ISSN 2229-5984 (P) 29-5576 (e) OPAC and User Perception in Law University Libraries in the Karnataka: A Study Devendra* and Khaiser Nikam** To Cite: Devendra & Nikam, K. (20). OPAC and user perception in law university libraries in the Karnataka: A study. International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology, 2(4), 1-6. * Librarian Poornaprajna Institute of Management, Udupi Karnataka **Professor & Chairperson Dept. of LIS, Mysore University, Manasagangothri, Karnataka Corresponding Author Devendra devamlis@gmail.com ABSTRACT This paper sets out to provide an overview of online public access catalogue (OPAC) and Law University libraries in Karnataka state. The aim of this study is to learn about OPAC users' affirmative perception, post affirmative perception and level of satisfaction with library OPAC search. This paper deals with the user perception towards the use of OPAC in Law University libraries in Karnataka. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 0 users including LLB students, LLM students, Research Scholars and Teaching Staff. The sample population was chosen by using the convenience sample method and the researcher received only 256 filled - in usable questionnaires. The research questionnaire applied the five point Likert's scale. Statistical tests like mean and standard deviation (SD) were applied for the purpose of accuracy. The results of the survey indicated that users have different levels of perceptions with regard to OPAC search. On the whole, there is a positive perception towards OPAC search, but the survey also underlines that not all users are fully satisfied with the OPAC system's an ability to assist in finding books and with the results of OPAC searches. Only 17.2% users indicated 100% rate of success in locating the document of their interest from the OPAC search. This research paper produces findings of relevance to any law University library to develop and implement a user - oriented or user friendly OPAC service. There have been no previous published research studies of OPAC and user perception in law University libraries in the Karnataka state of India. Key Terms: OPAC, Perception, Law University and Libraries. Received On: 07.09. ; Revised On: 22.11. ; Accepted On: 02.. INTRODUCTION The library catalogue has evolved since it started some twenty years ago, through several years from traditional physical forms to the current web OPAC, Mi & Weng (2008). Libraries now have different types of materials. An OPAC is an inventory of the stock of any library and also a tool for accessing the collections of the library in most of the libraries. OPACs allow the true integration of traditional and electronic resources entries. Linking of cataloguing, indexing and textual databases can be done to provide users with enormous access to local and remote information, Antell & Huang (2008). The importance of OPACs has increased in recent years, mainly due to the large number of resources now available in every one of the libraries in general and law universities in particular. User perceptions studies have become one of the most popular studies in the area of service quality in many academic disciplines like library science. The user perception has been used to determine the service quality which is seen as critical for service organizations to position themselves strongly in a competitive environment, Kani, et al. (2008). The concept of a National Law School has been picked up by the Bar Council of India in the context of its statutory responsibility of maintaining standards in professional legal education under the Advocates Act, 1961. It has been felt that such an Institution can serve as a pace-setter and a testing ground for bold experiments in legal education. This idea has now fructified. The National Law School has been set up at Bangalore under the National Law School of India Act, 1986, enacted by the Karnataka Legislature. All law universities selected for the study have well equipped libraries. These libraries are meant to serve the information requirements of students, teaching staff and non teaching staff in their respective institutions. The main objective of these libraries is to collect, process, maintain and service a good number of text books, reference books, legal journals, audio-visual materials and other information sources. Besides, they provide good physical facilities and information services like Internet service, OPAC and web OPAC etc. Karnataka state has two Law Universities, namely Karnataka State Law University and National Law School of India University. Computerization of the Karnataka State Law University Library International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology Oct. - Dec. 20 Vol. 2 Issue 4 1
was completed in 2009. The major areas where Automation applications are in progress are Acquisition, cataloguing, circulation and serial control facility. The University library has developed the database of its holdings using a library software package called 'ARGGS' developed by ARGGS Pvt. Ltd. The Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) facility available in this database helps the library users to have access to the available document in the library. National Law School of India University library has assisted the students and research scholars in locating literature as well as information in their areas of research. General reference, current awareness and computerized catalogues have been introduced. LITERATURE REVIEW Library OPACs first emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s and have gone through several cycles of change and development. The basic purpose of the OPAC is to create a database of library holdings which provides an online catalogue to help users to identify and find resources easily. Ashoor & Khurshid (1986) carried out a survey on users' reaction to the online catalogue at the University of Petroleum and Minerals Library. Cherry, et al. (1992) studied 5 different types of online public access catalogues at 5 libraries of Ontario University. They interviewed around 29 undergraduates, graduates and faculty to determine their satisfaction with the computerized library catalogues. Hildreth (2000) investigated the accounting for users' inflated assessments of on-line catalogue search performance and usefulness: an experimental study. This investigation focused on considering perceptions of ease of use and usefulness. Interface style appears to be the primary determinant. In short, Web OPAC is easier to use, and this may be a supportive factor in search success. A study by, Abdoulaye (2002) conducted on 'Perception of catalogues and end users towards bilingual authority files, Ansari & Amita (2008) found that most of the users handle the OPAC themselves. Significantly, the satisfaction level of users was high with the OPAC facilities. Nevertheless, not many users are aware of the expert searches provided by OPAC. Kani, et al. (2008) conducted a study on 'User perceptions of Online Public Library Catalogue'. The purpose of this study was to establish user suggestions for a typical OPAC applications functionality and features. OBJECTIVES The main objectives of the study are as follows: To examine the features of the OPAC features of the law university libraries in Karnataka To know the affirmative perceptions of users towards OPAC services To know the affirmative post search perceptions of users towards OPAC services To assess the satisfaction level of the users with the existing library OPAC To find out the users' success rate of locating the document METHODOLOGY The geographical area of the study covers two law university libraries. They are National Law School of India University library, Bangalore and Karnataka State Law University library, Hubli in Karnataka state. The study was restricted to the sample of permanent members of the teaching staff, full time doctoral or M.Phil research scholars, post graduate students and graduate students. The total study population was 769, which included members of teaching staffs, research scholars, 176 LLM students and 527 LLB students. A sampling of members of 0 teaching staff, research scholars, LLM students and LLB students of two Law Universities in Karnataka was selected for the survey. A sample is a subject chosen from a population for investigation. The total sample size of this study was 33.3%. The sample population was chosen by using the convenience sample method and the researcher received only 256 filled in usable questionnaires making a moderate response rate of 85.33% which was found adequate for the analysis. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1: Category-wise Distribution of Respondents Category Response %age LLB Students 1 55.1 LLM Students 88.4 Teaching staffs 4.7 Research Scholars 15 5.8 As shown in the table 1 respondents of law universities consist of different type of designation and status of group. Out of the total 256 respondents, the majority are LLB students. They number 1 representing 55.1% of the total number of respondents and.4% of the respondents were LLM students. At the same time 4.7% users were from the teaching staff, followed by 5.8% respondents who were research scholars. Table 2: Gender-wise Users Gender Distribution Response %age Male 153 59.8 Female 103.2 The gender wise distribution of users is shown in table.2. It may be seen from the table that a large number of the users numbering 59.8% are male and.2% of them are female users. 2 International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology Oct. - Dec. 20 Vol. 2 Issue 4
Table 3: User Rate of Success in Locating Documents Through OPAC Rate of Success Response %age 100% 44 17.2 75% 1 46.1 % 28.1 25% 2 0.8 <25% 20 7.8 As shown in table 3 out of 256 respondents surveyed large number respondents, 46.1% respondents, rate the success of locating the document of their interest from the OPAC at 75%. The table also indicates the 28.1 respondents had a success rate of % in locating the document of their interest from the OPAC, whereas, 17.2% respondents recorded 100% success in locating the document of their interest from the OPAC. On the other hand 7.8% respondents rated their success of locating the document of their interest from the OPAC at <25% and in the case of two 0.8% respondents the rate in success of locating the document of their interest from the OPAC was 25%. Table 4: Affirmative Perceptions about Library OPAC Affirmative Perception Statements n=256 Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 OPAC was Easier to use than I expected (25.9) 92 (35.9) 62 (.2) 3.63 1.13 It was Fun to use 32 (.5) 38 (.8) (28.2) 82 (32) 32 (.5) 3.17 1.20 It was Easy to use 20 (7.8) (21.1) 1 (45.3) 3.62 1.10 It helped me in finding the documents faster 22 (8.6) 10 (3.9) 86 (33.6) 98 (38.3) 3.89 1.20 It is Very difficult to use 1 (46.1) 68 (.6) 36 (.1) 22 (8.5) 1.99 1.17 It is Very confusing to use 1 (44.5) (11.7) 36 (.1) 2.09 1. I found more items than expected (9.4) 84 (32.8) 58 (22.7) 3.52 1. I am comfortable with simple search 74 (28.9) (25.8) 3.56 1.17 I am comfortable with complex/advance search (9.4) 52 (20.3) 0 (46.8) 3.31 1. I am comfortable with quick search 20 (7.8) 56 (21.8) 110 (43) (21.1) 3.63 1.11 I am comfortable when using OPAC 48 (.7) 110 (43.0) (25.7) 3.75 1.09 Codes: 1-strongly disagree, 2- disagree, 3- neutral, 4-agree, 5- strongly agree, SD = Standard deviation, N= Number of Respondents International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology Oct. - Dec. 20 Vol. 2 Issue 4 3
The Karnataka Law University library users have affirmative perception towards the use of OPAC. It is shown in table 4 that 'OPAC was easier to use than I expected' were the opinion of Law University library users with mean = 3.63 and 60.1 percent of the sample opined 'agree' to 'strongly agree'. The second ranking statement was 'It was fun to use' (mean = 3.17) and the observed majority %age was in agreement. This is followed by 'It was easy to use' (mean =3.62) 45.3% out of 256 respondents agreed and 19.5% respondents strongly agreed. The researcher analysis also reveals that 71.9 % of users observed 'It helped me in finding the documents faster (mean = 3.89). When opinion was sought on the statement 'It is very difficult to use', 46.1% and.6% of respondents strongly disagree and disagree respectively (mean =1.99), this response shows that the use of OPAC is very easy. Further, the finding revealed that 44.5% and 25% (mean=2.09) of users strongly disagree and disagree respectively with the opinion 'It is very confusing to use'. Most of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed 32.8% & 22.7% with statement 'I found more items than expected (mean = 3.52). Some of the comfortable statements were moderate agreements like 'I am comfortable with simple search' (mean =3.56), 'I am comfortable with complex/ Advance search' (mean = 3.31), 'I am comfortable with quick search' (mean =3.63), 'I am comfortable when using OPAC' (mean= 3.75). On the whole the table shows that majority of response is expressly positive. Table 5: Affirmative Post Search Perceptions about Library OPAC Post Search Perceptions n= 256 Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 It was easy to use the library OPAC for whatever I wanted to search (7.0) 56 (21.9) 1 (43.8) (21) 3.65 1.09 Interaction with the library OPAC to carry out my searches was clear and understandable 22 (8.6) 62 (.2) 0 (46.9) 3.60 1 Overall, this library OPAC was helpful in assisting me to search the documents effectively 10 (3.9) 8 (3.1) 58 (22.7) 1 (.8) 3.78 0.92 It would take a great deal of effort and practice for me to learn to use this library OPAC with proficiency (11.7) 60 (23.4) 58 (22.7) 82 (32) 3.05 1.19 My friends could use this library OPAC to search effectively with little or no training (9.3) 90 (35.2) 44 (17.2) 3.37 1. Once I found a book on a subject or topic, it was easy to continue the search to find additional books on the subject 10 (3.9) 136 (53.1) 46 () 3.75 0.94 When a full, detailed OPAC record for a book was displayed, it was easy to read that display to find specific information about the book(s) Codes: 1-strongly disagree, 2- disagree, 3- neutral, 4-agree, 5- strongly agree, SD = Standard deviation, N= Number of Respondents Table 5 shows the experience about affirmative post search perceptions. The table indicates that 43.8% and 21% (mean = 3.65) of respondents agreed and strongly agreed respectively, 'It was easy to use the library OPAC for whatever I wanted to search'. 56 (21.9) 100 (39.1) 76 (29.6) 3.84 1.05 That about 46.9% and 15.6% (mean=3.60) of respondents agreed and strongly agreed with the statement about post search OPAC 'Interaction with the library OPAC to carry out my search was clear and understandable'. It is clear from the table that with 4 International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology Oct. - Dec. 20 Vol. 2 Issue 4
regard to the opinion 'Overall, this library OPAC was helpful in assisting me to search the documents effectively' the mean value of agreement was 3.78 out of 5 and % and more respondents agreed. This is followed by the opinion 'It would take a great deal of effort and practice for me to learn to use this library OPAC with proficiency', with a mean score of 3.05 out of 5. 35.2% respondents agreed and 17.2% respondents strongly agreed (mean = 3.37) with the opinion about 'my friends could use this library OPAC to search effectively with little or no training'. The respondents also accepted the opinion about post search OPAC 'once I found a book on a subject or topic, it was easy to continue the search to find additional books on the subject (mean =3.75) and 'when a full, detailed OPAC record for a book was displayed, it was easy to read that display to find specific information about the book(s) mean score was 3.84 out of 5. All post search perceptions have positive responses. Table 6: Satisfaction with the OPAC System's Ability to Assist in Finding Books Parameters Response %age Very satisfactory 92 35.9 Some what satisfactory 4 48.5 Somewhat unsatisfactory 11.7 Very unsatisfactory 10 3.9 Table 6 shows that 48.5% of the respondents were somewhat satisfied with the OPAC system's ability to assist in finding books. 35.9% users were very satisfied with the OPAC system's ability to assist them in finding books, 11.7% respondents were somewhat dissatisfied and 3.9% respondents were much dissatisfied with the OPAC system's ability to assist in finding books. Table 7: Parameters of Satisfaction with the Results of Searches Parameters Response %age Very satisfactory 90 35.2 Somewhat satisfactory 1.8 Somewhat unsatisfactory 9.3 Very unsatisfactory 4.7 After a glance at table 7,.8 % respondents expressed modest satisfaction with OPAC search results. 35.2% respondents were quite satisfied with OPAC results. 9.3% respondents were somewhat dissatisfied and 4.7% respondents were quite dissatisfied with OPAC search results. Table 8: Users Experience with OPAC Features OPAC Features n=256 Mean SD Providing step by step instructions Searching by any word or words in a title Searching by any word or words in a subject heading 1 2 3 4 5 44 (17.2) (9.4) 4 (1.6) (25.0) 52 (20.3) (21.1) 100 (39.1) 92 (35.9) 102 (39.8) 36 () 70 (27.3) 3.28 1.27 3. 1.23 3.75 1.15 Limiting search results by date of publication (25.8) 82 (32) (.4) 3.23 1.28 Limiting search result by language 48 (.7) 28 (10.3) 46 (17.9) 3.09 1.33 Ability to search by journal title abbreviations 110 (.9) 48 (.8) 3.48 1.23 Ability to change the order in which items are displayed (.4) 70 (27.3) 78 (.5) 3. 1.31 Ability to view a list of words related to my search words (.2) (5.6) 62 (.5) 96 (37.4) 52 (20.3) 3.49 1.21 Ability to search by call number 44 (17.2) 92 (35.9) (25.8) 3.17 1. Ability to know if a book is checked out (.4) 88 (.4) 76 (29.6) 3.60 1.32 Ability to tell where a book is located in the library 8 (3.1) (.4) 88 (.4) 84 (32.8) 3.70 1.31 Character and Image on the screen (.4) 68 (.6) 86 (33.6) 46 (17.9) 3.31 1.29 Browsing and Navigating style (11.7) 8 (3.1) 68 (.6) 86 (33.6) 3.57 1.23 Codes: 1-strongly disagree, 2- disagree, 3- neutral, 4-agree, 5- strongly agree, SD = Standard deviation, N= Number of Respondents International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology Oct. - Dec. 20 Vol. 2 Issue 4 5
Table 8 shows that OPAC feature with OPAC user responses. In the survey, Likert's scale was employed to collect OPAC user's degree of agreement with statement about OPAC features. The mean values reveal that the OPAC users highly sought after 'searching by any word or words in a subject heading feature', 'ability to know if a book is checked out feature' and 'any word or words in a title feature' with a mean score of 3.75, 3.70 and 3. respectively. 'Ability to know if a book is checked out' 'browsing and navigating style' and 'ability to view a list of words related to my search words' features with a mean score of 3.60, 3.57 and 3.49 out of 5 respectively. Ability to search by journal title abbreviations (mean = 3.48), character and Image on the screen (mean = 3.31), ability to change the order in which items are displayed (mean =3.), providing step by step instructions (mean = 3.28), limiting search results by date of publication (mean = 2.23), ability to search by call number (mean = 3.17), and limited search results by language (mean = 3.09). The majority of the users' responses to Likert's scale statements indicated that the users had positive or favorable experience with OPAC features. CONCLUSION Karnataka State has two Law University libraries, namely Karnataka State Law University library and National Law School of India University library. Both libraries are provided with OPAC and Web OPAC resource searching facilities. The majority findings are as follows: male respondents were more compared to female respondents. A large number of respondents 46.1 percent respondents' rate of success of locating the document of their interest from the OPAC was 75 percent. The researcher also found that respondents positively (agree and strongly agree) responded to affirmative perception towards OPAC search, affirmative post perception towards OPAC search, satisfaction with the OPAC system's ability to assist in finding books, satisfaction with the results of searches, and their experience with OPAC features, these findings were positive. REFERENCES Abdoulaye, K. (2002). Perceptions of cataloguers and end users towards bilingual authority files. The Electronic Library, 20(3), 202-210. Ansari, M. A. & Amita (2008). Awareness and use of OPACs in five Delhi libraries. The Electronic Library, (1), 111-9. Antell, K. & Huang, J. (2008). Subject searching success: Transaction logs, patron perceptions, and implications for library instruction. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 48(1), 68-76. Ashoor, M.S. & Khurshid, Z. (1986). User reactions to the online catalogue at the University of Petroleum and Minerals Library. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 13 (4), 221-225. Cherry, J.M. & Marshall, C. (1992). OPACs at five Ontario universities: A profile of users and user satisfaction. Canadian Library Journal, 49 (2), 3-33. Hildreth, C.R. (2000). Accounting for users' inflated assessments of on-line catalogue search performance and usefulness: An experimental study. Information Research, 6(2), 1-. Kani-Zabihi, E. et al. (2008). User perceptions of Online Public Access Catalogues. International Journal of Information Management, 28(6), 492-2. Mi, J. & Weng, C. (2008). Revitalizing the library OPAC: Interface, searching, and display challenges. Revitalizing the Library OPAC, 5-22. T h e N a t i o n a l L a w S c h o o l o f I n d i a U n i v e r s i t y. http://www.nls.ac.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=art icle&id=6&itemid=68 http://ir.inflibnet.ac.in/dxml/bitstream/handle/1944/276/inf_2.p df?sequence=1karnataka State Law University http://www.kslu.ac.in/lawschool_library.aspx 6 International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology Oct. - Dec. 20 Vol. 2 Issue 4