Enhancement of Library Services into Mobile-based Library Services in Select University Libraries in Delhi (India): users’ perspective

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Dar, S. A.^a | Madhusudhan, M.^b

Affiliations: [a] Guest Faculty, Library and Information Science, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi – 110025. (E): omarsaleeq@gmail.com | [b] Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007. (E): madhumargam@gmail.com

Abstract: The overwhelming growth of mobile devices has created new challenges of providing access to online content in mobile-accessible formats and providing opportunities to learn anytime and anywhere and also facilitate the practice of bring your own device (BYOD) and accessing library resources The primary purpose of the study discussed in the present article was first to understand the problems of users they face due to the unavailability of mobile-based library services and then figure out user perception of how to enhance the existing library services to mobile-based library services. The findings of the study show that all the surveyed universities/institutions are yet to exploit the full potential of mobile technology. By contrast, other universities/institutions in developed countries are advancing in terms of providing information access/retrieval to the library users through mobile devices. Therefore, considering the possibility of fast information access, mobile computing provides myriad opportunities for libraries to provide access anytime and anywhere. The responses collected indicate that the respondents are willing to access library services through their mobile devices. The study is significant because it represents one of the earliest works to shed light on the current level of use of mobile technology and mobile-based library services in university libraries, which are in primitive nature. The findings of the study can provide guidance to the students, research scholars, faculty members, and others to identify popular mobile library services and access them on the go. The study also provides some practical suggestions for the studied institutions and their libraries to enhance the existing library services into mobile-based library services so that they can be accessed through mobile devices based on the perception of respondents.

Keywords: Mobile devices, Ubiquitous access, Information services, Universities, India

DOI: 10.18329/09757597/2020/13102

Journal: World Digital Libraries - An international journal, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 11-28, 2020