Widening Access to Resources using Indices in times of Financial Crisis – Sharing an Experience from Sri Lanka
14 August 2024
Information Resources and Economic Crisis
It is not a new or surprising fact that libraries around the world face declining financial resources every year, regardless of their geographical location. In Sri Lanka, this ongoing challenge has been exacerbated, leading to more severe consequences for libraries.
According to Van der Marel (2022), the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008 triggered a sharp increase in digital services. Similarly, the recent COVID-19 pandemic had the same effect, altering how organisations delivered their services. Sri Lanka was severely impacted by the global pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis that led to significant resource shortages. This situation compelled librarians to find innovative ways to provide support and services to their patrons using available resources, all while upholding the commitment to social responsibility and proactive services.
Giannakopoulos, Koulouris, and Kokkinos (2014) emphasise that academic libraries should utilise all possible means to ensure seamless operation during difficult periods. Additionally, Weiner (2005) found that the relationship between indexes and services is crucial for service quality, which affects patron usage of library services. Consequently, university libraries in Sri Lanka have adopted simple yet cost-effective tools to organise and index their resources, thereby improving user access and understanding.
Use of Simple Applications to Creating Indices
The library of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) developed two indices using Microsoft List to organise and display resources and their related categories.
Firstly, an index was created for the print journals available at Allied Health Sciences Library, KDU. This index provides a searchable database accessible via the library website 24/7. The library has subscribed to many print journals and continues to receive valuable publications in relevant disciplines. These journals cover a wide range of important subjects essential to faculty members and students, especially during times when access to online journals is restricted. This initiative became particularly useful during the lockdown and economic crisis, which limited users’ physical access to the library.
Journal Index of Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, KDU
The second important index to highlight is the Dissertation Directory of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences at KDU. This index organises the dissertations of six bachelor’s programs: Nursing, Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Radiography, Radiotherapy, and Pharmacology. Both faculty members and young researchers demanded for such a tool to navigate the pool of existing research findings. This index ensures effective research development in the respective disciplines and encourages interdisciplinary studies among undergraduates. It helps researchers avoid duplicating studies unnecessarily, thereby saving time and money, and ensures that existing research is considered when developing new projects. Furthermore, this index supports the Internal Research Monitoring Committee in their review of topics that were researched earlier, allowing them to approve new proposals with greater ease. This online tool saves time for both students and staff and strengthens the relationship between the faculty and the library.
![](https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/Picture16-Dissertation-Directory.png)
Increased User Satisfaction
Using these indices, library users expressed their satisfaction through both formal and informal modes of communication. The usage of indices led to increased user footprint on the library website and encouraged interaction with the faculty librarian. As highlighted by Ashilungu & Onyancha (2024), expanding access to library collections by way of creating indices has proven to invigorate faculty library cooperation, which was recorded at library board meetings and personal feedback sessions.
![](https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/Picture17-Feddback-Response.png)
The introduction of indices resulted in an increase in access to journals and dissertations among library users, accompanied by a rise in library visits. Consequently, there were more frequent interactions between faculty and the library, particularly in terms of receiving research support services such as literature reviews, database, and collection searches, and using bibliography tools in the library. The library anticipates even more collaborative work with faculties as it further enhances access to its resources and services.
Contributed by UDH Kanchana, Senior Assistant Librarian, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka and T Ramanan, Senior Assistant Librarian, Faculty of Technology, University of Colombo
References
Ashilungu, M. & Onyancha, O.B. (2024). Faculty–librarian cooperation in collection development at the University of Namibia Library: with special reference to electronic resources, Collection and Curation, 43 (1), 8-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-11-2022-0041
Giannakopoulos, G., Koulouris, A. & Kokkinos, D. (2014). Libraries in Crisis: A Glimpse over Greece and Cyprus, Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 147, 411-417, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.121.
Van der Marel, E. (2022). Shifting into Digital Services: Does a Financial Crisis Matter and for Who? World Trade Review, 21(5), 523–549. https://doi:10.1017/S1474745622000052
Weiner, S. A. (2005). Library Quality and Impact: Is There a Relationship between New Measures and Traditional Measures? The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 31 (5), 432-437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2005.05.004