Analysis of Universities Website in Tamilnadu: Special attention to Library Content Dr. P. Panneerselvam Librarian B.S.Abdur Rahman Chennai 600 048 e-mail: pspanneerselvam@gmail.com Abstract Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has changed all walks of life particularly in library collections, acquisition and services. It has given a new image to the libraries, earlier concept of book store has been replaced by digital library system. The aim of the paper is to understand about universities libraries, a study has been conducted on library collections, timings, membership, rules and regulations, digital library, services, etc. from all 23 universities and properly analyzed. Keywords: Website, Universities, Tamilnadu, Anna, of Madras INTRODUCTION Website of any institution plays a vital role in today s environment, it is not only providing necessary information but also to understand the nature of institution. After the revolution of ICT, internet has become inevitable in today s life. Mobile internet is faster reaching concept among younger generation, immediate reference is made possible by this mobile technology. To meet the contemporary needs of this user community, the higher education institutions need to have informative website by which they can communicate about themselves, vision & mission, their strength, nature of business, etc. Similarly, there is a scenario developed among students and parents, those who like to pursue their higher studies are immediately looking about institution s website, which they looking for admission. Library websites have started developing in India during 1990s and now a days many institute libraries are having their own portal. Library is a central part in any institution, which strengthen academic, research and administrative activities by providing value added services. Being the large higher education institutions, the university libraries are offering various value added services through internet in addition to basic services. OBJECTIVES To know the number of universities functioning in Tamilnadu To know the year of inception of each university To know place of origin of each university To know the various features available in universities website To find out information about library collections, facilities, services, etc. To know the value added services provided by libraries in Tamilnadu 1
AREA OF THE STUDY Government and aided universities have been taken for this study. It doesn t talk about Deemed Universities and other institutions. This study intensely focused on library contents of each university. LITERATURE REVIEW Krishnakumar, Nirmala (2014) analyzed websites of Deemed Universities in Tamilnadu. They discussed about deemed universities inception, library content etc. The authors revealed that the deemed universities in Tamilnadu are having the details about library collections, digital library, library timings in their websites. They have also mentioned that most of the deemed university libraries didn t have contact details and new arrivals information. Pareek S, Gupta DK (2013) studied about 52 academic library websites in Rajasthan and they revealed that library website is the most important segment to show case its systems and services though there are many ways to reach out. They further emphasized that library website should be more precise, language clarity, connect with other libraries and open access resources. The website must be updated in regular interval by which the user be informed the happenings of library. They have concluded that academic library websites in Rajasthan must be improved to meet the growing needs of internet user in the state. Konnur, Rajani (2010) talked about academic libraries websites in Bangalore city. They have mentioned that these libraries could be more vibrant in providing need based services using library 2.0 or web 2.0 technologies. They further said that these technologies facilitate to build dynamic websites for the libraries. Academic libraries must provide RSS feeds, instant messaging, virtual tour, floor map, etc. and these details must be regularly updated. They have also insisted that academic library websites must have the provision to way in open access resources, which is largely available in all discipline. UNIVERSITY - PREAMBLE The word originally derived from Latin word universitas, which means a whole, which offer higher education and research and grant degrees in various subjects. The important idea from the definition is the concept of academic freedom. The present Indian higher education system is dates back to English rulers who emphasized in the need of teaching English and European sciences during early 18 th century. Later, Sir Charles Wood recommended a proper scheme to strengthen primary school to university, which facilitate to plan and form education policy in the country. Subsequently, three universities were started in Kolkota, Mumbai and Chennai in the year 1857, followed by university of Allahabad was started in the year 1887. To promote university activities and to share information and cooperation in the field of education, culture, sports and allied areas, inter-university board, later knows as Association of Indian Unversities (AIU) was started in the year 1925. Education Commission was set up in the year 1948, immediately after independence under Dr.S.Radhakrishnan. This commission has recommended that the university grants committee has to be reconstituted as university grants commission (UGC) with a full time Chairman and other members to be appointed from educationist of repute. 2
However the UGC was established in the year 1956 as a statutory body of the Government of India by an act of Parliament for coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education in India. UNIVERSITIES IN TAMILNADU The Tamilnadu has good higher education system, one of the India s oldest universities was started in Chennai in the year 1857. There are 23 universities to offer academic and research activities in various subjects, which run by Tamilnadu government and government of India. There are 29 Deemed to be Universities are also available besides number of under graduate institutions. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS Table 1: List of Universities in Tamilnadu Sl.No. Name of the Year Location District Specialization Website 1. Alagappa 1985 Karikudi Sivangangai www.alagappauniversity.ac.in 2. Anna 1978 Chennai Chennai Engineering www.annauniv.ac.in Humanities, 3. Annamalai s, 1929 Chidambaram Cuddalore Engineering, university Medical, www.annamalaiuniversity.ac.in Agriculture 4. Bharathiar 1982 Coimbatore Coimbatore www.b-u.ac.in 5. Bharathidasan 1982 Trichy Trichy www.bdu.ac.in Madurak Kamaraj 6. Manonmaniam 7. Sundaranar 8. 9. Mother Terasa Women s The Tamil Nadu Dr.MGR Medical Tamilnadu 10. Dr.Ambedkar Law Tamilnadu 11. Agricultural 1965 Madurai Madurai 1992 Tirunelveli Tirunelveli 1984 Kodaikanal Kodaikanal www.mkuniversity.org www.msuniv.ac.in www.motherteresawomenuniv.ac.in 1989 Chennai Chennai Medical www.tnmgrmu.ac.in 1998 Chennai Chennai Law www.tndalu.ac.in 1971 Coimbatore Coimbatore Agriculture www.tnau.ac.in 12. Periyar 1998 Salem Salem www.periyaruniversity.ac.in Tamil Nadu Veterinary and 13. Animal s 1990 Chennai Chennai Veterinary www.tanuvas.tn.nic.in 14. Tamil 1981 Tanjore Tanjore www.tamiluniversity.ac.in 15. Thiruvalluvar 2003 Vellore Vellore www.thiruvalluvaruniversity.ac.in of 16. 1857 Chennai Chennai Madras www.unom.ac.in Tamil Nadu 17. Teachers Education 2008 Chennai Chennai Education www.tnteu.in 18. Tamil Nadu Open 2004 Chennai Chennai www.tnou.ac.in 3
Tamil Nadu Physical 19. Education and Sports Tamil Nadu 20. Horticulture Tamil Nadu 21. Fisheries Indian Maritime 22. 2005 Vandalur Kancheepuram Sports www.tnpesu.org 2011 Coimbaotre Coimbaotre Proposed in 2012 Nagapattinam Nagapattinam Horticultural Fisheries & Aqua Culture www.tnfu.org.in 2008 Chennai Chennai Marine studies http://www.imu.edu.in/ 23. Central 2009 Thiruvarur Thiruvarur http://www.cutn.ac.in/ The above table shows that there are 23 Universities are functioning in Tamilnadu, among them 21 Universities are run by the Tamilnadu Government and 2 Universities are run by the Government of India. Before independence, of Madras and Annamalai were started in the year 1857 and 1929, respectively. Madurai Kamraj was started in the year 1965, 18 years after independence in Tamilnadu. There are 12 universities were started before 2000 and 8 universities were started after 2000. Mother Terasa is the only, which offered courses for female students and scholars. and Humanities is the most popular subject offered by these Universities. Some of the universities were established to offer specialized subjects such as horticulture, sports, education, maritime, fisheries, medicine, law and engineering by which a focused academic and research activities can be established in those subject areas. Table 2: Year of Establishment Sl.No. Year No. of Frequency 1. Before 1947 2 9 % 2. Between 1947 1975 2 9 % 3. Between 1975 2000 11 49 % 4. After 2000 8 29 % From the above table, 52 % of universities were stated between 1975 and 2000. It is also to understand that only 10 % of universities were started between 1947 and 1975, these periods could have been considered as initial stage of India after British rule. During those periods, India were concentrating more Table 3: Area of Specialization Sl.No. Area of Specialization No. of Universities Frequency 1. Humanities & 13 57 % 2. Engineering & 1 4 % Technology 3. Medicine 1 4 % 4. Law 1 4 % 5. Sports 1 4 % 6. Education 1 4 % 7. Fisheries 1 4 % 8. Horticulture 1 4 % 9. Agriculture 1 4 % 10. Marine 1 4 % 11. Multi specialization 1 4 % 4
The above table shows that 12 (57 %) Universities in Tamilnadu are deal with Humanities and subjects. The other 45 % of Universities are teaching subjects like Engineering & Technology, Medicine, Law, Agriculture etc. It is also to know that only one in Tamilnadu, Annamalai, which situated in the district of Cuddalore is teaching all the discipline. It is also to understand from the above table that the Tamilnadu state has in all the areas including Fisheries, Horticulture and Sports. It is important to note that the Tamilnadu Government has Open, by which, those who complete schooling and unable to continue higher studies can join and pursue their education. Table 4: Distribution of Universities in District wise Sl.No. Area No. of Universities Frequency 1. Chennai 8 35 % 2. Coimbatore 3 13 % 3. Cuddalore 1 4 % 4. Kancheepuram 1 4 % 5. Kodaikanal 1 4 % 6. Madurai 1 4 % 7. Nagapattinam 1 4 % 8. Salem 1 4 % 9. Sivanganga 1 4 % 10. Tanjore 1 4 % 11. Thiruvarur 1 4 % 12. Tirunelveli 1 4 % 13. Trichy 1 4 % 14. Vellore 1 4 % The table 4 indicates that 8 (35 %) Universities are situated in Chennai, which is the capital of Tamilnadu. The second highest District is Coimbatore, which has 3 Universities. Remaining 12 universities are functioning in other 12 Districts of Tamilnadu. It is understand through the study that 20 Districts in Tamilnadu don t have university facility. Table 5: Web Domains of Universities Sl.No. Web Domain No. of Universities Frequency 1..ac.in 16 70% 2..in 1 4% 3..org 2 9% 4..edu.in 1 4% 5..org.in 1 4% 6..nic.in 1 4% The above table indicates that 70% of university websites are having.ac.in as web domain. The second highest is, 9% of university websites are having.org and remaining university websites are having.in,.edu.in,.org.in,.nic.in as web domain. It is understood that the universities are educational institutions and hence most of them are having.ac.in as web domain. 5
Table 6: Basic Information available in website Sl.No. Basic Information No. of Universities Frequency 7. About Library 23 100% 8. Library timings 23 100% 9. Library collections 23 100% 10. Rules & regulations 23 100% 11. Facilities available 19 83% 12. Membership 18 78% 13. Staff details 23 100% 14. Contact address 23 100% The above table shows that most of the libraries website is providing basic information about them, important information such as timings, rules & regulations, contact details are given in their websites. Only 5 libraries are needed to provide information about library membership, and 4 libraries have to update about their facilities in the website. Table -7: Sections of Library 1. Circulation section 12 52% 2. Periodical section 10 43% 3. Stock area 12 52% 4. Reference section 12 52% 5. Back volumes section 9 39% 6. Digital Library 17 74% 7. Acquisition section 9 39% It is observed from the above table that 74% of libraries have given the information about digital library, the details about back volumes and acquisition sections are need to be strengthened since only 39% of libraries have given these information. The second lowest information available in library website is periodical section, only 43% of libraries have provided this information. 52% of libraries have given information about books circulation section, stock area and reference section in their library websites. Table 8: Periodicals Information 1. Print Journals 14 61% 2. Back volumes 9 39% 3. Dailies 18 78% It is clearly understood from the above table that only 61% of libraries have given information about the journals, which they subscribing to. Only 39% of libraries have uploaded details about back volumes and 78% of libraries have given information on daily news papers. Periodicals are the most important source of information, which provide latest trends and technologies, but 39 % of libraries of Universities in Tamilnadu need to provide this vital information in their website. This is an important area to be strengthened, by which the libraries can increase its users. 6
Table 9: Access to e-resources e-books 10 44% 1. e-journals 23 100% 2. Open access journals 16 70% 3. e-databases 17 74% 4. e-theses and dissertation 10 44% e-resources are the modern day library collections, which has plenty of advantages for the libraries and for the users. The above table shows that entire universities in Tamilnadu are subscribing e-journals and the details are available in their website. But as far as e-books are concern, still the conventional method of using hardcopy is exists in most of the university libraries in Tamilnadu, only 44% of libraries are having e-books in their collections. Table 10: Library Collections 1. Books 23 100% 2. New Arrivals 7 30% 3. Theses and 10 44% dissertation 4. CDs/DVDs,etc. 8 35% The above table reveals that all the libraries are providing information about books, which they have in their collections. But only 30 % of them are providing new arrivals information, which is a vital one for every user. 44 % of library websites are having information about theses and dissertation and 35 % libraries are providing CDs and DVD details. Table 11: Library Services 1. Circulation service 23 100% 2. Reference service 20 87% 3. Reprography service 23 100% 4. Article alert service 17 74% 5. Book bank service 15 65% 6. Browsing facility 20 87% 7. Inter-library loan 20 87% It is understood from the above table that the information about books circulation and reprography are available in the website of all the university libraries in Tamilnadu. It is also found that 87% of libraries are doing reference service, browsing facility and inter-library loan service to its users. 65 % of libraries are having book bank service and 74 % of libraries are offering article alert service. Table 12: Value-Added Services 1. Plagiarism checking 3 13% 2. Remote access 4 17% 7
3. Subject gateway 6 26% 4. Wi-fi facility 13 57% 5. Library blog 7 30% 6. Member in Social 4 17% networking sites 7. RSS feed 5 22% 8. Provision to access 13 57% other libraries 9. Library orientation 14 61% 10. Organization of programmes 16 70% Value added services are the most important one, which every library needs to adopt in the competitive world. The above table shows that only 13 % of libraries in Tamilnadu are having the facility of plagiarism checking and 17 % of libraries are having remote access facility. It is also understood that 17 % of libraries are member in social networks and 30 % of libraries are having a blog themselves. There is a welcome sign that 61 % of libraries are doing orientation programme for the fresheres, 57 % of libraries are providing wi-fi facility and 70 % of libraries are organizing programmes to update their knowledge in recent developments in library science, by which they can introduce some innovate services in the library. FINDINGS There are 23 universities run by State and Central Government, are functioning in Tamilnadu in which 2 universities are run by central government and 21 universities are functioning under the state government. Most of the universities (11) were started during the period 1975 2000. Only 2 universities were started pre-independence. Chennai district in Tamilnadu has most number of universities (8). Most of the university (70%) websites are having.ac.in as web domain. Basic information about library are available in most of the university websites. All the university libraries are subscribing e-journals. Important services such as books circulation, reference service and reprography service are offered by all the university libraries. Remote access, plagiarism checking, subject gateway, RSS feed, and social networking activities in the library need to be strengthened. Most of the libraries are doing library orientation classes and organizing programmes in LIS. CONCLUSION It is important that the libraries of every institution particularly the higher education institution should have informative website, by which they can offer various online services to its readers. As per the above study, the libraries of universities in Tamilnadu are providing basic information about themselves and conventional services but they largely differ in delivering value added services, which facilitates by ICT. Important to note that most of the university libraries are lacking to provide some of the note worthy services such new arrivals, plagiarism checking, remote access, subject gateway and so on. These areas must be 8
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