Networking of Libraries of state deemed to be and private universities in Bangalore development of a consortium model

Abstract

The study explores the user requirements for information resources in university libraries across three types of universities State Universities, Deemed-to-be Universities, and Private Universities within the context of resource sharing. This study is underpinned by six basic research questions: (1) the nature and quantum of resources and services available in State, Deemed-to-be, and Private universities in Bangalore. (2) attitude of the library professionals and willingness of library management of participating universities in developing a consortium, (3) the knowledge about library consortium among the users of participating libraries, (4) the nature of information resources which are part of consortium, (5) the technical, infrastructural, and managerial issues involved in developing the consortium model, and (6) financial and other resource commitments from participating university libraries. The research examines the preferences of library users regarding various types of information resources, such as e-books, online databases, printed books, journal subscriptions, audio-visual materials, theses, government publications, data sets, archives, and educational software. The objective was to assess whether there are significant differences in the preferences for resource sharing based on the type of university. A genuine effort is made to address these questions in the study undertaken. To achieve the research objectives, study has adopted the questionnaire method and has collected the data from library professionals and users regarding their attitudes, awareness, and perceptions of library consortia, as well as their experiences with existing resources and services. A series of hypothesis tests using the Chi-square method were conducted to determine if the type of university had any significant impact on users preferences for information resources.