Students' keenness on use of e-resources

Purpose - This study aims to focus on the keenness of students of business schools of Orissa (India) on the use of electronic resources and attempts to evaluate the level of electronic information services offered by the primary information reserves of the respective business schools with an opinion pool of sample respondents. Moreover, it intends to elicit the barriers in use of e-information with recommendations for the improvement of services and usage of e-resources. Design/methodology/approach - The paper examines the use of electronic resources by students of business schools of Orissa (India) through structured questionnaires. SPSS is used for data analysis. Findings - The study finds that students express keen interest in the use of e-journals, followed by e-books, e-newspapers, e-reports, and e-articles. Least interest is shown towards the use of electronic theses and dissertations. The study reveals that the majority of students are aware of EBSCO, and Emerald Management Xtra. However, the awareness of all other databases is not quite so encouraging. Further, it is revealed that the use of printed materials is slightly more compared to that of e-resources. Use of Web OPAC is also less than expected. Practical implications - The paper highlights the practicality of the use of electronic resources, compared to print, among the students of business schools of Orissa (India). Originality/value - The paper reveals the degree of use of electronic resources by business students and makes some useful deductions for its subsequent generalization.