Availability, Use and Barriers to ICT in the R&D Institutions: A Case Study of the Libraries and Information Centres in Noida

Abstract

NOIDA is emerging as an international hub of R&D institutions in all sectors. In past no such research study has been conducted on the use and applications of information communication technologies (ICT) in library and information centres (LICs) in the NOIDA city. Hence, the need was felt to undertake an in-depth study on the various aspects of the ICT use and applications. The study provides a current state-of-the-art report on use and applications of ICT in LICs. The study also identifies the causes and problems that hindered ICT applications in the LICs and their possible solutions. The study is an outcome of a research project jointly undertaken by the authors, explores and evaluates the use and availability of ICTs in the LICs of NOIDA. The study is based on 25 LICs from the different sectors such as public, government, corporate, public enterprises, and private. The data was collected through a structured questionnaire and distributed personally as well through mail/e-mail among the librarians of selected institutions. The study finds that majority of the LICs of NOIDA have the basic hardware facilities such as servers, computers, printers, photocopier, Internet connectivity, etc., except one library, i.e., Network Programs library. About half of the LICs have better hardware facilities including scanner, barcode printer, barcode scanner, etc., but the hardware facilities in the majority of LICs are not being properly utilized because majority of the library professionals are not properly aware of the use and operations of the hardware. http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/djlit.29.275