Use of electronic resources by the faculty members in diverse public universities in Bangladesh

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the pattern of electronic information resources use and satisfaction with university‐paid resources by the faculty members in eight public universities in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

An online questionnaire was used to assess the contemporary use of, and satisfaction with, university subscribed electronic resources by the faculty members. The major constraints faced by them in accessing online resources were also identified. To analyze the influence of demographic characteristics on overall satisfaction with e‐resources, Mann‐Whitney and Kruskal‐Wallis tests were carried out. The constraints faced by the faculty members were tested in relation to their opinions on overall satisfaction using chi‐square tests.

Findings

The results showed that faculty members are not generally satisfied with the current level of university subscribed e‐resources. They identified limited number of titles, limited access to back issues, difficulty in finding information, inability to access from home, limited access to computers and slow download speed as major constraints. These constraints do affect e‐resources use in the public universities. However, these constraints are mainly related to the poor IT infrastructure and limited access to e‐resources, which may also lead to other constraints such as an unwillingness to use the resources regularly and consequently low satisfaction with such resources.

Originality/value

This is the first time an effort has been made to assess the use of university‐paid online information resources by the academic community in Bangladesh. This study could be used to assess faculty needs for electronic resources which may also lead to a more dynamic interaction with such resources.

Citation

Zabed Ahmed, S.M. (2013), "Use of electronic resources by the faculty members in diverse public universities in Bangladesh", The Electronic Library, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 290-312. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-05-2011-0081