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Questionnaires were distributed to 625 library professionals in the Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur Districts and the response received from them are given in Table 1.

Table 1 shows the distribution of questionnaires among the library professionals in the Self-financing Engineering Colleges in the Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur Districts. In total, 83 colleges in are available in the Kanchipuram District and 43 colleges are available in the Thiruvallur District. Exactly 410 questionnaires in Kanchipuram District and 215 in Thiruvallur District were distributed. Out of these, 308 (75.12%) and 196 (91.16%) replied, It is pointed out that the majority of the respondents replied from the Kanchipuram District

The library professionals who are working in the engineering college libraries in Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur Districts are categorized by their years of experience and are shown in the Figure 1.

Fig. 1. 
Distribution of Professionals by their Experience

It is observed from Figure 1 that the library professionals are categorised by the years of experience;, the largest group of respondents have ‘6-10 years’ of experience in their professions in both districts.

Opinion regarding the ICT application in their library has been analysed based on the responses from the library professionals and are shown in Table 2.

It is observed from Table 2 that the respondents chose ‘Helps to improve communication’ as the highest influence of ICT. ‘Disturbs routine work of the library’ and ‘Makes integration within the library’ is the second and third preferences. The least preference was given to ‘Facilitates quick access to current data.’ The weighted average maturity value of all the variables ranges between 4.04 and 4.35. It can be inferred that all the ten variables lie between ‘Agree’ and ‘Strongly Agree’. The deviation of opinion ranges between 1.116 and 1.386.

Opinion regarding the ICT application in their library Vs Years of Experience has been analysed based on the responses from the library professionals and is shown in Table 3.

Table 3 for those respondents with experience ‘Below 5 years’, has listed ‘Increases job satisfaction of library professional’ as the first priority. ‘Makes integration within the library’ and ‘Helps to improve communication’ are the second and third preferences. The least preferences were given for ‘Improve quality of library service’. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 3.84 and 4.53. The deviation of opinion ranges between .830 and 1.603.

Similarly, the respondents with experience of ‘6-10 years’ have indicated that ‘Helps to enhance knowledge and skills of library professional’ as the first priority. ‘Helps to improve communication’ and ‘Disturbs routine work of the library’ are the second and third preferences. The least preferences were given for ‘Increases job satisfaction of library professional’ by the above respondents. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 3.85 and 4.41. The standard deviation ranged between .990 and 1.480.

The respondents with 11 - 15 years’ of work experience have given ‘Helps to improve communication’ as the first priority. The second and third priorities are ‘Improves the status of the library’ and ‘Disturbs routine work of the library’ and the least value of the opinions are ‘Facilitates quick access to current data’. The mean values of all the variables range between 4.17 and 4.40. The standard deviation ranges between .990 and 1.293.

The respondents with ‘Above 15 years’ of work experience have given ‘Makes integration within the library’ as the first priority. The second and third priorities are ‘Disturbs routine work of the library’ and ‘Helps to improve communication’ and the least are ‘Facilitates quick access to current data’. The mean values of all the variables range between 3.79 and 4.39. The standard deviation ranges between 1.075 and 1.554.

A Chi square test has been administered to identify the significance. The calculated value is shown in Table 3. Table value is 21.026 for a 5% level of significance. The calculated value for all the values less than the table value which indicated the variables are insignificant among the groups, except for ‘Reduces workload of the library professional’

The problems faced when using web technologies have been analysed based on the responses among the library professionals and are shown in Table 4.

It is observed from Table 4 that the respondents identified ‘Lack of support from IT Departments’ as the first. ‘Lack of support from administrators’, ‘Lack of co-operation among library staff’ are the second and third indicated by the library professionals. The lowest selection was ‘Lack of interest among users’. The WAM value of all the variables ranges between 3.94 and 4.29. It can be inferred that all the variables lie between ‘Agree’ and ‘Strongly Agree’. The deviation of opinion ranges between 1.065 and 1.415.

The problems faced when using Information and Communication Technology Vs Years of Experience has been analysed based on the responses among the library professionals and are shown in Table 5.

From Table 5 those respondents with experience ‘Below 5 years’ have given ‘Lack of interest among users’, ‘Lack of time’ and ‘Lack of knowledge among members’ as the first, second and third selections. The least problem identification was given for ‘Lack of co-operation among library staff’. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 3.95 and 4.34. The deviation of opinion ranges between 1.122 and 1.576.

Similarly, respondents with experience ‘6-10 years’ have indicated ‘Lack of support from IT Departments’ as their first priority. ‘Lack of co-operation among library staff’ and ‘Lack of support from administrators’ are the second and third selections. The lowest problem identifications were given for ‘Lack of interest among users’ by the above respondents. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 3.77 and 4.35. The standard deviation ranged between 1.032 and 1.492.

The respondents with ‘11 - 15 years’ of work experience, have given ‘Lack of support from IT Departments’ as the first priority. The second and third priorities are listed as ‘Lack of support from administrators’ and ‘Lack of time’ and the lowest values with respect to problems are ‘Lack of knowledge among members’. The mean values of all the variables ranges between 3.97 and 4.35. The standard deviation ranges between 1.018 and 1.475.

The respondents with ‘Above 15 years’ of work experience have given ‘Lack of co-operation among library staff’ as the highest problem identified. The second and third are ‘Lack of support from IT Departments’ and ‘Lack of knowledge among members’ and the lowest is ‘Lack of time’. The mean values of all the variables ranges between 3.89 and 4.18. The standard deviation ranges between 1.111 and 1.495.

A Chi square test has been administered to identify the significance. The calculated value is shown in Table 5. Table value is 21.026 for a 5% level of significance. The calculated value for all the values is less than the table value which indicates the variables are insignificant in difference of opinion among experience groups towards the problems faced while using web technologies.

The problems faced by the library professionals in applying ICT in libraries has been analysed based on the opinion given by the respondents and is shown in Table 6.

It is observed from Table 6 that the respondents identified ‘Lack of ICT knowledge on the part of users’ as the greatest problem. ‘Lack of initiative on the part of library staff’ and ‘Insufficient funds’ are the second and third. The least identified as a problem was ‘Inadequately trained staff in ICT applications’. The weighted average maturity value of all the variables ranges between 3.68 and 4.00. It can be inferred that all the eight variables lie between ‘Agree’ and ‘Strongly Agree’. The deviation of opinion ranges between 1.363 and 1.603.

The problems faced by the library professionals in applying ICT in libraries Vs Experience has been analysed based on the opinions given by the respondents and shown in Table 7.

Table 7 for those respondents with experience ‘Below 5 years’ has identified ‘Lack of ICT knowledge on the part of users’ as the highest problem area. ‘Insufficient funds’ and ‘Lack of initiative on the part of library staff’ are the second and third. The least value was given to ‘Inadequately trained staff in ICT applications’. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 3.08 and 4.21. The deviation of opinion ranges between 1.255 and 1.777.

Similarly, the respondents with experience of ‘6-10 years’ indicated that ‘Lack of initiative on the part of library staff’ was the greatest problem. ‘Lack of support from authorities’ and ‘insufficient funds’ are the second and third. The least selection was given to ‘Inadequately trained staff in ICT applications’ by the above respondents. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 3.58 and 3.95. The standard deviation ranges between 1.332 and 1.640.

The respondents with ‘11 - 15 years’ of work experience have given ‘Lack of ICT knowledge on the part of users’ as the first problem. The second and third are ‘Lack of initiative on the part of library staff’ and ‘Insufficient funds,’ and the least value for the opinions is ‘Lack of support from authorities’. The mean values of all the variables ranges between 3.75 and 4.19. The Standard Deviation ranges between 1.294 and 1.646.

The respondents with ‘Above 15 years’ of work experience, has identified ‘Library staff are not interested in ICT adoption’ as the first problem. The second and third are ‘Lack of ICT knowledge on the part of users’ and ‘Insufficient funds’ and the least is ‘Lack of support from authorities’. The mean values of all the variables ranges between 3.54 and 4.12. The Standard Deviation ranges between 1.322 and 1.684.

Further, a Chi square test has been administered to identify the significance. The calculated value is shown in Table 7. Table 7 value is 21.026 for a 5% level of significance. The calculated value for all the values less than the table value indicated the variables except ‘Insufficient funds’ and ‘Inadequate trained staff in ICT application’ are insignificant in difference of opinion among experience groups with respect to problems faced by the professionals.

The use web application in future libraries has been analysed based on the responses received from library professionals and is shown in Table 8.

It is observed from Table 8 that the respondents chose ‘Learning about user’s information requirements’ as the highest priority. ‘Mobile based Information Services’ and ‘Creating staff and student profiles’ are the second and third preferences indicated by the library professionals. The least preference was given to ‘Marketing library services’. The weighted average maturity value of all the variables ranges between 3.71 and 4.21. It can be inferred that all the six variables lie between ‘Agree’ and ‘Strongly Agree’. The deviation of opinion ranges between 1.212 and 1.566.

The use of web application in future libraries Vs Experience has been analysed based on the responses among the library professionals and it is shown in Table 9.

Table 9 shows that respondents with experience ‘Below 5 years’ have given ‘Learning about users information requirements’ as the first priority. ‘Providing mobile based information services’ and ‘Marketing library services’ are the second and third preferences indicated by the respondents. The least preference was given to ‘Explain your library digital presence’. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 3.55 and 4.42. The deviation of opinion ranges between .919 and 1.632.

Similarly, respondents with experience of ‘6 -10 years’ have indicated ‘Providing mobile based information services’as the first priority. ‘Creating staff and student profiles’ and ‘Learning about user’s information requirements’ are the second and third, The least preferences were given to ‘Marketing library services’ by the respondents. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 3.62 and 4.13. The standard deviation ranges between 1.291 and 1.597.

The respondents with ‘11 - 15 years’ of work experience have given ‘Providing mobile based information services’ as the first priority. The second and third priorities are given as ‘Learning about users information requirements’ and ‘Creating staff and student profiles’ and the least value of opinions is ‘Marketing library services’. The mean values of all the variables ranges between 3.76 and 4.35. The Standard Deviation ranges between 1.114 and 1.556.

For the respondents with ‘Above 15 years’ of work experience ‘Learning about user’s information requirements’ was the first priority. The second and third priorities are ‘Providing mobile based information services’ and ‘Creating staff and student profiles’ and the least priority was ‘Receiving feedback about library services’. The mean values of all the variables ranges between 3.67 and 4.20. The standard deviation ranges between 1.229 and 1.572.

A Chi square test has been administered to identify the significance. The calculated value is shown in Table 9. Table value is 21.026 for a 5% level of significance. The calculated value for all the values less than the table value indicated the variables are insignificant except for the variable “Providing mobile based information services” in difference of opinion among experience groups towards use of web applications in future.

Opinions on problems in implementing ICT applications in their library have been analysed based on the responses of the library professionals and are shown in the Table 10.

Table 10 shows the respondents chose ‘Lack of co-ordination among library staff’ as the highest problem. ‘Lack of scope for library professionals due to ICT applications’ and ‘No support from administration in training library professionals’ are the second and third problems. The least identified problem choice was identified as ‘Fear of ICT applications’. The weighted average maturity value of all the variables ranges between 3.55 and 4.05. It can be inferred that all the variables lie between ‘Agree’ and ‘Strongly Agree’. The deviation of opinion ranges between 1.179 and 1.641.

The professional opinion data on problems in Implementing ICT applications in your Library has been calculated and has been shown in Table 11.

It can be seen from the table that all the variables are correlated positively. Few of the variables are significant at the 99% level and the 95% level in 2 tailed tests.

Highly correlated variables

∙ ‘Lack of co-ordination among library staff’ and ‘inadequate training in ICT applications’.
∙ ‘Fear of ICT applications’ and ‘Inadequate training in ICT applications’.

Least correlated variables

∙ ‘Lack of support from authorities for implementing ICT applications in library’ and ‘Lack of infrastructure’.
∙ ‘No initiative from professional associations to conduct specialized training Programs’ and ‘Lack of support from authorities for implementing ICT applications in library’.

It can be inferred that the professionals are accepted and need the training in ICT applications.

Opinion on problems in implementing ICT application in their library has been analysed based on the responses among the library professionals and it is shown in Table 12.

Table 12 states the respondents with experience ‘Below 5 years’ have given ‘Lack of infrastructure’ as the first priority. The categories of ‘Lack of interest on the part of users’ and ‘No support from administration in training library professionals’ are the second and third priorities. The least value was given to ‘Fear of ICT applications’. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 305 and 4.21. The deviation of opinion ranges between 1.166 and 1.739.

Similarly the respondents with experience ‘6 -10 years’ have indicated that ‘No support from administration in training library professionals’ as the highest identified problem. ‘Lack of co-ordination among library staff’ and ‘Lack of scope for library professionals due to ICT applications’ are the second and third. The least value was given to ‘Inadequate training in ICT applications’. The mean value of all the variables ranges between 3.62 and 4.04. The standard deviation ranges between 1.412 and 1.628

The respondents with ‘11 - 15 years’ of work experience have given ‘Lack of co-ordination among library staff’ as the first priority. The second and third priorities are given to ‘Inadequate training in ICT applications and ‘Lack of scope for library professionals due to ICT applications,’ and the least value of the opinions are ‘Fear of ICT applications’. The mean values of all the variables ranges between 3.55and 4.21. The standard deviation ranges between 1.044and 1.652.

The respondents with ‘Above 15 years’ of work experience have given ‘Lack of scope for library professionals due to ICT applications’ as the first priority. The second and third are ‘Lack of co-ordination among library staff’ and ‘Lack of interest on the part of users,’ and the least choice of the opinions is ‘Fear of ICT applications’. The mean values of all the variables ranges between 3.54 and 4.13. The standard deviation ranges between 1.210 and 1.704.

A Chi square test has been administered to identify the significance. The calculated value is shown in Table 12. Table value is 21.026 for a 5% level of significance. The calculated value for the variables ‘Lack of infrastructure’, ‘Lack of scope for library professionals due to ICT applications’, ‘Lack of interest on the part of users’ and ‘Fear of ICT applications’ were less than the table value, which indicated the variables are insignificant. There maining variables were identified as significant as problems in implementing the ICT application in your library.