library information science (lis) …nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/27512/1/alis 45(4)...

Annals of Library Science and Documentation 45,4; 199R; 137-155.

LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE (LIS) RESEARCH 1987-1997: A Decade of Development

MANJUNATHA KKirloskar Institute of AdvancedManagement StudiesYantrapurHarihar-577602Karnataka

A study of ongoing research in any subject fieldcan provide valuable information about the currenttrends and future direction of the field. Carries outan analysis of theses accepted for award of Ph.D.and research in progress in various Indianuniversities from 1987 to 1997 trying to providefoundation for examining the performance of libraryand information science (LIS) research. Presentsthe results of the study with the goal of broadeningthe perspectives of the LIS research communityand to help them to debate on the nature andproper direction of the research.

Hesearch is an investigation which seeks toincrease one's knowledge of a given situation orproblem. Research in any subject field is carriedout to develop and evaluate the concepts andtheories. It is a careful study or investigation todiscover new facts or information. It, therefore,requires a systematic analysis and logicalinterpretation of empirical evidence to confirm ordisprove prior conceptions/assumptions.

Any subject field requires continuous researchsupport to develop as a discipline. Library andinformation science (LIS) research is of recentorigin. Though the research in this field startedduring the second decade this century, substantialgrowth has been registered during 1990s only. Theresearch studies were carried out mainly by thepractitioners particularly those in the academiclibraries, faculty and students of schools of Libraryand Information Science. Raju [1] traced somefactors such as rapid changes in informationtechnology, problems faced in management oflibraries, UGC norms for career promotion,changing pattern of reading habits of users, desirefor recognition and faculty status in the society,which contributed towards the increased interest

Vol45 No 4 December 1998

SHIVALINGAIAH DDepartment of Library & Information ScienceMangalore UniversityMangalagangotri-5 74199Karnataka

in LIS research. Feather and Strages [2] remarkthat "the role and status of LIS research have beenthe subject of controversy. As a professional fieldwith an emphasis on practice rather than theory,LIS research has been citicised for its lack ofrigorous theoretical base for the significance of theresearch questions addressed and the quality ofresearch methodology employed".

A study of subject trends in LIS research from 1975to 1990 has revealed library management to bethe most popular subject of research [3]. Anothersignificant area of research identified in Atkinsstudy [4] was research on information storage andretrieval systems and databases. A specializedstudy in LIS research is the statistical study ofbibliographic information.

This study has been undertaken by analysing thetheses submitted for the award of doctorate andresearch in progress in various Indian universitiesfrom 1987 to 1997. The research work done infield of library and information science only isanalysed. For the purpose of this study, analysisof 255 LIS research activities has been carried out.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objectives of the study are:

i) to find out the nature and direction of LISresearch during 1987 to 1997;

ii) to verify the diversity of current research inLIS field; and

iii) to identify the areas of research which arereceiving insufficient attention from LISscholars.

137

MANJUNATHA (K) and SHIVALINGAIAH (D)

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In order to achieve the objectives of this study, anin-depth study of the theses accepted for the awardof the doctoral degree and the research studiescurrently in progress in Library and InformationScience discipline during the years 1987 to 1997has been undertaken. Since the purpose of thestudy was to find out the direction of LIS research,no attempt was made to differentiate between finaltheses submitted and research in progress. Hencethe term "submission/research paper" is used torepresent the final theses accepted for award ofdoctoral degree as well as research in progress.

The primary goal in carrying out this study for theLIS research community is to provoke furtherdiscussion and reflection, rather than to sharplydraw any conclusions. In this paper, the stream ofLIS research submissions already made and tobe made to various Indian universities during thestudy period has been characterized. This processinvolved three important steps viz. a) selecting thesubmissions for review, b) identifying researchquestions or core concepts of each submissions,and finally, c) classifying those research questions.

Selecting the Submissions

To get a possible panoramic view across thedomain of LIS research over a period of time, itwas decided to include in the analysis all the 255LIS research submissions from 1987 to 1997 whichincluded 151 theses for which doctoral degree hasalready been awarded and another 104 researchstudies which were in different stages ofcompletion. The required data was culled out fromthe University News - an official newsletter ofAssociation of Indian Universities, New Delhi whichprovides this information.

Identifying the Research Questions

The next step was to identify the research

138

questions or core throght content of the researchstudy. This step involved careful study of all the255 research titles before writing the researchquestions. The research questions wereformulated using standard phrases to eliminate anyambiguity in the title.

Classifying the Submissions

In order to find out whether there was anyconvergence around certain fundamental subjectcategories, all the research questions wereclassified with the help of Dewey DecimalClassification (DOC). Further these categorieswere clustered into themes of higher order tosharpen the image of direction of researchsubmission. The individual libraries dependingupon their nature of operation were grouped undersix categories namely academic; public; industrial;special; government libraries and libraries-abroad.

FINDINGS OF THE RESEARCH STUDY

Characterization of categories

The research questions and their categorizationform primary database of the study. However thefull text of research questions has been excludedfrom this article as it occupies substantial spacein the report. Instead an attempt has been madeto give rich account on core concepts of the study.This included keywords, concepts andassociations that appear in the research questions( appendix 1). The elements in the appendix weredrawn from the research questions themselves.Appendix 2 gives the yearwise distribution ofcategories during the study period.

Distribution of Submissions

To begin with, overall distribution of submissionsduring the study period were made. The yearwisedistribution of the submissions has been give inthe Table 1.

Ann Lib Sci Doc

Distribution of categories

LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE (LIS) RESEARCH 1987-1997

TABLE 1

Yearwise distribution of research submissions

SINo ResearchSubmissions

Year

123456789

1011

19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997

1010182029332929341429

TOTAL 255Source: University News 1987 to 1997

In order ascertain the direction of LIS research,the pattern of distribution of submissions across

the categories was analysed. Table 2 presents thedistribution pattern of the categories during thestudy period.

Table 2

Distribution of submissions across the categories

SLNO SUBNCATEGORY

123456789

1011

Academic LibrariesBibliographic/ Biliometric/ Citation AnalysisUser studiesInformation System DesignPersonnel ManagementPublic LibrariesSpecial LibrariesLIS NetworkingLibrary ProfessionalsLIS EducationLibrary Automation

70434026201313121098


contd.

139

MANJUNATHA (K) and SHIVALINGAIAH (0)

contn. (table 2)

SLNO CATEGORY SUBN

12131415161718192021222324252627282930313~33343536373839404141

Collection DevelopmentInformation TechnologyClassificationIndustrial LibrariesLibraries-AbroadInformation RetrievalIndexingGovt. LibrariesCataloguingLibrary and CommunityThesaurus/Controlled VocabularyInformation ManagementLibrary LegislationMarketing of LISBibliographic ServiceCirculation SystemComparativeLibrarianshipCopy Right ActCurrentAwareness serviceDBMSDocumentation ServiceFinancial ManagementInformation ServiceInformational RoleLibrary AssociationLibrary BuildingLibrary ManagementMultimedia TechnologyPub. ReI. in LibrariesSecurity against TheftSecurity against Theft

7766655533332211111111111111111

Note: SUBN - Research submissions

The distribution pattern of categories indicates thatthe LIS research is revolving around a few researchtopics. The research questions associated witheach category, which received more than fivesubmissions during the study period, are givenbelow.

.'The distribution pattern of submissions across thelibraries is presented separately.

i) Bibliographiclbibliometric/Citation Analysis

of research among the LIS research scholars.Research questions concerned with this categoryfocused on the issues associated withbibliographic analysis of works of Dr. S.R.Ranganathan and P.N. Kaula, Malayalamtranslated works, Indian contributions, doctoraldissertations, and literature on children, punjabi,sanskrit, hindi, earth sciences, periodicals,physical education, horticulture, social sciences,Kerala's economy and LIS,

This is a specialized area of research in LISresearch. This category was the most popular area This is another area, which has attracted many

ii) User Evaluation and Satisfaction

140 AnnLib Sci Doc


LIS research scholars. Research questionsconcenred with this category focused on users'information needs, information seeking behaviour,satisfaction, and evaluation of effectiveness/utilization of library resources and services. Morework can be traced on users' information needsand information seeking behaviour.

iii) Information System Design

Information systems design discusses the waysand means of designing of information systems toimprove the efficiency of resources and services.This category concentrated on designing ofinformation systems for agriculture, ayurveda,education, marine fisheries, machine tools,operations research, pharmaceuticals, soil surveyand statistical information.

iv) LIS Personnel (Professionals and PersonnelManagement)

This category focussed on the varied issues onapplication of personnel administration in libraries,staff training, professional attitude towardstechnology adoption, managerial role, leadershipstyle, manpower utilization, job satisfaction, jobopportunity and performance appraisal. More workhas been registered on personnel administrationin general.

v) Libraryllnformation Network

Library and information networking explains theproblems and prospects of networking and itsapplications in health, technical and ONGClibraries in India. More work has been done inhealth information side.

vi) LIS Education

LIS education is the basic requirement forrendering of professional services to the users.Research questions on LIS education cover arange of issues like restructuring, continuingeducation, attitude for graduate level learning,status of LIS in Karnataka and North India, It alsocovers two comparative studies of LIS education

Vol 45 No 4 December 1998

system in UK and India, and India and Iran.

vii) Automation/Computerization

Research questions on automation deal withstudies on information infrastructure facilityrequired, HRD needs and its application incirculation and other operations in special,technical, and medical libraries.

viii) Collection Development

Collection development deals with acquisition ofLIS resources. Research questions grouped in thiscategory envelope the topics on acquisition systemof maps, nonprint media, archives and serialsmanagement.

ix) Information Technology

The research questions in this category sharedthe goal of explaining applications and impact ofIT,job opportunity, and attitude of librarians towardsadoption and utilization of IT.

X) Classification

Research questions associated with this categoryexplore various issues of classification such ascomparative study of various classificationsystems, knowledge classification, DOCExpansion for cancer and natural sciencesliterature.

ix) Indexing

Research questions associated in this categoryfocused on indexing systems, indexing languages,book indexing, and comparative study of differentindexing techniques.

Distribution of Submissions and Subjectsacross the libraries

Table 3 gives the distribution pattern of researchsubmissions across the various libraries. Thedistribution pattern of subjects across the librariesis presented in Table 4.

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TABLE 3

Distribution of submissions across the libraries

SINo. Library Su Bn

1 Academic Library 702 Public Library 133 Special Library 134 Libraries-Abroad 65 Industry Library 66 Govt. Library 47 So.Sci. Library 1

Table 4

Distribution of subjects across the libraries

Academic LibrairesGrowth and devp.Collction DevelopentLibrary Managementlnformation System Design

Health InformationCosumer healthOnline informationInfonnation Mangement

Networking /resource SharingJob satisfactionUser study

Infonnation needsLibrary resources and servicesInfonnalion Seeking behaviour

Note: General submissions like bibliographic analysis/information system design where library name is not mentioned arenot considered for analysis.

Industrial LibrariesGrowth & DevpNetworkingNational Infonnation SystemUser study

Library Resources and servicesInfonnation Seeking Behaviour

Libraries- AbroadGrowth and Devp in Yemen, UAE,Thailan~!LIS Eduaction- UK , IranMarketing Of Infn. Products

142

Special LibrariesGrowth & DevpnetworkingAutomationUsers aStudy

Infonnation Needslnforrnation Seeking BehaviourLibrary resources and services

Public LibrariesLibrary system in MP, AP. Manipur,

Kamataka, WB.Library LegisaltionPubic RelationMass CornamunicationProfesionalsCarrer Development

Government LibrariesGrowth & Devp.PubliationsUser Study

Use of Infonnation

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a) Academic Libraries (70)

This category consists of the major share of LISresearch activity. The specific libraries coveredunder this category were school, polytechnic,college, scientific/technical, medical,management, distant education and universitylibraries.

Study on university libraries was one of the mostfavoured research areas among LIS researchcommunity. The research studies explore theissues on acquisition system, collectiondevelopment, growth and development, librarybuildings, library services, library management,financial management, personnel administration,networking, role in education policy and S& Tresearch of university libraries.

Research in academic libraries is thus beingconcentrated more on growth and development,collection development, information system designand less on user studies.

b) Public Libraries (13)

Research questions associated with public librariesincluded issues like library legislation, librarymovement, services and public library systems inMadhya Pradesh, Orissa, Manipur, Kerala andDelhi. The concentration of research is on growthand development of libraries.

c) Special Libraries (13)

Defence, geographic, newspaper, railways, R&D,rural and sports libraries research studies


converged in this category. The research isconcentrated on user studies like assessment ofinformation needs, information seeking behaviourand utilization of library resources and services.

d) Industrial Libraries (6)

This category comprised of studies on ONGC,BHEL, sugar, petroleum, jute and special librariesin Andhra Pradesh. The concentration of researchis almost similar to special libraries.

e) Libraries-Abroad (6)

Studies on libraries of BCD, Iran, Kenya, Thailand,United Kingdam and Yemen, is covered in thiscategory. The favoured area of research is growthand development of libraries in these countries.

f) Government Libraries (5)

This category is concerned with governmentpolytechnic, central government and governmentlibraries in Delhi.

In general in academic, public and governmentlibraries, much of research is focussing ontraditional library activities. Whereas in special andindustrial libraries, attempts are made tounderstand the customer for better services/delivery process.

The specific libraries covered under each categoryof libraries are diagrammatically represented infigure 1. The numbers in the brackets denote thenumber of submissions during the study period.i.e. from 1987 to 1997.

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Yemen,UAEKenyaU.K IranThailand

A.P.,ONGCSugarPetroleumJute, BHEL

Coiiege(2)/Jr. Coiiege(3)Distant Edun.(1)IIT/Engg(5)Medical(7),Management(2)Physical Education(1)School(3),University(46)

Defense,GeographicNewspaper,RailwayR&D(6),RuralSpace,Sports

Fig. 1: Specific Libraries Covered

CentralState DelhiPolitechSo.Sci.

Manipur, WBOrissa, Kar

. MP, UP Delhi

Distribution of submissions across theUniversities and Faculty Guides

various universities to find out any concentrationon any region was also studied. The pattern isgiven in the Table 5 and the pattern across thefaculty guides is given in the Table 6.The pattern of distribution of submissions across

Table 5

Universitywise distribution of research submissions from 1987 to 1997

SI. No University Subn

1 Andhra 12 Annamalai 13 BHU 294 Bangalore 65 Berhampur 36 Bharatidasan 17 Bundelkhand 18 Burdwan 79 Calicut 6

contd.

144 Ann Lib Sci Doc

LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE (US) RESEARCH 1987-1997

contn. (table 5)

SI. No University Subn

10 Cochin 411 Delhi 912 Dr. H.S. Gour 1613 Gulbarga 714 Guwahati 115 JNU 216 Jadavpur 117 Jammu 318 Jiwaji 1619 Karnatak 2020 Kerala 2121 Kurukshetra 122 Kuvempu 223 Madras 424 Manipur 525 M.Sukhadia 126 Mysore 127 Nagpur 428 N.E.Hili 229 Os mania 430 Padmavati 231 Poona 232 Punjab 2233 Punjabi 234 pt. Ravishanlkar 235 Rajasthan 536 Sambalpur 637 Shivaji 138 SNDT 239 Utkal 240 Vikram 12

1 TOTAL NORTH REGION 98 3 TOTAL EAST REGION 292 TOTAL SOUTH REGION 75 4 TOTAL WEST REGION 53

Table 6

Distribution of research studies across the faculty guides

Sino Submissions guided by each faculty guide No. of faculty guides Total no. of Submissions

1 7 to 10 and above2 4 to 63 2 to 34 15 Guide name not mentioned

7 7211 50

. 18 4840 4045 45

Vo145 No 4 December 1998 145


HIGHER ORDER THEMES

LIS in General

LIS. RELATIONSHIP

LIS PERSONNEL

LIS OPERATIONS

LIS SERVICES

COMP SUPPORTLIS MGT.

USERS EVALUATION& SATISFACTION

TYPES OF LlBS

NOTE: ••• Areas of popular research under each theme.

CATEGORIES

Library Association-IndianLIS Education'"Comparative LibrarianshipLibrary movementMarketing of LISLibrary LegislationLibrary RuildingCopy RIght Act

Libraries and CommunityLibrary and CommunicationP.R. in librariesInformational RoleResource Sharing/Networking'"

LibrarianshipLibrary ProfessionalsManagerial role/LeadershipWomen LibrariansIn Service TrainingJob OpportunitylTech. adoptionJob SatisfactionHRD/Personnel Management'"

Library AdministrationFinance AdministrationCollection developmentSerials controlBibliographic/Bibliometric/Citation Analysis'"Classification, CataloguingIndexing,Circulation SystemThesaurusNocabularySecurity Against Theft

Bibliographic ServicesDocumentation ServiceInformation RetrievalCurrent Awareness ServiceInformation Service

Library AutomationMultimedia in libraryDBMSInformation ManagementInformation System Design'"

Information NeedsllnformationSeeking Behaviour'"Collection UsageServices EvaluationUser SatisfactionIT Impact/UsageUse of Catalogsllndexes

Libraries-AbroadPublic LibrariesGovernment LibrariesAcademic Libraries'"Special LibrariesSocial Science Libraries

Fig.2 : Relationships among Categories and Themes of Higher Order

146 Ann Lib Sci Doc


Distribution of submissions across the themesof higher order

In order to get a clear picture of direction of LISresearch; the categories mentioned earlier in thistext (Table 2) were further grouped into eightthemes of higher order. The grouping pattern and

the terminology were borrowed from the DeweyDecimal Classification. The clustering ofcategories around each themes of higher order isshown in Fig. 2 and the distribution pattern ofsubmissions across the broader themes ispresented in Table 7.

Table 7

Yearwise distribution of themes of higher order

-----S!. No Themes 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 Total

1 LIS in General 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 152 LIS Relationships 1 2 4 4 3 2 1 193 LIS Personnel 2 2 1 3 5 3 2 1 2 214. LIS Operations 4 3 7 5 7 10 5 7 12 4 6 705. LIS Services 1 4 56. Computer Supported LIS Mgt. 3 2 4 2 1 3 4 7 3 3 337. User Evaluation and Satisfaction 1 3 7 2 6 4 9 1 6 408. Specific Libraries" 1 4 4 9 10 7 3 2 2 44

Total 10 10 18 20 29 33 29 29 34 14 21 255• Study on overall aspects is considered. Specific studies are listed in respective classified categories.

Relationships among the categories andhigher order themes

Dewey decimal Classification has been used toderive headings taking into account thehierarchical, horizontal and vertical relationships

. that exist among the broader and narrower subjectareas. An ILO programmed book on LIS services

User

Vol 45 No 4 December 1998

in management education institutes [5}, remarksthat all libraries whether they are small, mediumor large operate as systems composed of fourmajor components viz. users, resources,personnel and services. the relation between thesecomponents can be represented diagrammaticallyas follows:

Personnel

Services

Resources

147


All these four components have direct relationshipswith one another. The present study traces othercomponents such as computer supportedinformation management, library relationships,which are supplement to the qualitative output ofany library. The library services and operations aregreatly affected by the specific nature of the library.

Any library should fulfill the mission and objectivesof the parent organization. hence the type of libraryhas been considered as an another component,which supports the four major components. themodified diagram of ILO model is presented in Fig3.

HRO/PM in general

Networking LIS Education

Users study

LIS Users

Univ. Libs. I.S.D.

CSLI Mgt

Bibliometric/bibliographic/citation studies

Fig. 3 Relationship among the higher order themes

Note Categories outside the relationship chain are the popular areas of research in each theme. LIS Operations includesresources, and the process of acquisition and other activities.

148 Ann Lib Sci Doc


LIS Personnel have direct links with LIS in generaland networking and LIS education has majorimpact on staff for effective services. Likewise LISservices closely relate to LIS in general (LISeducation) and computer supported LISmanagement. Similarly LIS relationships and typesof libraries influence the users' information seekingbehaviour and effecrive utilization of resources. Itmust be noted that library operations are greatlyaffected by users, LIS personnel and services. LISservices and computer supported library andinformation management have been projected asseparate themes of higher order as they are closelyassociated with the users.

DISCUSSIONS

Based on the primary objectives reported earlierin this paper and the findings of the study,presented below are some broad issues, whichare worth consideration.

a) What does the distribution pattern in LISresearch submissions depict about thedevelopments in LIS research?

b) Does the submission stream give any clearpicture of the direction of LIS research?

c) How well does the submission stream reflectthe diversity of current research in LIS field?

d) Does the submission stream suggest thatthere are areas of research, which arereceiving insufficient attention from LISscholars?

e) How well are we directing our attention towardsthe emerging areas?

f) Is it too early to consolidate our researchagendas around a set of issues?

g) Does the submission pattern across thesubject areas (categories), universities andfaculty guides indicate:

i) Reservations/hesitation to go for anyinnovative research by LIS professional?

ii) Lack of availability of competent facultyguides?

Vol45 No 4 December] 998

iii) Lack of adequate research andinfrastrucural facilities available toresearch scholars in Indian universities?

iv) . Duplication/parallel nature of researchstudies?

v) Defective/noncooperative reportingsystem by Indian universities in UniversityNews which is a common and easilyaccessible communication platform?

As mentioned earlier, the primary objective is tohelp the LIS research community to debate on theissues rather than to draw some sharpconclusions. A national level debate is certainlydesirable to find out answers for these issues.However presented in the next section are theguidelines to fuel the debate.

OBSERVATIONS

On basis of the findings of this research study, thefollowing observations can be drawn:

a) The overall distribution of submissions overthe years indicates that the second half of thestudy period has attracted more researchscholars.

b) It has been observed that bibliographicanalysis (including bibliometric and citationstudy), users studies in particular, user'sinformation needs and information seekingbehaviour, design of .intormation systems,were some of the most popular subjects ofresearch followed by HRD in libraries, LISprofessionals, networking and LIS educationin India during 1990s.

c) Academic libraries, in particular, universitylibraries occupy major share of researchfollowed by public, special, industrial,govemment and social science libraries in thatorder.

d) It is opined that the categories which receivedmore than ten submissions during the studyperiod indicate the direction of currentresearch of LIS.

e) Further the concentration among the few

149


categories signals the lack of diversity in thesubject areas and reservations/hesitation ofLIS professionals to go for any innovativeresearch.

f) The LIS research submission across theuniversities reflects the lack of adequateresearch and infrastructural facilities availableto research scholars in Indian universities.

g) Even among the top performed universities,the research study was concentrated on fewareas like bibliographic study, informationsystem design, and networking which reflectsthe duplication/parallel nature of researchstudies.

h) The research output with regard to supervisorshighlights the lack of availability of sufficientand competent faculty guides.

i) The pattern of distribution of submissionsacross the categories indicates that there aremany areas of research which do require muchattention of LIS research community. Thesubject areas with one or two submissionsduring the-study period, need to be consideredfor further research by LIS professionals.

LIMITATIONS

The primary source for this study is UniversityNews an official newsletter of Association of IndianUniversities, which publishes the data on thesesaccepted for the award of Ph.D. degree andresearch in progress. All the universities aresupposed to send the research data periodicallyfor publication in University News. Entire analysisand interpretation of this study is based on the dataavailable in the newsletter.

DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Thestudy reveals that some of the directions forfurther research are:

i) The present study revealed that the subjectareas like LIS education, industrial relations,marketing of library and information services,market oriented LIS education, customersatisfaction, TQM in LIS, status of LIS

150

professionals in society, models for marketresearch methodologies for understanding ofcustomers, appropriate research models forstatistical data analysis, technical capabilityof LIS professionals, financial administration,LIS networking, innovations in LIS servicesand buildings have not received the desiredattention of the scholars.

ii) Developments in iQformation technology areplaying a major roles in administration of libraryservices. CD-ROM, multimedia, Internet andIntranet technologies are giving great threatto the delivery process. The emphasis hasbeen shifted from production centre tocustomer centre. This study indicates that theLIS research is not much progressing towardsthis emergent phenomenon.

iii) Service quality, service marketing, relationshipmarketing, people empowerment andparticipative management is gaining muchimportance in service organizations (bothnonprofit and service industries). These areashave not yet been touched by LIS researchcommunity.

CONCLUSION

The LIS research has shown an upward trendduring 1990s which is an encouraging sign ofincreased interest and confidence among LISprofessionals in research activities and definitelythis trend will attract more and more researchers.

Enger [6] points out that LIS research is sometimescriticized for using descriptive rather thaninferential statistics and is generally lacking inquantitative methods. He responds to the criticismwith an argument that "LIS research is oftenconcerned with intangible things like services,behaviour etc. which is difficult to quantify. Instead,the research should concentrate on qualitativeoutput". Quality is today's buzzword in service aswell as manufacturing sector. Therefore in orderto get qualitative output, it is desirable for theuniversities to organize and conduct orientationand training programmes on researchmethodology and arrange special lectures onresearch topics by the experts in the field. Suchprogrammes will facilitate the researchers to obtain

Ann Lib Sci Doc


clear understanding of research methodology andto use appropriate statistical tools for data analysis.

The analysis for this study was carried out on thebasis of the data available in University News. Allthe universities are supposed to send the data onresearch studies regularly to University News forpublication. If the data published is exhaustive, theLIS research definitely requires stongencouragement. Otherwise, it is desirable that theLIS schools/associations/AIU should take initiativeto compile an exhaustive and up to date statusreport on LIS research and build strongcoordination for an uninterrupted flow ofinformation. The report should be made availablein all the universities and research institutions toavoid any duplicate/parallel research. INFLIBNETshould come forward to compile such a report andprovide on-line information services to the researchscholars.

Sponsorship/financial assistance plays a majorrole in promoting the research activity. As in othersubject fields, the associations, universities andother agencies should find sponsors for conductingresearch in untouched areas, which have notreceived the desired attention of the scholars.

REFERENCES

1. RAJU (AAN), et al. Fifty years of library andinformation science education in India. 1998.Suchitra Graphics; Hyderabad.

2. FEATHER (John) and STURGES (Paul), ed.International encyclopaedia of information.1997. Routledge Publication; London; pp. 402.


3. Ibid., 402.

4. Ibid., 403.

5. ILO. Library and information services ofmanagement development institutions. 1986,ILO; Geneva; p. 91.

6. Op Cit., 402.

7. CHATTERJEE (Amitabha), et al. Researchtrends in library and information science inIndia. Ann of Lib Sci & Doc. 42, 2; 1995; 54-60.

8. SWANSON (Burton) and RAMILLER (N C).Information systems research thematic:Submissions to a new Journal 1987-1992.Information Systems Research. 4, 4; 1993;299-330.

9. BARRY (Christopher B). New directions inresearch on venture capital. Financialmanagement. 23, 3; 1997; 3-15.

10. LAHIRI (Ramamsu). Research in libraryscience in India 1959-1995: An account ofPh.D. programmes. Ann of Lib Sci & Doc. 43,2, 1996; 59-68.

11. LAHIRI (Ramamasu). The Ph.D. programmeon library research in India: A birds eye view.University News. 34,16; 1996, 7-8.

12. Research in Progress and Theses of themonth. University news from 1987 toDecember 1997.

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APPENDIX-1

KEYWORDS, CONCEPTS and ASSOCIATIONS

ACADEMIC LIBRARIES HRD Needs Natural ScienceCollege Libraries Infn. Infrastructure

..

Growth & Devp. Librarians' Resistance COLLEGE LIBRARIESTeacher Edun. Medical Libraries Growth and Devp.

Distant Edun. Libs Special Libraries Teachers Edun.Library Services Technical Libraries

EngglTech.Libraries COLLfCTION DEVP.Collection Devp. BIBLIOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS Acquisition SystemNetworking Chemical Literature ArchivesJob Satisfaction Children Literature College LibrariesUsers Study Earth Science Comparative Librarianship

Infn. Seeking Beh. Hindi Reference Sources Map CollectionMedical Libraries Horticultural Literature Non Print Media

Health Infn. System Indian's Contribution Serials ManagementConsumer Infn. System Kerala Economy Special LibraryNetworking LIS LiteratureInfn. Management LIS Ph.D Theses CONTENT ANALYSISUsers Study Malayalam Journals LIS Books

Library Services Malayalam TranslationsMGT. Edun. Libraries Periodicals Publications COMPUTERIZATION

Thesaurus Construction Ph.D Theses See AutomationUsers Study Physical Edun.

Library Services Phytopathology COPYRIGHT ACTPhysical Edun. Libraries Punjabi Sanskrit Literature

Growth & Devp. Science Journals DISTANT EDUN. LlBsLibrary Services Social Sciences Library Services

School Libraries SRR and P.N. Kaula WorksGrowth & devp. Thai National Library DOCUMENTATIONLibrary resources

University Libraries BIBLIOGRAPHIC SERVICES ENGINEERING L1Bs.Acquisition System Collection Devp.NetworkingApplication of IT BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS Job SatisfactionBuilding See Bibliographic Analysis Users StudyCollection Devp. Infn. Seeking Beh.Financial Administration CATALOGINGGrowth and Devp. Impact of Ranganathan GOVT. LIBRARIESInfn. Services Rendering of Names Central Govt.Library Usage Since Cutter Users StudyManagement Infn. UsageNew Edun. Policy CIRCULATION SYSTEM State Govt.Personnel Administration Automation PublicationsResource Sharing Polytechnic, DelhiRole in S&T CITATION ANALYSIS Growth & Devp.Science & Technology See Bibliographic AnalysisSerials Control HRD/PERSONNEL MGT.Users Study CLASSIFICATION SCHEME Attitude- Tech. AdoptionLibrary Services Cancer Literature HRD Needs in Libs.

Comparative In Service trainingAUTOMATION DOC Job Opportunities

Attitude of Staff DDC Expansion Job SatisfactionCirculation System Knowledge Classification Leadership Style

152 Ann Lib Sci Doc


Managerial Role INFORMATION SERVICES LIBRARY MANAGEMENTManpower Utilization Distance Edun. librariesMerchants Performance INFORMATION SYSTEM

Measurement Model DESIGN LIBRARY MOVEMENTPersonnel Administration AgricultureProfessional Attitude/Quality Ayurveda LIBRARY NETWORKResistance to Automation Education Health ScienceWomen Librarians Fisheries ONGC Libraries

Legal RuralINDEXING Machine Tools Technical libraries

Comparative Study Medical CollegesBook Indexing O.R. Techniques LIBRARY ORIENTATIONIndexing System Online BibliographicIndexing Languages Pharmaceuticals LIS EDUCATION

Planning and Devp. continuingINDUSTRIAL LIBRARIES Retrieval System Grad. level Learning

A.P. Soil Survey India & UKGrowth & devp. Statistical India and Iran

BHEL, ONGC, Jute Sugar Industry KarnatakaNetworking North IndiaUsers Study INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Rajasthan & M.P.

Infn. usage Applications RestructuringInfn. Seeking Behaviour Attitude it Usage YemenLibrary Utilization Impact on Library

Sugar Industry Job Opportunity LIS PROFESSIONALSNational Infn. System library Staff Attitude Attitude- Tech. Adoption

Technology Adoption Leadership StyleINFORMATION NEEDS Managerial Role

Agricultu ral Scientists LlBRARIANSHIP Professional Attitude.Defence Scientists in Muslim Rule Professional QualityEconomists Resistance to AutomationHistorians LIBRARIES Women librariansJournalists AbroadLibrary Users UAE, Iran, Thailand MANAGEMENTEDUN.LlBsPh.D. Scholars L&I Centres/Services Thesaurus ConstructionPhysics and Chemistry Jordan Users StudyProfessionals Marketing lnfn. Products Library ServicesRubber Scientists U,K., IranSocial Scientists LIS Education MEDICAL. LIBRARIESSilk Scientists Health Infn. SystemUniversity Teachers LIBRARIES Consumer Infn. System

Abroad NetworkingINFN. PROC. BEHAVIOUR Academic Infn. Management

Govt. Users StudyINFN. SEEKING BEHAVIOR Industry Library Services

See Information Needs Social ScienceSpecial libraries MARKETING OF

INFORMATION NETWORK LIBRARY & COMMUNITY Agri. Infn. ProductsHealth Science Infn. ProductsONGC Libraries LIBRARY & SOCIETYRural MULTIMEDIA IN LIBRARYTechnical Libraries LIBRARY ASSN. INDIAN

NETWORKIN/NETWORKINGINFORMATION RETRIEVAL LIB. COMMUNICATION Health Science

Formation of Subjects ONGC librariesSoil Mechanics LIBRARY LEGISLATION RuralSystem/Tools Rajasthan Technical librariesTerminology

Vol45 No 4 December 1998 153


PHYSICAL EDUN. LIBRARIESGrowth & Devp.Library Services

PRE CO-ORO. INDEXING

PERSONNEL MGTIHRDAttitude to Tech. AdoptionHRD in LibrariesHRD NeedsIn Service TrainingJob OpportunitiesJob SatisfactionLeadership StyleManagerial RoleManpower UtilizationMerchants Performance

Measurement ModelPersonnel AdministrationProfessional QualityResistance to AutomationWomen Librarians

PUBLIC LIBRARIESGrowth & Devp.

Delhi, M.P., Manipur,Kerala, Orissa

Library Building,Legistation .Movement in M.P.Public relationsSystem, ServicesTribal Community

PUBLIC REL. IN LIBRARY

RESOURCE SHARINGHealth ScienceONGC Libraries

154

RuralTechnical Libraries

SECURITY AGAINST THEFTSPECIAL LIBRARIES

Defense LibrariesUsers Study

Infn. NeedsUse of Standards

Geographic LibrariesGrowth & devp.Users Study

Library UsageNewspaper Libraries

Users Study .Infn. NeedsInfn. Seeking Beh.

Railway LibrariesGrowth & devp.

Res. & Devp. LibrariesGrowth & devp.NetworkingAutomationUsers Study

Library ServicesRural Libraries

NetworkingSports Libraries

Library Services

TECHNICAL LIBRARIESCoillection Devp.NetworkingJob SatisfactionUsers Study

Infn. Seeking Behaviour

TECHNOLOGY ADOPTIONAttitude Study

Librarians resistanceInfn. InfrastructureLibrary Role

THESAURUSManagementPre Co-Ord. Indexing

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESAcquisition SystemA.P'/U.P.Application of ITArchivesBuildingCollection Devp.Financial Admn.Growth and Devp.Infn. ServiceLibrary UsageManagementNew Edun. PolicyPersonnel Admn.Resource SharingRole in S&TScience & Tech.Serials Control

USER STUDIESCatalog/Index UsageInfn. NeedInfn. Seeking Beh.Infn. Sources UsageLibrary CollectionUsage of Infn. SourcesAttitude

Library UsageUser SatisfactionResource EvaluationService Evaluation

Ann Lib Sci Doc


APPENDIX-2

YEARWISE DISTRIBUTION OF CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 TOTAL

Bibliographic/Bibliometric/Citation Analysis 3 1 1 2 5 6 4 5 8 2 6 43

Bibliographic Service 1 1

Cataloguing 1 2 3

Classification 2 1 2 1 6

Circulation System 1 1

Collection Development 2 2 2 1 1 1 9

ComparativeLibrarianship 1 1

Copy Right Act 1 1

Service 1 1

DBMS 1 1

Documentation Service 1 1

Financial Management 1 1

Govt. Libraries 1,

1 2

Information Management 1 1 2

Information Retrieval 1 1

Information Service 1 1

Information Sys. Design 2 2 1 4 1 2 3 3 3 5 26

Information Technology 1 2 1 4

Informational Role 1 1

Indexing 1 1 1 1 1 5

Libraries-Foreign 1 2 1 4

Library Association 1 1

Library Automation 1 1 1 3

Library Building 1 1Library and Community 1 2 3

Library Education 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 9

Library Legislation 1 1 2

Library Management 1 1Library Professionals 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 I 9

Multimedia in Library 1 1Mari<etina of L.I Service 1 1 2Networi<ing/Resource Sharing 1 4 2 2 1 2 1 13 -Personnel Manaaement 1 1 3 4 1 4 14Public Libraries 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 9Pub. Rei. in Libraries 1 1Security against Theft 1 1 1social Science Libraries 1 1Special Libraries 1 1 2 4 2 2 12Thesaurus/Controlled Voc. 1

--2 3

User Studies-

1 1 3 7 2 6 4 9 1 6 40University Libraries i 2 1 7 2 2 1 1 I 16

I I

Total 10 10 18 20 29 33 29 29 34 ! 14 29 I 255-

Vol45 No 4 December 1998 ]55

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