Web OPAC Research Articles

A Study on Utilization of Web OPAC at University Library

A Study on Utilization of Web OPAC at University Library

Utilization Of Web Information Resources Among Scientists in Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam

Web-based information resources, such as e-books, online journals, databases, and bibliographic databases, play a crucial role in both educational and professional settings. The study investigated the utilization of web information resources among scientists in Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam. The study aims to find out the database available in the library, to know time spent on web resources and to determine frequency of using web information. The methodology used was survey method. Findings revealed that the majority of the scientists indicated E-journals as the most used web information resource. Least number of scientists used the Web OPAC, institutional repositories and E- newspaper.

The use of human-computer interaction in libraries: a systematic literature review

Purpose This study aims to analyze the status and application/use of human–computer interaction (HCI) in libraries by conducting a systematic literature review (SLR). Design/methodology/approach A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) approach was used to search Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases. The search criteria included research studies published in English language between 2010 and 2021, which were 4,167 citations. Out of 4,167 citations, a total of 50 studies were selected for the final analysis. Findings The results showed a positive attitude of librarians toward HCI applications in libraries worldwide. The results depict that one-third (30%) of the studies were conducted in the USA, followed by four (8%) studies in China. Out of 50 studies, a portion of 15 (30%) studies were based on digital libraries, followed by seven (14%) studies on academic libraries and five (10%) studies on libraries and their websites. HCI was used for searching and retrieving information, users’ interaction, authentication, online help/support, feedback, library web access, web OPAC, virtual access to resources, indigenous repository and virtual services. The most productive year was 2015, and journal of The Electronic Library had more articles on HCI than other journals. Practical implications The findings of this study could assist policymakers and library authorities in reconciling the HCI application in libraries for providing effective and efficient access and services to end-users. Originality/value This study is unique as no comprehensive study has been conducted on the use of HCI in librarianship using the SLR method.

Information retrieval and data mining through library OPAC keyword searching: An experience of recent trends and JNU, New Delhi, Library

This paper aims to explain Library Web OPAC keyword searching and data mining techniques. Data mining techniques recommend digital library services based on the user's profile and search history. This paper also discusses the web OPAC service and keyword searching technique. Moreover, the paper provides a brief description of the various search option facilities provided by the Koha Web OPAC, a service at Dr. BR Ambedkar Central Library, JNU, New Delhi and highlights the recent trend that reflects increasing use of various software applications in libraries to interact with library collections and searching the pin-pointed information.

Ontology Rules for Library Research Services Recommendation System

This research aims to present the design and construction of guidelines on the ontology rules for research support services of the Khon Kaen University Library. In this research, there was a usage of Protégé version 3.5 to build an ontology into a knowledge base in the form of Ontology Web Language (OWL). The results showed ten ontology rules: 1) Rules for plagiarism recommendations 2) Rules for plagiarism recommendations on journal quality audits for academic publications 3) Rules for displaying recommendations on information retrieval in Web OPAC 4) Rules for displaying recommendations for information literacy training programs 5) Rules for displaying recommendations on thesis database lists 6) Rules for displaying recommendations 7) Rules for displaying instructions on e-journals databases, 8) Rules for displaying instructions on citations in the next section, 9) Rules for displaying instructions on endnote citations, and 10) Rules for displaying advice on research aids. The measurement accuracy (Precision) was 92.73%, the completeness (Recall) was 90.74%, and the F-measure was 91.72%.

ICT Based Research Support Services in Academic Libraries: A New Frontier to Enhancing Research Integrity and Productivity

This article focuses on the innovative approaches to delivery of research support services using emerging technologies in academic libraries. The emerging technologies rapidly change the research support system to enhance the research output and visibility in higher educational institutions with the aim of research data management and digital transformation of research output over the networks. Currently, Research Support Service (RSS) is one of the significant services delivered by libraries in the context of research support and data management at their institutions. Research support is a new service area for academic libraries to enhance and promote the research activities at their universities in the collaborative mission. To effectively delivery of the research support services by libraries in educational institutions, library professionals has formulated institutional research policy, research data lifecycle, redesign library space and services (digital repository, research advocacy, open data repository, e-resources discovery and accessibility, ETDs management, Web OPAC accessibility, virtual labs, research data management, reference management, plagiarism deterring, Current Awareness Service (CAS), Internet accessibility, wi-fi, email alerts, 3D printing, printing & scanning, bibliometrics, curation & preservation of data, e-documents delivery, data analysis support and open access publishing etc.) to 24x7 research support to the academicians and researchers in the digital age. These research support services help to enhance to usage of library collection & services and promote research-integrity at their instantiations. Research support services, namely the redesign of the library e-infrastructures and services to 24x7 research support to the researchers and academicians to enhance the research output in digital environment. The author’s noticed that delivery of research support services in Indian educational institutions are under progressive stage, only few universities are engaging in effectively delivery of such types of services in open research world. Also, this paper describes the advantage of delivery of research support services through the lens of the digital transformation of library services in academic institutions.

Use pattern of information sources and services by the job seekers at public libraries in Chennai City - a study

An attempt made in this study to know about the use pattern of information sources and services by the job seekers with the special reference of public libraries in Chennai city. Well structured questionnaires distributed randomly to the users of public libraries to investigate the aims of the study. The result shows that most of the respondents are male with the age group of 26 to 30 and have the educational qualification of a graduate. Majority of the respondents are having an average level (53.8%) of information literacy skills. Most of the respondents are moderately aware (55.7%) about the information sources and services of public libraries. Majority of the respondents (68.35%) visit the public libraries often. Job oriented books (83.54%) are often used by the respondents followed by 56.33% of job oriented periodicals, 35.44% of e-resources and 43.04% of encyclopedia and dictionary are used occasionally. 68.35% and 45.57% of the respondents use the reading room and notice board and new arrivals display service often. Most of the respondents (65.19%) and (58.23%) often use online public access catalogue or web OPAC and browse themselves in the stock area. Majority of the respondents (56.96%) satisfied with the information sources and services (63.29%) available in the public libraries. Most of the respondents agree that there are some problems like insufficient information sources (34.81%), inadequate services (34.18%), lack of search techniques (51.90%), infrastructure (47.47%) and library timings (40.51%).

Information Literacy Competency among Students of Kittur Rani Chennamma College of Horticulture, Arabhavi (Belagavi), Karnataka: A Study

The present study was carried out to explore the Information Literacy Competency (ILC) among students of Kittur Rani Chennamma College of Horticulture Arabhavi, Belagavi. Data was collected through questionnaire method. The tabulation and analysis was done based on the necessary statistical tools. Results of the study revealed that all the respondents need information for the study, to prepare seminars, assignments and notes. For location of information in the library they search on OPAC / Web OPAC and seek the assistance from the library staff. Majority of them use search engines and using simple search keywords. The respondents suggested incorporating the information literacy programmes in their curriculum. Majority of them suggested conducting information literacy programmes on use of information resources.

Emerging Technologies and their Impact on the Libraries

Objectives: Applications of new technologies in different areas of libraries, Changes in library system with the emergence of new technologies, Areas where new technologies applied, Problems in implementing new technologies. Methods/ Statistical Analysis: For the present study review of literature, personal observation as well as interview method is adopted. Visited some libraries in the near about areas and observe them and talk with their officials. Findings: Modern libraries are very rapidly adapted to the new technologies. With the help of web technologies, these can be access from anywhere, any time. Even then these advancements libraries are not properly working and adopting to it, because of many problems like money, unskilled library staff etc. There are very few libraries in Punjab which are fully automated even today. Application/Improvements: New technologies have come in the field of library science and are implementing in the different sections of the libraries. But due to some problems these technologies are not properly applied in all the libraries. Keywords: Emerging Technologies, Networking of Libraries, ICT, RFID, Web OPAC

Assessing distance education students satisfaction with web-based services

PurposeUniversities across the globe are spending an increasing amount of their budgets to offer web-based services to cater information need especially off-campus students. However, the success of web-based services depends on how well the target users are satisfied with the use of the web services. The purpose of this paper is to assess students’ satisfaction with the use of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) web-based services.Design/methodology/approachPilot tested questionnaire-based survey was administered to collect data from a sample of 388; selected through systematic sampling technique from the study’s population consisted of master level students belonged to 11 different academic departments of the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at the AIOU from all over Pakistan.FindingsBased on 318 useful questionnaires, response rate 82 percent, the results show that majority of the students were satisfied with the use of at the AIOU web-based services except for online mailing books tracking system, library web OPAC and web radio service. However, t-test analysis shows that no difference was found in the opinion of male and female respondents in terms of their satisfaction with the use of the web services. ANOVA results indicate that there was no significant difference depicted in satisfaction with the use of the web services among the respondents enrolled in different disciplines of the faculty. Similarly, no significant difference was found among different age groups. Moreover, the respondents belonging to all five provinces; Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gilgit Baltistan, and Federal Capital territory showed the same level of satisfaction with the use of the services. The results of regression analysis (R2=0.226) denote that both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use significantly predicted, 22.6 percent, in students’ satisfaction with the use the web services.Practical implicationsThe study provides valuable recommendations which may be helpful for web administration of the university to improve AIOU web-based services.Originality/valueTo the best knowledge, this is the first study conducted to investigate the satisfaction with the use of the university web-based services in distance education’s perspective of Pakistan.

Evaluation of libsys vs SOUL the integrated library management software

The study aims to observe the different facilities and functions in each module of selected integrated library management software i.e, Libsys and SOUL. The latest techniques are used to prepare the check lists to evaluate the software. The check list contains seven categories, (i) Reports (ii) Book Acquisition; (iii) Cataloguing; (iv) Circulation; (v) Serial control; (vi) Web OPAC; (vii) other enhanced features. Finally, the study ILMS was compared based on features/functions. Libsys is having adequate number of functional features than SOUL. The study is very useful to library professionals to choose best ILMS.

One Site to Rule Them All, Redux: The Second Round of Usability Testing of a Responsively Designed Web Site

ABSTRACTThis article examines the usability testing of a responsively redesigned library Web site. Responsive design provides a unified user experience regardless of the device used to view a site. The study's aim is twofold: to determine if the responsively designed site and its external online services support users’ information seeking needs, and to discover if there is a singular experience across different devices. A cognitive walkthrough was the main testing instrument used in gathering input. Over two rounds of testing, students of various class years and technological skill from the New York City of Technology (City Tech), CUNY participated in the study. The first round of testing for this usability study on the library Web site was previously documented (Tidal 2015). This article presents the findings and comparisons between the first and second round of usability testing. The study found not only numerous improvements that could enhance the library Web site, but also the lack of a unified experience between tablet, smartphone, and desktop users, despite using a responsive design. Smartphone users were at a disadvantage in utilizing library resources. The study also found there was a significant usability impact in using a mobile-optimized discovery tool among users in comparison to its Web OPAC predecessor.

English

Mobile technologies are playing an increasingly important role in the academic lives of research scholars. The use of mobile devices for academic purposes is the main objective of this study. As such, it has become important to find out how mobile devices improve research work of the research scholars and make it easier, more accessible, faster, and time saving in their academic/research work, and how these devices benefit in research performance of the scholars. The study shows that research scholars do use mobile devices for more than communication and mobile learning (m-learning). Majority of respondents fall under the age group of 26–30 years and are using smartphones. Mobile devices are easier, more accessible, faster, time saving, and can be used for m-learning to improve social interactions. Mobile apps are most frequently used for checking social networking sites (SNSs). Accessing e-newspapers is the most specific use of mobile devices. Majority respondents are using mobile devices for searching Web OPAC. Finding other research scholars and discussing with peers through groups are the main purpose of using academic SNSs. Majority respondents stated that mobile devices are very easy to use, but not significantly used for exchange of ideas with their research supervisors related to research work, which is the principal issue addressed by this study. Mobile devices are least used for identifying potential collaborators. Lack of high speed and authentic e-resources are the biggest barriers that interrupt the access of licensed e-resources subscribed by the study libraries for enhancement of research work. The findings of the study will not only guide research scholars in effective use of mobile devices for academic purpose but also help mobile manufactures, university authorities, librarians, and database vendors in exploring mobile devices adoption and usage among the university students.

Attitudes of law university library users towards the use of Web OPAC in Karnataka

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of two law university libraries in the Karnataka state of southern India and their web-based online public access catalogue (web OPAC). Results from a survey of library users’ attitudes towards the use of the web OPAC, methods adopted to learn how to use the web OPAC, guidance sought to use the web OPAC and the extent of use of the web OPAC search facilities in select law school libraries in Karnataka are reported. Design/methodology/approach – To study the users’ attitudes towards the use of the web OPAC in law university libraries in Karnataka, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to 300 users, including Bachelor Of Legislative Law students, Master of Laws students, research scholars and teaching staff. The sample population was chosen using the convenience sample method, and the researcher received 256 completed and usable questionnaires. A five-point Likert scale was used in the research questionnaire. Typical statistical tests such as mean and standard deviation were applied for the purpose of accuracy. Findings – The results of the survey indicated that 92.1 per cent of respondents were using the web OPAC. Most of the web OPAC users strongly agreed that they learned to use the web OPAC from a library orientation programme. It was found that there are positive attitudes towards the web OPAC search facility. The survey also found that the web OPAC search page has not given satisfactory guidance to web OPAC users. Practical implications – This research paper produces findings of relevance to any academic library to develop and implement a user-friendly web OPAC service. Originality/value – There have been no previous published research studies of the web OPAC and users’ attitudes in the law university libraries in Karnataka state.

IIT Libraries: Evaluation of Web-based Information Resources and Services

The Information and Communication Technology and Internet have revolutionized the way to access and retrieve web based information. The library professionals in recent times have experienced tremendous transformation of available library resources and services. In Indian perspective the IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) are the premier institutions and their libraries are redesigned to have the online availability of quality information resources and services such as e-journals, e-prints, databases, library catalogues (OPAC, Web OPAC), education materials, information on organizations, associations and so on. Web technologies offer a platform to these institutions to make available all informational resources to their patrons via websites or WebPages. In this research paper a study has been done on the Libraries of IITs with an aim to evaluate their web-based informational resources, services, websites/OPACs and to further study what measures they have taken to better represent web based informational resources and services to their clienteles.

Manuscripts Collection Development in Mahamahopadhyaya Dr.U.V.Swaminatha Iyer Library: A Case Study

Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. U. V.Swaminatha Iyer Library is one of the oldest Manuscript Libraries having palm leaf and paper manuscripts amongst its collection which provides authentic records for tracing the cultural, social, political and economic history of people in Tamil speaking regions as such. This paper elicits the quantum of manuscript collections in this library. It recognizes the availability of access of manuscripts in different languages together with relevant information about the various subjects contained in these manuscripts housed in this library. This paper states the different aspects of manuscript management in this library. This paper also aims to restructure and reconstruct the information about the manuscript collection in digital environment and to provide a web OPAC for dissemination of information about the rich and valuable knowledge contained in the manuscript collections of the library.

A STUDY OFWEB-BASED OPACs SERVICES IN INDIA

Web OPAC is a systematic application and not exploitation of information technology. Web OPAC is a library catalog on the Web or Intranet. Users can search the required information by connecting to Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of Web OPAC anytime during the day and from anywhere in the world. The purpose of study is geographically how many institutions are providing OPAC services, what type of LMS softwares using. Further highlights the problems faced by libraries and their economical situations.

Measuring user satisfaction with a library system according to ISO/IEC TR 9126‐4

PurposeThe primary goal of this paper was to find out how task effectiveness, completion, efficiency and task time affect the general user satisfaction with a specific software product, and which factors, mentioned above, have the biggest effect on user satisfaction. The secondary goal of this examination was to try out how the metrics of ISO/IEC TR 9126‐4 standard can be applied for measuring quality in use of the software product in a real library environment.Design/methodology/approachThis study introduces the results of research which focused on the measurement of user satisfaction using ISO/IEC TR 9126‐4. Data of the examination was gained from the logfiles of Web OPAC used at the University and National Library of University of Debrecen. Based on this data the study was seeking the relation between quality of task solution with the software product and user satisfaction. To carry out the examinations the University and National Library of University of Debrecen permitted access of its Web OPAC with four unique URL numbers. In this way it was possible to separate the logfiles of participants in the examination from those of other library users and analyse each separately. Measuring users' effectiveness, completion and efficiency was based on the relevant metrics of ISO/IEC TR 9126‐4‐ Quality in use metrics standard. The study measured the satisfaction after using the software with the questionnaire.FindingsThe study could not assess every potential user satisfaction influential factor, but focused on gaining data from log‐files, and converted them into metrics according to the ISO/IEC TR 9126‐4 standard. Of the examined factors, the effectiveness of task solution had the greatest influence on user satisfaction: among the four detailed factors effectiveness‐satisfaction variables, it possessed the highest calculated correlation coefficient value. Another important statement of this study was that during the satisfaction examinations it was necessary to be attentive to the satisfaction structure of well definable user groups, who used library information systems, and who showed special features.Originality/valueMeasuring user's effectiveness, completion and efficiency was based on the relevant metrics of ISO/IEC TR 9126‐4‐ Quality in use metrics standard.

Students' keenness on use of e‐resources

PurposeThis study aims to focus on the keenness of students of business schools of Orissa (India) on the use of electronic resources and attempts to evaluate the level of electronic information services offered by the primary information reserves of the respective business schools with an opinion pool of sample respondents. Moreover, it intends to elicit the barriers in use of e‐information with recommendations for the improvement of services and usage of e‐resources.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the use of electronic resources by students of business schools of Orissa (India) through structured questionnaires. SPSS is used for data analysis.FindingsThe study finds that students express keen interest in the use of e‐journals, followed by e‐books, e‐newspapers, e‐reports, and e‐articles. Least interest is shown towards the use of electronic theses and dissertations. The study reveals that the majority of students are aware of EBSCO, and Emerald Management Xtra. However, the awareness of all other databases is not quite so encouraging. Further, it is revealed that the use of printed materials is slightly more compared to that of e‐resources. Use of Web OPAC is also less than expected.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights the practicality of the use of electronic resources, compared to print, among the students of business schools of Orissa (India).Originality/valueThe paper reveals the degree of use of electronic resources by business students and makes some useful deductions for its subsequent generalization.

Volunteer Endeavors to Promote ICT in a Developing Country: the case of the Pakistan Library Automation Group

This paper is a case study of the Pakistan Library Automation Group, formed in October 2000 by volunteers in library and information science and computer science in Pakistan. The group's mission was to promote the use of ICT in Pakistani libraries with virtually no financial support. The achievements of the group during 6 years include: PakLAG Website; Automation of libraries with Library Information Management System (LIMS); Multilingual Web OPAC; Searching interface of National Digital Library; Online directory of LIS professionals; Publications program; Pak-LIS News; E-mail discussion group; Online posting of job advertisements; Virtual library; Training in ICTs for library professionals; and free consultancy service in library automation. The group's future plans are also presented. The study concludes that, if some committed professionals present themselves for voluntary endeavors and plan to develop their nation without any material resources, they can play a significant role in the promotion of ICT in the libraries of a developing country.