![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltext_open_medium.gif)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltext_restricted_medium.gif)
Information Resources and Services in Public Libraries in Gulbarga District, Karnataka State, India: Users' Perspective
Subscribe/Renew Journal
A survey of use of information resources and services in Public Libraries in Gulbarga district was undertaken with questionnaire as a data collection tool. Nine branch libraries located in taluka headquarters in Gulbarga district, Karnataka State were selected and 50 questionnaire were distributed in each library under study. Out of 450 questionnaire distributed, 259 users responded (57.7%). The main purpose of the study was to evaluate effectiveness of public libraries from users' point of view. The findings include that majority of the users are men and between 11 - 30 years of age. Students, Job holders in private / public undertakings were the regular visitors to the library, who visited the library daily or at least once in two days, mainly to read newspapers and magazines. Users from lower and middle income group use public library services very frequently (either daily or once in two days). Most of them have completed 12 years of schooling or undergraduate degree. Newspapers and Magazine and Reading Room Service are the most frequently used information resources and services respectively. Majority of the users are fairly satisfied with information resources. Only two women (0.77%) and 04 men above 60 years of age (1.54%) visited library during study period. Majority of the respondents are either neutral or not satisfied with Book Lending and Reference Service. The results clearly indicate the need for public libraries to strengthen their document collection and create a better ambience to attract more users from all age groups and gender. More trained personnel are necessary to manage the document collection efficiently and offer innovative library services.
Keywords
Public Library, Gulbarga, Users Study, Branch Libraries, Information Resources, Library Services.
User
About The Authors
Information
- Bhattacharjee (R). Public library services in India: Systems and deficiencies. Public Libraries Section – Country Report: India. 2002. http://www.ifla.org/VII/s8/anual/cr02-in.htm. Accessed on 15 July 2009.
- Makin (John). Libraries in India. Library Review. Vol. 14(4); 1953; p218-221.
- Banerjee (Swapna); Chakrabarty (Bhubaneswar). Public libraries–their role in the new information age. SRELS Journal of Information Management. Vol. 41(2); 2004; p223-227.
- Gould (Elizebeth). Public libraries in Southern India. 2009. http://depts.washington.edu/worlduw/ southernindialibraries.pdf (Retrieved on 23 May 2009).
- Abraham (Deborah V H). Two public libraries in India: Connemara and Kottayam. Public Library Quarterly. Vol. 7(3&4); 1987; p49-60.
- Satyanarayana (M). Use of public library: A case of deposit holders of Visakhapatnam district central library. Annals of Library Science. Vol. 43 (3); 1996; p108-115.
- Asundi (AY); Heitzman (James). The public library system in Bangalore. Library Science with a slant to documentation and Information Studies. Vol. 36(2); 1999; p83-102.
- Biradar (B.S). Rural libraries in Karnataka. Library Science with a Slant to Documentation and Information Studies. Vol. 36(1); 1999; p35-41.
- Heitzman (James); Asundi (A Y). Evaluation of public libraries in India: the case of Karnataka. Information Development. Vol. 16(3); 2000; p142-153.
- Chopra (H R); Banerjee (Shushant). Utilization of library and Information services of public libraries in Punjab: A case study. Journal of Library and Information Science. Vol. 30(1-2); 2005; p29-44.
- Dominic (J); Nirmala (P J). Utilization of Pooluvapatti public library, Coimbatore: a case study. Indian Journal of Information, Library and Society. Vol. 18(3-4); 2005; p157 169.
- Sangam (S L). Tele-cottage approach to the community developments in rural Karnataka, India. World Library and Information Congress: 74th IFLA General Conference and Council. 10-14 August 2008, Quebec, Canada http://www.Ifla.org/iv/ifla74/index.htm
- Kumbar (B D). Growth and development of public library system in India with special reference to Karnataka. International Workshop on Democratization of Information: Focus on Libraries. 2009. www.nigd.org/ libraries/mumbai/reports/article-4.pdf (Retrieved on 25 May 2009).
- Gulbarga District profile. Available at http://gulbarga.nic.in/ (Retrieved on 30 May 2009)
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/abstractview.png)
Abstract Views: 467
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/pdfview.png)
PDF Views: 12