Md. Shiful Islam

E‐learning in LIS education: an analysis and prediction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the significant factors which encourage and motivate the library and information science (LIS) academics to respond to and embrace e‐learning (EL), to explore how EL tools and technologies support the LIS education process, and to measure weights of factors constraining the use of EL in LIS education. It also reports perceptions of how LIS academics manage EL‐knowledge resources, the problems they face in managing those resources, the ways to solve those problems, and their predictions about future usage of EL in LIS education.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology includes a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The authors used an exploratory online e‐mail interview method to gather experiences and data from LIS academics worldwide. The authors also used (www.docs.google.com) to prepare a questionnaire, and sent a link to the questionnaire to 85 LIS academics globally to gather their perceptions regarding EL in LIS schools.Findings ...

Usage and Applications of Knowledge Management for Improving Library and Information Services in Bangladesh

The aim of this paper is to explore the use and applications of Knowledge Management (KM) for improving Library and Information Services (LIS) in Bangladesh. This paper seeks to address the following research questions: How KM can be used efficiently in the libraries of Bangladesh for the improvement of LIS performance? What KM tools and techniques are being used in the libraries of Bangladesh? What difficulties are faced by the information professionals for applying KM tools and techniques in the libraries of Bangladesh? What are likely to be the means or ways to overcome those difficulties? The methodology includes a combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. An in-depth interview method has been used to collect data using a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of open-ended and close-ended questions. The results of this study show that document management is the highly used KM tool used in the libraries of Bangladesh followed by intranet, telephones, instant messenger, groupware, digital warehouse, and web conferencing. Results also reveal that the use and application of KM in LIS supports improved access to information resources and services, enriched professional knowledge of information professionals, enhanced environment and culture of knowledge sharing, and changed work behaviour of information professionals. The study identifies that lack of awareness about KM, lack of skilled manpower, communication gap and lack of knowledge sharing, and lack of technological infrastructure are the main problems for the use and application of KM. Finally, this study suggests that creating awareness about KM, trained and skilled manpower, reducing communication gap and improved knowledge sharing, technological and knowledge infrastructure, and the use of KM system/tools are the possible ways to overcome the problems for the use and application of KM in the libraries of Bangladesh.

Acceptance of E-Resources by the Medical Researchers of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B)

The purpose of this paper is to describe the acceptance of e-resources by the medical researchers of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) and its objective is to explore the tendency and frequency of using e-resources by them. Also, this article investigates the purposes, impact, influential factors and barriers of using e-resources by the medical researchers of ICDDR,B. A survey has been conducted by using a short and well-structured questionnaire that was distributed among 120 medical researchers in ICDDR,B. We received 96 questionnaires duly filled up by the respondents with a response rate of 79.99%. The gathered data have been analysed and presented using the descriptive analysis techniques of SPSS 20.0. Findings show that the medical researchers of ICDDR,B show positive attitude towards using e-resources, and researchers use e-resources frequently. Results also indicate that e-resources are very useful to the medical researchers, and MEDLINE is the most used database among the medical researchers of ICDDR,B. The study is based on only ICDDR,B and does not cover all medical (public and private) institutions of Bangladesh. Therefore, further studies would be carried out covering public and private medical institutions in Bangladesh.

How library and information science academic administrators perceive e-learning in LIS schools A qualitative analysis

How library and information science (LIS) academic administrators perceive e-learning (EL) in LIS schools is examined, particularly what LIS academic administrators see as the merits and demerits of using EL, what types of constraints they face in using EL to provide LIS education, and how they overcome the constraints of EL systems in LIS schools. An exploratory online email interview was conducted, using a link to a questionnaire, with 85 LIS academic administrators around the world in order to gather perceptions and experiences regarding EL usage in LIS schools. The respondents reported some major merits, demerits, and some constraints, which they face in using EL systems in their schools. They also proposed the design of a long-range plan for EL growth, the implementation of interactive and online office hours, and the establishment of consortia across universities to overcome constraints on EL usage in LIS education. The respondents had neither highly-positive nor highly-negative opinions about EL usage in LIS schools.