Electronic resources at the University of Sharjah medical library: an investigation of students' information-seeking behavior.
Electronic information is becoming prevalent worldwide, and its use is growing exponentially as more and more users are recognizing the potential that it offers in terms of access and delivery. However, with the introduction of new tools for e-information searching and retrieval, users have to readjust their information-seeking behavior to cope with the corresponding changes. The University of Sharjah library is steadily increasing its investment in e-resources to offer ubiquitous access to the growing body of literature in areas that interest the community it serves. This study reports the findings of a survey conducted to investigate the information-seeking behavior of medical students at the medical library. Results showed evidence of use of e-resources, but they did not explicitly establish that some of the major problems mentioned by participants did hinder the information searches of the respondents. An extensive literature review sets the background for the study.
Library & Information Systems Program, University of Sharjah Community College, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. bahdja@sharjah.ac.ae
Behdja
B
Boumarafi
D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D007993:Libraries, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014479:United Arab Emirates; D014584:User-Computer Interface