Awareness of Science Direct Journals (online) among Life Sciences Researchers of Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra

Narender Chauhan*, Dr Neeraj Kaushik** Librarian, The Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences, hi!ani "ssociate #rofessor, The Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences, hi!ani Abstract Even though there is a boom in the e-resources sector but qualitative materials and awareness among users is to be nagging concern. Hence, to know that awareness of Science Direct journals (online which are recentl! subscribed b! "#$ #ibrar! %&% through &'( )nfonet among researchers a stud! conducted. Structured questionnaire was designed to collect the data. *ut of +, questionnaires +, filled b! the researchers and all +, questionnaires were received back. -he .resent stud! demonstrates and elaborates the various as.ects of online journals, such as frequenc! of access journals, .ur.ose of access SD journals, .roblems faced b! user during access and satisfaction level of users with the SD" (online facilities .rovided in the "#$ #ibrar! %urukshetra &niversit! %urukshetra-Har!ana. ntro!uction The $%C&Infonet Digital Librar' Consortiu( !as for(all' launched in Dece(ber, )**+ b' ,onorable Dr " # - "bdul Kala(, the #resident of India soon after .ro/iding the Internet connecti/it' to the uni/ersities in the 'ear )**+ under the $%C&Infonet .rogra((e0 The Consortiu( .ro/ed to be a reci.e to uni/ersit' libraries !hich ha/e been discontinuing subscri.tion of scholarl' journals because of 1Serials Crisis10 The ter( 1serials crisis1 refers to ex.onential and continuing increase in subscri.tion cost of scholarl' journals0 The crisis is a result of rise in cost of journals (uch faster than the rate of inflation, increase in nu(ber of journals and the .aucit' of funds a/ailable to the libraries0 The Consortiu( .ro/ides current as !ell as archi/al access to (ore than 2***3 core and .eer&re/ie!ed journals and 4* bibliogra.hic databases fro( )5 .ublishers and aggregators in different disci.lines0 The .rogra((e has been i(.le(ented in .hased (anner0 In the first .hase that began in )**6, access to e&resources !as .ro/ided to 7* uni/ersities !ho had Internet connecti/it' under the $%C&Infonet Connecti/it' .rogra((e of the $%C0 In the second .hase, 7* (ore uni/ersities !ere added to the .rogra((e in the 'ear )**70 So far 45* $ni/ersities out of 484 that co(e under the .ur/ie! of $%C, ha/e been .ro/ided differential access to subscribed e&resources0 These e& resources co/ers al(ost all subject disci.lines including arts, hu(anities, social sciences, .h'sical sciences, che(ical Sciences, life sciences, co(.uter sciences, (athe(atics and statistics, etc0 The .rogra((e is !holl' funded b' the $%C and executed b' the IN9LI N:T ;Infor(ation and Librar' Net!ork< Centre, "h(edabad0

The benefit of subscri.tion to e&resources !ould also be extended to the colleges, to begin !ith the College for #otential !ith :xcellence ;C#:< and autono(ous colleges0 The Consortiu( has also launched its 1"ssociate =e(bershi. #rogra((e1 !herein .ri/ate uni/ersities and other research organi>ations are !elco(ed to join the Consortiu( for selected e&resources0 Kurukshetra University Library" An #verview Kurukshetra $ni/ersit' !as established in 4?75 and its foundation stone !as laid b' late Dr @ajendra #rasad, #resident of India K$ located in the hol' cit' of Kurukshetra0 " (ulti&facult' $ni/ersit' as one of the .re(ier centers for ad/anced stud' and research in the region0 In Kurukshetra $ni/ersit' 9aculties of "rts and Languages, Social Sciences, Indic Studies, Science, La!, :ducation, Co((erce & =anage(ent, :ngg0 & Technolog', =edical & Dental Sciences and "'ur/eda are a/ailable, so(e of the .rofessional job&oriented courses a/ailable for regular students in the Teaching De.art(ent includeA = ", =I , =9C, ==T, =C", =0Sc0, ;Co(.uter Science Soft!are<, ,o(e Science, Infor(ation Technolog', =0 Tech0 ;Co(.uter Sc0 & :ngg0<, =aster of Touris( =anage(ent, = :, =0#0:d0, =0Co(0 =0"0 =ass Co((unication, 0Lib, & Inf0 Sc0, =0Lib0 & Inf0 Sc0, = "&7 'ear, LL0 07 'ear, LL0 0&+ 'ear, LL0=0, =0Sc0 io&technolog'B =icrobiolog'C io&Che(istr'C :lectronicsC Industrial Che(istr'&#har(aceutical Science, 0#har(a, 0Tech0 Instru(entation, etc0 ".art fro( =asterDs degree courses, research facilities are also a/ailable in the $ni/ersit' for =0#hil0 and #h0D0 The s.ra!ling ca(.us of the $ni/ersit' is self&contained0 Set in a salubrious, natural landsca.e, ".art fro( De.art(ental Libraries, the students ha/e access to the centrall' air& conditioned $ni/ersit' Librar' !hich is one of the best libraries, connected !ith ernet facilit', harboring in the region0 The librar' is housed in a three storied building !ith an area of 6?)+* sE0 fts0 It is situated Cat the heart of the uni/ersit' ca(.us ha/ing arrange(ents for 6** seats in six reading roo(s and 4** seats for )6 hour o.en reading roo(0 " ne! building is co(ing u. to further extend the librar' facilities !ith ultra (odern co(.uter net!orking facilities0 The $ni/ersit' librar' offers a collection of o/er ++?842 books, 46457 (anuscri.ts and subscribed to 6+* .rinted journals, around 7*** Internet e&-ournals of foreign journals can also be accessed and it is !ell su..orted0 JL$ Library %o!erni&ation To kee. abreast !ith the latest infor(ation technolog' of ne! trends in infor(ation (anage(ent and ser/ices :@N:T S:@FIC: Centre of the Librar' !as hooked to infor(ation Su.er ,igh!a' since 4??5 !ith (eager infrastructure0 The librar' is no! eEui..ed !ith 4?* co(.uters, 8 ser/ers, ) scanners, 4 arcode @eaders, 47 .rinters, 7 soft!areDs& =S&Gffice ?2,D Hindo!&?7, Hindo!&NT, S#SS, LibS's& 70* and ?** Internet Nodes& 2** in $ni/ersit' Teaching De.art(ent, )** in Librar'0 The s'ste( installed at ground floor for G#"C0 Circulation, @egistration and Internet Surfing are !orking !ith !ife&Technolog'0 The auto(ated acti/ities areA

1. )0 +0 60 70 50 20 80

Internet Surfing Laborator' !ith 47* #Cs0 Librar' Catalogue0 ibliogra.hical details of Doctoral Dissertations #eriodicals ,oldings :ntire Librar' collection has been bar coded0 Traditional =ulti.le Librar' cards cou.led !ith $ni/ersit' I&card ha/e been re.laced !ith a single bar&coded $ni/ersit' ID&cu(&Librar' Card0 "ll circulation functions including Librar' =e(bershi.0 =ajorit' of the .a.er corres.ondence has been re.laced !ith e& corres.ondence0

Science Direct Science Direct is a leading full&text scientific database offering journal articles and book cha.ters fro( (ore than ),7** .eer&re/ie!ed journals and (ore than 44,*** books0 There are currentl' (ore than ?07 (illion articlesBcha.ters, a content base that is gro!ing at a rate of al(ost *07 (illion additions .er 'ear0 :lse/ier has digiti>ed as (uch of the .re 4??7 journal o!ned&content as .ossible, bringing articles fro( as far back as 48)+ ;The Lancet< to the deskto.0 Ne/er has in&de.th literature searching been so co(.rehensi/e and eas' to find0The .latfor( offers so.histicated search and retrie/al functionalit' that enables the user to (axi(i>e the effecti/eness of their kno!ledge disco/er' .rocess0 Ne! tools facilitate research !ork flo! aids such as access to content at an earl' .ublication stage and efficient (ulti.le docu(ent do!nloading of content that can be stored, .rinted and .assed to colleagues0 The !eb en/iron(ent offers ne! !a's to .resent infor(ation as !ell as enhancing it !ith other content sources based on se(antic technologies, e0g0, Next io0 In addition, since )**+, (an' authors ha/e been sub(itting extra /alue&added content associated !ith the research, such as audio and /ideo files, datasets and other su..le(entar' content, effecti/el' accelerating research be'ond the .rint for(at0 9or (ore background infor(ation on the Science Direct .latfor(, read the Science Direct brochure0 Science DirectIs Info site gi/es an introduction to e/er'thing Science Direct has to offer librarians and researchers0 ,ere 'ou !ill find an o/er/ie! of the Science Direct fa(il' of .roducts and ser/ices, a su((ar' of the Science Direct content co/erage, bu'ing o.tions, and the .olicies that go/ern its use0 Science Direct is a .art of :lse/ier0 ,eadEuartered in "(sterda(, The Netherlands, the co(.an' is the !orldDs largest scientific, technical and (edical infor(ation .ro/ider and .ublishes o/er ),*** journals as !ell as books and secondar' databases0 :lse/ier is a (e(ber of the @eed :lse/ier .lc grou., a !orld&leading .ublisher and infor(ation .ro/ider0 G.erating in the scientific, legal and

business&to&business sectors, @eed :lse/ier .ro/ides high&Eualit' and flexible infor(ation solutions to .rofessional users, !ith increasing e(.hasis on the Internet as (eans of deli/er'0 Science DirectDs extensi/e and uniEue full text database co/ers authoritati/e titles fro( the core scientific literature, including high&i(.act factor titles such as T,: L"NC:T, Cell and Tetrahedron0 =ore than ),7** journals and (ore than nine (illion full&text articles are a/ailable in Science Direct0 ut recentl', $%C& Infonet .ro/ided 4*25 journals for Kurukshetra $ni/ersit', Kurukshetra for Life Sciences students, Che(istr' students etc0 Review of Literature" Sa(jir n0 ,a(ade and Saud "l 'ou self ;De.art(ent of Librar' and Infor(ation Science, Ku!ait $ni/ersit', Ku!ait< conducted a stud' on a!areness of e&resources and infor(ation resources b' LIS graduate students in Ku!ait0 Structured Euestionnaire !ere .re.ared to collect the data out of 4)* Euestionnaire ?* filled in Euestionnaires !ere recei/ed back stud' outco(es sho!ed that students s.ent genuine ti(e using e&resources and infor(ation resources for /arious .ur.ose like for hi(self or herself u.dation, research .ur.ose for acade(ic .ur.ose etc0 online journals and database A " stud' of use and a!areness a(ong acade(ic at (ain Librar', I0T0, 0,0$0, Faranasi conducted b' Na/in $.adh'a'0 The stud' !as sho!ed that the (ajorit' of faculties ;?+J< and students ;87J< !ere a!arded0 "nother, stud' title a!areness and use of electronic infor(ation resources at the health science uni/ersit' b' #rof0 Sajjad $r0 @ah(an and the result sho!ed that all the res.ondents !ere using the e&infor(ation freEuentl' because all faculties !ere .ro/ided internet connecti/it'0 It !as .re/ailed that the health sciences !ere recei/ed Eualitati/e infor(ation through electronic (edia0 #'J()* +(S #, *-( S*UD." The follo!ing !ere the objecti/es of the stud'A To find out /arious .ur.oses a!areness of Science Direct -ournals ;online< To find the de(and search reEuire(ents of its users0 To deter(ine the efficienc' and effecti/eness of Science Direct -ournals ;Gnline<0 To disclose !a' in !hich the reEuire(ents of science direct journal ;online< user (a' be satisfied (ore efficient b' andBor econo(icall'0 To find out the .roble(s faced b' the users !hile using Science Direct -ournals ;online<0

, $D $/S 0 D S)USS #$" " Euestionnaire !as designed to collect the data0 There are 7* life science researchers of Kurukshetra $ni/ersit'K Kurukshetra 7* Euestionnaires !ere .ersonall' distributed to the users of the De.art(ent0 The entire user res.onded to the Euestionnaire0 Analysis of the Data *able 1 2 Awareness about online science !irect 3ournals Awareness about online science !irect 3ournals Les No Total $o4 of Res5on!ents 68 *) 7* 6ercentage ?50** *60** 4**

Table M 4 de.icts the a!areness about online science direct journals a/ailable in -LN Librar' K0$0K0 b' the res.ondent 68 ;5J< res.ondents a!are !ith the online science direct journals a/ailable in -LN Librar' K$K and *) ;6J< res.ondents not a!are !ith online science Direct -ournals a/ailable in -LN Librar' K$K0 *able 1 7 ,re8uency of Using JL$ Library KUK 9reEuenc' Dail' )&+ ti(es a !eek )&+ ti(e a (onth Gnce in a (onth Total No0 of @es.ondents *? 46 *8 4? 7* #ercentage 480** )80** 450** +80** 4**

Table M ) in order to access the freEuenc' of using internet, the ti(e internal has been classified into four categories0 Table ) de.icts that 46 ;)8J< res.ondents use L-N Librar' K$K )&+ ti(es a !eek, *? ;48J< res.ondents using it dail' and )&+ ti(es a (onth res.ecti/el' follo!ed b' *8 ;45J< and use -LN K$K once in a (onth 4? ;+8J< *able 1 9 Access #nline Science Direct Journals Access on the Sci4 Direct Journal Dail' )&6 da's a !eek Heekl' $o4 of Res5on!ents )2 *? *7 6ercentage 760** 480** 4*0**

9ortnight =onthl' @arel' Total

& *+ *5 7*

& *50** 4)0** 4**J

Table M + sho!s that )2 ;76J< res.ondents access dail', *? ;48J< res.ondents uses )&6 da's a !eek, *7 ;4*J< uses SD- !eekl', fortnightl' not uses, *+ ;5J< uses (onthl' and 5 ;4)J< uses rarel'0 *able 1 : *raining 6rogramme to be con!ucte! to Access the #nline Science Direct Journals Training #rog0 Les No Total No0 of @es.ondents )7 )7 7* #ercentage 7*0** 7*0** 4**

Table 6 de.icts that in order to kno! that training .rogra((e should be conducted or not0 "(ong 7* researchers )7 ;7*J< sa's NLesI and )7 ;7*J< sa's NNoI res.ondents0 *able 1 ; Using #nline Science Direct Journals Using #nline Science Direct Journals Slo! access s.eed Difficult' inf0 Do!nload .ages "n' other $o4 of Res5on!ents +) 46 *? *8 6ercentage 560** )80** 48A** 45A**

Table 7 de.icts that there are +) ;56J< faced .roble(s due to slo! s.eed of do!nloading, 46 ;)8J< faced .roble( in finding rele/ant (aterials, *? ;48J< felt that it takes too long ti(e to /ie!Bdo!nload .ages and *8 ;45J< faced .roble( due to other reasons0 *able 1 < Using #nline Science Direct Journals Using #nline Science Direct Journals 9or Stud' .ur.ose 9or research .ur.ose 9or u.date 'ourself Gthers $o4 of Res5on!ents *5 65 *7 *4 6ercentage 4)0** ?)0** 4*0** )0**

Table 5 s.eaks that *5 ;4)J< using for stud', 65 ;?)J< using for research, *7 ;4*J< using for self latest and *4 ;*)J< using for other .ur.ose like article, literature re/ie! etc0 *able $o4 = $ee! more online 3ournals of Science Direct $ee! more #nline Journals Les No Total $o4 of Res5on!ents 67 *7 7* 6ercentage ?* 4* 4**

Table 2 sho!s that 67 ;?*J< reEuired (ore online journals of Science Direct and *7 ;4*J< felt that existing .ackage is sufficient0 *able $o4 > nfluence on Aca!emic (fficiency nfluence $se of con/entional journals decreased De.endenc' on the online journals has increased :x.edite the research .rocess Total $o4 of Res5on!ents *5 )8 45 7* 6ercentage 4)J 75J +)J 4**J

Table 8 gi/es a clear .icture that *5 ;4)J< felt that due to a/ailabilit' of online journals use of con/entional journals decreased but )8 ;75J< assu(ed that de.endenc' on the online journals has increased and 45 ;+)J< res.ondents re.lied that due to accessibilit' of online journals in -LN Librar' the research .rocess ex.edite0 *able $o4 1 ? Researchers@ Satisfaction with online SD Journals Satisfaction Level 9ull' #artiall' Least Satisfied No Co((ents $o4 of Res5on!ent )* )) 44 *6 6ercentage 6*0** 660** ))0** *80**

Table ? highlights that )* ;6*J< res.ondents are full' satisfied !ith the ser/ice, )) ;66J< res.ondents are .artiall' satisfied, 44 ;))J< of the res.ondents are least satisfied and *6 ;*8J< res.ondents did not gi/e an' co((ents0

Results of the Stu!y 40 )0 +0 60 70 50 20 80 " (ajorit' of @esearchers ;?5J< of Life Sciences are a!are !ith the SD- ;online<0 )8J researcher use Librar' once in (onth0 " (ajorit' of @esearchers ;76J< of Life Sciences access SD- ;online< dail'0 7*J @esearchers feel that a training .rogra( should be conducted in order to enhance the usabilit' and 7*J feel that there is no need to conduct such t'.e of the training0 ?)J @esearchers use the SD- online for research .ur.ose0 56J @esearchers face .roble( due to slo! access s.eed0 ?*J @esearchers feel that the' need (ore journals of Science Direct0 66J @esearchers are .artiall' satisfied !ith SD- online0 Increasingl' 6*J @esearchers are full' satisfied !ith SD- online0

)onclusion :ngineering and Technolog' are facing challenges due to continuous reduction in the subscri.tion to scholarl' journals and databases !hich affects the research and acade(ic acti/it'0 =an' acade(ic libraries ha/e reali>ed the i(.ortance of online journals in order to satisf' their researchers, users, and a(ong these online journals ha/e definitel' ha/e an i(.act on acade(ic libraries0 The .rofessional journals that are a/ailable in the net ha/e .ro/ided a great to the research and de/elo.(ent !ork in the acade(ic institutions0 Therefore the last e/olution and de/elo.(ent of Infor(ation and Co((unication Technolog' ;ICT< has lead to (ore a..lications in recent 'ears0 'ibliogra5hy an! Aebliogra5hy 40 )0 +0 60 70 htt.ABBen0!iki.edia0orgB!ikiB:ducation accessed on ))0*?04* htt.ABB!!!0!ebo.edia0co( htt.ABB!!!0ugcinfonet0co( :lse/iers Science Direct ;htt.ABBsciencedirect0co(< @eh(an, Sajjad $r "!areness and use of electronic infor(ation resources at the ,ealth Science $ni/ersit'A a stud' on the ,ealth Science $ni/ersit' Ku!ait0 Hebolog', )**80