A Three Steps Strategy for Acquiring and Promoting E-resources at College Libraries in Purulia District (West Bengal): A Case Study

Abstract

Electronic resources are becoming increasingly important to libraries of all types and sizes. The paper discusses present situation of the e-resource availability at the degree college libraries of Purulia District, West Bengal. This paper addresses the acquisition of electronic information resources and its collection development policy to guide the librarians at College Libraries in the selection of electronic reference-resources. Instead of focusing on how well a given publication/e-resource fits into or supports the collection, the policy gives general guidance on the selection of electronic resources. The general collection development guidelines for electronic information resources include relevance and potential use of the information, redundancy of the information contained in the product, demand for the information, ease of use of the product, availability of the information to multiple users, stability of the coverage of the resource, longevity of the information, cost of the product, predictability of pricing, equipment needed to provide access to the information, technical support, and availability of the physical space needed to house and store the information or equipment. This paper is based on exhaustive survey of college libraries in Purulia District, West Bengal. It was found that a majority of college libraries do not subscribe to e-resources. A three step strategy is put forward to introduce e-resources at all college libraries in Purulia District, West Bengal. The paper also lists a few openly available e-resources and benefits of joining library consortia. In the end, the paper lists best possible draft policy for e-resource acquisition. A few suggestions are also put forward for its implementation in the near future.