Usage of electronic resources at University of Delhi: a case study

Purpose The aim of this paper is to know the cost of per use, to analyze the cost per use in different subjects, to analyze the most economical as well as expensive electronic database being subscribed by the University of Delhi, to identify the database(s) for cancellation and to highlight issues related to usage statistics. Design/methodology/approach Usage statistics have been collected from the publishers for the period under study of full-text databases in the counting online usage of networked electronic resource (COUNTER) JR1 excluding downloads from an archive and Indian databases not providing COUNTER compliance usage. Usages of foreign databases have been analyzed through different parameters like yearly average cost per down load, subject-wise average cost per down, most economical databases and most expensive databases have been identified. A total approximation cost has also been worked by adopting standards practice to know the saving of University of Delhi by subscribing these databases. Findings The study concludes that in case of foreign databases, the cost per use has increased by 41.77 per cent in the past 10 years and the cumulative average cost per use has been Rs.55.07 less than $1 if converted into US$. In case of subject, the cheapest cost per use has been from the databases providing statistical data (Rs.26.50) and the costliest cost per use has been from discipline social science (99–196.61), followed by management (Rs.37.33), general databases (Rs.40.58), science (Rs.41.66), humanities (Rs.48.73), technology (Rs.93.22) and computer science (Rs.102.09) per use. It has also been found that the Britannica Online has been the most economical database costing Rs.2.33 and World Intellectual Property Search as most expensive costing Rs.14,902.19 per use. The study concludes that University of Delhi have saved substantial amount by subscribing these databases instead of purchasing these article from open market. The study concluded that though the usage statistics is an important parameter for renewal or cancellation, it should not be the only criteria. Research limitations/implications This study could not able to work out the cost per use of Indian databases, as they were not able to provide COUNTER statistics. Practical implications On the basis of the study, University of Delhi and institute may decide on renewal of these databases. The institute may take necessary action to promote these databases through information literacy program. On the basis of the study, University of Delhi and institute may decide on renewal of these databases. The institute may take necessary action to promote these databases through information literacy program. Originality/value This study is an empirical research based on original usage statistics provided by the publishers in COUNTER format. Earlier literature has also been studied and used. Proper citation and reference have been acknowledged. The study has been checked through plagiarism detecting software.