Attached
Development in information technology paved the way for rapid growth of information directing
to information explosion. A vast amount of information is available and increases in all
disciplines in different formats especially in electronic format.
Though plenty of electronic information sources are available through Internet, getting relevant
information according to the need requires skills on computers and awareness on sources and
retrieval techniques. The research study examined the utilization of Electronic Information
resources by the academic staff members of University of Sri Jayewardenepura. It also studied
the academic staff awareness of the resources available, the use of different types of electronic
information resources and the factors affecting resource utilization. The population consisted of
permanent academic staff members of Faculty of Applied Sciences. A sample was selected using
stratified random sampling technique. The sample size was 100. The study was both qualitative
and quantitative making use of a questionnaire and interviews.
Findings reveal that majority of the respondents search for information through electronic
resources frequently. Most of them are searching for journal articles through search engines and
for freely available electronic books. Eighty five percent have indicated that they are using
Internet access through Department computers. The major purposes indicated for searching were
for teaching activities and for research purposes. Limited infrastructural facilities were indicated
as the main barrier. Inadequate time, unawareness about appropriate sources and information
overload difficulties were among the other barriers. Eighty percent of the respondents had not
received any proper training on use of electronic resources. Sixty two percent have indicated that
their ability in getting electronic information is adequate. But have pointed out that retrieving
relevant information is not always successful. Majority of respondents were not aware about the
availability of electronic information sources related to their subject discipline. Most of them
have got awareness through personal searching and from colleagues.
Conducting workshops by the library on available information sources and retrieval techniques,
providing full text documents and purchasing full text or bibliographic databases related to
subject disciplines were among the suggestions. The study concludes that majority of academic
staff members are using electronic information resources and if there is proper training and
guidance from the library, the efficiency and effective use could be accomplished.
