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Chapter 6

Digital Resources Management in Indian University

Libraries: Survey Based

6.1 Introduction

With more than five hundred universities and various other institutions of higher education

and learning, India occupies a remarkable position in the global map of higher education.

There are 44 Central Universities, 285 State Universities, 130 Deemed Universities, and

111 Private Universities <http://www.ugc.ac.in>, and 33 Institutes of National Importance

<http://mhrd.gov.in/> as on 2nd May, 2012. The Library & Information Centres (LICs) of

these universities and institutions are in a transition phase when they are collecting various

types of digital resources from different sources. While selecting, collecting, organizing,

and disseminating the information in these digital resources the Library & Information

Science professionals working in these LICs are to put their cautious effort so that the

digital resources procured by the LICs are organized and managed properly for their

optimum use.

6.2 The Method of Survey

A survey is conducted during my study period that completed in December, 2011 to find

out the present status of management of digital resources in Indian University libraries

selected on the basis of the defined criteria. The criteria are –

i) The State, Central and Deemed Universities in India where digital resources are

available;

ii) Those university libraries –

having library homepage with links to the digital resources; or

having a library portal; or

having Institutional Repository are included in the study area.

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A questionnaire is designed where all possible aspects of digital resources management are

incorporated. The questionnaire is designed in both printed (Annexure I) and in online form

using the Google docs

<https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGJEUl9Nd1NrUkJMW

WNDbUYtNkJPMnc6MA>. The researcher distributed the printed questionnaire by post

and personally visiting a number of university libraries in different states of India. The

online survey form developed in Google docs is distributed through email to the LIS

professionals working in different university libraries in India and in the discussion forum

like LIS forum<http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum>. While visiting different

university libraries and special libraries of higher education and research, the researcher

personally interacted with the professionals engaged in the digital resources management in

those libraries to know the policies, technical method and the difficulties they are facing in

managing the digital resources.

The following universities and institutions of higher study and research were visited

personally by the researcher to know about the present position of the libraries and their

digital collection.

Table 6.1 List of Libraries Visited

Sl no. Institutions of higher education Library

1. Bangalore University University Library

2. CFTRI, Mysore CFTRI Library

3. Dibrugarh University L N Bezbaroa Library

4. Dr B R Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad Central Library

5. IIM Bangalore IIMB Library

6. IISc Bangalore J R D Tata Memorial Library

7. IIT Delhi Central Library

8. IIT Guwahati Central Library

9. IIT Kharagpur Central Library

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10. IIT Madras Central Library

11. ISI Bangalore ISI-BC Library

12. ISI Kolkata Central Library

13. Jadavpur University, Kolkata Central Library

14. Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi Dr Zakir Hussain Library

15. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi University Library

16. Karnataka University, Dharwad Central library

17. NISCAIR, New Delhi National Science Library

18. North Bengal University, Siliguri University Library

19. North Eastern Hill University, Shillong Central library

20. Osmania University, Hyderabad University Library

21. Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata University Library

22. Tezpur University Central Library

23. The EFL University, Hyderabad Ramesh Mohan Library

24. University of Allahabad University Library

25. University of Calcutta University Library

26. University of Delhi South campus library

27. University of Hyderabad IGM Library

28. University of Kalyani Central Library

29. University of Madras University Library

30. University of Mysore University Library

31. Visva Bharati, Shanti Niketan Central Library

32. VIT University, Vellore Central Library

6.3 The Result

Based on the criteria mentioned above, 217 universities were selected by the researcher for

the survey out of which 111 universities responded. Hence, the response percentage is

51.15%. Statewise number of universities responded has been presented in the following

table that also includes one university library belonging to Pondicherry, a Union Territory.

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Table 6.2 Distribution of Libraries Responded: State Wise

Sl. No. State No. of Universities

1 Andhra Pradesh 7

2 Arunachal Pradesh 1

3 Assam 5

4 Chhattisgarh 2

5 Delhi 8

6 Goa 1

7 Gujarat 5

8 Haryana 4

9 Himachal Pradesh 2

10 Jammu & Kashmir 3

11 Jharkhand 3

12 Karnataka 8

13 Kerala 2

14 Madhya Pradesh 6

15 Maharashtra 7

16 Manipur 1

17 Meghalaya 1

18 Mizoram 1

19 Nagaland 1

20 Orissa 5

21 Pondicherry (UT) 1

22 Punjab 6

23 Rajasthan 3

24 Tamil Nadu 7

25 Tripura 1

26 Uttar Pradesh 9

27 Uttarakhand 1

28 West Bengal 10

Total 111

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Based on the response received analysis of the data is done. The data on various aspects of

digital resources management are presented in this chapter.

6.3.1 Available Digital Resources

Digital resources are available in different formats. These may be open access, subscription

based, born- digital, digitized, etc. Based on the content and composition we have e-book,

e-journal, ETD, e-database and various other forms. In the survey conducted, query was

made on the availability of different types of digital resources in the university libraries in

India. The various types of digital resources available in the university libraries are

presented in the following table.

Table 6.3 Digital Resources and the no. of Libraries

Type Code used No. of Libraries Percentage

Annual Reports AnRp 2 1.80

e-databases EDb 105 94.59

Conference papers ConP 3 2.70

Convocation Address ConA 2 1.80

e-book Ebk 40 36.04

e-journal Ejr 104 93.69

e-newspaper Enws 4 3.60

ETD Etd 28 25.23

e-zine Ezn 3 2.70

e-reference source Erefs 3 2.70

Faculty Publications FcP 2 1.80

Photographs Phgr 12 10.81

Research reports ResR 1 0.90

Audio recording AudR 2 1.80

Video recording VidR 3 2.70

The graphical representation of the data of the Table 6.3 is given below.

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Fig. 6.1: Digital Resources and the no. of Libraries

From the above table and figure, it is found that out of 111 libraries 105 (94.59%) libraries

have e-databases and 104 libraries have e-journals (93.69%). These two types of digital

resources are the core components of the digital resources collection in most of the

university libraries in India. ETD (25.23%), e-book (36.04%) and other digital resources

are not available in all university libraries in India.

6.3.2 Selection of Digital Resources

A well defined selection policy helps to select library resources including digital resources

for a university library. The LIS professionals can get a guideline from the selection policy

in selecting the digital resources for their libraries. Otherwise lots of money will go in vain

if suitable digital resources are not selected. The data collected from the survey on selection

policies by the university libraries of India are presented below.

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Table 6.4 Selection Policy and no. of Libraries

Any Selection Policy No. of Libraries Percentage

Yes 48 43.24

No 62 55.86

As mentioned, a selection policy helps in quality development as the policy will certainly

be guided by some standard norms like content, format, user demand, etc. Collection of

digital document without having a proper selection policy will be a major barrier for their

use. It is observed that a large number of libraries (55.86%) with digital resources

collection have no specific selection policy which act against proper management of these

resources.

Criteria of Selection

In case of digital resources selection, LICs may depend on the existing criteria already in

use for printed document collection with certain added conditions. Surprisingly as a large

number of LICs do not follow any criteria for selection of digital resources, expenditure

incurred for digital resources is not suitably cost effective. In the survey, it was asked

whether the university libraries follow any definite criteria for selection of digital resources;

those 48 university libraries responded positively that they have selection policy for digital

resources of which following are the criteria of selection. The criteria are presented in the

following table and graph.

Table 6.5 Selection Criteria of Digital Resources

Criteria of selection No. of Libraries Percentage

Budget 5 10.41

Content 47 97.92

Format 21 43.75

License 7 14.58

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Objective of the Library 47 97.92

Supporting H/W & S/W 7 14.58

User Demand 48 100

Fig. 6.2: Selection Criteria of Digital Resources

Users’ demand is given proper weightage by all the 48 libraries while selecting digital

resources which is a very positive factor for their use. Besides other criteria like content

(97.92%), objectives of the libraries (97.92%) are given importance in selecting a digital

resource in the university libraries in India. It may be mentioned that those criteria like

license (14.58%) and supporting H/W and S/W (14.58%) should also be given due

importance.

6.3.3 Consortia Membership

In India, consortia is playing a major role in introducing various types of digital resources

mainly e-journal to the university libraries. Different consortia are providing lots of digital

resources mainly e-journal and e-databases to its member university libraries covered in the

survey. The role of UGC-INFONET digital library consortia in creating awareness and

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providing the digital resources is to be acknowledged by the university libraries in India.

Without the initiative of INFLIBNET, it would not have become possible to provide the

facility of accessing e-journals to the user community of the university libraries in India.

The existing consortia and their number of membership are shown in the following table

and graph.

Table 6.6 No. of Libraries with Consortia Membership

Consortia No. of Libraries Percentage

UGC-INFONET only 50 45.05

AICTE-INDEST only 6 5.41

UGC-INFONET & INDEST both 31 27.93

Others 11 9.91

Fig. 6.3: No. of Libraries with Consortia Membership

UGC- INFONET Digital Library Consortium has highest number of membership with 81

(72.97%) among the 111 libraries. AICTE-INDEST is the next highest with 37 (33.33%)

member libraries. The other consortia providing digital resources to the university libraries

in India are CeRA (5) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), DeLCON (2) of

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Department of Bio Technology (DBT)-DST, Govt. of India, FORSA (1), HELINET (1),

HSLIBNET (1), and ERMED (1). Again, it is found that 31 university libraries subscribe to

both UGC- INFONET and AICTE- INDEST consortium.

6.3.4 Digitization Process Adopted

Digitization is a part of digital resources management as only the born digital resources

cannot meet the needs of the users. Many university libraries have a good number of rare

and valuable documents in their collection. The use of these resources is very limited as

these are restricted to only the users inside the libraries and not beyond the libraries.

Multiple accesses of these resources are also not possible. This particular problem can be

resolved by converting these resources into digital form by the process of digitization.

Considering the different merits of digitization of their valuable documents and their use

numbers of libraries have adopted digitization process of their documents in different levels

are presented below.

Table 6.7 No. of Libraries Adopting Different Digitization Method

Process No. of Libraries

In house digitization 9

Outsourcing digitization 2

Both 7

Only 9 (8.10%) university libraries are converting their rare printed documents to digital

form. Projects like UDL (Universal Digital Library) project at Carnegie Mellon University

<http://www.ulib.org> and DLI (Digital library of India) of CDAC-Noida

<http://www.dli.cdacnoida.in> are providing necessary scanning infrastructure to some

university libraries like Osmania University, University of Allahabad to convert rare

printed documents available in their libraries to digital form. Hence from the data collected

it is clear that digitization process still in its infant stage among the university libraries in

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India. Scanner is used in all the university libraries where digitization is done to convert

their printed resources to digital form.

6.3.5 Storage Media of Digital Resources

Query was put on the type of storage media preferred by the university libraries in India for

storing and preserving the digital resources created by digitization process. The finding is

presented in the following table and graph.

Table 6.8 Storage Media of Digital Resources

Storage Media No. of Libraries Percentage

CD-ROM 27 24.32

DVD-ROM 22 19.82

FMD-ROM 0 0.00

Hark Disk 22 19.82

Fig. 6.4: Storage Media of Digital Resources

CD-ROM (24.32%) is the maximum used storage media to store digital resources which are

born-digital or converted to digital form. Hard disk (19.82%) and DVD-ROM (19.82%) are

next to CD-ROM used as storage media.

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Server Specification

For the multiple accesses of the digital resources available in CD-ROM and DVD-ROM,

CD/DVD Server is required. Again, for distributing the resources of a LIC to the world in

the web, Web server is required. The following data collected from the survey shows the

availability of CD/DVD and Web server in the university libraries in India covered in the

study.

Table 6.9 Server Specification

Server No of Libraries Percentage

CD/DVD Server 12 10.81

Web Server 10 9.01

Fig. 6.5: Server Specification

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Out of 111 university libraries, only 12 (10.81%) libraries have CD/DVD Server for

accessing digital resources available in CD-ROM and DVD-ROM like CD-ROM database.

Only 10 (9.01%) university libraries have separate web server for the libraries.

6.3.6 Software Packages Used for Digital Library

For creating and managing an Institutional Repository (IR) of the in-house collection of an

institution, various Open Source (OS) softwares are available. Both commercial and OS

software are available that can be used to develop IR in the universities of India. The

following table and graph show the software package used and the number of university

libraries covered in the survey of this study.

Table 6.10 Digital Library Software Used

Digital Library Software No. of Libraries Percentage

DSpace 18 69.23

EPrints 2 7.69

GSDL 2 7.69

Fedora 1 3.84

Other 3 11.54

From the above table and the graph below it is found that out of 111 university libraries

only 26 (23.42%) libraies have developed IR using different OSS and Propeitary software.

Out of those 26 IR, DSpace is used by 18 (69.23%) libraries for creating IR. Other

software like GSDL (7.69%), EPrints (7.69%), Fedora (3.84%) have not become popular as

DSpace for developing IR in the Universities of India. Nitya Digital Archive software is

used by Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala for creating IR of ETD. Only two libraries use

propeitary software for creating IR.

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Fig. 6.6: Digital Library Software Used

These are LSDigital by Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology and

EQUEST by CCS Haryana Agricultural University both from Haryana. The OS software

(92.31%) is used more in comparison to propeitary software (7.69%).

OCR Software Used

To make the image of the textual document, full text searchable Optical Character

Recognition (OCR) software is required. Nine university libraries are using different OCR

software in the digitization process either in-house or outsourcing or both in their libraries.

Table 6.11 OCR Software Used

OCR Software No. of Libraries

Adobe Capture 2

OCR FineReader 4

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Omnipage Pro 1

Abby FineReader 2

WordScan 1

Others 1

Some of the libraries namely Indira Gandhi Memorial Library (IGML) of University of

Hyderabad are using two OCRs parallely. Table 6.11 shows that OCR Fine Reader

(44.44%) is the maximum used OCR software followed by Abby Fine Reader (22.22%)

and Adobe Capture (22.22%). Ananda Rangapillai Library of Pondicherry University is

using in-built OCR software with a flatbed scanner of Hewlett Packard Company.

Supporting Application Software

Supporting application software helps in reading, displaying and editing the various forms

of digital resources for its users. The university libraries in India have different types of

digital resources in their collection. The data collected regarding the use of supporting

application software is shown in the following table and graph.

Table 6.12 Supporting Application Software

Application Software No. of Libraries Percentage

Acrobat PDF 31 27.93

Adobe Photo Shop 9 8.11

Other 1 0.91

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Fig. 6.7: Supporting Application Software

Acrobat PDF (27.93%) which is used by 31 libraries is the most used software in the

university libraries as supporting application software.

6.3.7 File Formats of Storage

Choosing a proper file formats for different types of digital resources is important to store

in less space, easy access and delivery in intranet and internet and continuous future

accessibility of the digital resources. The following file formats for different types of file

like textual, image, audio, video are used by the university libraries in India covered in the

survey. The following table and graph are the representation of the data collected regarding

file formats used in the university libraries in India.

Table 6.13 File Formats Used

Type of File File Format No. of Libraries Percentage

Text file

HTML 22 19.82 PDF 31 27.93 SGML 0 0.00 XML 2 1.80

BMP 2 1.80 GIF 3 2.70 JPEG 21 18.92

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Image TIFF 16 14.41 PNG 2 1.80

Audio file

AIFF 0 0.00 AU 1 0.90 MIDI 1 0.90 MP3 5 4.50

Video

AVI 2 1.80 MOV 1 0.90

WMV 1 0.90

Fig. 6.8: File Formats Used

From the table 6.13 and fig. 6.8, it is found that PDF (27.93%) and HTML (19.82%) are the

most used file format for textual file. JPEG (18.92%) and TIFF (14.41%) file formats are

used for image files by maximum university libraries. Audio and video files are very less in

the university libraries digital resources collection. MP3 (4.50%) and AVI (1.80%) are the

maximum used file format for audio and video file.

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6.3.8 Metadata Standards Used

Different metadata standards are available to be applied to prepare the index of the digital

resources. It is observed that due to its simplicity Dublin Core (DC) metadata standard is

very popular worldwide. Other metadata standards available are Metadata Object

Description Schema (MODS), Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS),

Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Learning Object Metadata (LOM), Text Encoding

Initiative (TEI). DC metadata standard is used by all the 26 university libraries in India that

have created IR. Regarding preservation metadata only one university library of India is

using reservation metadata standard. IGML of University of Hyderabad uses METS

preservation metadata standards.

6.3.9 Digital Resources Access Mode

For the authentic use of the digital resources available in the LICs, access mode is very

important. Otherwise, unauthorized access may create disturbance in the system. Different

access modes are adopted by the university libraries in India. IP based access is given to its

users in all the 111 university libraries. Only 4 university libraries use both the IP based

access and user id and password system to protect the access of their very rare collection.

User id and password system is used for selected resources and for general digital resources

collection IP based access are allowed.

6.3.10 Digital Library

Digital library is a collection of digital resources organized, managed and disseminated

only with the help of computers. As discussed those resources may be born-digital or

digitizing existing available physical documents. In managing different aspects of library a

vast area is included some of which are discussed below. The survey includes the digital

libraries/digital sections of the libraries are being developed in a university regarding

various areas.

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Digital Library Services

Various new methods of rendering services to the users of digital resources are popular

now-a-days. Only 9 (8.11%) university libraries use Virtual Reference Desk service and 7

(6.31%) libraries provide reference service through email. No library uses Digital

Reference robots for providing digital reference service.

Digital Library Security System

To protect the digital resources from various threats like data loss, computer virus, theft etc.

proper security system is necessary. In the survey, query was put on the various security

measures adopted by the university libraries. The following table shows the position of

security system adopted by the university libraries in India

Table 6.14 Digital Library Security System

Security System No. of Libraries Percentage

Anti-virus software 12 10.81

Proximity card 2 1.80

RFID 6 5.40

Smart card 3 2.70

CCTV 5 4.50

RAID 1 0.90

EM Security Gate 3 2.70

From the above table it is clear that the security part is overlooked by the university

libraries in India, which is a dangerous matter. Only few university libraries adopt different

security system to protect their digital resources, but it is also no enough. One such security

measure is installation of Stellar data protection software for data recovery both from FAT

and NTFS system by Gulbarga University library. University of Burdwan is using RAID

data security system to prevent data loss.

Digital Library Webpage

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The use of the digital resources available in university libraries depends a lot on the library

webpage. The library webpage reflects the proper organization of the digital resources

available for the users of university libraries. The data collected from the survey is shown

below.

Table 6.15 Digital Library Webpage

Digital Library Webpage No. of Libraries Percentage

Independent 6 5.41

Linked with library homepage 105 94.59

From table 6.16, it is found that 104 (93.69%) university libraries have link of their digital

resources with the library homepage. Only 6 (5.41%) libraries have independent digital

library webpage besides the links provided in the library homepage.

Links in the Digital Library Webpage

Different types of digital resources are available from different sources. A lot of service and

resources are now available free of cost. The links provided in the library webpage or the

digital library webpage can attract the users to use and access various digital resources

available in the library collection as well as from outside sources. The various types of links

available in the library webpages of the university libraries India are shown below in the

following table and graph.

Table 6.16 Links in the Digital Library Webpage

Links No. of Libraries Percentage

Digital reference tools 8 7.21

Open Access Resources 33 29.73

Search Engine 15 13.51

Subject Gateways 19 17.12

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Fig. 6.9: Links in the Digital Library Webpage

From the table 6.17 and fig. 6.9, it is found that 33 (29.73%) libraries provide links to

different Open Access (OA) resources in their library webpage. This is followed by subject

gateways by 19 (17.12%) libraries, search engines by 15 (13.51%) libraries and digital

reference tools by 8 (7.21%) libraries.

6.3.11 Use of Digital Resources

For analyzing the use of the digital resources, it is essential to study the types of users and

their requirements. The users of the digital resources of a university are mainly students,

research scholars, faculty members and staff and outside users. The following table shows

the highest number of users of the digital resources in the university libraries of India.

Table 6.17 Maximum no. of User of Digital Resources

Type of User No. of Libraries Percentage

Students 79 71.17

Research Scholars 27 24.32

Faculty members 4 3.60

Library Staff 0 0.00

Others 0 0.00

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It is found from the table 6.20 and fig. 6.12 that students (71.17%) are the highest number

of users of the digital resources in the university libraries in India followed by research

scholars (24.32%). In the survey conducted, query was put regarding the preference and use

of printed vs. digital resources among the users of the university libraries in India.

Fig. 6.10: Maximum no. of User of Digital Resources

It was found that 71.17% users prefer printed resources over 27.93% users of digital

resources. So, printed resources are still preferred over digital resources.

6.3.12 Sources of Fund for the Digital Library Section

Fund is the most vital factor to set up a digital library. The various sources of fund in

university libraries of India are shown below from the data collected in the following table.

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Table 6.18 Sources of Fund for the Digital Library Section

Sources of Fund No. of Libraries Percentage

UGC 80 72.07

University 34 30.63

Special project 6 5.41

Others 1 0.90

It is clear from the above data that the main source of fund for digital library in the

university libraries in India is UGC (72.07%). The university authority is not sanctioning

enough funds for the digital library section in most of the university libraries in India.

Regarding separate budget for digital library, it was found from the survey that there is no

separate budget for digital resources in 109 (98.20%) university libraries covered in the

survey. Only two university library have separate fund for digital resources or development

of digital section in their university libraries. These two are Indira Gandhi Memorial

Library of University of Hyderabad and Central Library of Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

6.4 Summing Up

From the survey, we get a picture regarding various aspects of digital resources

management in the university libraries in India. The university libraries of India mostly

depend on the different consortia like UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium and

AICTE-INDEST for collecting their digital resources. Two major digital resources

available in the digital resources collection are e-journal and e-databases of various

publishers on different subjects. The digitization process for converting the rare collection

to digital form is not yet started in a considerable number of university libraries in India

except few libraries. The university libraries have not taken initiative of developing IR of

their universities except few of them. Digital preservation method adopted and the security

measures implemented in the university libraries are not adequate in most of the university

libraries in India. So, by and large, from the survey it is observed that regarding the proper

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management of digital resources the performances of the university libraries are not

satisfactory as is expected. But we cannot ignore the management of digital resources in the

university libraries as digital resources are unavoidable in the LICs in coming days. The

necessary infrastructure required for the digital section of the university libraries has to be

developed for the optimum use of these resources by the user community. The LIS

professionals must also update their knowledge and skills regarding the management of the

digital resources of their university libraries. In the next chapter, the conclusion and

recommendations on the research area are presented.