Research scholars and faculty members perception and participation in collection development of university libraries of Northern India – a comparative study

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate research scholars’ and faculty members’ perception, participation in collection development, satisfaction with the adequacy of the library collection and challenges faced during the recommendation of resources in selected university libraries of Northern India. Design/methodology/approach The data was collected with the help of a structured questionnaire from the research scholars and faculty members from all disciplines of five universities of Northern India. The comparison between the researchers and faculty members was carried out within the university, as well as across the universities. A total of 652 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 465 filled questionnaires were finally selected for data analysis. The collected data was analyzed with the help of SPSS and the hypotheses were tested using Chi-square (χ²) test. Findings The survey results found significant differences in awareness of collection development policy (CDP), as well as the recommendation of resources (i.e. textbooks, reference books, journals and magazines and non-book materials) between the research scholars and faculty members across the libraries. However, no significant difference was found between the opinion of the research scholars and faculty members on the adequacy of library collection across the libraries. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to five university libraries of North India which included Maharishi Dayanand University (Rohtak) and Kurukshetra University (Kurukshetra) from the State of Haryana Panjab University from Union Territory of Chandigarh and Punjabi University (Patiala) and Guru Nanak Dev University (Amritsar) from the state of Punjab. Practical implications The outcomes of this study will undoubtedly help the library authorities and management to understand the awareness of users (i.e. research scholars and faculty members) about the collection development process such as CDP of the library, kind of resources recommend, their assessment on adequacy of different kind of resources and their ultimate satisfaction from it. Originality/value The study is an extensive survey about the perception and participation of research scholars and faculty members in the collection development process of their respective libraries and indicates their satisfaction from the library collection.

Faculty–librarian cooperation in collection development at the University of Namibia library, with special reference to electronic resources

“…Collection development has been a shared responsibility of librarians and faculty members. The input of faculty members is regarded as critical for collection development in libraries because faculty members know the needs of the students in accordance with the curriculum (Singh and Mahajan, 2022). Gregory (2019, p. 64) states that:…”

“…Collection development has been a shared responsibility of librarians and faculty members. The input of faculty members is regarded as critical for collection development in libraries because faculty members know the needs of the students in accordance with the curriculum (Singh and Mahajan, 2022). Gregory (2019, p. 64) states that: It is generally accepted that subject librarians should communicate regularly with academic staff regarding the selection and acquisition of new e-journals, new research or teaching tools, instructional support services and other new library activities to build quality collections.…”

“…According to Tsakomas et al (as cited in Gakibayo et al , 2013, p. 3), electronic information resources are sources that are provided in an electronic format, such as e-books, e-journals, online databases, CD-ROM databases and other computer-based electronic networks. The need for, and the importance of, collaboration between librarians and faculty members in academic institutions such as universities cannot be overemphasised – it has become vital in the development of university library collections (van Zijl, 2005; Singh and Mahajan, 2022). Kamau and Elegwa (2021) highlight the importance of cooperative work between library staff and other stakeholders to avoid delays and to ensure timely service delivery.…”

“…Alabi (2018) states that collaboration between librarians and faculty members is the most important aspect of balancing library collection development, effective library instruction and research literacy competency. Likewise, Singh and Mahajan (2022) state that the input of faculty members is considered essential for collection development in libraries since they know the needs of their students and programmes. These authors advise library staff on the resources they have to deposit in the libraries to build strong collections for students.…”

“…The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9326.htm be created globally every day (World Economic Forum, 2021). As far as scholarly publishing is concerned, the scientific community agrees that the number of scholarly journals has continued to grow over time (Cheek et al, 2006), although the exact number of journals published in each country is unclear (Singh and Mahajan, 2022). Online and Web platforms have estimated the number of journals to be around 30,000, and the list of scholarly journals is estimated to grow by approximately 5% to 7% every year.…”