This paper focuses on the study of e-resources in the libraries of institutes of management in India.

The main objective is to determine the availability of different types of e-resources, viz., subscribed e-resources through consortium, memberships of library networks and collaboration with libraries. Based upon the findings, some suggestions for strengthening the services pertaining to e-resources have been given. A resource sharing model has been proposed which promises the maximum availability of e-resources and also increases their reach and access.

Keywords:   Electronic resources  Indian Institute of Management  library network  consortium  library portals  education networks

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) libraries, with their wide range of collection of electronic resources, fill an essential requisite in the intellectual pursuits for the users. IIM are public autonomous institutes of management education in India. They are considered to be prestigious business schools of India. Libraries of IIMs are located at Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Indore, Shilong, Rohtak, Ranchi, Raipur, Tiruchirapalli, Udaipur, and Kashipur. These institutions are recognised as premier management institutions, comparable to the best in the world for teaching, research and interaction with industries. All the IIMs are registered societies governed by their respective Board of Governors.

The e-resources are playing the most important role in the area of education to provide better services and easy access. Due to explosion of information and knowledge, the e-resources have become more powerful tools that allow users to search the information more effectively and efficiently. Libraries use ICT for better services and satisfying diverse user needs. They have transformed into digital and virtual libraries where books, journals, and magazines have changed into e-books, e-journals, and e-resources.

Libraries need ICT infrastructure for e-resource management, i.e., computers, LCD projectors, CD net servers, CD-Rom towers, back-up devices, UPS, multimedia kit, internet connection, servers, ERM, software, etc. Libraries should use publicity methods for e-resources through e-mail, telephone, notice on the library website, poster, orientation day, social network media, etc. Barriers in procurement of e-resources are maintaining backup files of the e-resources, frustrating interfaces, requirement of technical expert staff to maintain e-resources, etc. E-resources can be accessed only within the campus of the institution and user must be aware of e-resources and should also be able to access that format properly⁷.

Challenges in managing of e-resources are keeping track of varying access conditions, changing licensing terms and conditions, subscription and renewal dates, authentication, resource sharing limitations, usage data collection, etc.

Haridasan & Khan¹ focused on the impact and use of e-resources by social scientists pursuing research in the NASSDOC library. The study indicates that respondents were aware of the e-resources and views computing literacy a majority of users were satisfied with the e-resources available at the NASSDOC library. Vashishth, C.P.² highlighted some constrains of e-resources in learning process. The problems like adverse effects of computer screens on human eye, disposal of e-infrastructure, etc., have been discussed. The impact of e-resources on learning and scholarship is discussed in detail. A study conducted by Madhusudhan³ found that e-resources have become an integral part of the information needs of research scholars at Kurukshetra University and they can be good substitutes for conventional resources, if the access is fast. Zhanng Liyi⁴ examined the relationships among the factors of users’ educational level, disciplines and purpose in using e-resources. The results showed that there was an increasing demand for literature written in English in the disciplines of natural science, medicine, and engineering. Sakshi & Singh⁵ conducted a survey to find out the use of e-resources by chemists and physicists at Punjab University, Chandigarh. The study revealed that all the faculty members and research scholars were familiar with e-resources. Hussain⁶ examined the use of e-information resources and services among the teachers and students of Sir Chhotu Ram Institute of Engineering and Technology, Meerut, India. He found that majority of teachers and students were aware of e-information resources and services. Baikady⁷ et al., examined the implementation of off campus access to licensed e-resources of library using EZ Proxy remote login. They concluded that the remote login facility brought about convenience in use and access for the users. Mendhe, & Dhandore⁸ conducted a study to find out the awareness of e-resources in the scientific community of agriculture engineering and their ease of use. They observed that the availability of e-resource on the campus is almost sufficient for all the existing disciplines but the infrastructure to use these resources is not adequate and can hinder the ability to meet the requirements of users.

The objectives of the study are to:

• Find out information about e-resources available in the libraries of IIMs
• Available e-resources
• Know the available online databases, memberships of these libraries
• Know the members of library networks and their collaboration with libraries

The study is restricted to surfing the website of the 13 IIM library e-resources. The list of the websites and portals that have been the primary source of information for IIMs libraries is given Table 1. The websites of the institutes have been the main source of data collected for analysis the internet for tracing the IIM’ library e-resources. Sources for data collection are tracing data of search engines and collecton from URLs.

Table 1 provides the basic information of the IIM libraries in India, 3 libraries were established in 2010, 3 libraries were established in 2011. 2 libraries were established in 1962. The date of establishment of parent organisation is assumed to be the date of establishment of its library, wherever separate date of establishment of library is not given.

From Table 2, it is observed that all the libraries (100 %) e-journals, databases, and CDs/DVDs with books libraries have 76.92 % e-books. 8 libraries have (61.53 %) JSTOR. AV material was available in 53.84 % and e-newspapers (38.46 %). Also (30.76 %) libraries have e-dissertation have and (15.38 %) have e-theses and e-magazines its their portal (Fig.1).

During observations of the IIM libraries portals, it is found that most of the e-resources are accessible through IP addresses, while some require log-in ID and password. In two IIM libraries, e-resource accessible mode is restricted to internal users only, i.e., in IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Indore. Rest of the institutes are providing access through IP address, log-in ID and password and within campus. IIM Kozhikode and IIM Udaipur libraries have membership of NASSCOM. Some IIM libraries like IIM Ahmedabad, Kozhikode, Indore, Shilong, Tiruchirapalli, Udaipur and Bangalore provide specialised tools like EBSCO Discovery, institutional repository and remote login. Some IIM libraries formed a consortium in 2000. Currently, resources available through IIM library consortium are Informaworld, Sage (HSS collection), Wiley, Springer links and Wiley-Blackwell (HSS collection).

Table 3 shows that only EBSCO is available in 13 studied libraries. It was found that eleven libraries have ABI/inforn, Science Direct, Emerald, Sage, and Wiley e-resources. Springer link and Taylor & Francis have been available in 10 libraries. Indiastate.com, CAPITALINE, INSIGHT, Prowess have been available in eight libraries. ISI emerging market is available in seven libraries. Industry outlook, State of India, and data stream is available in three libraries.

Table 4 reveals that two libraries have the membership of the library network, DELNET, only one library has the membership of INFLIBNET, and one library has the membership of NICMAN. Also, one library has membership of the AACSB, and one library has membership of National HRD network.

Table 5 shows that seven libraries have the collaboration with the IIM library consortium, two libraries have the collaboration with the American library Calcutta, and two libraries have collaboration with the British Council Library, Calcutta.

The detailed study shows that none of these libraries can be called as self-sufficient or complete in itself. Since these libraries share common goals and also since the demands of users in these libraries are also mostly similar, their library services and reach to users can be maximised by implementing the resource sharing model as proposed in the Fig. 2.

In the proposed model, all the common e-resources of libraries of IIM will be provided through consortia thereby minimising the redundant costs. These consortia will be accessed through high speed internet VPN supporting bandwidths from 1 GBPS to 10 GBPS. The unique e-resources of each library like e-books purchased by them, e-thesis, institutional repositories, AV material, etc. will be shared by all the participating libraries through library networks like INFLIBNET, DELNET and also through information networks like SIRNET, NICNET, etc. The user community which comprises of students, research scholars and faculty should be provided with single window search tools made available on library portals. The librarians and information professionals will provide list and hyperlinks of all the e-resources accessible through consortia, various library networks and their own institutional repositories on their library portals. The users will be empowered with remote login facility also. The alerts, e-mails, SMSs, etc. regarding new arrivals will be sent to the users which they can view on their mobile phones/laptops. This model will ensure that all users get access to all types of e-resources anytime, anyhow and anywhere.

Based on the study following are some of the suggestion for improving the library further:

• Libraries should provide virtual tours for e-resources collection.
• Libraries should provide online training to users and staff on how to access e-resources, how to get printouts, how to maintain e-resources on websites.
• Each library should maintain e-resource webpage on library portals.
• Collaborative research needs to be boosted in the use of IIMs’ libraries.
• Remote access to all the e-resources should be provided by the IIMs’ libraries.
• Users should be informed about the new e-resources added to the library collection.

In the present study, some IIM libraries are not maintaining separate library portals. They have given information about e-resources on institute webpage, e.g., IIM Lucknow, and IIM Ranchi.

Also, some libraries have not given list of e-journals, databases and consortium e-resources. Library e-resources may be maintained on intranet so that all the departments could access the e-resources.

E-resources are available in different types and the study found that only e-journals, databases and CDs/DVDs with books were accessible in all studied libraries. Librarian can create more awareness on e-resources among the users so that they can make better use of the resources. The libraries of IIMs should come on a common platform so that they could share common as well as unique e-resources held in each library through high performance library and information networks and the same should also be accessible via remote login.

1. Haridasan, Sudharma & Majid Khan. Impact and use of e-resources by social scientists in National Social Science Documentation Centre NASSDOC/India. The Electronic Library, 2009, 27(1), 117-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02640470910934632.

2. Vashishth, C.P. Use of electronic resources in learning: Some constraint. Library Herald, 2009, 47(2), 97-103.

3. Madhusudhan, Margam. Use of electronic resources by research scholars of Kurukshetra University. The Electronic Library, 2010, 28(4), 492-506. http//dx.doi.org/10.1108/02640471011033684. (accessed on 3 August 2014)

4. Zhanng, Liyi. Survey on the utilization of NSTL electronic resources in college and universities in Wuhan, China. The Electronic Library, 2011, 29(6), 828-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02640471111188042.

5. Sakshi & Joginder Singh. Use of e-resources by chemists and physicists: A case study of Punjab University, Chandigarh. Library Herald, 2012, 50(1), 23-31.

6. Hussain, Akhtar. Use of electronic information resources & services among the teachers & students of Institute of Engineering & Technology CCSU, Meerut. PEARL-J. of Lib. & Inf. Sci., 2013, 7(1), 50-56.

7. Baikady, M.R.; Jessy, A. & Shivananda, B.K. Off campus access to licensed e-resources of library: A case study. DESIDOC J. of Lib. & Inf. Technol., 2014, 34(6), 486-90.

8. Mendhe, R.M. & Dhandore, K. Knowledge and use of e-resources awareness of agriculture and agricultural engineering faculties and scientist of India. PEARL-J. of Lib. & Inf. Sci., 2014, 8(2), 76-81.

Dr Veena A. Prakashe is currently working as Information Scientist in R.T.M. Nagpur University Library, Nagpur. She possesses Masters degree in Computer Science and Library and Information Science and PhD in Library and Information Science. She has published several papers in National and International conferences and journals. Her areas of research are: Library automation, information networking, and e-governance.

Ms Sapana Tayade is currently working as Library Assistant in PDPM-IIITDM library, Jabalpur. She obtained her BA and MLIS from R.T.M. Nagpur University, Nagpur. She has qualified UGC-NET in Library and Information Science. She has published many research papers in National and International conferences in the area of electronic resources. She is presently pursuing her PhD from Nagpur University in the area of electronic resources. Her area of interest include: Electronic resources and information technology.