USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES IN THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES OF TAMIL NADU: A STUDY

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1 Journal of Library and Research (JLSR) ISSN(P): Applied; ISSN(E): Applied Vol., Issue, Jun, - TJPRC Pvt. Ltd. USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES IN THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES OF TAMIL NADU: A STUDY K. VIJAYAKUMAR Librarian, Global Institute of Engineering and Technology, Melvisharam, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India ABSTRACT Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure is an important resource of a present library. It covers an array of hardware, software, services and networks that enable access to digital information. This study investigates the current state-of-the-art information and communication technology infrastructure and the extent of use of electronic information resources in university libraries of Tamil Nadu. The following methods were used to collect data for the investigation: (a) questionnaire surveys of Librarians, (b) semi-structured interviews with librarians and (c) observational visits in the libraries. All the libraries of Tamil Nadu that were using information and communication technologies were selected for the study. The data collected were analyses on standard statistical methods. The investigation provides useful information about the current state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure and use of electronic resources in university libraries of Tamil Nadu. KEYWORDS: ICT, Librarians, Special Library Environment INTRODUCTION The advent of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and its adoption in the university library especially the building of digital library has covered the way to new methods of information storage, search, access and university library has to play a greater role in the information transfer. In this context, it is important to study the availability of state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure and use of electronic information resources. This analysis of university libraries ICT infrastructure based on nature of management wise State universities and Deemed universities on the basis of domain such as universities, Engineering and Technology universities, universities, multiple domain universities and other universities has been attempted. Universities in Tamil Nadu: An Overview Tamil Nadu is one of the constituent states of Indian Republic. The first and foremost University in Tamil Nadu, University of Madras established in, was the only university progressed and expanded throughout the nineteenth century in span of the whole of South India subsequently this university gave birth to the nourished most of the universities viz., Annamalai University (), during pre-independence and after Independence their established number of universities such as Madurai Kamaraj University (), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (), Anna University (), Tamil University (), Bharathidasan University (), Bharathiar University (), Mother Teresa University (), Alagappa University (), Tamil Nadu Dr. M. G. R. University (), Tamil Nadu Veterinary s University(), Periyar University () etc. This was followed by a number of universities

2 K. Vijayakumar established by the state government and deemed universities. At present, there are Universities in Tamil Nadu out of which universities are in State Government and Universities are in deemed universities category. Further these universities can be classified into based on their domain specification such as, Engineering and Technology,, Multiple universities and other universities. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objectives of the study are To survey the domain of university libraries in Tamil Nadu with regard to the ICT infrastructure To identify the use of electronic information resources in the state and deemed university libraries under study. To identify the information and communication technology status among state and deemed university libraries in Tamil Nadu. METHODOLOGY Three methods viz., questionnaire surveys and semi structured interviews with University librarians and observational visits in the libraries have been used in data collection. Structured questionnaires were prepared and administered to librarians. The purpose of questionnaire was to obtain data regarding the state-of the- art ICT infrastructure in university libraries of Tamil Nadu. These questionnaires were distributed to librarians with a cover letter indicating the significance of the study and the intended plans for the results. Observational visits were conducted in the libraries to collect information about the current state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure and to assess the level of the utilization of electronic information resources. There are university libraries in Tamil Nadu. A total of university which includes universities, Engineering and Technology universities, universities, Multiple domain universities and universities in Tamil Nadu. A structured questionnaire was administered to all the universities and out of which were responded and the response rate is. %. The university wise distribution of questionnaires and the number of responses received were shown in Table. Table : Nature of Universities and Domain of Universities S. No. Universities No. of Questionnaires Distributed Nature of Universities State Universities Deemed Universities Domain of Universities Engineering and Technology Responses Received (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.)

3 Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Infrastructure and Facilities in the University Libraries of Tamil Nadu: A Study Multiple domain Table : Contd., (.) (.) (.) RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The data collected by above mentioned tools were analyzed and inferences made based on standard Statistical methods. Analysis of the data obtained through the questionnaires and the Observation using both quantitative and qualitative measures provided an in-depth interpretation for fulfilling the research objectives. The university libraries in Tamil Nadu belonged to Domain of universities, viz.,, Engineering and Technology,, Multiple domain (, Engineering and Technology, ) and (Agriculture, Education, Law, Sports, Veterinary & Animal s) universities. Use of Hardware Facilities The analysis reveals that most of the. % libraries of deemed universities and. % of the State universities have separate computer server in the library.. % libraries of different categories of institutions have clients or computer workstations. All the libraries of state university % and deemed university % have document printer, system with CD drive, CD/DVD writer and UPS were available. In state universities.% universities have barcode reader and barcode printer whereas.% barcode printers available in deemed university..% in state universities and.% deemed university have LCD projector. Only.% universities have both web camera and digital camera, only.% universities have CCTV for security purpose, hence it shows very poor security system in the university libraries. CD-Net Server / CD-ROM Tower has several advantages, especially in a university library environment. This facility will be helpful to provide access to CDROM databases and other CD based information resources. Library users can access this facility through the intranet and they can access the same resources simultaneously. The analysis revealed that. % of the universities and.% of the universities have CD-Net Server / CD-ROM Tower.( Table ) Table : Use of Hardware Facilities S. No. Description Computer Server State Universities n= (.) Deemed Universities n= (.) N= (.) Clients / Computer workstations (.) (.) (.) Document Printer (.) (.) (.) Barcode reader (.) (.) (.) Barcode printer (.) (.) (.) Document Scanner (.) (.) (.)

4 K. Vijayakumar Table : Contd., CD Net server (.) (.) (.) CD Rom tower (.) (.) (.) Systems with CD drive (.) (.) (.) LCD projector (.) (.) (.) CD/DVD writer (.) (.) (.) UPS (.) (.) (.) Web camera (.) (.) (.) Digital Camera (.) (.) (.) CCTV (.) (.) (.) Library Management Software To bring the hardware establishment into activation, proper software facilities are required by the university libraries to serve up-to-date information to the users. The analysis shows that all the libraries have library management software, whether it is commercially purchased or in house prepared. Library management software package play a key role for the success of library automation. There are a number of library automation software packages in use in Tamil Nadu. The analysis shows that university libraries in Tamil Nadu are more interested in commercial software packages. There are software packages preferred by libraries (Table ). It is found that AutoLib is used more in libraries. % than any other software. In House software is a distant second with. % of libraries. Six libraries of and one libraries of others university were using SOUL software. The other software used are Boan, koha, Lib Genie, LMS, Libsuite, Libasoft, Modern lib, and TFCS. Majority of the libraries have network version of library management software and have OPAC and online help facilities. Table : Use of Library Management Software in University Libraries in Tamil Nadu S. No. Description Autolib Boan In House Koha Lib Genie N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) Engineering and Technology N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) Multiple Domain N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) N = (.) (.) (.) (.) (.)

5 Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Infrastructure and Facilities in the University Libraries of Tamil Nadu: A Study LMS (.) Lib Suite (.) Libasoft (.) Libsys (.) Modern Lib (.) Nirmals (.) Smart Library (.) Soul (.) TFCS (.) (.) Table : Contd., (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) Use of Digital form of Materials It is found that, all the university libraries are having CD-ROM as a digital form of materials, followed by.% of the libraries having in the form of e- journals. Among this % of e-journals available in engineering, medical and multiple domain university libraries, only.% available in arts and science and.% in others university libraries. On the other hand and Multiple domain university libraries are having % of online databases followed by.% in engineering and technology,.% in arts and science and.% in other university libraries. Nearly.% universities are having in the form of e-books, of which.% in multiple domain university one each in medical and other university having e-books.(table ) Table : Use of Digital form of Materials S. No. Description Audio / Video materials CD ROM E-Books E-Journals Online databases N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) Engineering and Technology N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) Multiple Domain N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) N = (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) Use of Digital Library It is revealed that only twenty two libraries have a separate digital library. It is also observed that the main components of these digital libraries include electronic databases, full text e-journals through Direct, ProQuest, etc., publications of the institute research community, e-books, CD-ROM databases, discussion groups, online news, in house databases, publication databases, etc. A few.% libraries have digital library initiatives and they are started

6 K. Vijayakumar creation and digitisation of some of their collections using in-house digital library software. But majorities.% of the university libraries in Tamil Nadu have no digital library or no digital library initiatives at all. Use of Digital Library Software It is observed that, out of universities only.% universities having digital library software, among them.% universities having open source software among this.% in arts and science universities,.% in engineering and technology and.% in medical universities. In the other hand.% universities having In-house software, it is followed by.% universities in multiple domain,.% universities in engineering and technology and one each in arts and science, medical and other universities S.No. Description In - House software Open source software Use of Internet N= (.) (.) (.) Table : Use of Digital Library Software Engineering and Technology N= (.) (.) (.) N= (.) (.) (.) Multiple Domain N= (.) (.) (.) N= N = (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) The Internet has become an indispensable resource for libraries worldwide to enhance the collection, improve services and operations. Internet has made easy access to information sources/documents such as books journals, electronic publications, etc. The Internet can be successfully utilized for providing reference service because various primary and secondary sources of information are available online It is possible to access the resources of other libraries through the Internet and feasible to browse the entire collection of a library through WebOPAC and can make a request for a document through . Table S. No. Description Leased line Dedicated line ISDN Dial Up VSAT N= (.) (.) (.) (.) Engineering and Technology N= (.) (.) (.) (.) N= (.) (.) (.) (.) Multiple Domain N= (.) (.) (.) (.) N= N = (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) All the institutions under study have the Internet connectivity in the library or information centre. Majority.% of the university libraries in Tamil Nadu has leased line connection, and a few. % libraries are accessing Internet through dialup connection. Though there are few Internet Service Providers in Tamil Nadu, namely VSNL, AIRTEL, ASIANET, Sathyam and BSNL, the study revealed that the libraries are accessing Internet through the dedicated line. A little number.% of the libraries have only ISDN dial up access.

7 Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Infrastructure and Facilities in the University Libraries of Tamil Nadu: A Study Use of Online Information Resources In universities, it is mandatory to have certain specific online digital information resources. A total of online digital resources have been identified and the availability of these resources based on domain are shown in Table Table : Online Information Resources S. No. Description IEEE IEE ASME ASCE Direct PRO QUEST ACM ACS J-GATE SCOPUS Engineering village Jstore N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) Engineering and Technology N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) Multiple Domain N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) N= (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) N = (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) (.) The analysis revealed that.% of university libraries are using IEEE online resources both bibliographic and full text. Nearly.% of the institutions are using ProQuest, ACM and Jstore online resources. It is found that.% of the institutions were using direct and JGATE. Very few libraries are using Engineering village, SCOPUS and ACS as an online resources. Half of the university library are using ASME online resources. CONCLUSIONS Application of ICT in university libraries has become inevitable in the present era of information explosion and widespread use of digital information resources. Effective application of ICT in libraries helps in performing their operations and services most efficiently. In Tamil Nadu many university libraries have been applying ICT for providing efficient services and resources. This investigation has a summary of the current state-of-the art information and communication technology infrastructure in university libraries in Tamil Nadu. Majority of the libraries have basic hardware facilities like servers, computers, printers, etc. However in the majority of the cases it was underutilized. The libraries of deemed universities have better hardware facilities including scanner, barcode printer, barcode scanner, Net Server, CD-ROM Tower, CD-Writer, etc. The study concludes that most of the libraries in Tamil Nadu need proper ICT infrastructure including hardware, software and library staff have to be trained properly to make use of the resources optimally.

8 K. Vijayakumar REFERENCES. Naved and Nishat. Usage of ICT Products and Services for Research in Social s at Aligarh Muslim University, DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology, (): -. Ramesh Babu, B; Vinayagamoorthy, P and Gopalakrishnan, S. ICT Skills among Librarians in Engineering Educational Institutions in Tamil Nadu, DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology,, (): -. Sharma S, Information technology in special library environment, DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology, () () -.. Kasirao V, Application of information technology (IT) in special libraries, information and documentation centres (LIBIDOCS) in Chennai: a study of its impact on LIS, Proceedings of the Seventh National Convention for Automation of Libraries in Education and Research on Information Services in a Networked Environment in India (INFLIBNET Centre, Ahmedabad),, p..-.. Mohamed Haneefa K, Information and communication technology infrastructure in special libraries in Kerala, Annals of Library and Information Studies,, :-,