Use of ERMED Consortium Facilities by Faculty of Stanley Medical College, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
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Use of ERMED Consortium facilities by Faculty of Stanley Medical College, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India Dr. J. Selvamani Regional Medical Library The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R Medical University Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India [email protected] Dr. Kotti Thavamani Regional Medical Library The Tamil nadu Dr. M.G.R Medical University Chennai,Tamil Nadu. India [email protected] Abstract The study focused on use of ERMED consortium facilities by faculty of Stanley Medical College (SMC) Chennai, Tamilnadu. A total number of 63 users are taken into account for the study through a questionnaire based survey method. The collected data were classified, analyzed, and tabulated by using simple statistical methods. This study covers the impact of ERMED consortium resources on users in the library. The major findings are majority of the respondents, 57 of them (90.476%) were female and the remaining 6 respondents (9.523%) were male. Majority of the respondents are satisfied with availability of online e-resources available in the library. The results of the study are also indicates that majority of the users are Assistant Professors. The users are good opinion about the e-resources provided by the publishers. Keywords: ERMED consortium, e-resources, Stanley Medical College, Introduction National Medical Library’s Electronic Resources in Medicine (ERMED) Consortium is an initiative taken by Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOH & FW), to develop nationwide electronic information resources in the field of medicine for delivering effective health care. State and centrally funded Government Institutions including all AIIMS are selected as its members. The members are divided into Level-I and Level-II on the basis of number of end-users in different institutes. There is no membership fee charged from members and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW) has provided funds required for the purchase of electronic journals under the NML-ERMED consortium project. The consortium is coordinated through it’s headquarter set up at the NML. The consortium continues to be expanded and updated on an ongoing basis and suggestions for relevant and useful content are welcome. 242 high quality online e- International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science | Vol.7 No.2, Jun., 2017 276 journals are presently purchased from five leading publishers are British Medical Journal Publishing, Cambridge University Press, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Oxford University Press and John Wiley. Mission: The National Medical Library aims to provide wide and efficient library and information services to the health science (HS) professionals in India. It functions under the administrative control of the Directorate General of Health Services. Medical Colleges in Tamil Nadu The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University Act, 1987 received the assent of the President of India on 24 September 1987. By 1991, it was ordered that the Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Chennai Act, 1987. This affiliating University started functioning from July 1988 and is governed by the said Act. The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University is situated in Guindy in the Southern part of the City of Chennai (formerly Madras) in the State of Tamil Nadu, South India. The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University is a medical university centered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is named after the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M.G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.) and is the second-largest health sciences university in India. This is the only Medical University in Tamil Nadu capable of granting affiliation to new medical and paramedical colleges, government or self - financing; and awarding degrees (also note that until 1988, all degrees of Health Sciences in Tamil Nadu were awarded by the University of Madras). Government Medical Colleges in Chennai At present there are twenty one government medical colleges controlled by the State Government of Tamil Nadu in India. All of the colleges are affiliated with the Tamil Nadu Dr. M .G.R. Medical University. At present four medical colleges in Chennai, there are, Madras Medical College (MMC), Stanley Medical College (SMC), Government Kilpauk Medical College (GKMC) and Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Government Estate, Chennai. Stanley Medical College (SMC) is a government medical college with hospitals located in Chennai (Madras) in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Though the original hospital is more than 200 years old, the medical college was formally established on July 2, 1938. Stanley Medical College was ranked 22nd in the India Today 2014 survey. The medical college and the International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science | Vol.7 No.2, Jun., 2017 277 hospital include a Centre of Excellence for Hand and Reconstructive Microsurgery and a separate cadaver maintenance unit, the first in the country. By legacy, the hospital's anatomy department receives corpses for scientific study from the Monegar Choultry from which the hospital historically descended. This college is affiliated to The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R Medical University, Chennai and offer a number of undergraduate and postgraduate programs to the students. The college provides excellent training and state of art infrastructure facility towards medical education and patient care. Literature Reviews Bhat., Mahesh & Mudhol (2014) studied the awareness and use of electronic resources by medical students available in the medical institute libraries. The results of this survey are presented and discussed in this paper. Kumar (2016) reported that the usage and experience of e-resources medical students at Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Ambala Haryana. In this study it is try to verify and evaluate the purpose, frequency, reasons of using and place of student’s access to e-resources. Lobo (2016) finds out the use of electronic resources by the Faculty and Postgraduate students of Medical Colleges in Mangalore. Objectives of the Study The present study was conducted to find out the use of ERMED consortium e-resources by readers of government medical college library in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. o To find out the gender, designation, frequency of reading hours, week and month of the users. o To study the opinion level of users to access of ERMED consortium e- resources, the purpose and utilization of ERMED consortium e-resources available in the library, training to use ERMED consortium vs designation of the respondents. o To evaluate the satisfied with ERMED consortium e-resources provided by publisher, reasons for influenced in academic efficiency by respondents. Methodology The present study is mainly based on the primary data collected from the Stanley Medical College (SMC) library users of the medical college library representing the different departments. A total 75 questionnaires were distributed to faculties. Out of which 49 from International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science | Vol.7 No.2, Jun., 2017 278 Assistant Professor, 13 Associate Professor and one from Professor received back with 84 % response rate. These users are from different levels of positions. The collected data were classified, analyzed, and tabulated by using simple statistical methods. Among the respondents, 57 (90.476%) were female and the remaining 6 (9.523%) users were male. Population and Sample The population of this study is comprised of Stanley medical college library in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. There are twenty one government medical college libraries functioning in the state. At present there are four medical college libraries functioning in Chennai. For the present study, only one medical college library is selected. The seventy five participants were randomly drawn from each of the selected. The study focuses on Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors. Participants are selected from both male and female Faculty. This gave a total of 63 faculties that took part in the study. Data Analysis Analysis of data collected through survey methods using questionnaire was resorted to elicit information from the users of Stanley Medical College (SMC) library. A structured questionnaire was prepared and administered among the samples drawn for the present study. Table 1: Respondents by Gender Designation Sl. Total Gender No. Assistant Professor Associate Professor Professor N=63 n =49 n = 13 n = 1 5 1 0 6 1 Male (10.20%) (7.69%) (000) (9.52%) 44 12 1 57 2 Female (89.79) (92.30%) (100%) (90.48%) 49 13 01 63 Total (77.78%) (20.63%) (1.58%) (100%) Table 1 show a total of 75 respondents took part in this study. Among the respondents, 57 of them (90.476%) were female and the remaining 6 respondents (9.523%) were male. In Assistant Professors, maximum numbers of female visitors (44) are using the ERMED consortium e-resources. International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science | Vol.7 No.2, Jun., 2017 279 Table 2: Seeking E-Resources of Information Vs Designation Designation Sl. Assistant Associate Total Sources-of Information Professor Rank No. Professor Professor N=63 n = 1 n =49 n = 13 1 Discussion with colleague 23 10 -- 33 3 Consult a knowledgeable 15 2 10 04 1 10 person in the field 3 Consult supervisor 03 -- -- 03 14 4 Discussion with librarian 04 01 -- 05 12 5 E-Review journals 04 - -- 04 13 6 E-Abstracting journals 17 04 -- 21 8 7 E-Indexing journals 34 06 01 41 1 8 E-Library catalogues 23 05 - 28 5 9 E-Textbooks 30 07 01 38 2 10 E-Theses/dissertations 23 03 -- 26 6 11 E-resources/journal books 27 04 01 32 4 12 E-Web resources 17 05 -- 22 7 13 E-Reference sources 03 03 -- 06 11 14 E-Technical reports 15 02 -- 17 9 15 E-Primary journals 02 -- -- 02 15 Table 2 shows a total those 41 respondents seeking e-resources due to e-indexing journals. This is followed by 38 respondents for seeking e-textbooks and third rank goes to discussion with colleague.