Paper Presented during International Conference on What’s next in libraries? Trends, Space, and partnerships held during January 21-23, 2015 at NIT Silchar, Assam. It is being jointly organized by NIT Silchar, in association with its USA partner the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

1. Promotion of Library Services through Web 2.0:Promotion of Library Services through Web 2.0:Promotion of Library Services through Web 2.0:Promotion of Library Services through Web 2.0:
A Survey of Selected College Libraries of BarakA Survey of Selected College Libraries of BarakA Survey of Selected College Libraries of BarakA Survey of Selected College Libraries of Barak
Valley, Assam, IndiaValley, Assam, IndiaValley, Assam, IndiaValley, Assam, India
Somnath Roy, MLIS Student
Dept. of Lib. & Inf. Sc., Assam University, Silchar, India,
somnathroy04@gmail.com
&
Nabin Chandra Dey, Assistant Professor
Dept. of Lib. & Inf. Sc., Assam University, Silchar, India,
nabincdey@gmail.com

2. 1. INTRODUCTION
Web Presence helps in Value Creation for any organization and libraries are no
exception.
A growing number of libraries are building homepages on the cyberspace from where
users can access to a variety of services without physically entering a library.
Web 2.0 technology is one of the latest web technologies which the library professionals
find very prominent in providing and promoting library services.
This technology enables user for open communication with web based communities and
help in more open sharing of information.

3. 2. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The use of Web 2.0 tools has grown considerably in the library sector in the last few
years.
They are being emphatically and overwhelmingly adopted by the Library professionals /
by the library users from the different parts of the world & also in different regions of
India.
But the present scenario of Barak Valley region of state Assam is quite different.
This web technology is yet to be implemented and used properly in college libraries of
Barak Valley.

4. 3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are:
1) Investigate the level of awareness and use of Web 2.0 tools by College Librarians of
Barak Valley.
2) To know the attitudes and opinions of College Librarians of Barak Valley towards
Web 2.0.
3) To identify the mostly used Web 2.0 tools by the College Librarians of Barak Valley.

5. 4. METHODOLOGY
The study has been conducted through survey method and a questionnaire is used as the data
collection tool.
5. ANALYSIS OF DATA
5.1 Responses Received from the Respondents:
12 questionnaires were distributed among the librarians of government aided colleges of
Barak Valley. Out of 12 questionnaires, 12 (100%) had been received from the college librarians.

6. Table 1: Responses Received from the Respondents
Questionnaire Distributed No. of Respondents Percentage (%)
Received 12 100
Not received 0 0
Total distributed 12 100

7. 5.2 Status of Internet Connection in College Libraries:
Out of 12 surveyed colleges of Barak Valley, 11 (91.60%) colleges have Internet
Connection, while 1 (8.30 %) college has no Internet Connection.
Table 2: Status of Internet Connection in College Libraries
Status of Internet Connection No. of Colleges Percentage (%)
Connected 11 91.60
Not Connected 1 8.30
Total 12 100

8. 5.3 Web 2.0 Awareness among the Librarians:
Out of 12 College Librarians, 5 (41.66%) librarians are aware of concept Web2.0, 2
(16.66%) librarians are not aware of this concept, 2 (16.66%) librarians are not sure about the
concept & 3 (25%) had not responded to this query.
Table 3: Web 2.0 Awareness among the Librarians
Response No. of Respondents Percentage (%)
Yes 5 41.66
No 2 16.66
Not Sure 2 16.66
No response 3 25.00
Total 12 100.00

9. Figure 3: Web 2.0 Awareness among the Librarians
Yes, 41.66%
No, 16.66%
Not Sure, 16.66%
No
response, 25.00%

10. 5.4 Web 2.0 Tools used for Promoting Library Services:
Table 4: Web 2.0 Tools used for Promoting Library Services
Tools No. of Responses Percentage (%)
Instant Messaging 1 20.00%
RSS Feeds 1 20.00%
Wiki 4 80.00%
Blogs 2 40.00%
Social Book Marking 1 20.00%
Podcast 0 0.00%
Social Networking 3 60.00%
Mashups 0 0.00%
Email Groups 2 40.00%

11. 20.00%20.00%
80.00%
40.00%
20.00%
0.00%
60.00%
0.00%
40.00%
Web 2.0 Tools used for Promoting Library Services
The above figure shows that the mostly used Web 2.0 tools are Wiki (80%), Social
Networking (60%), Email groups (40%) and Blogs (40%) by the college librarians of Barak
Valley.

12. 5.5 Ranking of Web 2.0 Tools according to their usage:
College Librarians were asked to rank the different Web 2.0 tools according to their
usage (Rank 1 is used for first mostly used Web 2.0 tools, Rank 2 is used for second mostly used
Web 2.0 tools and so on).
Table 5: Ranking of Web2.0 Tools according to their usage
Web2.0 Tools Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 5 Rank 6 Rank 7 Rank 8 Rank
9
Score
SNS 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.60
Wiki 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.40
RSS Feeds 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.60
Instant Messaging
(IM)
0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 4.20
Blogs 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 4.60
E-mail Groups 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 5.80
Social Book
Marking/Tagging
0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 7.00
Podcast 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 7.00
Mashups 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 8.80

13. Figure 5: Ranking of Web2.0 Tools according to their usage
Based on the above score Social Networking Sites, Wiki and RSS feeds are the top three
Web 2.0 tools used by the College Librarians of Barak Valley.
Ranking of Web2.0 Tools according to their usage
above score Social Networking Sites, Wiki and RSS feeds are the top three

14. 5.6 Opinions and Attitudes of College Librarian’s towards Web 2.0:
College Librarians were asked to indicate their level of agreement with six attributes of
Web 2.0 on a 5 point Likert Scale, which is summarized in the below table. Positive (+ve)
attributes have rankings as 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (in descending order) and negative (-ve) attributes have
ranking as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (in ascending order).

15. Table 6: Opinions and Attitudes of College Librarian’s towards Web 2.0:
Attribute Response Category Attribute
TotalStrongly
Agree
(5)
Agree
(4)
Neutral
(3)
Disagree
(2)
Strongly
Disagree
(1)
Web 2.0 tools can be used for
promoting library services (+ve)
4 1 0 0 0 24
The facilities you are getting from
Web2.0 tools in promoting library
services are satisfactory (+ve)
2 3 0 0 0 22
Web 2.0 tools are user friendly (+ve) 2 2 1 0 0 21
Use of Web 2.0 tools will enhance the
image of the library (+ve)
3 2 0 0 0 23
Lack of User Awareness is a problem
in using Web 2.0 (-ve)
1 2 2 0 0 11
Lack of infrastructure is a problem in
using Web 2.0 (-ve)
3 2 0 0 0 7
Grand Total 108

16. Likert Score = Total Score/No. of respondents x No. of attributes
=108/5 x 6
=3.6
A Likert Score of 3.6 (approx 4 =Agree) in the 5 point rating scale indicates that the
College Librarians of Barak Valley have a positive attitude towards use of Web 2.0 tools in
promoting library services.

17. Web 2.0 tools can
be used for
promoting library
services(+ve)
The facilities you
are getting from
Web2.0 tools in
promoting library
servicesare
satisfactory (+ve)
Web 2.0 tools are
user friendly (+ve)
Use of Web 2.0
tools will enhance
the image of the
library (+ve)
Lack of User
Awarenessis a
problemin using
Web 2.0 (-ve)
Lack of
infrastructure is a
problemin using
Web 2.0 (-ve)
4
2 2
3
1
3
1
3
2 2 2 2
0 0
1
0
2
00 0 0 0 0 0
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disgree
Figure 6: Opinions and Attitudes of College Librarian’s towards Web 2.0:

18. 5.7 Libraries Having Website:
Out of 12 surveyed college libraries of Barak Valley, six (50%) have their own library
website, three (25%) college libraries don’t have websites and remaining three (25%) library
websites are under construction.
Table 7: Libraries Having Website
Separate Webpage No. of Colleges Percentage (%)
Yes 6 50%
No 3 25%
Under Construction 3 25%

19. Yes, 50%
No, 25%
Under
Construction, 25%
Figure 7: Libraries Having Website

20. 5.8 Need Training in Web 2.0 Tools:
Out of 12 librarians, 10 (83.33%) librarians indicated that they need training on Web2.0
Tools.
Table 8: Need Training in Web 2.0 Tools
Need Training in Web 2.0 Tools No. of Responses Percentage (%)
Yes 10 83.33%
No 2 16.67%
Yes, 83.33%
No, 16.67%
Figure 8: Need Training in Web 2.0 Tools

21. 6 MAJOR FINDINGS
The major findings of the study are given below:
a. Out of 12 surveyed colleges of Barak Valley, five (41.66%) librarians are aware of
concept Web2.0, two (16.66%) librarians are not aware of this concept, two (16.66)
librarians are not sure about Web2.0.
b. The mostly used Web 2.0 tools are Wiki (80%), Social Networking (60%), Email groups
(40%) and Blogs (40%) by the college librarians of Barak Valley.
c. Based on the ranking score Social Networking Sites, Wiki and RSS feeds are the top
three Web 2.0 tools used by the College Librarians of Barak Valley
d. College Librarians of Barak Valley have a positive attitude towards Web 2.0 tools in
promoting library services (Likert Score = 3.6)
e. Out of 12 college libraries of Barak Valley, six (50%) have their own library websites,
three (25%) college libraries don’t have websites and remaining three (25%) library
websites are under construction.
f. Out of 12 librarians, 10 (83.33%) librarians indicated that they need training on Web2.0
Tools.

22. 7 CONCLUSION
College libraries of Barak Valley have shown positive attitude towards use of Web 2.0 tools in
promoting library services. But still there is a lack of awareness among the librarians. The study
revealed certain problems in expanding library services through Web 2.0 such as lack of training,
lack of infrastructure, lack of proper fund, irregular power supply etc. Hence proper steps must
be taken to tackle these problems. There is a need to organize training programs for librarians as
well as library users and conduct user’s survey from time to time to find out the need of the users
and problems encountered by the users in using Web2.0 tools. The study reveals that there is a
better scope for utilisation of Web2.0 tools by the librarians as well as the library users.