USE Of SCHOLARLY JOURNALS BY THE ACADEMIC STAFF OF SRI LANKAN UNIVERSITIES (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO COLOMBO, KELANIYA AND MORATUWA UNIVERSITIES)

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare the usage of print journals with electronic journals by members of the academic staff'in the universities ofKelaniya, Colombo and Moratuwa. The total population consists 2,557 Academic staff members representing Professors,

Senior lecturers, Lectures, Probationary lecturers and Temporary Assistant lecturers of the three selected universities. The sample size representative of the study is 335 based on the Krejcie and Morgan's sample size determination table.335 questionnaires were distributed using stratified random sampling technique. 321 questionnaires were returned and the overall response rate was 96% out of the calculated sample size. All the statistical procedures were done through SI'SS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences/version 22). The analyzed data is represented in tabular form and in charts wherever required. The findings of the study are, majority of the respondents arc well aware of the availability of print and electronic journals of their university libraries, more percentage of respondents usc the available electronic data bases mostly and usage of print journals is not satisfactory. The overall perception and satisfaction towards the use of electronic journals among the respondents was shown to be very positive. The usage of these resources can be increased if users are motivated to usc these in the three selected universities by providing them regular workshops, take the necessary steps to market the available electronic and print journals in the libraries etc. Majority of the respondents prefer to use both print and electronic journals and they are still demanding both types of journals for fulfilling their information needs.