Access to electronic information resources in libraries

ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC
INFORMATION RESOURCES IN
LIBRARIES
Dr. N. RUPSING NAIK
University Librarian I/c,
University Library, JNT University Hyderabad.
email: nunsavath2007@rediffmail.com

Abstract:
Recent advances in the field of Information Technology have
already influenced the life in more than one direction. Its impact
on the field of Library and Information Science is also quite
significant, more so in advanced countries. Most obviously the
situation is a resultant of the growth of electronic publishing and
of networks that facilitate scholarly communication.
Technological advances, especially the Information Technology
are facilitating a fascinating change in libraries with a vision
and are trying to accommodate all types of media for providing
electronic information services to the users in a more convenient
and effective way. The article describes various types of eminent
Electronic resources used in libraries. It briefly touches their
advantages, disadvantages and usage in libraries.
Key words:
Access to Electronic resources, Types of Electronic information
resources.

1. Introduction
The word access means in computer-based information
retrieval, “the method by which a computer refers to records in a
file, dependent upon their arrangement”.
Due to advances in technology there have been significant
changes such as the introduction of computers, the expansion of
telecommunications and the rise in popularity of the Internet.
Information once stored in electronic form can break all the
physical and geographical barriers and reach the remotest
corners of the world.
New technologies are emerging to store and process information
electronically and new methodologies for accessing information.
Access to right information at the right time is the need of the
hour.
Different types of information, a user can get at different levels
beginning from resources available in a library or information
centre to the network based information services from different
networks.

1. The Potentiality of the E-Resources are huge and do
not occupy physical space
2. Encompassing every thing
3. Elimination of time, space, cost limit
4. Public domain of information (Internet)
5. Easy archiving of the content and organized
subjectively
6. Full content can be searched
7. Preservation & Dissemination of knowledge
* Faster and vast
* Backup preservation
Characteristics:
The following are the characteristics of Electronic Resources:

2. TYPES OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
The following are the sources of Electronic Information:
1. CD-ROMs.
2. DVDs
3. Electronic Journals
4. Electronic Databases
5. Electronic Books
6. ETD’s (Electronic Theses and Dissertations)
7. Digital Libraries
8. Internet Resources
9. Electronic mail Data
10. OPAC
11. Institutional Repository System

2.1 COMPACT DISK READ-ONLY MEMORY (CD-ROM)
In the digital age, a paperless library has already come into
existence with the availability of CD-ROM databases;
CD-ROM has an indispensable role to play in the dissemination
of electronic information and it has already found a special
place in the rapidly growing digital libraries.
In CD-ROM, text and graphics are available in digital form in
the modern publishing process.
Definitions:
A type of storage device that looks just like an audio CD and
stores as much as data of large hard disk (700-800 MB),
making it a popular means of distributing fonts, photos,
electronic encyclopedias, games and multimedia offerings. As
the name indicates, however, one can’t change files on a CD-
ROM, but only read them.
The CD-ROM, one of the storage and distribution technologies
uses the laser power and optical techniques. Drives for
rewriteable CD-ROMs (CD-RW), which overcome the
immutability of CD-R.

2.2 DIGITAL VERSATILE DISC (DVD)
DVD for the computer industry, is the next generation to
Compact Disc in optical disc storage technology.
A DVD looks just like a CD,but has higher data storage capacity.
The DVD’s larger capacity is achieved by making the pits
smaller and the spiral tighter, and by recording the data in as
many as four layers, two on each side of the disc.
The DVD technology provides a storage capacity that is at lease
6 to 7 times greater than that of a CD, in the same aerial space.
Advantages of DVD:
The high data storage capacity of DVDs makes it possible to
represent more multimedia elements, like sound and video and to
integrate many reference sources on a single disc.
DVD can deliver the data at a higher rate than CD-ROM.
DVD drives can read both CD-ROMs and DVD-ROM’s.
By using DVD databases it might be possible to avoid CD-ROM
jukeboxes.
DVD eliminates the need for disc swapping of deluxe multimedia
databases and makes information seeking more convenient.

Blu-ray Disc:
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of the
next generation optical disc format jointly developed by the
Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA).
The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and
playback of high definition video (HD), as well as storing large
amounts of data.
The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of
traditional DVDs and can hold upto 25GB on a single-layer
disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc.
While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD-
RW and DVD-ROM rely on a red laser rays to read and write
data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead, hence the
name Blu-ray Disc.

2.3 ELECTRONIC JOURNALS (E-JOURNALS)
The advent of ICT has played a pivotal role in transforming the
conventional library into a digital library.
This has resulted in the proliferation of e-publishing, which
provides information in a digital form. The e-journals are fast
becoming the preferred format for information dissemination,
especially in science and technology.
The full-text e-journals can be viewed accessible via the World
Wide Web (WWW) as individual.
The e-journals are made available in various modes namely:
- Free with a print subscription
- At a nominal cost with a print subscription
- As web editions only with a paid subscription
There are two types of electronic journals, the first is the offline
CD-ROM version that can be distributed in a similar manner to
printed journals and second one is the online or Internet-based
journals

Definition:
An article or complete journal available fully electronically via
a web site on the Internet. It could be available free or as part of
a paid for service. This trend is older and more established than
the trend of providing e-book content via the Internet.
Full-text journal publications those are available in electronic
format, covering a variety of subjects, which are available over
the Internet.
Advantages of e-journals :
The ability to deliver 3-D images, video, animation, and links
to the abstracts or full text of other journals articles provides
added value compared to the printed journal.
Electronic Journals are Speedy scientific communication
process, Interactive, easy to search for articles by a particular
author or on a particular topic or any specific information
anywhere in the text, Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
They can Easily be merged with alerting services, Support
multimedia, Link to other pages on the internet and scholarly
publication, They don’t need library space nor shelving costs
nor can they be stolen from the library.

Access to e-Journals:
In order to make the maximum use of e-journals and access
options, one has to be very careful in subscribing the e-journals
about various IT issues and formats available such as HTML,
PDF, SGML.
Because they require specific application programme for
reading, retrieving, and downloading the contents.
Access to e-journals is provided either by publishers themselves
or through ejournals portals.
The libraries and information centres cater to the information
and reference needs of a variety of users in different disciplines,
which indeed is tedious and problematic task to subscribe to all.
e-journals through various publishers. e-journal portals are the
best options for subscribing unlimited number of e-journals
published through various publishers at a single gateway.

2.4 ELECTRONIC DATABASES
Users and application programs which access data do not need to be
aware of the detailed storage structure of the data on a computer
storage device, in other words, the data are stored in a way so that they
are independent of one or more application programs that use the data.
Data that is stored more or less permanently in a computer readable
file is termed as a database. The software that allows one or many
persons to use and/or modify this data is a database management
system (DBMS). Major role of DBMS is to allow the user to deal with
the data in abstract terms, rather than as how the computer stores it.
Definition:
A collection of information organized and presented to serve a specific
purpose. A computerized database is an updated, organised file of
machine-readable information that is rapidly searched and retrieved by
computer.
The features of a database are:
Any number of users can have access to a data element any number
of times.
Data elements in the database are independent of data representation,
devices descriptions, programs or special structures of the data.
A database is a physically available object.

2.5 ELECTRONIC BOOKS (E-BOOKS)
e-Books are simply books that are available in digital formats.
E-Books are exactly like print or paper books except that they
are bound electronically.
They can be downloaded in .pdf, .html, plain text and rich
text formats for example, and they can also be purchased in
CD-ROM and floppy disc formats.
Definitions:
An e-Book is digital reading material that a user can view on a
desktop or notebook personal computer, or on a dedicated, portable
device with a large storage capacity and the ability to download
new titles via a network connection.

The following are some special features of e- Books:
Books never go out of print and are economically feasible to
publish low demand titles.
Content which includes audio and full motion video
Carry several books in one small package and can save e-Books
on the Internet or Computers.
The visually impaired may switch to audio mode and have an e-
Book read to them. Reduce environmental waste
Access from any where.
Advantages of e-Books :
e-Books take much less space.
These can be made available on a CD-ROM and occupy a
fraction of the space of a paper volume of the same title.
e-Books are also nice because anyone can read them with the
click of mouse.
The e-Book both in its online or CD-ROM form may contain
animations and live action illustrations, which are not possible
in paper books.

2.6 ELECTRONIC THESIS & DISSERTATIONS (ETDS):
An ETD is a document that explains the research or scholarship
of a research scholar in an electronic format.
It is simultaneously suitable for machine archives and worldwide
retrieval.
The ETD is similar to its paper predecessor. For example, it has
figures, tables, footnotes, and references, a title page with the
author's name, the official name of the university, the degree
sought, and the names of the committee members.
Furthermore, it may describe why the work was done, how the
research relates to previous work as recorded in the literature, the
research methods used, the results, and the interpretation and
discussion of the results, and a summary with conclusions.
The ETD is different from its paper predecessor, however, in a
few important aspects.

2.7 DIGITAL LIBRARIES
The term digital library was evolved in early 1970s. The first
application of digital library concept was associated with character
coded storage and full text indexing of legal & scientific documents.
Digital Libraries basically store materials in electronic format and
manipulate large collection of those materials effectively.
When the information is organized, processed and transmitted by
means of digital devices, the concept of digital library emerges.
It can be truly a virtual library if it is started on purely digital basis.
Thus digital library means:
- Creation and maintenance of information in digital format.
- Digitization of the documents of the library, which are in print form
Definitions:
Digital Libraries are the repositories of electronic texts, images, and
other materials. Digital Libraries are generally found on the Internet,
although large collections of remotely accessed CD-ROMs could
also be considered a digital library. Materials in a digital library may
have been “born digital” or they may have been digitized using a
scanner.

Advantages:
Electronic resources offer ever-increasing abilities to store, both print
and non-print material such as sound, images and video.
They provide faster access, and libraries do not have to deal with the
problems of misplaced, missing, or mutilated books.
Electronic resources are able to meet the users increasing demands and
expectations for quicker and easier access to information.
Digital Libraries make use of latest information technologies to store
vast amounts of information in electronic form.
Preservation is also very easy for digital materials when compared with
documents.
Disadvantages :
Some people criticize that copyright law hampers digital libraries,
because works cannot be shared over different periods of time in the
manner of a traditional library.
The content is, in many cases, public domain or self-generated content
only. Many people also find reading printed material to be easier than
reading material on a computer screen although this depends heavily on
presentation as well as personal preferences.
Digital libraries are wholly dependent on cheap, abundant sources of
electricity. Without electricity, the content cannot be accessed.

2.8 INTERNET RESOURCES
The INTERNET and its World Wide Web (WWW) have given a
paradigm shift to information management.
The information available on net is increasing rapidly and the
task of providing relevant information to patrons is gaining
paramount importance in all types of libraries.
Most of the reputed publishers, learned and commercial societies
are hosting their products on net and also all libraries are sharing
their internal and external information resources by means of
web pages and Web-OPACs .
Networks:
A number of PCs can be linked together so they can share
resources like printers, files and disk space.
A network uses a connecting cable to pass information between
the different PCs in the network, each of which has a unique
"address" so that it can be identified unambiguously.
There are two types of network: a centralized network has one
machine that holds all the crucial software, and the other linked
machines are dependent on this central machine to run correctly.

The Internet :
Due to impact of Internet, there is a swift migration from offline to
online, as Web is becoming a popular user interface for providing
access to remote and frequently updated resources.
The resulting loose decentralized conglomeration of local/regional
networks has become known as the Internet.
It is important to realize the distinction between “the Internet",
which is the system of interconnected computers, and "Internet
services" which are what people use the Internet for, and include
applications such as e-mail and World Wide Web browsers which
are discussed below. The most popular services are e-mail, WWW.
Electronic mail (e-mail) :
Electronic mail (e-mail) is one way of sending information from one
computer to another.
It works in the same way as posting a letter "snail-mail".
Each network on the Internet has a unique identifier, and each
person on a network also has a unique username; the combination of
these two make up their e-mail address and are unique worldwide.
Once connected, one can communicate with anyone else on the Net
of course when the e-mail address is known.

Mailing lists (or list serves):
Mailing lists (or list serves) are public e-mail addresses set up for a
particular topic, for example the British Computer Association of the
Blind (BCAB).
Anyone who wishes to publicize information which they think will
be of general interest to members of BCAB can post it to the list.
Anyone who subscribes to the list will be sent a copy of the
message, and may address questions or comments to it. This enables
to contact people who share an interest.
Usenet newsgroups:
Usenet newsgroups are another way of giving and getting
information. A newsgroup is a public address, which many people
can access.
You may add messages to the newsgroup, and anyone else who is
registered can read the message; they may then reply to you through
the newsgroup or privately (i.e. to your unique address).
Like mailing lists, newsgroups tend to be focused on particular
topics, to limit the number of messages that will be posted to them

2.9 INFORMATION THROUGH ELECTRONIC MAIL (E-MAIL)
Electronic mail, abbreviated as e-mail or email, is a method of
composing, sending, storing, and receiving messages over electronic
communication systems.
The term e-mail applies both to the Internet e-mail system based on the
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) & to intranet systems allowing
users within one company/organization to send messages to each other.
Messages:
Messages are exchanged between hosts using the Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol with software like Sendmail.
Users download their messages from servers usually with either the
POP or IMAP protocols, though in a large corporate environment users
are likely to use some proprietary protocol such as Lotus Notes or
Microsoft Exchange Server's.
Mailboxes:
Mail can be stored either on the client or server side. Standard formats
for mail boxes include Maildir and mbox. Several prominent e-mail
clients use their own, proprietary format, and require conversion
software to transfer e-mail between them.
When a message cannot be delivered, the recipient MTA must send a
bounce message back to the sender, indicating the problem.

2.10 ONLINE PUBLIC ACCESS CATALOGUE (OPAC)
Online Public Access Catalogue is a term used to describe any type
of computerized library catalogue. Online Public Access
Catalogues allows in providing the flexibility to:
a)Find out what the library has to offer
b)Check the status of an item (checked out, on shelf, on hold, ..)
c)Check the library record for fines, reserves, or over dues
d)Reserve an item
e)Look up community information
f) Use CD-ROM databases (such as indexes or encyclopedias)
g)Link up with library catalogues or databases in other communities
Keyword Searching:
In most systems the first option on the menu is a keyword search,
such as a title or any word from the title. Users can search for
books on a special subject by keyword.

2.11 INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY SYSTEM
An Institutional repository is an online locus for collecting, preserving, and
disseminating - in digital form - the intellectual output of an institution,
particularly a research institution. For a university, this would include
materials such as research journal articles, before (preprints) and after
(postprints), etc..
The main objectives for having an institutional repository are:
to provide open access to institutional research output by self-archiving it
& to create global visibility for an institution's scholarly research
to collect content in a single location and to store & preserve other
institutional digital assets.
Opening up outputs of the institution to a worldwide audience;
Managing and measuring research and teaching activities;
Providing a workspace for work-in-progress, & for projects;
Facilitating the development & sharing of digital teaching materials, aids
Supporting student endeavours, providing access to theses and
dissertations
There are a number of open-source software packages like DSpace, Eprints,
and Fedora and there are also hosted (proprietary) software services like
Digital Commons, SimpleDL

Conclusion :
 The field of Library and Information Science is dramatically
changing scenario involving incorporation of digital media in
the library systems and making the same accessible globally
through the use of Electronic Information resources.
 The implementation of Electronic information resources in
libraries are very use full for users and library professionals for
speed up the accessing and maintaining of the library
information as well as the automation of the libraries.
 Increasing demands from Library users for access to more and
more information are accelerating in the digital libraries era.
 More and more information is readily available in machine-
readable form there has been a fundamental shift in the concerns
of the information in print form.
 Computers are increasingly used for providing information,
librarians and other information professionals must familiarize
themselves with the latest technological development in this
field of Electronic Information resources.
 Electronic Information services are thus going to assume
increasing importance in times to come.

Access to electronic information resources in libraries

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