Usage,Cost Analysis and ROI of E-Resources: A Case Study of Banaras Hindu University Library System

Abstract

E-resources are very useful to all institutions and individuals to get instant, relevant, comprehensive information at doorsteps. Realizing the importance of the electronic resources, academic and research libraries provides services to access the e-content. The decision to acquire a particular product or service involves an examination of its costs and benefits to library customers. To assess the increasing prices of the electronic journals, it is obvious to compare journals with different amounts and quality of content, publishers, and subject matter. Since academic libraries are the nonprofit organizations,measuring the cost and benefit and performing the cost-benefit analysis in a not-for-profit environment can be even more difficult. The aim of this article is to perform the analytical study of usage, cost analysis and return on investment (ROI) in the digital environment of the Science Direct online database with special reference to the Banaras Hindu University Library System.