India, the third oldest in South India, and the
first to be established in state of Hyderabad. The library has collection of
rare books and manuscripts including Palm Leaf manuscripts, and
KhudaBaksh library has been recognized as a research center by seven
Indian universities. The collection has a rich repository of Persian and
Arabic manuscripts.
As it is clear from the title of the study and the historical survey of
libraries that the study deals with academic libraries so, a compendious
discussion of academic library becomes prerequisite here.6
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Academic Library
An academic library is a library that is attached to academic
institutions above the secondary level, serving the teaching and research
needs of students and staff. These libraries serve two complementary
purposes: to support the school's curriculum and to support the research of
the university faculty and students.7
Academic libraries include school, college, university and research
libraries. All these cater to the needs of academic community for
supplementing the study and research programmes of the institution and
help conserve and disseminate knowledge. Although there academic
libraries share certain common features and characteristics, they differ
enormously in the value and content from one another. Academic libraries
do not exist by themselves: they exist to serve the objectives of the
education system of which they form a part. The primary
objectives of any academic institution are: conservation and preservation of
knowledge, expansion of ideas and dissemination of knowledge with the
help of interpretation, research and publication; and dissemination of
knowledge through teaching and extension services. The libraries in
academic institutions help to achieve these objectives.8
Purposes
Academic libraries have a primary obligation to meet the
information needs of the members of their institution. Functions outside
this, such as availability to the general public, are secondary, through FEE-
BASED SERVICES are becoming significant. Academic libraries therefore
always have two purposes:
1- Providing for the educational needs of students, both those arising
directly from the curriculum and those of a more general nature.
2- Supporting the teaching staff in their need for up-to-date material
required for their teaching role.
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In most universities, a third purpose can be added:
3- Providing for research (where the institution undertakes this), both
higher degree work and research activity of academic staff.
Numerically the students’ needs are paramount, and this aspect of
work predominates in most academic libraries; but depending on the
mission of the institution the other purposes- especially the support of
research are also of great importance.9
Nature and characteristics
Academic libraries are dynamic instruments of education. They
support the institutions, to which they belong, in fulfilling the objectives
and advances their aims. They support the faculty in teaching and research
programmes. The primary objective of these libraries is conservation and
preservation of knowledge. The basic components of academic libraries
are: Collection of information resources; Services; Users; and Staff.10
Meeting Needs:
Students
Students’ needs are largely predictable and the librarian should ensure
that adequate numbers of books, journals and other information sources are
available within the appropriate subject areas. This now involves co-ordination
of library and computing resources, including experiments in the DIGITAL
LIBRARY and the hybrid library. The growth in project-based work and
dissertations calling for research means that students often want a wider variety
of material than the library can provide, and provision must be made for
interlibrary loan or access to collections elsewhere; but for basic student
material the library should be more or less self-sufficient. Teaching staff must
therefore be involved in the selection, but not exclusively: librarians have direct
experience of students’ use of the library and can often better judge the whole
range of literature and the number of copies needed. The widespread adoption
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of student- centered learning (partly as a strategy for dealing with the growth of
student numbers) has made new demands on librarians and libraries. In addition
to provide relevant materials and high quality advice on information searching,
libraries have to provide space for group study and a significant number of
public access workstations.
Teaching Staff
The library must support a high standard of teaching in the
institution, providing up-to-date and wide-ranging material. Teachers may
have their own specialized personal collections of books and journals, but
still rely on the library for material not in their immediate field of interest
or too expensive for them to purchase. A good teacher is not restricted to
what is already known about, and a lively acquisition policy on the part of
the librarian can enhance the quality of teaching. CURRENT
AWARENESS services are helpful in ensuring that teaching staff are up to
date in their own and in related fields; such provision must include helping
teaching staff to remain abreast of new electronic resources, websites and
discussion lists in their disciplines.
Research
Providing material for research needs is the most difficult and the
most expensive part of an academic library's work. In most fields, the
primary medium for research is the scholarly journal; in many disciplines
in the humanities and social sciences, however, the library contains the
basic material of research, whether in the form of historical source material
(including rare book and archive collections), literary works or published
statistical data.
Libraries outside major research institutions often find it impossible
to acquire and house substantial collections across whole disciplines, and
have to be more selective. However, alternatives to print-on-paper are now
commonplace, particularly with the greater availability of electronic data,
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whether held locally as CD-ROM or accessed over the INTERNET, and
with improved DOCUMENT DELIVERY services. In turn, this needs to
be supported by the provision of ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING
services; these also are now typically provided online by giving access to
the appropriate commercial databases.
Services
Special services have developed to serve users of academic
libraries. USER EDUCATION of all kinds is essential as information
sources become more complex and as students move into new fields of
study. Intensive use of lending services is characteristic of academic
libraries, particularly short-loan collections, to ensure rapid circulation of
heavy-demand texts and self-service photocopiers are heavily used. Long
opening hours are desirable, and growth in part-time and mature students,
who cannot always use the library during the normal working day, requires
more flexibility. In universities and colleges that offer distance-learning
programmes, some of them internationally, the library and associated
network services have to make appropriate provision for this group of
students as well. The right balance in use of staff resources is necessary to
ensure that all users are best served. Networked integrated systems have
allowed libraries to offer fuller services in all parts of the institution and to
interface with campus information systems, giving wider access to
catalogues and circulation data, as well as to electronic information
sources, even outside the library.
Administration
The organization of an academic library depends on its size and
range of activities; a library operating on several sites, while aiming to
meet the same needs, cannot easily be managed in the same way as a more
compact library. Automated system help in providing equitable levels of
service across the whole institution and to distant users, but they are only
fully effective when all library staff have the appropriate expertise to
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exploit them both for users and for administrative purposes. Use of subject
specialization also varies, but most libraries provide services tailored to the
needs of different subject groups. Budgetary allocation is normally under
the librarian's control, within funds allocated by the institution; but
consultation with different interest groups is desirable, through a committee
structure or in other ways. Monitoring the library's activity is important,
both as a measure of performance for internal management, and for
external purposes such as statistical series and 'political' arguments within
the institution or more widely.11
Types of Academic Libraries
School Libraries
College Libraries
University Libraries
School Libraries
School libraries are usually part of a school system and serve students
between Kindergarten and grade 12. Many are called media centers and
libraries are often required to have a second degree in education or a
certificate in school media.
School libraries are primarily meant to collect and arrange syllabi
based books and some books for general reading and entertainment that
may include classics, biographies, adventure and travel books, fiction, etc.
Cultivating lifelong reading habits and opening of windows of knowledge
to the students are the main objectives of school libraries. To achieve these
main objectives, they have to build up their collections with print and non-
print information sources, and act as media centres. They have to serve
adequately the needs of students and teachers with a number of services
like reference, storytelling, debates, film shows, book reading clubs etc.
The school libraries have still a greater role where there are no public
libraries, as they have to perform the role of public library also. As their
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collections may include multimedia documents, they are often referred to
as 'media centres’ also.
This chapter will discuss in detail the issues related to college and
university libraries, since there are central to the advancement of academic
activities in higher education system.
College Libraries
Colleges form the integral part of higher education and libraries in
colleges are the primary source for learning process. With the shift of
emphasis from teaching to learning, libraries must play their role
effectively. A landmark in the development of college libraries was the
appointment of Library Committee of the University Grants Commission
and publication of its Report in 1965. Some of the important
recommendations of the Committee relate to the financial support of
college libraries by UGC (India) and State Government include staff
strength and qualifications; book selection and collection, measures to
promote reading habit proposal for library building etc.. The National
Education Commission 1964-66 (popularly known as Kothari
Commission) recognized the importance of libraries in colleges and stated
that no new college or department should be started without adequate
provision for its library. However, there is a great change in the education
system and information environment over the past fifty years. Now the
colleges are not confined to graduate teaching. Some colleges offer post
graduate courses in addition to undergraduate courses. The student
population of these colleges is exploding and the library is a place for them
to learn about different information sources and acquire knowledge beyond
curriculum. This is the place where they can set their future goals and
shape their career. Hence college libraries have a vital role to play in the
graduate and postgraduate education programmes.
College library is the most important adjunct of a college. It aims at
realisation of institutional objectives. It strives to generate enthusiasm and
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eagerness among the students and faculty and help them to make use of the
available reading materials. The primary objectives of college library are
to:
support implementation of objectives of parent institution i.e. the
college;
supplement the curricular taught in the institution to which it is
attached;
give students a wider and deeper understanding of the universe of
knowledge; and
work as an independent agency and encourage life-long learning
beyond the prescribed syllabi so that the students can be more
enlightened and knowledgeable.
So far, college libraries have been mainly concerned with their use
by the undergraduates in connection with prescribed reading. However the
need is to encourage students to make wider use of library, including
perusal of journals, microforms and use of Internet. Browsing good
collection is a valuable exercise for the purpose exploiting information
resources and broadening one's horizons.12
University Libraries
A university stands for truth, reason, tolerance and humanism. It
helps in the progress of the society in general through advancement of
knowledge. The function of university are: creation of new knowledge
through research and interpretation with existing knowledge (research); to
impart knowledge to students in all fields of universe of knowledge and
give professional and vocational training (education and training);
dissemination of knowledge and reduce the social and cultural gap
(publication); to diffuse and foster the real values and attitudes in society
through various extension activities (extension). A university is rightly
described as a community where scholars and teachers are the head,
students are the body and library its heart. In India, the importance of
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library in university education has been often emphasized by educationists,
librarians, scholars and committees. Report of the Radha Krishnan
Commission on University Education (1948-1949) stated that:
“The library is the heart of all University's work, directly so, as
regards its research work, and indirectly as regards its educational
work which derives its life from research work. Scientific research
needs a library as well as its laboratories, while for humanistic
research the library is both library and laboratory in one. Training in
higher branches of learning and research is mainly a question of
learning how to use the tools, and if the library tools are not there
how can the student learn to use them?”
The Kothari Commission in its Report on Education and National
Development (1964-66) further emphasized that:
“No university, college or department should be set up without
taking into account its library needs in terms of staff, journals,
space, etc. Nothing could be more damaging to a growing
department than to neglect its library, the library should be an
important centre of attraction on the college or university campus.”
Thus, the university library system is established to strive for
fulfillment of the ideas and objectives of the university. Since the
university library functions as an integral part of university, its growth and
development is solely dependent on the growth and development of
educational and research programmes of the university.
Though the university system in India has its roots in ancient and
medieval centres of learning like gurukulas, parishads and
viswavidyalayas, centres of ancient Brahmin, Buddhist and Muslim
cultures, the Western model of university system, that is in practice now
was initiated in 1857 with the establishment of three universities at
Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. There were 18 universities in existence
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before independence and now the number has increased to above 300,
including deemed universities. The modern university, characterised by
large number of faculty, tremendous enrolment of students and huge
resources, has a library attached to it to support its objectives and
programmes.13
According to University Grants Committee (United Kingdom)
Report of 1921 “The character and efficiency of a university may be
gauged by its treatment of its central organ-the Library”. The U G C
(United Kingdom) regarded the fullest provision for library maintenance as
the primary and most vital need in the equipment of a university. The Parry
Revert of 1967endorsed this tribute as “true today, after forty five years as
it was written”. The Atkinson Report of 1976 enlisted the importance of
library by saying “The library is the core of a university. As a resource, it
occupies the central and primary place, because it serves all the functions
of a university teaching and research, the creation of new knowledge and
transmission to posterity of the learning and culture of the present and the
past”.
The basic function of a library is educative. It is not merely store-
house of reading material collected for preservation, but it also functions
‘as a dynamic instrument of education, to feed the intellect of the student,
encourage the researchers of the faculty and invite all who enter its house
to partake fully of its intellectual and cultural contents. The simple fact is
that if a university library fails to perform its function of communicating its
contents to those who are in need of them it turns out to be a bad library
and that a bad library in turn ‘tends to produce a bad university. A bad
library is likely to effect the development of scholarship in its particular
region or perhaps even compel its scholars to go elsewhere in search of
what they need. It is for this reason, perhaps, a university always needs a
great library, even if no student enters it to meet the demands of the
faculty; and as long as the library in a university is outstanding, it will have
17
an extremely valuable advantage over other institutions in holding the best
of scholars and teachers within its fold.
Realising the importance of libraries in the fulfillment of the
objectives of higher education, the University Education Commission says,
‘the library is the heart of all the university’s work; directly so, as regards
its research work, and indirectly as regards its educational work, which
derives its life from research work. Scientific research needs a library as
well as its laboratories, while for humanistic research the library is both
library and laboratory in one’.
The phenomenon often referred to as the “Information explosion
and the literature explosion” has obvious repurcussions on library
provisions of universities. The sum of human knowledge is increasing at a
much faster pace than anything that mankind has ever known. All over the
world men are extending the traditional boundaries and lines of
investigations and developing new ones, into all branches of learning,
particularly in sciences. This has a bearing on the university library system
in two ways viz., firstly university libraries must undertake the
responsibility of collecting and supplying the right type of literature to the
scholar at the appropriate time pinpointedly, exhaustively and
expeditiously and secondly, they must then endeavour as far as possible, to
organise and give access to information and make the selection and control
as easy, acceptable and quick as posssible.
Paul Buck has given the importance to the university library utility
and said;
‘First the library is the heart of education. Every educational
advance depends upon its resources and, in large measure, the degree of
advance is proportionate to the potential of the library to respond;
‘Second, methods and fashions in education change from generation
to generation, but each generation uses the library as a means of realising
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its aims; hence the library remains a great conservator of learning. An
investment in a library is a permanent investment, guaranteeing returns for
centuries to come;
'Third, a quality education is impossible without a quality library;
'Fourth, you cannot have a quality faculty without a quality library;
'Fifth, a library, is vital to proper exploitation of our intellectual
resources; and
'Sixth, the library is essential to maintenance of free access to ideas,
and to the functioning of untrammelled mind. Control will never be
successful so long as books are freely and widely available. Here the
laboratory can never take the place of the library’.
It is beyond doubt, established the point that ‘University Library is
the heart of the institution’ and it is the primary responsibility of the
authorities at the national level, teachers and students realize the
importance and fulfill the obligations required for optimum utilization.14
Development of University Libraries in India
The history and development of university Library System in India
reveals that University libraries are far beyond any sound system of their
set-up. Since the inception of the university education i.e. 1857 India
lacked in the development of a proper school, public and special library
system. Even today, barring the field of special library system, Indian
school and public libraries are far behind the minimum standards. There is
no national library system although India has a national library at Calcutta
and four of the important libraries of the country have been recognized as
national libraries for the purpose of Copyright Act. Cooperation and
coordination among libraries in the utilization of their resources is a rare
phenomenon which is found in the printed literature only. The highest form
19
of cooperation is in the field of interlibrary-loan and that too is ineffective
because of the nonexistence of union catalogues of periodicals and books.
University Libraries in India have lagged far behind since the very
beginning. As early as 1902, the University Commission appointed by the
then Government of India observed, ‘of the present university libraries
there is not much to be said. The library at Madras appears to be entirely
neglected; Bombay has a good collection of oriental and other books - but
the library is little used by graduates and hardly at all by students. Calcutta
has a library and fluids have been granted for the purpose of making it
supplementary to other libraries in Calcutta. It is open to fellows and to
persons permitted by the syndicate to use it for purpose of literary research.
The Allahabad University has no library.
Similarly, the RadhaKrishnan Commission (1948-49) voiced its
concern over the unsatisfactory position of university
libraries has written, while at a few universities the libraries
are fairly well-stocked, grants for their upkeep are more or less reasonable,
arrangements for lending books to teachers and students are efficient and
the reading room space is reasonably adequate it was distressing to find
that in most colleges and universities the library facilities were very poor
indeed. Not only was the provision for keeping the library up-to-date very
inadequate, but at one place no attempt had been made to weed out old and
obsolete books or old editions and replace them with new editions of same
books.
The Kothari Commission on Education (1964-66) has laid
stress on the proper development of university library system in the country
and has recommended that the library should;
provide resources necessary for research in fields of special interest
to the university
aid the university teacher in keeping abreast of development in his
field
20
Provide library facilities and services necessary for the success of
all formal programmes of instruction; and
open the doors to the wide world of books that lie beyond the
borders of ones own field of specialization; and
To bring books, students and scholars together under conditions
which encourage reading for pleasure, self discovery, personal
growth and the sharpening of intellectual curiosity.
University libraries in India have to put up a lot of imperfections
from practically all quarters and as such are not effective as one would
wish. In some cases they exist merely because the authorities feel that
without them they will be looked upon as old creatures. Obviously, it is felt
that these are avoidable luxuries which may be indulged in when there is
enough money to spare. The result is that even today Bhopal has no
university library. University libraries at Agra, Lucknow and Allahabad are
under the charge of Hon. Librarians non-Professionals. University libraries
at Udaipur, Vikram, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa, Khairagarh, Shivaji, Meerut,
Rabindra Bharati, Baroda, Jiwaji, Jabalpur Agrl., Marathwada, Guru
Nanak, Sagar, Saurashtra, South Gujarat, Haryana Agrl., Utkal, and many
others are being controlled by the librarians, who are not in professor’s
grade even though UGC had recommended a Professor’s grade for the
university librarians as early as 1965.
The image of university libraries in India is very poor. Most of the
university libraries lack of funds. To improve the condition of university
libraries, number of commissions and committees has been set up from
time to time such as:
Pre- Independence Period-The First Education Commission (1882
by Lord Ripon)
Pre- Independence Period-The Second Education Commission (1885
by Lord Curzon)
21
The Education Policy (1913)
The Calcutta University Commission (1917 by Government of India)
Simon Commission (1919 by Government of India Act)
Sargeant Report on Education (1944)
Post Independence Period-First Education Commission (1948)
Post Independence Period-Second Education Commission (1964-66)
Gajendragadkar Committee (1969-70)15
Objectives of University Libraries
The university library strives for the fulfillment of objectives of its
parent body — the university. Therefore it is necessary to understand the
objectives of university in general. The objectives of university are to:
seek and cultivate new knowledge, to engage vigorously in pursuit
of truth, and to work towards new discoveries;
provide intellectual managerial leadership in all walks of life and
imbibe the people with a sense of social purpose;
strive and promote equality and social justice and to reduce social
cultural difference through diffusion of education; and
guide research workers in all the areas of universe of knowledge
and to disseminate the research results for the benefit of mankind.
The university library’s objectives reflect that of their parent
institution, as they have been established to support fulfillment of parent
body’s goals. Hence, the objectives of university library are to:
set up policies, procedures, and standards for acquisition and
accessing information /knowledge that support teaching;
create collections both print and online, including expertise from
outside the library to support research;
22
explore funding opportunities and collaborative projects with other
institutions;
provide services that meet the pertinent information needs of
members of university; and
to conserve knowledge and ideas for posterity.16
Functions of University Libraries
In order to achieve the objectives of university education, university
libraries design their activities in such a way that they prove to be
significant partners in conservation of knowledge through teaching and
learning, research and interpretation and application of research results for
the benefit of society, extension and service programmes. The library exists
to help instructional and research programmes of the university. Hence the
basic function of library in a university is educative and, as Gelfand puts it,
a library also functions “as dynamic instruments of education, to feed the
intellect of student, encourage researchers of the faculty and invite all who
enter its house to partake fully of its intellectual and culturalcontents”.
The Kothari Commission on Education (1964-66) laid much emphasis on
university library system and recommended that the library should:
provide resources necessary for research in the fields of interest to
university;
help the university faculty in keeping abreast of developments in
their disciplines;
provide library facilities for the success of all formal instructional
programmes;
open the doors to the wide world of books that lie beyond the
borders of one’s own specialisation; and
bring books, students and scholars together under conditions which
encourage reading for pleasure, self-discovery, personal growth and
sharpening of intellectual curiosity.17
23
Malcolm S. Adiseshaiah expressed that “if the purpose of all
education is learning, then the library is the fountain source of all learning
and there is no replacement to it. If the purpose of higher education at the
higher levels — post graduation, doctorate and post doctorate —is to
develop new sources of knowledge and new knowledge, then there should
be no alternative to the library. The scholar will have to plough his way
through to attain the end of knowledge acquisition and knowledge
building”.18
Paul Buck has stated that quality of education in universities is
impossible without a quality library; further quality faculty is not possible
without a quality library and library is essential to maintenance of free
access to ideas. He classified the functions of university library under the
heads: resources; retrieval of information; coordination and staff capability.
He summarises them all in the word ‘responsiveness’ to the university
needs. Nigel Cox analyses the functions of university library under five
headings as follows:
control — covering acquisition, accession, processing and shelving;
archive — building up collection;
service — including professional guidance to the readers;
cooperation — linking the local and national network of library resources;
and
research and development — enhancing the library techniques.
Thus the purpose of university libraries is expansion of knowledge
for truth, enlightenment and standards of excellence, etc. Srivastava and
Verma sum up the functions of the library in university as – “it serves the
adult scholarship”. On the one hand there is knowledge explosion and
heavy inflow of information, on the other there is heavy demand for pin-
pointed information without the loss of time. Manual methods for the
24
retrieval and dissemination of information are becoming inadequate, and
these are being replaced. Information technology is being applied
increasingly to provide access to information. Libraries are not operating in
isolation now, but are becoming partners of various networks for mutual
benefit. 19
Impact of Information Technology (IT) on Academic Library
Functions
The 21st century is the age of information science and technology.
Due to the development of the computer technology, and the fast
advancement in space communication techniques, the new information and
the advanced knowledge are spreading worldwide and penetrating into
every part of the world. Knowledge is power; one who is able to achieve
and master the information would definitely succeed and so would the
society and the country. The Internet becomes a huge treasure mountain
that provides variety of information in the forms of database, pictures,
movies, and multimedia or the interactive displays, etc. Many academic
and research institutions and leading universities in the world edit their
own homepages to demonstrate their educational goals, academic activities,
excellent training programmes, and the innovative and important research
results.
Therefore, the functioning of academic libraries changes from time
to tune to be suitable to the ever-changing information environment. The
change is at slow pace in school and college libraries, however, university
libraries, with the support of INFLIBNET.20
INFLIBNET
INFLIBNET is an Inter University Centre of University Grants
Commission have made steady progress in the application of IT in their
house-keeping and information retrieval activities. It is a major National
25
Programme initiated by the UGC in 1991 with its Head Quarter at Gujarat
UniversityCampus, Ahmedabad. Initially started as a project under
the IUCAA, it became an independent Inter-University Centre in 1996. It is
involved in creating infrastructure for sharing of library and information
resources and services among academic and research Institutions. It works
collaboratively with Indian university libraries to shape the future of the
academic libraries in the evolving information environment. It is involved
in modernizing university libraries in India and connecting them to
information centres in the country through a nation-wide high speed
data network using the state-of-art technologies for the optimum utilisation
of information. It is set out to be a major player in promoting scholarly
communication among academicians and researchers in India. It promotes
automation of libraries, develops standards, creates union catalogues of
serials, theses, books, monographs and non-book materials; provides access
to bibliographic information sources; creates database of projects,
institutions, specialists; provides training, etc. Almost all academic
libraries, especially university libraries, are members of INFLIBNET. It
has also developed library automation software called SOUL (Software for
University Libraries) and has distributed the same free of cost to its
member libraries.21
26
Fig.-1
Functional Group of INFLIBNET
Other Networks
Besides INFLIBNET, a number of other national networks and
various library networks have also been developed including NICNET
(National Informatic Center’s network), INDONET, ERNET (Education
and Research Network), CALIBNET (Calcutta Library Network),
DELNET (Developing Library Network), etc. ADINET is associated with
INFLIBNET, DELNET with NIC and MALIBNET with CFTRI. A number
of educational institutions are members of such networks. These networks,
27
especially DELNET (which has 752member libraries including 742 from
India and 10 from outside), are engaged in compiling union catalogues,
creating various databases of experts, providing training to library staff ,
ILL, online facilities, reference service, assistance in retrospective
conversion etc.
Library Consortia
Due to a financial crunch and the rising costs of journals, many
Indian university and college libraries cannot subscribe to all the required
journals and databases. To overcome this problem, libraries are forming
consortia. Some special libraries and organizations like the Indian Institute
of Astrophysics (IIA) Library, Inter-university Centre for Astronomy and
Astrophysics (IUCAA) Library, National Centre for Radio Astrophysics
(NCRA) Library, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) Library, Raman
Research Institute (RRI) Library, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(TIFR) Library, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Department
of Atomic Energy, etc., have established consortia to share electronic
access to journal literature. NISCAIR (formed by the merger of INSDOC
and NISCOM) is developing a consortium for CSIR labs for accessing e-
journals.
Consortia in India are still a new concept that requires proper
guidelines and methodologies. In a survey by UGC in 2001, it was noted
that although 142 university libraries had computer and Internet facilities
and were interlinked to INFLIBNET, they were subscribing to printed
journals only. In order to solve this problem, UGC launched a major
initiative called UGC-INFONET that provides high speed Internet
connections so as to have electronic access to professional literature
including research journals, abstracts, review publications, and databases
from all areas in science and technology, as well as in social sciences and
humanities. Today, a number of professional journals are available over
UGC-Infonet to all universities. The e-subscription initiative under UGC-
28
Infonet is an important portal for sharing print as well as electronic
resources amongst university libraries. INFLIBNET functions as a resource
center with an aim to cater to the needs of its members for resources not
accessible to them in electronic media or are available in print media.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has set up
the “Indian National Digital Library in Science and Technology (INDEST)
Consortium”. The ministry provides funds required for the subscription to
electronic resources for 38 academic institutions, including the Indian
Institute of Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Regional Engineering
Colleges,
Indian Institute of Managements, and about 60 centrally-funded/aided
government institutions through the consortium. The INDEST consortium
is the most ambitious initiative so far in the area of engineering and
technology disciplines.
The primary objective of libraries is to organize and provide access
to information, and it remains the same although the format and methods
have changed drastically. Under the present scenario of declining budgets
and higher subscription costs of journals in India, it is becoming very
difficult to meet the demands of library/information users. The only
solution to the problem is the pooling and sharing of resources—print as
well as electronic—by way of consortia. New technology has provided
great opportunities for delivery of services within consortia. More and
more libraries must unite, which of course requires a change in the
attitudes, practices, and policies to get the maximum benefit.22
Shodhganga
"Shodhganga" is the name coined to denote digital repository of
Indian Electronic Theses and Dissertations set-up by the INFLIBNET
Centre. The word "Shodh" originates from Sanskrit and stands for research
and discovery. The "Ganga" is the holiest, largest and longest of all rivers
29
in Indian subcontinent. The Ganga is the symbol of India's age-long culture
and civilisation, everchanging, ever-flowing, ever-loved and revered by its
people, and has held India's heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to
her banks since the dawn of history. Shodhganga stands for the reservoir of
Indian intellectual output stored in a repository hosted and maintained by
the INFLIBNET Centre. The Shodhganga INFLIBNET Centre provides a
platform for research students to deposit their Ph.D. theses and make it
available to the entire scholarly community in open access. The repository
has the ability to capture, index, store, disseminate and preserve ETDs
submitted by the researchers.23
ShodhGangotri
The word “Shodh”originates from Sanskrit and stands for “research
and discovery”. “Gangotri” is one of the largest glacier in the Himalayas
and source of origination of Ganges, the holiest, longest and largest of
rivers in India. The Ganges is the symbol of age-long culture, civilization,
ever-aging, ever-flowing, ever-loving and loved by its people.
Under the initiative called “ShodhGangotri”, research scholars /
research supervisors in universities are requested to deposit electronic
version of approved synopsis submitted by research scholars to the
universities for registering themselves for the Ph.D programme. The
repository on one hand, would reveal the trends and directions of research
being conducted in Indian universities, on the other hand it would avoid
duplication of research. Synopsis in “ShodhGangotri” would later be
mapped to full-text theses in"ShodhGanga". As such, once the full-text
thesis is submitted for a synopsis, a link to the full-text theses would be
provided from ShodhGangotri to"ShodhGanga".24
University libraries nowadays are making great efforts to build up their
information infrastructure in order to provide a fast and efficient
information highway to help their users in sharing and utilising the
information all over the world. Because of providing a fast, efficient and
30
easy way to access and search for the information, through the web pages
and the resources linking with other websites, users can easily obtain new
information, fresh knowledge and solutions to their problems. This
revolution has changed the functioning of university libraries in India.
Indeed it has added some more technology based functions to keep their
users abreast of global developments. The new functions include:
Providing Internet facility to all users to access global information
in their specific discipline.
Creating and maintaining library website.
Maintaining OPAC of their library to provide access to its collection
not only to its users through campus networks but also to users’
world over.
Taking part in establishment of e-journal consortia to share journal
resources through a central agency. e.g. UGC-Infonet.
Providing access to wide variety of information resources including
reference sources, indexes, full text articles and complete journals.
Building specific electronic collections of the library with CD-ROM
collections and in-house databases.
Promoting the use of information technology, and speeding up the
document retrieval.
Taking up digitalization projects to preserve the manuscripts and
other rare documents.
The value of libraries rests in the efficient performance of defined
functions, which is complex because it involves coordination of various
components. Hence, the library has to handle the following components
with efficiency to perform these functions.
Information Resources
Quality of education depends on the quality of information. The
information materials in university libraries exist to support the curriculum
and related research of the University. The university library has to acquire
31
and organise reading material with the advice of the faculty and in
accordance with the goals and objectives of university. Acquisition of, and
access to, information resources, which have multiple uses, are the chief
responsibility of university libraries. The collections should strike a balance
between traditional print formats and emerging electronic formats. The
collections are usually a combination of textbooks, reference books,
manuscripts, monographs, theses, manuals, conference proceedings,
scientific and technical reports, periodicals, institutional serial publications,
patents, etc. in print, microform, audio - visual or electronic formats. In
addition, the collections include programs or data files, software, etc. The
library must have access to appropriate equipment for the use of materials
requiring readers, players, projectors, computer systems or other devices.
Finances
Finance is important for the effective functioning of library.
Efficient performance of libraries is directly related to adequate funds. The
financial constraints result in ineffective library systems. Since libraries are
non-revenue generating and nonprofit making institutions they have to
depend on financial grants from governments, both central and state. The
university libraries receive funds from the following sources:
Grants from UGC;
Grants from Central and State governments;
Grants allocated from the university budget;
Endowments and donations; and
Internal resources collected through subscription fees, fines, sale of
publications, etc.
Besides the regular grants, the university libraries are benefited by
adhoc grants from UGC, assistance from organisations like Ford
Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Asia Foundation, Carnegie Mellon
University Million Book Project, etc.
32
Staff
The next important element in the functional organisation of a
university library is the provision of adequate and professionally trained
library staff. The library manpower should be capable of organising the
library on sound scientific lines. The UGC prescribes the nomenclature,
qualifications and salary structure of library professional staff. The
nomenclature underwent changes from time to time considering the
changing information environment. The professional staffs of a university
library are accorded status and salary on par with university teaching staff,
and are required to possess the qualifications also on par with teachers i.e.
postgraduate degree in a subject and also in Library and Information
Science.
The functioning of library staff is supported by the University
Library Committee in formulation of library policies, rules and regulations,
preparation of annual budget, allocation of funds, preparation of annual
report, advice in matters of day-to-day administration, etc.
Services
The nature and efficiency of services of university libraries vary
from one to another owing to the nature of curricular programmes, research
activities and local needs of users. Traditionally the libraries are offering
reference, current awareness and lending services to their users. With the
application of information technologies now they are able to offer a wide
variety of information services. While continuing to provide many
traditional information services, librarians are developing new skills and
accepting the new roles that are necessary to support technology-based
services. They include:
Reference service;
Current Awareness and SDI;
Lending and inter library loan;
33
Newspaper clippings;
Reprography;
User education and information literacy;
Internet access and assistance in searching the websites; and
Access to c-journals through c-journals consortia.
The buzzword of present day digital environment is ‘consortia’ that
is intended to share the resources though collaboration within the member
libraries. This helps academicians in acquiring information quickly at
affordable rates. An e-consortium harbours a large number of content
creators sharing a common interest through a set of interlinked web pages.
Infrastructure and Maintenance
The most important part of university library system is a functional
building where the allocation of space for books and other reading
materials, staff and readers could conveniently be made. UGC (India) has
given support to the development of university and college library
buildings during l960s and 1970s. However the accelerated growth of
libraries in their collections and users, the emerging information
technologies and their application to library operations necessitates
redesigning and expanding the library buildings suitable to current
requirements. For example, the public access catalogue cabinets of
university libraries have been replaced with Online Public Access
Catalogue (OPAC), which requires a different type of space allocation.
Hence the designing of library building should be modular, keeping in view
factors like rate of increase in the student population, selling up of new
department, possible new methods and techniques of library operations and
expected changes in local needs in near future.
The present day university library system ought to be equipped with
more number of computers and communication links and their proper
maintenance. The computer systems are necessary for library staff for
house-keeping operations, and for users for internet access and information
34
retrieval, and for providing facilities. So, maintenance of printed
documents, non-book and electronic documents is necessary, and it should
be according to latest techniques.25
User Study
The efficiency and the effectiveness of any library will not be
measured by merely its collection and infrastructure, but by the service it
renders to its users.
According to Wilson Davis, one of the most important
developments of research in the libraries and information field has been the
growing emphasis on the user. This trend means that the focus today is not
so much on the system per se, but on the system and its response to the
needs of its users. One important consequence of this shift in emphasis to
users and their need has been the production of a great quantity of user
surveys of different types and of varying quality.
In simple terms 'user study' means a study of the user of
information. The kind of information required by the user, the ways and
means used for searching for the required information, the use of the
information obtained, the satisfaction/dissatisfaction arising from the use of
the information obtained, the flow of the information and the relationship
of the user with the system (Information provider) all come under the
purview of user studies.
User study is the means for systematic examination of the
characteristics and behaviour of the users of the systems and services. User
study can be summed up as WHO says WHAT to WHOM through What
MEDIUM and with work EFFECT, WHO demands (needs/receives)
WHAT from WHOM and WHY.26
Historical Background
35
The foundation for the user studies was laid down in 1948 in the
Scientific Information Conference of the Royal Society, where Urquhart
and Bernal reported their research findings. Urquhart (1948) conducted his
study on the distribution and use of scientific and technical information.
The purpose of counseling, the borrowed item, and the usefulness of the
item in relation to factors like year of publication and its form.27 Bernal
(1948) describes the objectives of his study: as "to find out directly from
working scientists what they had read. Why they read it and what use they
made of the information”.28 Unlike Urquhart's (1948) study Bernal
provided a general profile of his sample by using a questionnaire, including
their professional back ground and status, as well as reading habits. Also
Bernal restricted his research to the use of journals, excluding other forms
of literature. As paisley comments "In spite of its small compass and
ambiguous data, this study was important as a precedent for more
satisfactory efforts of the early 50s".
Earlier user studies were mainly related to scientists involved with
biochemistry, medicine, engineering, physics etc. This resulted in the
earlier development of information handling tools like abstracts and
indexes. 29 Fussler (1949) investigated the use of literature by American
Chemists and physicists by using the "reference counting" method.30
Tornudd (1953) undertook an analysis of the professional reading habits of
130 research scientists.31 Thorne (1954) conducted a quite similar research
to Tornudd's investigating the reading habits of scientist at the Royal
Aircraft Establishment.32 Shaw (1956) investigated the use of scientific
literature by a group of scientists consisting of chemists, physicists,
engineers and botanical scientists of the US Forest Service. He applied the
same gathering techniques as Bernal (1948) by using a questionnaire and
two diary cards.33 Maizell (1957) examined the creativity and information
gathering techniques used by chemists.34 Fishenden (1959) examined, by
means of diaries and interviews, the information seeking techniques of
scientists at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell.35
36
Some of the most representative examples, of user studies during
the 1950s, regarding methodological issues and areas of interest are
examined below. Herner (1954) examined the information gathering habits
of 606 pure and applied science at the Johns Hopkins University with the
use of personal interviews.36 Menzel (1958) as described by Paisley (1966)
undertook a study for the Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia
University, in order to problems of scientific information exchange.37
Paisley (1966) expressing his opinion on Menzel's work states: "It may be
said that Menzel's study Marked the end of the beginning of research on
scientific information. Together with other studies of the mid- fifties it
emphasized the importance of interpersonal information sources showed
low percentages of use of many esteemed formal systems and revealed the
role that happenstance plays in acquisition of information’.38
The early 1960s seem to be something of a take off point for user
studies. A look at the literature shows that the number of studies increased
rapidly. In 1963 the American Psychological Association (APA) conducted
a series of studies concerning psychologists, which was one of the first and
most important projects carried out in Social and behavioural Sciences.39
Menzel (1966) was one of the researchers who located these problems very
early and saw the potential usage of alternative research methods. He
indicate that, "it is inevitable that the techniques available to date are not
adequate to many of the complex tasks one would like to see performed in
this intricate field it is therefore wasteful not to take advantage of the
reservoir of relevant substantive theory as well as of research methods and
techniques that are available primarily in communication behavior research
and other branches of sociology and psychology".40 Mote (1962)
investigated the reasons that cause the variations in the information request
of scientists.41 Flowers (1965) investigated the information needs of
physicists and chemists.42 Mullins (1967) examined the informal
communications among scientists within the framework of the "invisible
college” where a group of scientists known to each other creates a network
that helps them to exchange and share information.43 Allen (1964)
37
examined the use of information sources during the preparation of research
and development proposals for a government contract.44 Berul et al. (1965)
carried out a critical incident study for the U.S. Department of Defence in
order to determine how research, development, technical and evaluation
personnel obtain and utilize technical and scientific information related to
their work.45 INFROSS was a project conducted by Line (1971) on the
information use and needs of social scientists in government employment.46
Moving towards the 1970s, user studies flourished and introduced a
diversity of target user groups like magistrates, urban citizens, personnel
working in local authorities, university students, etc. 47 An important
development in the history of user studies was the establishment of the
Centre for Research on User Studies (CRUS) at Sheffield University in
1975. The British Library Research and Development Department
(BLRDD) funded CRUS. It conducted a number of projects on various
subjects provided training courses and seminars in research methods and
published occasional papers and guides on research methods for user
studies.48 Wilson (1994) carried out a study on the information needs of
citizens in Baltimore. Although this project does not relate to researchers
and scientific information.49
The 1980s were a decade that was characterized by an increasing
awareness surrounding the conceptual framework and methodological
issues of user studies. One of the first attempts at articulating the awareness
was the publication, in the journal Social Science Information Studies of
the papers presented in a symposium of qualitative approaches to the study
of information problems.50 Belkin (1980) formulated the theory of the
Anomalous State knowledge for information retrieval, which gave another
dimension to the concept of information need and the origin of this need.
Also the 1980s was the decade when information technology "invaded" the
area of user studies and established a permanent place within the interest of
the field. 51 More and more studies were undertaken in order to determine
the needs of users in relation to different software and information retrieval
38
systems like OPACs, databases, etc. Price (1984) examined the information
use end needs of advice centres in London.52 Trott (1986) carried out a
project from Feb.1984 to Feb 1986 in order to explore the information
needs of small firms in Suffolk Country.53 Martyn (1987) investigated the
information seeking techniques of researchers working in industrial,
government and academic establishments.54 Belkin (1982) undertook a
study to investigate the application of the anomalous state of knowledge
(ASK) theory in information retrieval.55 Ellis (1987) carried out a study in
order to establish a pattern of information seeking behaviour among
academic researchers.56 Kuhlthau (1988) conducted a study examining the
application of library skill in assigned library research by high school
seniors. The objectives of the projects were "to explore the experience of
students in the library search process, to reveal evidence supporting the
hypothesis that there are a sequence of stages to an information search and
to propose a model of the user's stage within the search process".57
The 1990s also witnessed the tremendous growth and establishment
of the Internet as an information provider in the information community.
Tillman et al. (1993) carried out a survey and monitored four discussions
lists over a period of six months in order to determine the use of the
Internet as a reference tool by special librarians.58 Cromer and Johnson
(1994) examined the impact of electronic communication among reference
librarians.59 Bane and Melheim (1995) conducted a large-scale survey in
order to examine the use of the Internet by users in higher education
establishment.60 Adams and Bonk (1995) conducted a survey at the SUNY
University Center Libraries. The aim of the study was to assess the need of
faculty members for electronic information resources and to "determine the
readiness of faculty to utilize electronic networked information
resources”.61 Reneker (1992) investigated the information seeking
behaviour of academics.62 Eager and Oppenheim (1996) undertook a small
case study examining the information needs of academics. The main
purpose of the study was to test an alternative observation technique.63
39
A recent study (Abels et. al. 199664 : Liebscher et. al. 199765) was
published examining the factors that influence the use and adoption of
Electronic networks by science and engineering faculty at small
institutions.
Information Seeking Behavior
The term information seeking often serves as an umbrella
overarching a set of related concepts and issues. Information-seeking
behaviour is expressed in various forms, from reading printed material to
research and experimentation. Scholars, students, and faculty actively seek
current information from the various sources available in libraries, e.g.,
encyclopaedias, journals and, more currently, electronic media.
Information-seeking behavior depends on the reasons for seeking
information and the starting knowledge of the individual. Marchionini
describes it as, “Information-seeking is a special case of problem solving. It
includes recognizing and interpreting the information problem, establishing
a plan of search, conducting the search, evaluating the results, and if
necessary through the process again.” Information-seeking behavior differs
among user groups. Academic libraries must understand the information
needs of faculty and students in order to address those needs. This study
explores the information-seeking behavior of users such as undergraduates,
postgraduate students, and researchers in university libraries.
Models of Information-Seeking Behavior
Many models have been framed in order to explain the information
seeking process. Important among them are: Wilson's (1981) model of
information-seeking behavior; Dervin's (1983) sense-making theory; Ellis's
(1989 and 1993) behavioral model of information seeking strategies;
Kuhlthau's (1991) model of the stages of information-seeking behaviour;
and Wilson's (1996) model.
Factors Affecting information seeking behavior
40
The means that an individual resorts to in order to satisfy an
information need will depend on certain factors. Certain points will have to
be considered when an individual decides on a certain course of action,
they include:
1. Whether the source is within reach
2. Whether money will be involved-if so, how much money
3. Whether time will be involved, if so, how much time
4. Whether the source will have the answer to their problem
5. Whether they will understand what the source provides as answer
Other factors include social, political, geographical, educational, etc. 66
Pattern of User’s Behavior
1. Users of information belong to the identifiable groups with
characteristic patterns of information requirements.
2. The role of the user is an important determinant of information
need.
3. Accessibility is a key factor determining the use of an information
source.
4. The user’s awareness of and ability to use, information sources are
often imperfect.
5. Interpersonal communication is one of the most important means of
transmitting information.
6. The amount of information required varies considerably between
persons.
7. Users often require information to be supplied at short notice;
decisions may have to be made at a given time regarding of the
availability of information.67
All people are individuals and will seek and use information
in different ways. Much of our daily life is spent in information
gathering and shifting of one kind or another-merely looking at
41
people involves an information process; since we notice things
about them and do a rapid assessment. Most of this information
gathering is carried out automatically, and is not perceived as such;
it is an integral part of our personalities and we all do it differently.
There is no such thing as a homogeneous body of information users.
A group of people with the same level of education may be working
on the same subject at the same time; but they will use information
in different ways. Some information will obviously be relevant to
all of them, some to only one or two. Some of the group will scan
and absorb vast quantities of materials, others will read much less.
Some will prefer oral channels, some will prefer to see information
in print so that they can pore over it; some always prefer to ask
other people; some find it a waste of time and energy. Some enjoy
computer searching, some have technophobia; and when people do
search, they use the Internet in very different ways.
To sum up, it can be said that information-seeking
behaviour, pattern of user’s behavior, use studies, utilization studies
and use pattern are closely related and often not precisely defined.
In an effort to understand use pattern of academic libraries of Uttar
Pradesh relevant in today’s environment of ubiquitous electronic
access this initiative has been taken. This study explores the use
pattern of sources and services available in university libraries of
Uttar Pradesh with special reference to libraries of Lucknow
University, Lucknow and BBAU, Lucknow. Besides that study will
also focus on libraries of twelve other universities of Uttar Pradesh.
In addition, the study will also concentrate on satisfaction and
problems of users, and answers to problems in the form of
suggestions.
42
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