Promotion of Library Services through Web 2.0:Promotion of Library Services through Web 2.0:Promotion of Library Services through Web 2.0:Promotion of Library Services through Web 2.0:

A Survey of Selected College Libraries of Barak A Survey of Selected College Libraries of Barak A Survey of Selected College Libraries of Barak A Survey of Selected College Libraries of Barak

Valley, Assam, IndiaValley, Assam, IndiaValley, Assam, IndiaValley, Assam, India

Somnath Roy, MLIS Student

Dept. of Lib. & Inf. Sc., Assam University, Silchar, India,

somnathroy04@gmail.com

&

Nabin Chandra Dey, Assistant Professor

Dept. of Lib. & Inf. Sc., Assam University, Silchar, India,

nabincdey@gmail.com

1. INTRODUCTION

� Web Presence helps in Value Creation for any organization and libraries are no

exception.

� A growing number of libraries are building homepages on the cyberspace from where

users can access to a variety of services without physically entering a library.

� Web 2.0 technology is one of the latest web technologies which the library professionals

find very prominent in providing and promoting library services.

� This technology enables user for open communication with web based communities and

help in more open sharing of information.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

� The use of Web 2.0 tools has grown considerably in the library sector in the last few

years.

� They are being emphatically and overwhelmingly adopted by the Library professionals /

by the library users from the different parts of the world & also in different regions of

India.

� But the present scenario of Barak Valley region of state Assam is quite different.

� This web technology is yet to be implemented and used properly in college libraries of

Barak Valley.

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study are:

1) Investigate the level of awareness and use of Web 2.0 tools by College Librarians of

Barak Valley.

2) To know the attitudes and opinions of College Librarians of Barak Valley towards

Web 2.0.

3) To identify the mostly used Web 2.0 tools by the College Librarians of Barak Valley.

4. METHODOLOGY

The study has been conducted through survey method and a questionnaire is used as the data

collection tool.

5. ANALYSIS OF DATA

5.1 Responses Received from the Respondents:

12 questionnaires were distributed among the librarians of government aided colleges of

Barak Valley. Out of 12 questionnaires, 12 (100%) had been received from the college librarians.

Table 1: Responses Received from the Respondents

Questionnaire Distributed No. of Respondents Percentage (%)

Received 12 100

Not received 0 0

Total distributed 12 100

5.2 Status of Internet Connection in College Libraries:

Out of 12 surveyed colleges of Barak Valley, 11 (91.60%) colleges have Internet

Connection, while 1 (8.30 %) college has no Internet Connection.

Table 2: Status of Internet Connection in College Libraries

Status of Internet Connection No. of Colleges Percentage (%)

Connected 11 91.60

Not Connected 1 8.30

Total 12 100

5.3 Web 2.0 Awareness among the Librarians:

Out of 12 College Librarians, 5 (41.66%) librarians are aware of concept Web2.0, 2

(16.66%) librarians are not aware of this concept, 2 (16.66%) librarians are not sure about the

concept & 3 (25%) had not responded to this query.

Table 3: Web 2.0 Awareness among the Librarians

Response No. of Respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 5 41.66

No 2 16.66

Not Sure 2 16.66

No response 3 25.00

Total 12 100.00

Figure 3: Web 2.0 Awareness among the Librarians

Yes, 41.66%

No, 16.66%

Not Sure, 16.66%

No

response, 25.00%

5.4 Web 2.0 Tools used for Promoting Library Services:

Table 4: Web 2.0 Tools used for Promoting Library Services

Tools No. of Responses Percentage (%)

Instant Messaging 1 20.00%

RSS Feeds 1 20.00%

Wiki 4 80.00%

Blogs 2 40.00%

Social Book Marking 1 20.00%

Podcast 0 0.00%

Social Networking 3 60.00%

Mashups 0 0.00%

Email Groups 2 40.00%

20.00%20.00%

80.00%

40.00%

20.00%

0.00%

60.00%

0.00%

40.00%

Web 2.0 Tools used for Promoting Library Services

The above figure shows that the mostly used Web 2.0 tools are Wiki (80%), Social

Networking (60%), Email groups (40%) and Blogs (40%) by the college librarians of Barak

Valley.

5.5 Ranking of Web 2.0 Tools according to their usage:

College Librarians were asked to rank the different Web 2.0 tools according to their

usage (Rank 1 is used for first mostly used Web 2.0 tools, Rank 2 is used for second mostly used

Web 2.0 tools and so on).

Table 5: Ranking of Web2.0 Tools according to their usage

Web2.0 Tools Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 5 Rank 6 Rank 7 Rank 8 Rank

9

Score

SNS 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.60

Wiki 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.40

RSS Feeds 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.60

Instant Messaging

(IM)

0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 4.20

Blogs 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 4.60

E-mail Groups 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 5.80

Social Book

Marking/Tagging

0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 7.00

Podcast 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 7.00

Mashups 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 8.80

Figure 5: Ranking of Web2.0 Tools according to their usage

Based on the above score Social Networking Sites, Wiki and RSS feeds are the top three

Web 2.0 tools used by the College Librarians of Barak Valley.

Ranking of Web2.0 Tools according to their usage

above score Social Networking Sites, Wiki and RSS feeds are the top three

5.6 Opinions and Attitudes of College Librarian’s towards Web 2.0:

College Librarians were asked to indicate their level of agreement with six attributes of

Web 2.0 on a 5 point Likert Scale, which is summarized in the below table. Positive (+ve)

attributes have rankings as 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (in descending order) and negative (-ve) attributes have

ranking as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (in ascending order).

Table 6: Opinions and Attitudes of College Librarian’s towards Web 2.0:

Attribute Response Category Attribute

Total

Strongly

Agree

(5)

Agree

(4)

Neutral

(3)

Disagree

(2)

Strongly

Disagree

(1)

Web 2.0 tools can be used for

promoting library services (+ve)

4 1 0 0 0 24

The facilities you are getting from

Web2.0 tools in promoting library

services are satisfactory (+ve)

2 3 0 0 0 22

Web 2.0 tools are user friendly (+ve) 2 2 1 0 0 21

Use of Web 2.0 tools will enhance the

image of the library (+ve)

3 2 0 0 0 23

Lack of User Awareness is a problem

in using Web 2.0 (-ve)

1 2 2 0 0 11

Lack of infrastructure is a problem in

using Web 2.0 (-ve)

3 2 0 0 0 7

Grand Total 108

Likert Score = Total Score/No. of respondents x No. of attributes

=108/5 x 6

=3.6

A Likert Score of 3.6 (approx 4 =Agree) in the 5 point rating scale indicates that the

College Librarians of Barak Valley have a positive attitude towards use of Web 2.0 tools in

promoting library services.

Web 2.0 tools can

be used for

promoting library

services (+ve)

The facilities you

are getting from

Web2.0 tools in

promoting library

services are

satisfactory (+ve)

Web 2.0 tools are

user friendly (+ve)

Use of Web 2.0

tools will enhance

the image of the

library (+ve)

Lack of User

Awareness is a

problem in using

Web 2.0 (-ve)

Lack of

infrastructure is a

problem in using

Web 2.0 (-ve)

4

2 2

3

1

3

1

3

2 2 2 2

0 0

1

0

2

00 0 0 0 0 0

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disgree

Figure 6: Opinions and Attitudes of College Librarian’s towards Web 2.0:

5.7 Libraries Having Website:

Out of 12 surveyed college libraries of Barak Valley, six (50%) have their own library

website, three (25%) college libraries don’t have websites and remaining three (25%) library

websites are under construction.

Table 7: Libraries Having Website

Separate Webpage No. of Colleges Percentage (%)

Yes 6 50%

No 3 25%

Under Construction 3 25%

Yes, 50%

No, 25%

Under

Construction, 25%

Figure 7: Libraries Having Website

5.8 Need Training in Web 2.0 Tools:

Out of 12 librarians, 10 (83.33%) librarians indicated that they need training on Web2.0

Tools.

Table 8: Need Training in Web 2.0 Tools

Need Training in Web 2.0 Tools No. of Responses Percentage (%)

Yes 10 83.33%

No 2 16.67%

Yes, 83.33%

No, 16.67%

Figure 8: Need Training in Web 2.0 Tools

6 MAJOR FINDINGS

The major findings of the study are given below:

a. Out of 12 surveyed colleges of Barak Valley, five (41.66%) librarians are aware of

concept Web2.0, two (16.66%) librarians are not aware of this concept, two (16.66)

librarians are not sure about Web2.0.

b. The mostly used Web 2.0 tools are Wiki (80%), Social Networking (60%), Email groups

(40%) and Blogs (40%) by the college librarians of Barak Valley.

c. Based on the ranking score Social Networking Sites, Wiki and RSS feeds are the top

three Web 2.0 tools used by the College Librarians of Barak Valley d. College Librarians of Barak Valley have a positive attitude towards Web 2.0 tools in

promoting library services (Likert Score = 3.6)

e. Out of 12 college libraries of Barak Valley, six (50%) have their own library websites,

three (25%) college libraries don’t have websites and remaining three (25%) library

websites are under construction.

f. Out of 12 librarians, 10 (83.33%) librarians indicated that they need training on Web2.0

Tools.

7 CONCLUSION

College libraries of Barak Valley have shown positive attitude towards use of Web 2.0 tools in

promoting library services. But still there is a lack of awareness among the librarians. The study

revealed certain problems in expanding library services through Web 2.0 such as lack of training,

lack of infrastructure, lack of proper fund, irregular power supply etc. Hence proper steps must

be taken to tackle these problems. There is a need to organize training programs for librarians as

well as library users and conduct user’s survey from time to time to find out the need of the users

and problems encountered by the users in using Web2.0 tools. The study reveals that there is a

better scope for utilisation of Web2.0 tools by the librarians as well as the library users.