evaluation of library web presence of technical …konnur, p v and others3 while studied the...

International Journal of Next Generation Library and Technologies (ISSN 2395 – 5201) Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2019

www.ijnglt.com

Evaluation of library web presence of technical colleges of West

Bengal through content analysis

AnanyaDasGupta

(corresponding author)

Asst. Librarian, Institute of Leadership Entrepreneurship and Development, Kolkata.

Email: [email protected],

Ph: 9836280277/9433310518

Meghamala Gupta

Asst. Librarian, Institute of Leadership Entrepreneurship and Development, Kolkata.

Email: [email protected],

Ph: 8622879454

Abstract

Website of an academic institute can be considered as the face of institute in modern days. Library

being the main pillar in supporting the teaching learning of academic institute it should be given its

due importance. Keeping that in view this paper tries to find out the presence of libraries in the

website of respective colleges under Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology

(MAKAUT), West Bengal. Based on the literature review of the studies done on this subject area,

41criteria under 8 broad headings were selected to analyze the content of the Web Pages. A web

based exhaustive study of the selected websites of the colleges was done. The collected data was then

analyzed using Microsoft excel. From the observation, it is found that the libraries of colleges under

MAKAUT have minimal representation in their parent websites. Based on the findings some

suggestions have been made for the improvement of the library Web Page. Focusing on web

appearance, a lot of work needs to be done. The problem can’t be resolved without a change in

attitude about the role of library and information science in higher education. Library professionals

of those institutes should come forward to change the scenario and take their libraries to the next

level.

Keywords: Library webpage, Content analysis, Web content, MAKAUT

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


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Introduction

For any organization, its website represents as an open window for the world to its product and

services. The same is true for academic institutions also. In this era of information knowledge

explosion, the survival of any organization depends on its adaptation and flexibility to the changing

needs of the society. The institutions should know the needs and demands of their clients. The current

generation is used to the internet since they were born. Thus for their information needs, their first

choice is web. The website of any institution plays an important medium of public relation. Also it is

a fact that quality of the library and its services is considered as an eminent facet for judging the

quality of the institution. “It is no longer about which library provides the largest collection, but about

which library can provide their community with the best means to access the material they need,

regardless of location. Libraries can increase visibility at the global scale and accessibility to services

at the wider scale by using the new web scale library management facility.” Hence these websites

should adequately represent their library and its resource. This study is an attempt to analyze the

representation of the libraries in their parent organization’s websites.

MaulanaAbulKalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), West Bengal was established in

the year 2001 as a sequel to the promulgation of the Act in 2001, under West Bengal Act XV of 2000

passed by the West Bengal Legislature. The University is steadfast in its twin objectives to serve as a

centre of excellence in teaching and research in technology and management area and providing a

framework of industrialization based on knowledge economy. The University aims to create high-

caliber professionals with global standards.

Objective

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the content of the websites of the colleges under

MAKAUT with respect to their library page. More specifically the study aims to:

Ascertain how and to what extent the websites of the colleges provide the information about

their respective libraries.

Analyse the content of the library webpages in accordance with the criteria determined for the

study.

Rank the colleges on the basis of analysis.

Suggest measures for improvement of library webpage of the college websites.


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Literature review

In recent times many studies are being done on library websites. A brief review of the available

related literature is made here. The review is chronologically represented since 2009 onwards.

Kumar and others(2009)1conducted a study on six IIMs. A checklist was designed to analyze the

content of the websites. After analyzing it was found that all the websites provide information on

mission statement, working hours, rules and regulations, books and journals collection. Except IIM-B

others have provided OPAC link through their sites. All of them gave information regarding e-

journals, databases, non-book materials, CDs and video cassettes.

In 2010, Archana, S. N and Kabir, S Humayoon2 conducted a study on engineering colleges affiliated

to university of Kerala. From their analysis it was found that majority of the websites did not fulfill

50% of the 25 criteria selected for analysis. Out of 62 colleges, only 5-10% provided information

about digital resources or OPAC.

Konnur, P V and others3 while studied the academic library websites of five institutions of Bangalore

city, they identified five factors which should be incorporated in a comprehensive resourceful library

websites. Those are:(1) about library resources, services and facilities (2) access to subscribed e-

journals, online databases through website (3) links to other useful online resources (4) access to web

based references sources (5) computerized library housekeeping operations. Their study revealed that

there was a lack of organization of information in the study websites and thus is lagging behind in

exploiting the full potential of a library portal.

Shukla and Tripathi4 developed a 108 points scale parameters to evaluate the website content

awareness of Central University of India and Institute of National Importance. They constructed a

questionnaire and scores were allotted. On the basis of scoring points they developed and calculated

Overall Website Performance Calculation (OWPC) and Criteria-wise Website Performance

Calculation (CWPC). From the study they found that Institute of National Importance share much

more information than Central University library. But not a single library from both the list could

achieve the status of ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ in case of content awareness.

In 2011, Kalra and Verma5attempted to analyse the library websites of some selected research

institutes of India both qualitatively and quantitatively on the basis of Web Impact Factor, pre-defined

check-list of indicators, and online questionnaire survey. The study revealed several inconsistencies

and terminological issues. Many methodologies are in use globally which are not used in India. The


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study led to certain important issues for quality improvements in context of usability and usefulness.

The quantitative study did not lead to any conclusive finding. It was concluded that there is need for

standardization of evaluation indicators under ‘usability’ and ‘usefulness’ at both indicative and

illustrative level.

In 2013 Pareek and Gupta6 conducted a survey on content of academic libraries of Rajasthan

including universities, deemed universities, self-financed institutions and research institutes. For 52

library websites, most provided good accessibility and general information about the library.

However very few provided links to their OPAC or digital resources.

Verma and Devi 7did a content analysis survey on seven Central University Library websites of North

Eastern States of India. From their study it was found that except Assam University all other websites

provided information regarding libraries. Majority of the websites provide last date of modification.

“Ask the librarian” feature was found only in one university library website. E-journal link was

provided by all libraries. OPAC information was also available except for Manipur and Mizoram

Universities.

Savitha, K. S8 did a content analysis study of deemed university library websites of Karnataka.

Among the twelve universities they selected nine for their study purpose. From their analysis it was

found that all nine universities provide general information about their libraries in their respective

website. 89% universities gave access to OPAC facilities as well as digital library service through

their webpages. While all of them have access facility to subscribed databases.

Muhammad Abbas Ganaee9in his exploratory study on library websites of Pakistani Universities

recognized by the Higher Education Commission found that although it is assumed that private sector

put more energy to compete in the market and get more customers, but the situation in the public

library websites was far better than private universities building library websites. A significant

number of library websites found having less than three pages. More than 95% libraries are providing

access to HEC digital library but university own-subscribed digital resources are very rare. Moreover,

the uses of web 2.0 features in these universities were minimum level.

Sandeep Kumar and Mahendra Singh Mir 10in 2017 studied the content of the library websites of

Central Universities of Central Regionof India. Their study revealed all four Central Universities had

Web OPAC facility, info about digital library, database access, plagiarism check software, thesis, e-

books, and e-journals in their library pages.


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Methodology

To prepare the college list for the study help was taken from the MAKAUT website, www.wbut.ac.in.

After consulting the 2017-2018 session list an exhaustive list of all colleges was prepared. Google

search with the name of the colleges was done to find out the respective college websites. Based on

the literature review of the studies done on this subject area, 41 criteria under 8 broad headings were

selected to analyse the content of the Website / WebPages. The criteria are given in Table 1. Then

based on these criteria, a thorough web based survey of those websites was done from August 2017 to

November 2017.

Table 1

Criteria for analysis of Websites of Colleges

I

Library website/webpage

presence 1 Library has website

2 A direct page

3 A space in another heading

II Accessibility 4 Direct library link

5

Link under academics, faculties, infrastructure, resources

with the title library.

6

With the link academics/facilities/infrastructure/resources

without the title library.

7 Others

III General information 8 Introduction

9 Objectives of library

10 Working Hours

11 Collection

12 Rules and regulations

13 Staff information

14 Library committee

15 Library news/notices

16 How to use library

17 New Arrival list

18 Automation

19 Email/contact no. of library

http://www.wbut.ac.in/


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20 Departmental library

21 List of journals subscribed

22 Annual Statistics

IV Link to online resources 23 OPAC

24 e-Journals links

25 e-books link

26 e-database link

27 e-question paper

28 Digital library

V Value added services 29 Feedback form

30 Links to other resources or net

31 Institute route map

VI Services 32 Reading room

33 Circulation

34 Reprography

35 Internet browsing

VII Social networking tools 36 Facebook

37 Linkedin

38 Twitter

VIII Website translation option 39 English

40 Hindi

41 Bengali

Scope and Limitations

Based on the review of International and Indian literature on evaluation of library websites in terms of

Usability and Usefulness, most studies referred focused on the usability criteria selecting the general

features or contents found in the websites. This study also focuses only on the general features

established on the basis of occurrence in the selected sample websites. The design aspect which

focuses on the usefulness of the websites is excluded from this study. This study of library webpage

was done in a certain point of time. Thus there may be some changes in those websites now.


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Analysis and interpretation

Presence of Library website / webpage

Under this heading 3 criteria have been established on the presence of the library page in the parent

website. As shown in figure 1, it was found that among 155 college websites only 8% colleges

provide direct access to library tab/page from their homepage. Whereas in 54% colleges library tab is

under some other heading. In 29% college websites there is no information about library, while 8%

colleges don’t have any website at all. So for further studies those 37% colleges have been omitted

from the list as there is no scope to gather any information about them. The final analysis was done on

97 colleges and the findings are discussed below.

Figure 1 Availability of library websites

n=155

Accessibility of website

To draw the attention of users to any website it is important to see how easily they can search a

particular page and access it. As library being the most important participant in the development and

growth of an academic institution it is necessary to have very quick and easy access to library page

from the parent organizations home page. In this section there are four criteria as enumerated in

Table2. From the study it was found that out of 97 colleges only 13 colleges provide direct link to

29%

8%54%

9%

Availability of library websites

n=155

No info about library

in website

Direct link from

college website

Space in another

heading

No website


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library page from their home page. 55 colleges provide library link under academics or facilities or

infrastructure or resources with the title as ‘Library’. As can be found from the reviewing literature,

some institutes provide information about the library without the title ‘Library’ directly under some

other heading. But fortunately in case of sample colleges this was not found. Only 29 colleges provide

link under different headings like campus life, amenities, general info, departments etc.

Table 2: Accessibility of websites

Criteria Frequency Percentage

Direct Library link 13 13

Link under

academics/facilities/infrastructure/resources with the

title library 55 57

With the link

academics/facilities/infrastructure/resources without

the title library. 0 0

Others 29 30

(n=97)

General information

In general information category 15 criteria have been enumerated. Among these fields it was found

that 63 colleges i.e. 65% of the total population provide only a brief introduction about their library.

Maximum number of colleges provides information about ‘library collection’i.e.75%. 58% colleges

give details about their ‘automation status. It was observed that ‘how to use library’ or ‘new arrival’

list are provided by only 3% colleges. Not a single college provides ‘annual statistics’ of library.

Details about frequency of occurrence and percentage for other criteria are listed according to their

rank in table 3.

Table 3: General information

Rank Criteria Frequency Percentage

1 Collection 73 75

2 Introduction 63 65


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3 Automation 56 58

4 Working Hours 34 35

5 Staff information 21 22

6 Rules and regulations 15 15

7 Email/contact no. of library 12 12

8 Objectives of library 9 9

9 Departmental library 8 8

10 List of journals subscribed 7 7

11 Library committee 6 6

12 How to use library 3 3

12 New Arrival list 3 3

13 Library news/notices 1 1

14 Annual Statistics 0 0

(n=97)

Link to online library resources

In this era libraries possess e-resources through subscription or ownership. However it was found in

the survey colleges, an attempt has been made to provide general information about the library, but no

such attempt has been made with regards to digital resources. To promote the awareness about these

resources among the users, the library page in the college website is an easy medium. Links of the

subscribed online resources if available through the library page in the parent website enhances the

accessibility of these resources for the members. To find out the scenario in colleges under

MAKAUT, 6 criteria have been established and analysis was done on the basis of these. The result is

shown in table 4. In this heading it was found that frequency of providing ‘e-journal’ links is 10

among 97 colleges, which is very poor. ‘Digital library link’ , ‘OPAC link’, ‘database link’ and ‘e-

books’ link are given by 9%, 6%,4% and 1% colleges respectively.

Table 4 Link to online resources


1 E-Journals links 10 10

2 Digital library 9 9

3 OPAC 6 6

4 Database link 4 4

5 E-books link 1 1


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5 E-question paper 1 1

(n=97)

Value added services

In order to meet the present day needs of the user’s libraries can extend beyond the typical services by

providing value added services to enhance user satisfaction11. Value added services means that the

needs of the majority of the people are being met by integrating features that surpass user’s

expectations. Libraries provide links to various e-resources through the library web page making it a

one-stop solution. These can be done from the Web OPAC also. They should have online feedback

facilities so that the services offered by the library can be continuously evaluated and accordingly

changes can be done. Findings of this study are presented in Table 5.

Table 5 Value added services


1 Feedback form 2 2

1 Links to other resources or net 2 2

2 Institute route map 1 1

(n=97)

Services

Existence of a library depends upon services it provides to its users. These services are reflection of

the demands of the users. To find the kind of services provided by the colleges under MAKAUT 4

criteria commonly found in websites are given in Table 6. 36% colleges provide information

regarding their ‘reading room facilities’, 29% provide information about ‘circulation policy’, 38%

about ‘reprographic facilities’ and 32% college inform the availability of ‘internet browsing facilities’

inside library premises.

Table 6 Services


1 Reprography 36 38


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2 Reading room 35 36

3 Internet browsing 31 32

4 Circulation 28 29

(n=97)

Social networking tools

In this era, social media has a great influence on our social life. Academic libraries must explore ways

and means to utilize its huge capabilities for the advancement of library services. Jodie Bell (2014)12

in her blog in CILIP, the Library and Information Association reports that Taylor & Francis sought to

address the opportunities and challenges provided by Social media to libraries by conducting a

research with over 600 librarians with focus groups in US, UK and India. This online survey

revealed that 61% of libraries have been using social media for three years or more. Many university

and libraries provide links to their social media through the ‘Connect with us’ or ‘Ask the librarian’

tabs, example Pen State and University Libraries, Washington University Libraries, Oxford College

Library, etc. Compared to these standards the use of social networking tools in the sample libraries is

far behind. With diminishing footfalls connectivity with users is a challenge for the librarians. This

can be resolved with the help of social networking tools. Moreover librarians can use it as a marketing

tool for promoting their services. In this study only one college library is visible through ‘Facebook’

and ‘Linkedin’.

Table 7 :Social networking tools


1 Facebook 1 1

1 Linkedin 1 1

2 Twitter 0 0

(n=97)

Website translation option

Website translation modifies an existing website to make it accessible, usable and culturally suitable

to a target audience. More than 1/3 of all internet users are non-native English speakers, and

according to Forrester Research, visitors stay for twice as long (site stickiness) if the website is in

their own language. India being a multi lingual and multicultural population, libraries should give this

feature its due importance. However from the analysis done this feature was available only in one

college website.


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Table 8: Website translation option


1 English 96 100

2 Hindi 1 1

2 Bengali 1 1

(n=97)

Ranking of colleges

Based on the analysis the ranking of 97 colleges have been done. Form that list of top 20 colleges

have been shown in the following table.

Table 9: Ranking of colleges

Rank Name of the college Points scored

1 Omdayal Group of Institutions 19

2 Narula Institute of Technology 17

2 iLEAD (Institute of Leadership Entrepreneurship and

Development) 17

3 Academy of Technology 15

3 JIS College of Engineering 15

3 NetajiSubhash Engineering College 15

4 Birbhum Institute of Engineering & Technology 14

5 Heritage Institute of Technology 13

5 Pailan College of Management & Technology

[B.TECH DIVISION] 13

5 Techno India College of Technology

13

5 Mallabhum Institute of Technology 13

6 MeghnadSaha Institute of Technology

12

6 IMPS College of Engineering & Technology 12

http://www.bietsuri.ac.in/

http://www.mitbishnupur.ac.in/


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7 B. P. Poddar Institute of Management & Technology 11

7 Camelia Institute of Technology, Madhyamgram 11

7 Gurunanak Institute of Technology, Panihati 11

7 Sabita Devi Education Trust – Brainware Group of

Institutions 11

7 Durgapur Institute of Advanced Technology and

Management 11

8 Army Institute of Management 10

8 Eastern IILM 10

8 St. Thomas’ College of Engineering & Technology 10

8 Dr. B.C. Roy Engineering College, Durgapur 10

Conclusion& Suggestions

From the observation of the websites it is found these are developed as a routine organizational

matter, rather than a conscious process of representation of the library and its resources to its current

and prospective user community. The library professionals of these colleges should have to take

initiative to develop their respective college’s library webpage. They have to understand the needs of

the user community and accordingly provide information in the webpage and organize it properly.

This type of the study can be done on the colleges under other universities of West Bengal. Then we

can find out that if it is lethargy in part of the library professionals or the organisational environment

of these colleges which prevent the professionals to take necessary actions. Konnur and others while

studying the websites of Bangalore city in 2010 hoped that libraries at the academic institutes will

attend to the lacuna and develop soon a fully functional, interactive, dynamic content web portal with

web 2.0 and web 3.0 technologies because academic community would expect informational

professionals as one of the several professions vying for leadership in the information age to organize

and present information in a way that best fits the users attention and knowledge. But nothing has

changed much since then; analysis of colleges under MAKAUT proves that.

On the basis of the study of the college websites and subsequent analysis of the content of the library

page, some suggestions for improvement are discussed below.

http://diatm.rahul.ac.in/

http://diatm.rahul.ac.in/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._B.C._Roy_Engineering_College,_Durgapur


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To keep the focus of the users on the library and information science centre of the

organization, it is advisable to provide a direct link in the parent organization’s website to

access the library page. This will increase the ease of usability of the library resources.

Library webpage should provide common useful links to the users to provide one-stop

solution to the user’s needs.

Librarians should disseminate information about their respective library’s resources, services

and activities through social networking sites like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, etc. Usage of

these sites enables the library to reach many users and add value to their services, thus

increasing the impact on users.

There is a need for interdisciplinary area research. Research can be done on how web services

attract and retain their customers; and how these can be applied to Library and Information

Science Centres.

Provision like “Ask a Librarian” is totally absent which put the libraries in a back foot when

compared to international standards.

Need to conduct usability study for user oriented web pages.

Regular training for library professionals to keep them abreast about the changes in

information technology landscape.

Librarians of colleges under MAKAUT should take initiative to represent their library

properly through their parent organization’s website. Library and Information Centre plays an

important role in the development of the organization as a whole. These libraries should

ensure that the authority is aware of the importance of a well-organized and well informed

library portal. They have to balance new initiatives with the core service areas such as

instruction and collection development. In addition to responding to new trends, academic

libraries also need to anticipate future needs and to take innovative steps to connect with their

users in an effective way to stay abreast in this competitive environment.

It is also not possible for the librarians to carry out the whole project without the support of

the management of the parent organization. Thus it is important that the authority should

provide the infrastructural and financial support to build a state of art library facility. The

University can take part in guiding the organizations in development of its library as a

learning resource in the current digital environment. The education of tomorrow, teaching

pedagogies and the content of education can be redesigned with the involvement of library

and information science center to achieve a better learning experience.


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Reference

1. Kumar, S. B.T, Prithvi, R. K. R., Naik, A. S. & Reddy, R.(2009). Content analysis of

2. Indian Institute of Management library websites: an analytical study.

3. Proceedings of the 7th International Convention on Automation of Libraries in Education and

Research(INFLIBNET, Pondicherry),194-201.

4. Archana, S. N &Kabir, S Humayoon(2010). Web presence of the engineering college

libraries in Kerala: an analysis of content. Kelpro Bulletin, 14(1), 35-47.

5. Konnur, P. V., Rajani, S. &Madhusudan, M.(2010). Academic library websites in

Bangalore city, India: an evaluative study. Library Philosophy and Practice(e-journal).

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Library and Information Studies,57(4), 403-416.

7. Kalra, Jaya &Verma, R. K. (2011). Evaluation indicators of library websites of selected

research institutions in India. Annals of Library and Information Studies. 58(2), 139-150.

8. Pareek, Sarwesh& Gupta, Dinesh K. (2013). Academic library websites in Rajasthan: an

analysis of content. Library Philosophy and Practice(e-journal).

9. Verma, Manoj Kumar & Devi, Krishna(2015). Content analysis of Central Universities

library websites of North Eastern States of India. Journal of Research in Librarianship. 2(5),

48-59.

10. Savitha, K. S. (2016). Content analysis of deemed university library websites of Karnataka

State: a study. Journal of Digital Libraries. 6(1), 87-93.

11. Ganaee, Muhammad Abbas(2016). Library websites of Pakistani universities: an exploratory

study. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries,385-395.

12. Kumar, Sandeep& Mir, Mahendra Singh(2017). Content analysis of Central Universities

library websites of Central region of India: a survey. International Journal of Scientific and

Technology Research. 6(6), 283-286.

13. Jerome, Idiegbeyan-ose, Nkiko, Christopher &Ifeakachuku, Osinulu(2017). Value added

service to academic library users in 21st century: using competitive intelligence approach.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

14. Bell, Jodie(2014,December 16). 5 ways libraries are using social media.[Web log post].

Retrieved from https:/archive.cilip.org.uk/blog/5-ways-libraries-are-using-social-media.

15. Penn State University Libraries https://libraries.psu.edu/

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