AVAILABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND UTILIZATION OF E-RESOURCES BY UNDERGRADUATES (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The library has long been perceived as a building wall and filled with books for reading. Issa (2003) notes that librarianship as a profession came into existence to preserve and make widely accessible the records of human experience. The emergence of Information Technology (IT) has re created the fall of librarianship. IT has permeated evenly into our daily activities Okerulu (2003) states that IT has created limitless opportunities for open access to information. Larnikanra (2003) describes the history of the internet which “grew out of the ARPANET, a computer network developed by the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) in the 1960s”. The term “e-resources” refer to information accessed through the Internet, and web – base Information system Unlike traditional libraries, e-libraries are not limited by location or time. Libraries have changed with the emergence and application of IT. They have assumed the role of educators, teaching users to find, evaluate and use information both in the library and over electronic networks. As the use of e-library continues to soar, users are expected to develop information literacy skills. These skills, Julien (2002) observes, will enable users to make efficient and effective use of information resources.
Arms (2005) define e-resources as managed collection of information, with association, services, where the information is stored in digital formats and accessible over a network”. M.c Call, Cleveland and Gibson (1999) defined e-library as a collection needs for a given user population. Like traditional library, the e-library is also target towards a particular group of user in terms of information dissemination.
Acting as a “quality guide”, e-libraries “often follow certain guidelines for the selection of content to maintain a consistent collection of data” Virtual library (2007).
Ani (2008) quoting Tsakonas and Papatheodorous (2006), states that “the transition from print to electronic medium apart from resulting in a growth of electronic information, has provided users with new tools and applications for information seeking and retrieval. Electronic resources are invaluable research tools that complement the print-based resources in a traditional library setting.
Commenting on the advantages of electronic resources, Dadzie (2005) writes that e-resources are invaluable research tools that complement the print-based resources in a traditional library setting. Their advantages, according to her; access to information that might be restricted to the user due to geographical location or finances, access to more current information, and provision of extensive links to additional resources related contents. This rapid emergence and development of electronic information technologies therefore make it possible to envision radically different ways of organizing the collections and services the library has traditionally provided. While libraries approach a crisis point in financing collection development; these new technologies offer possible ways to mitigate costs and revolutionize ways to access information. Navjyoy, (2007) also finds that speedy publication availability on the desktop are the teaching advantages that attract research scholars.
