Electronic information usage in a social sciences research organisation: A value assessment of library services and resources

Purpose:  An investigation was conducted to assess and evaluate the uptake of information resources subscribed to by the Library and Information Services (LIS) of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the national... [ view full abstract ]

Purpose: 

An investigation was conducted to assess and evaluate the uptake of information resources subscribed to by the Library and Information Services (LIS) of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the national social sciences research institution of South Africa. 

Design, methodology or approach:

Following a mixed methodology, this study illustrated the percentage uptake of resources through a quantitative analysis of the citations as reflected in the reference lists of the research output of the HSRC. It further investigated the information seeking behaviour of the researchers and authors of the research output, through a qualitative interview study, to enable an understanding of the information seeking processes of the researchers in the HSRC. It further endeavoured to advise a possible new strategy for information literacy training, as well as for the role of the Liaison Librarians of the organisation [1].

Findings:

The results of the citation analysis revealed a substantial uptake of the electronic journals, but a relatively low uptake of the books (including electronic books), which was consistent with the character of social science researchers as depicted by previous research. The results of the qualitative information seeking behaviour investigation revealed a high level of proficiency in the use of electronic resources, irrespective of rank (or age) in the organisation. The study found that participants in the interview study, who used electronic tools and resources such as bibliographic management tools and electronic databases, have received some form of information literacy training. Barriers in the use of LIS subscribed resources were predominantly due to the fact that some researchers, with affiliations to other institutions such as Universities, preferred the bigger platforms offered by such institutions.

Research or practical limitations or implications:

A challenge experienced during the pilot phase of the quantitative analysis was that certain types of publications proved to be unsuitable for the study, due to the fact that they did not consistently contain references. These research outputs, therefore, had to be excluded from the population before sampling could commence.

The small group of 11 researchers who were sampled for the qualitative investigation, presented another challenge for this study: age-related differences in information seeking characteristics couldn't be generalised to the full body of the population. The Author could therefore, report on the result of the individual opinions of the participants as presented in the interviews only, but no generalisation in this respect was possible.

Conclusions: 

This investigation proved a well-represented uptake of HSRC LIS resources as reflected in the reference lists of the organisation’s research output. An investment in the HSRC LIS presents value for money, as outlined in the result of the quantitative citation analysis, where uptake of the HSRC LIS journal collection proved to be 82.34%. The availability of HSRC LIS resources, therefore, contributed to the success of the HSRC in securing grant funding from the South African National Department of Science and Technology.

Usage of HSRC LIS services and resources were demonstrated by the proved uptake of these resources in the research output collection. This was substantiated by the result of the qualitative interview study, confirming usage of the resources and services offered by the HSRC LIS.

The information seeking characteristics of the researchers who were interviewed were consistent with the studies of previous research presented in the literature review. The information seeking behavior study also presented solid evidence of the use of the HSRC LIS Information Consultancy and Interlibrary Loan services and provided valuable ideas to develop the Information Literacy programme of the HSRC LIS in a more effective way.

Without the expert knowledge by Library Professionals of electronic resources and the content thereof, knowledge of most effective business models to operate these systems on, knowledge about Interlibrary loan schemes worldwide, services, resources and tools to enable researchers to work optimally and function efficiently, a research output which adheres to all performance indicators successfully will not be achieved.

[1.] The terms “Liaison Librarian” (or for purposes of the HSRC LIS) “Information Consultant” refers to what is commonly known in the LIS industry as Subject Librarian, Information Specialist or Reference Librarian.