Archana, S N; Humayoon Kabir, S(Cochin University of Science And Technology, May , 2014)
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Abstract:
There are around 150 engineering colleges (ECs) in Kerala
under the government, aided and self financing (S.F.) sectors. While
the college libraries in the government and aided sectors receive
several grants, the libraries of S.F. colleges are solely run by their
own funds. The rising costs of scholarly publications and strict
AICTE stipulations regarding libraries and their collection, pose
great difficulties to the libraries in all sectors in finding adequate
budgets to provide quality services. Library cooperation/resource
sharing helps to overcome this problem to a considerable extent.
The present study analysed the facilities and services of the
ECs affiliated to M.G.University, Kerala to identify whether there is
a need for resource sharing (RS) among these libraries. The
satisfaction of the users with their library resources and services
were also ascertained. The study put forward a model for RS and the
opinion of the librarians and users regarding the same were
collected. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the required
data.
The study revealed that a wide gap exist between the libraries
with respect to their facilities and services and many of the S.F.
libraries have better infrastructure when compared to the
government and aided college libraries. Majority of the respondents
opined that RS is necessary to satisfy their information needs. The
model of RS proposed by the study was widely accepted by the
librarians and users. Based on the opinions and suggestions of the
respondents, the study developed the potential model for resource
sharing- the Virtual Resource Sharing Centre (VRSC).