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Universities around the world have successfully incorporated Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) into their curricula and have facilitated credit transfers. The present study examines the integration of MOOCs in seven Indian universities. Moreover, the study focuses on the level of amalgamation of MOOCs, perceptions of institutions regarding the provision of online courses, and transition of MOOCs from informal to formal education. Furthermore, the study investigates the hindrances faced by higher educational institutions in providing services to MOOC learners. Purposive sampling technique was employed to facilitate selection of institutions. The responses were collected using a structured questionnaire. The study found moderate level, low level and very low-level integration of MOOCs in all seven universities. Six out of seven institutions namely, JNU, JMI, DU, GGSIPU, DBRAUD and NLU, adopted “Explain the perceived usefulness” as a strategy to influence the affordability uptake of MOOCs. Five out of seven institutions educate users about different MOOC platforms in the information literacy events. Surprisingly, two institution libraries out of seven revealed that their library services align with MOOCs. Surprisingly, majority of libraries of the seven institutions have not formulated any noteworthy strategy to foster the uptake of MOOCs among the academic community. Therefore, LIS professionals ought to grasp the nuances of various MOOC platforms. Also, library strategies should include MOOCs so that users can benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to trace the development of Indian research data repositories (RDRs) and explore their content with the view of identifying prospects and possibilities. Further, it analyses the distribution of data repositories on the basis of content coverage, types of content, author identification system followed, software and the application programming interface used, subject wise number of repositories etc. The study is based on data repositories listed on the registry of data repositories accessible at http://www.re3data.org. The dataset was exported in Microsoft Excel format for analysis. A simple percentage method was followed in data analyses and results are presented through Tables and Figures. The study found a total of 2829 data repositories in existence worldwide. Further, it was seen that 1526 (53.9%) are open and 924 (32.4%) are restricted data repositories. Also, there are embargoed data repositories numbering 225 (8.0%) and closed ones numbering 154 (5.4%). There are 2829 RDRs covering 72 countries in the world. The study found that out of total 45 Indian RDRs, only 30 (67%) are open, followed by restricted 12 (27%) and 3 (6%) that are closed. Majority of Indian RDRs (20) were developed in the year 2014. The study found that the majority of Indian RDRs (17) are'disciplinary'. Further, the study also revealed that statistical data formats are available in a maximum of 31 (68.9%) Indian RDRs. It was also seen that the majority of Indian RDRs (28) has datasets relating to 'Life Sciences'. It was identified that only 20% of data repositories have been using metadata standards in metadata; the remaining 80% do not use any standards in metadata entry. This study covered only the research data repositories in India registered on the registry of data repositories. RDRs not listed in the registry of data repositories are left out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is an attempt to understand the research attitude, engagement and competencies of LIS professionals in higher educational institutions in India. It was found that out of 170 respondents, 145 (85.3%) respondents read research literature regularly and 75 (44.1) expressed that reading research based articles is their regular activity. But 95 (55.9) do not read journal articles. 155 (91.2) respondents revealed that they have conducted research after obtaining the formal degree. Majority of respondents 47 (27.6) revealed that their preferred mode of dissemination of research has been publishing paper in conference proceedings, followed by publishing a paper in refereed journals 35 (20.6). Maximum respondents 72 (40.0) followed a theoretical approach in conducting research, followed by survey method 55 (30.6). 'E-resources' (160) and 'Bibliometric Study' (120) has been the most preferred areas of research publishing. 'Lack of funding support' (160), 'time constraints' (155) and 'Problems in data collection' (150), have been identified as major constraints in carrying out research. The main purpose for conducting research is to find the academic performance indicators (APIs) 150, followed by personal growth (102). The study suggests that funding agencies and universities need to come forward to encourage LIS professionals to pursue research and publishing. This will add value in delivering the best library services to academic community and also improve research activities in academic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the online legal information sources available in law libraries in India. Design/methodology/approach – Evaluation method followed with the help of specially designed checklist for e-resources in the field of law in India. The structured checklist was designed keeping in view of the objectives and e-resources/databases existing in Indian libraries, comprising 189 dichotomous questions and categorized into 12 broad categories. Findings – The study revealed that the study legal information sources are lagging behind in exploiting the full potential of Web 2.0 features. No study legal information source has integrated Web 2.0 tools with contents and provision to contribute the contents by user any time, irrespective of location, except online legal information system (OLIS). Majority of e-resources are lacking search features, general features, Web 2.0 tools, better help features and provision to contribute contents by the users. Besides this, a mobile-based view is not available in majority of sources, and open access resources are lacking user-friendly features. Of the 16 legal information resources, only five have all the four citations search parameters. The study reveals that the OLIS has the maximum features and ranked “excellent”, followed by Manupatra ranked “average”. Half of study online legal information sources are ranked “needs improvement” and 37.5 per cent ranked “below average”. Practical implications – The findings of the study will not only guide the law librarians to subscribe/renew legal databases in their libraries but also improve the legal information literacy among the users for effective use of online legal information sources. It is hoped that the evaluation of online legal information sources will enhance the user’s awareness and increase the use. Originality/value – The findings of the study will not only guide the legal libraries to improve their online legal information sources, particularly, better help features and integrated content with Web 2.0 tools, but also provide guidelines for newly established legal libraries in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study illustrates the functionality of Online Legal Information System (OLIS) developed to suit the Indian environment. The OLIS perpetrates numerous types of legal information resources in a single window search so that lawyers, research scholars, students and the common masses can get the information expeditiously. The OLIS is accessible online at (http://www.olisindia.in). It has provision of citation search facility, filtering of retrieved records and, online account to keep the selected record. It is also compliant with Web 2.0 tools and empowers users to contribute their own contents in the system. The architecture of the system is in five layers. Data layer handles metadata associated with the contents while storage layer manages full text contents. Network layer perpetually connects the users and source institutions to build the system. Presentation layer facilitates display of the retrieved results in clusters. Business layer consolidates the operation of the system. A number of operations such as, latest news, online help FAQ, query submission, online discussion form for help and video tutorials have been created under this layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The judicial system of India is large and complex in size. The amount of legal information is growing at enormous pace, and legal professionals no longer commit such large amount of knowledge to memory. It is cumbersome for the users to locate the valuable legal information related to respective problem. Therefore, a study was conducted to know the librarians' perspective to develop a model Online Legal Information System (OLIS) to suit the Indian environment. Findings of the study reveal that access instruction on the online resources are not clear, and there is lack of expertise in using legal databases. Majority of respondents suggested that the following resources and features should be incorporated in the proposed OLIS: Parliament debates, equivalent citation table, commentaries, search through appellant/respondent, Boolean search operators, printing and e-mail facility, help services through e-mail/discussion forum, citation search facility, search results filter, online account service, export of bibliographical record, save/export of retrieved results, save their searches, subjectwise clustering, Web 2.0 tools, online training, link to useful websites in the field of law, and help services. A number of suggestions put forward by the respondents are also recorded and incorporated in different features of the OLIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]