Journal of Information and Knowledge (Formerly SRELS Journal of Information Management)

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Assessment of Reading Habits of Public Library Users in the Digital Era: An Empirical Study


Affiliations
1 Librarian and IQAC Coordinator, Shimurali Sachinandan College of Education, Shimurali, Nadia - 741248, West Bengal, India
     

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In the Context of rapid increase in electronic resources the reading habits of the public library user community are examined. A representative sample was drawn from a large and heterogeneous population following a stratified sampling technique. The reading habits of the users were identified using several parameters adopted to achieve the objectives of the study. Findings of the study revealed that 41.82% of respondents visit the library 2-4 times per month, followed by 22.05% used to visit it 2-3 times per week, while only 16.82% of the respondents visit the library almost regularly. However, the study indicated that electronic documents have an important role in enhancing people's reading habits. It is recommended that the library needs to emphasize on collecting both printed as well as digital resources. While reading habits of public library users are stable, they were quite comfortable reading in a digital environment.

Keywords

Leisure Time, Library Use, Preferred Resources, Public Library, Reading Habits.
User
About The Author

Sambhu Nath Halder
http://www.sscollegeofeducation.org/
Librarian and IQAC Coordinator, Shimurali Sachinandan College of Education, Shimurali, Nadia - 741248, West Bengal
India

Dr. Sambhu Nath Halder M.L.I.Sc., M.A., G.D.C.A., Ph.D. PERSONAL PROFILE CURRENT DESIGNATION- LIBRARIAN & IQAC COORDINATOR, SSCE YEAR OF EXPERIENCE: 15 CURRENT ADDRESS: BANK MORE, HABIBPUR, RANAGHAT, NADIA – 741402 E-MAIL: sambhu.halder@gmail.com CATEGORY- UNRESERVED Work Profile • Teachers’ Representative in the Governing Body, SSCE • Coordinator of Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), SSCE • Nodal Officer of RUSA 2 & Coordinator of Project Monitoring Unit, SSCE • Convener of Library Committee, SSCE • Convener of Admission Committee, SSCE • Member of Teachers’ Council, SSCE • Member of Finance Committee, SSCE • Member of Purchase Committee, SSCE • Member of Grievance Redressal Cell, SSCE • Appellate Authority, SSCE • Convener of Seminar Committee, SSCE • Convener of Community Outreach Programme, SSCE • Member of NSS Unit, SSCE • In-Charge for website development in Shimurali Sachinandan College of Education • Editor of the journal entitled “IGNITE: A Peer Reviewed Multi-Disciplinary Research Journal” published by Shimurali Sachinandan College of Education • Associate Editor of International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research, ISSN: 2455-2070 • Member of the National Editorial Advisory Board of IP Indian Journal of Library Science and Information Technology, ISSN: 2456-9623 • Government Nominee and President of the Library Committee of Tarapada Smriti Pathagar (Govt. sponsored public library), Nadia • Acted as Guest Lecturer in the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia • Acted as Academic Counselor, Examiner and Evaluator of Answer Scripts and Dissertation Supervisor in Netaji Subhas Open University


Notifications

  • Andayani, U. and Maryam, S. (2019). The Portrait of Reading Habit and Interest of Tangerang City’s Community. In: 2nd International Conference on Culture and Language in Southeast Asia (ICCLAS 2018). Atlantis Press. Retrieved from https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/icclas-18/55913051. https://doi.org/10.2991/ icclas-18.2019.56.

  • Balasubramanian, P. B. and Yasir, M. M. (2019). Resources availability impacts on reading habit and literacy attitude of college students in Tirunelveli District Central Library, Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 12(5). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/2748.

  • Chettri, K. and Rout, S. K. (2013). Reading habits - An overview, Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 14(6), 13-17. https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-01461317.

  • Clark, C. and Teravainen-Goff, A. (2020). Children and young people’s reading in 2019, National Literacy Trust Research Report. Retrieved from https://cdn.literacytrust. org.uk/media/documents/Reading_trends_in_2019_-_Final.pdf.

  • Kasimani, C. and Rajendran, N. (2019). User’s satisfaction with public libraries: A special reference to District Central Library, Thiruvallur (Tamil Nadu), Library Philosophy and Practice, 1-17. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/deccb4a42f0db4f454fadec97e5c7350/1?pqorigsite= gscholar&cbl=54903.

  • Mahipal, D. S. (2017). Reading habits of district public library users: A survey (Special reference to Bastar Reason Chhattisgarh), International Journal of Library and Information Studies, 7(4). Retrieved from http://ijlis.org/img/2017_Vol_7_Issue_4/272-276.pdf.

  • Mlay, S. V. and Sabi, H. M. (2019). A structural analysis of ICT-based intervention on reading habits in Uganda, The Information Society, 35(1), 26-35. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01972243.2018.1542645, https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2018.1542645.

  • Owusu-Acheaw, M. and Larson, A. G. (2014). Reading habits among students and its effect on academic performance: A study of students of Koforidua Polytechnic, Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1130.

  • Sandhu, P. K. (2016). Reading habits of public library’s users: A survey, International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology, 6(4), 247-50. Retrieved from http://ijidt.com/index.php/ijidt/article/view/444.

  • Sohail, M. and Alvi, A. (2011). Reading habits among the users of Delhi Public Library, New Delhi: A survey, Brazilian Journal of Information Science: Research Trends, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.36311/1981-1640.2011.v5n2.07. p69.

  • Verma, J. and Malviya, V. (2014). The impact of internet and digital media on reading habit. In: XXIV National Seminar of the IASLIC, Vol 50. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vijetacharya_Malviya.


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  • Assessment of Reading Habits of Public Library Users in the Digital Era: An Empirical Study

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Authors

Sambhu Nath Halder
Librarian and IQAC Coordinator, Shimurali Sachinandan College of Education, Shimurali, Nadia - 741248, West Bengal, India

Abstract


In the Context of rapid increase in electronic resources the reading habits of the public library user community are examined. A representative sample was drawn from a large and heterogeneous population following a stratified sampling technique. The reading habits of the users were identified using several parameters adopted to achieve the objectives of the study. Findings of the study revealed that 41.82% of respondents visit the library 2-4 times per month, followed by 22.05% used to visit it 2-3 times per week, while only 16.82% of the respondents visit the library almost regularly. However, the study indicated that electronic documents have an important role in enhancing people's reading habits. It is recommended that the library needs to emphasize on collecting both printed as well as digital resources. While reading habits of public library users are stable, they were quite comfortable reading in a digital environment.

Keywords


Leisure Time, Library Use, Preferred Resources, Public Library, Reading Habits.

References