Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

 

Date of this Version

Winter 10-2017

Abstract

This paper is an empirical study of evaluation practices of electronic resources in university libraries in South East Nigeria. The study determines the criteria considered in evaluating electronic resources, the adequacy of use of the electronic resources and the extent of use of the electronic resources by university libraries in South East Nigeria. It employed a descriptive survey design. The population of the study was 2595 respondents consisting of 2509 postgraduate users and 86 librarians in collection development, serials and digital library (e-library). A 10% proportionate sampling technique was used to select a sample of 251 user respondents while all the 86 librarians working in collection development, serials and digital library units (e-library) were used. The survey used questionnaire and interview as instruments of data collection. Data collected were tabulated and analyzed using simple statistics (mean). The result revealed the criteria used by the libraries under study to evaluate their resources which include cost effectiveness based on the number of searches; relevance of the research on campus and the curriculum of the library users; dissatisfaction with a resource; access criteria on the technical reliability of the content provider; the database can be ranked by acquiring statistics; comparing duplication in various formats or overlap in full-text resources. The result also revealed that the greater number of the electronic resources is high adequacy and that all the electronic resources are used to a great extent by the users. That shows that the users are accessing it and using it for their research and learning. The study recommended regular evaluation of library electronic resources considering the stated criteria to ensure that users’ needs are met; the university libraries should ensure that electronic resources under subscription are properly evaluated and accessed by library users to guide in continuity or cancellation of the resources if otherwise.

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