User Perception of E-Resources Provided by the Kelaniya University Library: a Case Study

Abstract

This paper aims to identify user perception of the e-resources provided by the University of Kelaniya library with the responses of two user categories. They are students and the academic staff of the university. The study was conducted as a web-based survey method for the academic staff and manual data collection method for the students. The sampling method used for this study is stratified random sampling method to select students and academic staff members from the population. This study has considered participant from five faculties. This is on user perception of e-resources provided by the library. E-resource acquisitions have increased with relating to the users’ demand in academic libraries. That is important for an academic library to acquire and arrange e-resource. Compare to present and past learning styles, e-resources have a major role in the academic process. The university libraries are the main learning resource provider of the university. They have to have the capacity to identify relevant information sources both versions in physical and electronic. This has covered ten parts mainly under the topic of E-resources. They are Arrangements for existing learning resources to support e-learning, New acquisitions to support the e-learning, Available databases related to the various subjects taught at your university, Digital library to support learning and teaching by sharing experts' research experiences and publications, Searching and evaluation facilities through the library website, Electronic resource access and sharing (online), Evaluation of e-resource facilities through the faculty CAL, Access for the university subscribed e-journals, e-books, databases and other course materials, both within and outside the university premises, the self-learning supportive videos / PPT and guidelines provided by the library, the preservation of the electronic resource, and provision to access digitized archives at your library