Electronic resource discovery systems : do they help or hinder in searching for academic material

Abstract

Higher Education libraries are spending a significant proportion of their learning materials budget on electronic resources: e-books, full-text databases and back copies of e-journals. However, the use of these resources is relatively low among the undergraduate students. Instead students are increasingly using external resources such as Google and YouTube to help them start in their searches. This paper reports on a qualitative study of students and researchers in Business and Economic using institutional electronic resource discovery systems (ERDSs) when searching for quality academic material. In addition, it discusses which resources are most popular and why, as well as the difficulties and challenges the current ERDSs present to users. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations for resource discovery systems will be presented in order to improve the use of these resources by higher education students and staff.