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Utilization of Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA) byFaculty of Guru Angad Dev Veterinaryand Animal Sciences University(GADVASU)Nirmal Singh a & Dhiraj Kumar aa Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University ,Ludhiana , IndiaPublished online: 07 Dec 2012.

To cite this article: Nirmal Singh & Dhiraj Kumar (2012) Utilization of Consortium for e-Resourcesin Agriculture (CeRA) by Faculty of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University(GADVASU), Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve, 22:5, 205-221, DOI:10.1080/1072303X.2012.737761

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Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery& Electronic Reserve, 22:205–221, 2012Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1072-303X print / 1540-3572 onlineDOI: 10.1080/1072303X.2012.737761

Utilization of Consortium for e-Resources inAgriculture (CeRA) by Faculty of Guru Angad

Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University(GADVASU)

NIRMAL SINGH and DHIRAJ KUMARGuru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, India

Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA) provides accessto about 2,900 scholarly journals including almost 300 journals inveterinary science and related fields such as dairy science and tech-nology, biotechnology, and fisheries. This article presents the resultsof a study assessing the utilization of CeRA by faculty of GuruAngad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GAD-VASU), Ludhiana (Punjab), India. Data was collected via ques-tionnaire with a response rate of 95%. Among the factors as-sessed are user awareness of CeRA, purpose of use, sourcesof information about consortium, search strategies used to ac-cess articles, users’ opinion about usefulness of consortium, andproblems faced by them in using CeRA. It concludes with theneed for adopting suitable measures for promoting utilization ofCeRA.

KEYWORDS CeRA, consortium, e-resources, GADVASU, resourcessharing

INTRODUCTION

Electronic publishing has revolutionized the amount and formats of recordedknowledge. Libraries are experiencing dramatic changes in functioning andservices. They have been taken to a critical situation, where on the one hand,

The authors are grateful to the faculty of GADVASU for heartily co-operating on thisstudy.

Address correspondence to Nirmal Singh, Assistant Librarian, Guru Angad Dev Veterinaryand Animal Sciences University, Ferozepur Road, Ludhiana-141 004 (Punjab), India. E-mail:nirmal02@yahoo.co.in

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the number and format of information resources are proliferating and users’information needs vis-a-vis expectations from libraries are increasing, and onthe other hand, financial crunches are making it impossible for any libraryto purchase or subscribe to all published literature relevant for its users.

Keeping pace with this changing scenario, most international and na-tional journals publish online editions. E-journals have wider acceptance inan information technology based academic environment because of theirmerits over print counterparts. Access to scholarly information has signifi-cant bearing on the academic and research activities of an institution, butproblems of waning budgets, devaluation of the Rupee, and high prices ofjournals are making it difficult for libraries to subscribe to sufficient journalsat the local level.

The phenomenon of resource sharing, previously known as library co-operation, has provided liberation in this regard. The concept of librarycooperation has been in existence for a long time, but practically it wasconfined primarily to inter-library loan. The application of information andcommunication technologies have opened new opportunities for resourcesharing and given birth to various international and national library networksand consortiums. This new “avatar” of resource sharing has performed likea magic bullet to break the jinx of various constraints in accessing infor-mation beyond the financial purview of libraries at the individual level. Togive exposure to the vast amount of scholarly information and knowledgein academic spheres the apex academic bodies of India including Univer-sity Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council of Technical Education(AICTE), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), etc. made it a pri-ority to supplement the existing collection of individual institutes throughconsortia of e-resources.

ICAR and Agricultural Research and Education

The ICAR is the apex organization regulating agricultural research and edu-cation in India, including veterinary and animal sciences, horticulture, fish-eries, and dairy sciences. It is an autonomous body functioning under theDepartment of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture.The National Agricultural System consists of 53 State Agricultural Universi-ties (including Veterinary Sciences Universities), 4 Deemed Universities, 45Institutions of National Importance, 17 Research Centers, 6 National Bureausand 25 Directorates/ Project Directorates. India is proud to have one of thelargest national agricultural systems in the world (Indian Council of Agricul-tural Research).

Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA)

Having a well-established network of institutes and State Agricultural univer-sities (SAUs), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) proposed

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Utilization of CeRA by Faculty of GADVASU 207

to provide access to selected e- journals to the scientists and teachers inthe National Agricultural Research System over its network. To put this planinto practice, the National Agricultural Innovation Project established theConsortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA) at the Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute (IARI) in 2007. To decide which journal titles would beincluded in the consortium, an online and offline survey was conducted.About 70 institutions participated in that survey and suggested various jour-nals for CeRA. Any journal title suggested by more than eight institutions wasconsidered for subscription by the committee of experts in various fields ofAgricultural Sciences.

CeRA provides 24 × 7 access to about 2900 journals in the broad spec-trum of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Arts and Humanities, BasicSciences, Biomedical Sciences, etc., including nearly 300 journals in thedisciplines of veterinary sciences, dairy science and technology, biotech-nology, fisheries and related subjects published by world famous publish-ers including Annual Reviews, Springer, Elsevier, CSIRO Publishing, Taylor& Francis, Oxford Journals, American Society of Agronomy, Nature Pub-lishing Group, etc. (http://cera.jccc.in/Search/QuickSearch.asp). CeRA facil-itates access to consortia-subscribed, library-subscribed, and open accessjournals. The host institution has organized various awareness programs andworkshops to promote use of the consortium by stakeholders.

GADVASU: An Overview

Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU)was established in 2005 by an act of the Punjab Legislature by bifurcation ofthe College of Veterinary Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.The University has three constituent colleges and a school of Animal Biotech-nology (http://www.gadvasu.in/).

The University Library is central to the academic, research, and extensionactivities of GADVASU. It has a collection of about 15,000 books, backvolumes of journals, theses and dissertations, reports, compact discs, etc. formeeting the information needs of its stakeholders. The university library is amember of CeRA. A Web-link to the consortium is provided from the websiteof the library to facilitate access to CeRA’s scholarly journals to the studentsand faculty throughout the campus over Intranet.

Objectives of the Study

The survey was conducted with the following objectives in mind:

1. To ascertain the faculty’s awareness and utilization of CeRA.

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2. To explore the faculty’s reasons for using the consortium.3. To find out how faculty learned about CeRA and how they access the

consortium.4. To ascertain the various search strategies used by faculty members to

access articles from CeRA.5. To solicit faculty opinion about the usefulness of the consortium.6. To learn about any problems faced by faculty in accessing CeRA.

METHODOLOGY

To examine the utilization of CeRA a survey was conducted via question-naire (see Appendix). The questionnaire was prepared after careful reviewof relevant literature. GADVASU has total 170 faculty members serving itsthree constituent colleges and a School of Animal Biotechnology. Propor-tionate sampling method was used to select a random sample of 100 fac-ulty members, constituting about 60% of the total faculty serving variousdepartments of the university. Copies of the questionnaire were person-ally distributed to the sample population by visiting their respective de-partments. The completed questionnaires were personally collected fromfaculty after a week. In total 95 questionnaires were received back as com-plete and relevant for analysis. Calculations have been made manually foranalysing the responses. The graphs have been prepared using MS-Excel. Theterms “faculty” and “teachers” have been used interchangeably during thisarticle.

Literature Review

Various studies have been conducted on utilization of e-resources and con-sortiums at the national and international level. A selective review of availableliterature relevant to the study is given below.

E-mails and e-journals were found by Okorie and Agboola to be themost-used electronic information resources by the faculty of agricultural uni-versities. In their 2012 study, about 75% of the faculty used e-resources“always” and 50% indicated e-resources as time saving (Okorie and Ag-boola, 2012). Adegbore (2011) conducted a literature review to examine useof e-resources by academics and found an increase in use of e-journals overtime. Age and/or academic position of faculty are the factors influencinguse of electronic media and journals. Chauhan, Prem, and Sarbjot (2011)examined the usage of e-resources with special reference to UGC-Infonetin Himachal Pradesh University. About 17% of the whole usage by the uni-versity was made during the month of April only. Nearly 97% of the totalarticles downloaded by the university are from the areas of natural sciences(Chauhan et al., 2011).

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Utilization of CeRA by Faculty of GADVASU 209

Sinha, Singha, and Sinha (2011) conducted a study examining the us-age of the UGC-Infonet Digital Library consortium by faculty, researchers,students, and officers/staff of the Assam University. They found that 70% ofthe users are aware of the availability of e-resources under UGC-Infonet and45% respondents use these for study purposes. About 68.02% respondentsrated the e-consortium as highly useful and 31.97% found it useful for meet-ing their information needs. The authors of the study concluded that useof the Internet and e-resources have greatly influenced their users’ researchand development activities. Another study conducted to examine the use ofe-resources by the faculty of C.V. Raman College of Engineering (Satpathy& Rout, 2010) revealed that there has been frequent use of the Internet forstudy and research work, with e-databases and e-journals the most usede-resources.

Bajpai, Mal, and Bajpai (2009) discussed Indian library consortia, in-cluding UGC-Infonet and INDEST-AICTE Consortium. The authors opinethat in the long run the consortium approach will gain popularity among theacademic community and will have a significant contribution in expandingthe information base of the nation. Ghalib, Chandrashekara, and Talawar(2009) examined the awareness and utilization of web-based open sourcee-learning courseware by faculty and students of engineering colleges inMysore city, and Papzan and Yaghoubi (2008) conducted a web-based sur-vey to examine the information needs of agricultural faculty in Iran. Thesestudies reveal that computer and Internet skills affect faculty use of elec-tronic information resources. Veenapani, Singh, and Devi (2008) evaluatedthe use of e-resources and UGC-Infonet consortium by the teachers and re-searchers of Manipur University and found that 45% of respondents werenot aware of e-resources and UGC-Infonet consortium. About 86.67% usersfelt the need for regular training programmes and 91.67% recommendedprint journals in addition to e-journals. Renwick (2005) studied the use ofe-resources by medical sciences faculty at the University of the West Indies.About 70% faculty responded to the email questionnaire, of whom 97% usee-resources.

Sohail and Ahmad (2011) note that lack of awareness and frequentpower failure are the major problems in accessing e-resources and UGC-Infonet consortium by teachers and researchers of Aligarh Muslim University.Angello and Wema (2010) evaluated the usage of ICTs and e-resources bylivestock researchers in Tanzania, and found that while most of the insti-tutes have Internet connectivity, the researchers were not satisfied with thespeed. In addition, about 44.4% of their subjects lacked knowledge aboute-resources. Agaba, Kogongo-Bukenya, and Nyumba (2004) found that de-spite being aware of e-resources provided by the university library, most ofthe staff did not use them. Lack of proper facilities, slow speed of the Internetand poor publicity of e-resources are the key factors militating against theuse of e-resources.

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FIGURE 1 Academic Status.

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Demographic Details

Ninety-five faculty responded to the questionnaire, comprised of 77.90%male and 22.10% female. About 83.15% respondents have doctorate degreesand 16.85% have masters’ degrees in veterinary science, fisheries, or dairytechnology.

Academic Status

The majority of the respondents, 56.84%, hold the rank of Assistant Professor.About 26.32% respondents enjoy the status of Professor and the remaining16.84% are ranked Associate Professor (Figure 1).

Experience of Faculty

The majority of the respondents have teaching experience of 5–10 years.About 23.16% faculty have experience of less than five years and 17.89%have teaching experience of more than 20 years (Table 1).

TABLE 1 Experience of Faculty

Sr. No. Total Experience No. of respondents Percentage

1 0–5 22 23.162 5–10 28 29.473 10–15 15 15.794 15–20 13 13.685 More than 20 17 17.90Total 95 100

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Utilization of CeRA by Faculty of GADVASU 211

FIGURE 2 Frequency of Use.

A careful analysis of data shown in Figure 1 and Table 1 reveals thatmost of the respondents are younger, raising the likelihood that they aremore familiar with information technology.

Familiarity With CeRA

About 73.68% faculty described themselves as familiar with CeRA, whereasthe remaining 26.32% responded otherwise. This correlates with the resultsof the study conducted to examine usage of UGC-Infonet Digital LibraryConsortium (Sinha et al., 2011), which showed familiarity about the consor-tium to be at 70% among respondents. A link to the CeRA consortium isprovided on the website of the University Library. Posters are also displayedon the notice board of library to make users familiar with CeRA. Librarystaff has prepared a user’s manual to explain the consortium in simple stepsfor first-time users. Hardcopies of the manual are placed in the library anda copy is uploaded on the library website. It is disappointing to find thatdespite these efforts to promote the use of CeRA, more than one-fourth ofthe respondents are not aware of the consortium.

Use of CeRA

Of the 70 faculty members familiar with CeRA, 92.86% use the consortium toaccess e-journals for satisfying their information needs for various purposes,in contrary to the findings of Agaba et al. (2004). The remaining 07.14%teachers do not use the consortium. Figure 2 illustrates the faculty’s frequencyof using CeRA:

The majority of teachers use the consortium two to three times a weekto access e-journals, while almost a third uses CeRA only two to three times

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FIGURE 3 Purpose of Using CeRA.Note. Respondents were allowed to choose more than one option.

a month. One-fifth of the respondents make rare use of the consortium toaccess e-journals.

Purpose for Using CeRA

Research is the major reason that faculty use CeRA (Figure 3). About 52.31%teachers access and use the consortium for writing papers and articles. Nearly40% of users replied that they used the consortium to stay up to date withcurrent developments in their respective subjects. About 10.77% faculty mem-bers use the consortium to prepare lectures for students.

Sources of Information About CeRA

The website of university library is the major source for creating awarenessamong faculty about CeRA; 49.23% teachers said that they learned aboutthe consortium from the website. About 26.15% teachers said that they werepersonally told about the consortium by library staff. Six users learned aboutthe consortium from the ICAR Web site and other institutions where theyaccomplished their studies (Figure 4).

Search Strategies Used to Find Articles

CeRA provides different search options for finding articles and for browsingjournals. Quick Search enables users to search articles containing phrasewords as per Boolean Operators applied. Advanced Search helps users torefine search by using Boolean Operators and by different fields including

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FIGURE 4 Sources of Information.

title/keyword/abstract, title only, keyword only, author, author institution,and journal name and publication year.

Users can browse journals by title, subject, and publisher and then selectan issue in order to get full-text of an article, if desired. Alternatively, the usermay send a request to other institutions that subscribe to hardcopy of therequired journal using CeRA’s Document Delivery Service. 64.62% teachersbrowse journals by title to access articles. Nearly 41.54% faculty browsejournals by subject to meet their information needs. It was found that 32.31%teachers conduct quick search and 30.77% conduct advanced search to findarticles. Only a few users browse journals by publisher. Figure 5 illustratesthese various search strategies.

Document Delivery Service

Not all the articles that are accessible through CeRA are necessarily availablein online full-text. There are numerous “Request the Article” (RA) journals.This feature enables users to get hardcopies of articles from journals thatare not carried by their institution’s library but are carried by other CeRAmember libraries. This strengthens resource sharing among libraries and en-hances users’ access to scholarly information. The request for articles can besubmitted through the “Document Delivery Request Form” that appears afterclicking on the “Request the Article” link in journals which are not availablefull text. After completing the form, users submit it online by clicking on“Send” button. The user is notified that their library can expect to receive thearticle within five working days. Notifications about Document Delivery aresubmitted though e-mail.

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FIGURE 5 Search/Browsing Strategies.

Responses reveal that only a little more than 50% of CeRA users takeadvantage of Document Delivery Services to get access to articles from jour-nals subscribed to by other institutions. About 49.24% faculty do not use thisservice. Out of the 33 users using the Document Delivery service, 66.67%are satisfied whereas remaining 33.33% are not satisfied with effectivenessof service.

“My Journals”: An Alert Profile

Users can create an alert profile to get Table of Contents (TOC) of the re-cent issues of selected journals through e-mail. This feature is helpful inkeeping users abreast with the latest published articles in their disciplines.To create an alert profile, the user must register at “My Journals.” A usercan create up to five profiles at a time and add up to 25 journals in eachprofile, for a maximum of TOC updates from 125 journals. Responses re-vealed that only 20% of teachers have created an alert profile under “MyJournals” to get TOC updates; the majority of the faculty is not using thisservice.

Usefulness of E-Journals

As shown in Figure 6, 55.38% faculty find the journals accessible throughCeRA useful for their academic and research information needs. Nearly41.54% users rated the consortium as very useful. Two users are not satisfied

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Utilization of CeRA by Faculty of GADVASU 215

FIGURE 6 Usefulness of Consortium.

with CeRA and rated the consortium as not useful for satisfying their infor-mation needs.

Opinions About Features

It is evident from Figure 7 that 76.92% teachers consider the consortium easyto access and use. Nearly 47.69% of the faculty appreciate the consortium be-cause it is online, i.e., because it can be accessed from any place on campus.Most of the faculty, 87.69%, find it convenient to access the consortium fromtheir teaching departments. About 32.30% of teachers access CeRA from thelibrary. None of the teachers visit the computer center to use the consortium.Other features that were noted as useful include the ability to keep on top ofcurrent developments in the field (40%), and the search and browse optionsof the consortium (36.92%).

FIGURE 7 Features of CeRA.Note. Respondents were allowed to choose more than one option.

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Need for Orientation

Orientation programs at the institutional level can be crucial towards pro-moting the success of CeRA. Responses revealed that 53.84% of teachers felta need for programs orienting them on the effective utilization of the con-sortium whereas the remaining 46.16% users did not feel they needed sucha program.

Need for Print Journals

Though online journals are growing in popularity in this user community,print journals have not lost their user base. However, in comparison to thefindings of Veenapani et al. in their 2008 study of the use of UGC-Infonet,in which 91.67% users recommended print journals in addition to e-journals,only about 61.53% teachers expressed the need for subscribing to print jour-nals in addition to the e-journals available through CeRA. Conversely, 38.47%users are satisfied with the e-journals accessible through the consortium anddo not need print journals. Nearly 95.39% respondents expressed that theyexpect more journals to be available through CeRA.

Problems in Using CeRA

The majority of the users (55.39%) reported no problems in using the con-sortium. The remaining 44.61% reported a variety of problems in gettinginformation from CeRA. These are shown in Table 2.

Frequent power failure and speed of the Internet are among the majorcauses interrupting the effective utilization of the consortium. A total of23.07% users marked a lack of relevant journal titles in CeRA. In order toaddress the changing demands of CeRA member institutions, a national-level survey at regular intervals could be a suitable measure for inclusionof relevant journal titles in consortium. About 15.38% faculty noted theirlack of skills in using the consortium. Additionally, the university library has

TABLE 2 Problems Faced in Using CeRA

Sr. No. Problems in using CeRA No. of respondents Percentage

1 Lack of time for searching/browsing 7 10.762 Lack of skills in using CeRA 10 15.383 Lack of IT skills 2 03.07%4 Frequent power interruption 9 13.84%5 Internet speed 8 12.306 Lack of IT infrastructure 2 03.077. Lack of relevant journals in CeRA 15 23.078. Other 6 09.23

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not organized any formal training/orientation program to impart skills to thefaculty for accessing scholarly information from CeRA. Only two users notedlack of information technology skills as an obstacle to using the consortium.This makes it clear that in addition to computer and Internet skills (Papzan& Yaghoubi, 2008); specific training in search skills is of utmost importancefor the effective utilization of e-resources. There were 9.23% users whomentioned other problems regarding the consortium. One of them statedthat even some of the articles mentioned as full text are sometimes notaccessible. A few teachers have experienced delays in supply and sometimesnon-supply of requested articles through the Document Delivery Service.

Faculty Comments and Suggestions

Faculty made various comments and gave suggestions to improve servicesof CeRA. Five users appreciated CeRA for providing single window access tonumerous journals without any financial burden on the institution. One usersaid that the consortium is laudable in saving time and energy in searchingliterature. About 30.77% users suggested adding more journals to the consor-tium particularly in the subjects of Fisheries, Dairy Science and Technology,Biotechnology, and Veterinary Public Health. Expressing dissatisfaction withDocument Delivery Service, users suggested ensuring a quick response tothe requests. One user recommended, “We should get response about statusof requested articles within 48 hours of submitting request through e-mail, sothat the necessary alternates may be explored, if required rather than wait-ing for months.” Another user suggested strengthening CeRA’s archive. Threeteachers added that links to some open access journals are not available inCeRA, which should be given attention. One of the respondents suggestedthat the university should extend the Intranet to the campus residential areain order to facilitate access to the consortium from university residences.

Conclusion

CeRA is a gigantic effort on the part of Indian Council of Agricultural Re-search (ICAR) to provide a single window access to e-journals to the scien-tists, teachers, researchers, and students of institutions and State AgriculturalUniversities all over India. This has enabled the libraries of these institutionsto facilitate access to scholarly information to their users without any localfinancial obligation. This study leads to the conclusion that more than one-fourth of the faculty of the author’s institution is not aware of this venture. Atthis institutional level, it is imperative to organize orientation and awarenessprograms to let users practice with CeRA and to teach them about the variousfeatures of the consortium. Although the CeRA users’ manual is accessible on

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the library’s website, distribution of hardcopies to users for their referencecould be a worthy enterprise to promote their use of the consortium.

At a higher level, the ICAR should encourage CeRA member institu-tions to respond promptly to article requests. Although the stated time limitfor responding to the Document Delivery Request is two working days andthe requester is supposed to get article(s) within a week, many users com-plained of not receiving requested articles within the stipulated period. Send-ing scanned copies of requested articles via email rather than Xerox copiesvia regular post will ensure quick supply to the requester and will be eco-friendly. Finally, it should be borne in mind that the present study is confinedto faculty of GADVASU only. A study at the regional and national level wouldprovide a more detailed picture of CeRA’s current utilization and possibilitiesfor its improvement.

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Indian Council of Agricultural Research. (2010) Home. Retrieved from http://www.icar.org.in

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Okorie, C. N., & Agboola, I.O. (2012). Availability and use of electronic re-sources in agricultural university libraries. PNLA Quarterly, 76(3). Retrievedfrom http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/PNLA%20Quarterly/okorie-agboola76–3.pdf

Papzan, A. H., & Yaghoubi, J. (2008). Identifying electronic information needsof agricultural faculty members. World Conference on Agricultural Informa-tion and IT. Retrieved from http://www.cabi.org/GARA/FullTextPDF/2008/20083298079.pdf

Renwick, S. (2005). Knowledge and use of electronic information resources by med-ical sciences faculty at The University of the West Indies. Journal of the MedicalLibrary Association, 93(1), 21–31. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC545116/

Satpathy, S. K., & Rout, B. (2010). Use of e-resources by the faculty members withspecial reference to CVRCE, Bhubaneswar. DESIDOC Journal of Library and In-formation Science, 30(4), 11–16. Retrieved from http://publications.drdo.gov.in/ojs/index.php/djlit /article/download/455/251)

Sinha, M. K., Singha, G., & Sinha, B.(2011). Usage of electronic resources avail-able under UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium by Assam University li-brary users. 8th International CALIBER, Goa University, Goa. Retrieved fromhttp://ir.inflibnet.ac.in/dxml/bitstream/handle/1944/1642/50.pdf?sequence=1

Sohail, Md., & Ahmad, Md. I. (2011). Use of e-resources and UGC-Infonetconsortium by the teachers and research scholars in Aligarh MuslimUniversity. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/∼mbolin/sohail-ahmad.pdf

Veenapani, S., Singh, K., & Devi, R. (2008). Use of e-resources and UGC-Infonet consortium by the teachers and research scholars in Manipur Uni-versity. 6th International CALIBER, February 28–29, University of Allahabad,Allahabad. Retrieved from http://ir.inflibnet.ac.in/dxml/bitstream/handle/1944/1300/60.pdf?sequence=1

APPENDIX

Questionnaire

The purpose of this survey is to know the extent of utilization of Consortiumfor e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA) by faculty of GADVASU. Findings ofthe study will help to find the problems faced by faculty in using CeRA andwill enable to take necessary measures for promoting use of CeRA amongstakeholders.

A. Demographic details1. Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. Gender: Male/Female3. Age: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. Designation: (pls. tick) Professor/Associate Prof./Assistant Prof.5. Department: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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220 N. Singh and D. Kumar

6. Educational Qualification: .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7. Experience (in years): .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B. Utilization of Consortium for Electronic Resources in Agriculture (CeRA)

1. Are you familiar with CeRA? (pls. tick) Yes/No

2. If ‘Yes’, do you use CeRA? (pls. tick) Yes/No

3. If ‘Yes’, how frequently do you use CeRA? (pls. tick one)a. Daily b. 2–3 times a week c. Once a week d. 2–3 times amonth e. Rarely

4. For what purpose do you use CeRA? (you may tick multiple)a. For research b. To keep updated with developments in subjectc. To prepare lecture d. For writing papers e. Any other (pleasespecify)

5. From where did you get to know about CeRA? (Pls. tick)a. Library staff b. Colleagues c. Library website d. Noticeboards e. Any other (please specify) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6. From where do you access CeRA? (you may tick multiple)a. University library b. Department c. Computer centre d. Anyother (pls. specify) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7. Which of the following search strategies do you use to access journalarticles from CeRA? (you may tick multiple)a. Advanced searchb. Quick searchc. Browse Journals:(i) Browse by title(ii) Browse by subject(iii) Browse by publisher

8 Do you use document delivery service of CeRA? Yes/ No9 If ‘Yes’, are you satisfied with document delivery service of

CeRA? Yes/ No10. Have you created alert profile to get e-mails about latest issues of

your favourite journals? Yes/ No11. How would you rate the e-journals accessible through CeRA?

(pls. tick)a. Highly useful b. Useful c. Not useful

12. Which of the following features of CeRA make you to use its services?(you may tick multiple)a. Upto date informationb. Easy to access and usec. Relevant informationd. Access throughout university campuse. Searching and browsing features of CeRA

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13. Do you need orientation/ training for using CeRA? Yes/ No14. Do you need print journals in addition to CeRA? Yes/ No15. Do you expect more number of journals in CeRA? Yes/ No16. Do you face any problem in using CeRA? Yes/ No

If ‘Yes,’ which of the following problems do you face in using CeRA?(you may tick multiple)

a. Lack of time for searching and browsingb. Lack of skills in using CeRAc. Lack of skills in using Information Technologyd. Frequent power interruptione. Internet speedf. Lack of IT infrastructureg. Lack of relevant journals titles in CeRAh. Any other (pls. specify) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17. Kindly feel free to give comments and make suggestions for improvingservices of CeRA: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thanks for sparing your precious time for this survey.

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