Muhammad Rafiq

University of the Punjab | PU · Institute of Information Management

The purpose of this study was to explore the university libraries’ response during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine their working practices, services patterns, strategies applied, and role played. This study is a qualitative exploration by collecting data through in-depth interviews of purposely selected Heads of seven university libraries. The...

This study assesses the research data management (RDM) awareness, attitude, practices, and behaviors of Pakistan's academic researchers. By using an internationally designed structured questionnaire as a data collection instrument. Quantitative survey research method was opted to meet the research objectives and data was collected from academicians...

This paper assesses the issues affecting the development of institutional repositories (IRs) in Pakistan along with presentation of an emergent framework for the development of IRs. The contribution is based on a sequential mixed methods research approach. In first phase the study opted a cross sectional survey with a structured questionnaire follo...

The purpose of the study was to investigate LIS Community's perceptions towards Open Source Software (OSS) adoption in libraries. The study adopted quantitative research design and a Likert type scale of 20 items was designed to collect data. Attention was given to three variables – organization type (public/private sector), library type (academic/...

The use of digital media is on rise around the world and same phenomenon is emerging in Pakistan. The study was intended to explore the use of digital media and demand for digitized contents in higher education sector of Pakistan. The research questions were answered by a comprehensive literature review along with semi-structured in-depth interview...

Purpose Digital skills and information literacy skills (IL) are essential for teaching staff in universities that make them able to perform their academic tasks (knowledge sharing and creation) effectively and efficiently. This study aims to explore the effect of these skills on knowledge sharing and research productivity of university teachers in...

Open access (OA) has emerged as a modern academic publishing paradigm that strives to provide all members of society with free access to scholarly knowledge. The content creators are generally agreed that researchers' scholarly work (e.g. books, theses, and research papers) should be freely accessible on the web for wider community use without any...

Orientations to reference and information service are the values, attitudes, and beliefs that librarians have about reference work. These orientations reveal the cognitive and emotional aspects of the work to complement the behavioral aspects that have been extensively studied. In this Q methodology study, the orientations to reference and informat...

This study aims to synthesise the findings of research on cloud computing adoption and use in libraries. This systematic literature review is based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method and comprises publications in the English language, published in the four world-renowned databases. This study identified var...

Purpose This study was designed to discover the readiness of the higher education commission (HEC)-recognized journals of Pakistan in terms of human, financial and technological resources, technical expertise, institutional support, availability of open access (OA) policy, availability of guidance and training, willingness, motivation and so on for...

Purpose-The digital contents (d-contents) are vulnerable to various threats either natural or manmade. Digital preservation is the plethora of a wide array of strategies necessary for the long-term preservation of digital objects. This study was carried out to assess the digital preservation practices for information resources in university librari...

This research aims to explore Internet of Things (IoT) applications in medical libraries of Pakistan. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, the study unfolds in two phases. Initially, quantitative data was gathered from 63 medical librarians throughout Pakistan. Subsequently, in the second phase, 10 medical librarians were pur...

In organizations, knowledge sharing is a major source of innovation, performance, success, and goal achievement. This review-based study aims to extract the determinants of knowledge sharing from previously conducted studies. It also explores the organizational factors that have been most emphasized in studies on knowledge sharing. Following inclus...

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of smartphone technology in facilitating teaching and learning in Pakistani academic libraries during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Leveraging a questionnaire, we gathered data on students’ experiences, focusing on the challenges encountered, the usability and adoption rates of smartphones, and their impact o...

Purpose The purpose of the paper was to outline the Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on the review of relevant literature. Findings The study provides a broader overview of the role community libraries (CLs) can play in extending their role to a more vibrant perspective. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the...

Purpose The research on social media adoption and use is on the rise in Pakistan. However, researchers did not focus on investigating the risks associated with social media use for library services. So, this study examines perceived risks of library services through social media in the university libraries of Pakistan. Also, suggest possible soluti...

Students who possess information competency are better equipped to use the large volumes of data at their disposal and think critically and creatively. This study aims to address the research gap in Pakistani higher education by examining the information competency of undergraduate students at a premier university. A cross-sectional survey was cond...

Advanced technology has brought tremendous changes in our daily lives; academic libraries are changing agents of modern technologies and experi­ menting with innovations for library operations. Open Source Library System (OSLS) is a computer software with free source code and a license that permits users to use, change, redistribute and improve acc...

Purpose This study aims to examine the research productivity of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council’s (PARC’s) researchers published during 2001–2020 by using scientometric indicators. The study explored the growth and collaborative trends along with authorship and institutional collaborative patterns at the national and international levels. D...

In the era of rapid technological advancements, libraries are flexible and open to new trends to meet the evolving needs of their users. The integration of emerging technologies not only improves library services but also expands the scope of what libraries can offer, transforming them into vibrant, and technologically savvy centers of learning. Th...

This study aims to identify current offerings of research support services (RSS) by Pakistani university libraries to their research community at various phases of the research lifecycle. It also offers data on the future planning of libraries about RSS and compares the results with international studies to gauge the progress of Pakistani universit...

This study aims to investigate the applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the university libraries of Pakistan. Following the explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, this study was completed in two phases. In the first phase, quantitative data was collected from 237 university librarians from across Pakistan. In the second phase, 10...

This investigation aimed to assess the perceived level of interpersonal competencies possessed by academic librarians working in public and private sector universities across Pakistan. The study also examined differences in perceived interpersonal competencies of academic librarians based on demographic characteristics. A quantitative survey method...

Purpose Archives and records are important resources for individuals, organizations and the country. The academic archives are created and maintained for the effective execution of university educational and corporate functions. The archives management practices in universities are being studied in the developed countries; however, a scarcity of em...

Purpose Open access (OA) has emerged as a modern academic publishing paradigm that strives to provide all members of society with free access to scholarly knowledge. This study aims to assess the behavior of faculty members to publish in OA journals from the perspective of the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB). Design/methodology/approa...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to present some critical digital preservation strategies that are important for the preservation of digital information. Design/methodology/approach From review of the related studies, this paper presents critical digital preservation techniques that are vital for small libraries to ensure the accessibility of...

The primary goal of this study was to identify gaps in curriculum coverage and required skills for research support services (RSS) in university libraries in the Punjab province of Pakistan. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to meet its objective. To collect data for the quantitative strand, a cross-sectional survey with a closed-...

Wikipedia is a widely used information source among students in higher education institutes but is regarded as less credible among teaching faculty. The present study is an attempt to understand how faculty perceive, use and believe Wikipedia as a credible source of information. The paper draws upon a survey data gathered from 257 university facult...

The purpose of this study was to investigate barriers faced by Pakistani university libraries to implement digital preservation programs. A questionnaire was developed and pilot tested before being sent to 70 libraries of the public sector universities and degree awarding institutions to measure the phenomena. Out of the targeted 70 libraries, 63 r...

For implementation of effective and efficient digital preservation programs, librarians and other professionals in the memory institutions need to have sufficient levels of awareness of digital preservation key concepts, strategies, tools, and standards/best practices. This survey aimed to investigate the awareness of librarians in Pakistani univer...

Purpose Digital Libraries are complex, and this complexity is a motive to study user success on the behalf of appropriate user success models. These models comprise the factors which play a part between people, technology and organizations. The purpose of this study was to specify and examine an integrated digital library user success (IDLUS) model...

Digital preservation encompasses policies, technologies, and strategies to ensure that digital objects and collections will sustain for future use. This study aimed at investigating the trends toward digital preservation in terms of in-house activities versus outsourcing by systematically reviewing the extant literature. The relevant studies were i...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the service quality of Pakistani university libraries in the context of the user satisfaction. A quantitative survey was conducted to collect data from postgraduate students. The multi-dimensional modified SERVQUAL structured questionnaire consisting of 23 statements was used as a data collection instrument. Th...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to execute the application of confirmatory factor analysis in structural equation modeling, to investigate the reliability and validity of the proposed integrated digital library user success (IDLUS) scale in academic digital library computing information system in the area of information management and systems....

Open access (OA) scholarly journal publishing is a recently emerged phenomenon of scholarly publishing in Pakistan. This study has been designed to find out the current status of open access (OA) scholarly journal publishing in Pakistan. A quantitative research method was used to evaluate the contents of the websites of 329 Pakistani journals on a...

This study aims to investigate the applications of the Internet of Things (IoTs) and highlights the challenges faced to implement IoTs in Pakistani university libraries. This study opted exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach and was completed in two phases. In the first phase, purposefully selected university librarians were interviewed. In...

This study was carried out to assess the preparedness of libraries for digital preservation programs in terms of the availability of financial, technological, human resources, and policies and procedures. The sampling frame comprised of central libraries of 70 public sector universities and DAIs established till 2010. Out of the 70 targeted institu...

Purpose Open educational resources (OERs) are internet-based digital content that is used for academic purposes by instructors, students and researchers in the era of the information economy. Hence, this study aims to systematically review the literature, focusing on OERs’ benefits and challenges in the academic world. Design/methodology/approach...

Policy provides a roadmap for actions to be taken in any task. It plays an important role in successful implementation of any program. Similarly, the presence of policy also plays a key role in implementation of digital preservation program. The organizations having such policy hold an edge for carrying out their digital preservation activities in...

Purpose Digital libraries are not only an assortment of information assets yet have turned into a digital community for correspondence, searching and electronic learning. Also, economically the investment in terms of money, time, energy and manpower associated with the development of effective digital library (DL) systems demands high utilization o...

Purpose The present study aims to examine the current digital information literacy (DIL) skills of female online shoppers in Lahore city of Pakistan. Data were gathered from a purposive sampling of women, aged between 20–50 years who were buying products online, not from the traditional retail stores. Out of 309 received questionnaires, 269 respons...

Purpose: This study is designed to examine the relationship of learning behavior with the level of expertise among library professionals working in Pakistan. It aims to compare the level of professional skills for different library areas. The study also explores the correlation of demographic factors with the level of expertise. Research Methodolog...

This study assesses the perceived level of Open Access (OA) awareness, challenges, and opportunities in context of university libraries of Pakistan. The differences between public and private sector university libraries in terms of their awareness, challenges and opportunities were also analyzed in this study. Survey research design, based on a str...

Research is vital for generating knowledge and methodology is a core component for the execution of research ideas. Research methodology education is considered to be a core area of the degree in LIS education programs of almost every school worldwide. The aim of the study is to explore the status of methodology education in the LIS field in Pakist...

Social media (SM) tools help and enable university libraries (UL’s) to deliver library services instantly, effectively and it is established during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study explores SM use and adoption trend in Pakistani UL’s. Also, social media opportunities (SMO) for UL’s of Pakistan were identified. Analysis of patterns based on sector,...

The purpose of this study was to explore the university libraries' response during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine their working practices, services patterns, strategies applied, and role played. This study is a qualitative exploration by collecting data through in-depth interviews of purposely selected Heads of seven university libraries. The...

The purpose of this study is to assess the use and impacts of internet on academic success of Social Science student studying in the public sector Universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Survey research method using a questionnaire was employed for data collection from a sample of 303 Social Science students spread over five public secto...

Information literacy (IL) is an essential skill and play a vital role in active participation in the modern society. It is an information and a variety of skills that enable people to know when information is needed and to have the talent to accurately identify, analyse and utilize the information needed. It is knowledge and expertise of individual...

The purpose of this study was to explore the university libraries’ response during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine their working practices, services patterns, strategies applied, and role played. This study is a qualitative exploration by collecting data through in-depth interviews of purposely selected Heads of seven university libraries. The...

The study aimed to conduct a quantitative inquiry to understand the effects of social media on the reading habits of the students. The study explored the social media usage patterns and statistically analyzed the effects of social media on reading habits by applying descriptive and inferential statistics. A structured questionnaire was developed by...

Purpose: The study was planned with a clear purpose to examine how Management Science students incorporate the internet in their education and what outcomes it has on their academic performance. Research Design: A quantitative survey approach was adopted. For this purpose data were collected from a sample of 225 Management Science students scattere...

The purpose of the study is to identify the core mechanism of how social networking sites use happens in the perspective of contextual factors and then examine the cultural difference in the motives for using social networking sites between China and Pakistan university students. An instrument was designed to calculate the various aspect factors an...

The aim of the study was to conduct a quantitative investigation of social media services being offered by university/DAI libraries in Pakistan with an institutional perspective. The study focuses on social media tools being used and the types of services being offered. Aims/Purpose •54% libraries are offering SM services. •42% libraries have 2-3 y...

Purpose In the past two decades, the problem of gender disparities in the use of internet has attracted a remarkable interest of researchers. Several studies revealed that female internet users were the disadvantaged group than males, because they had not the same access, experience and use frequency regarding the internet use. Moreover, the negat...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify barriers that are hindering digitization initiatives in university libraries of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The study opted a mixed-methods research design based on quantitative (QUAN) and qualitative (QUAL) strands by using a survey research method. The subjects of the study were central...

Purpose The delivery of information services in higher education is increasingly relying on Web-based systems. The low adoption and underutilization of information systems have been major problems for developing countries such as Pakistan in terms of realizing their full benefits. This study aims to investigate factors affecting student use of All...

Purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions of Pakistani LIS faculty and practitioners about ALA accreditation. Due to unique nature of the study at the country level, It helps in deciding whether to go for ALA accreditation or not. If the answer is yes to go for ALA accreditation, then what basic requirements should be fulfilled; and if not so...

This article highlights the research productivity and scholarly communication of library and information science professionals during 2003–2012 by using Web of Science databases from 40 library and information science core journals. Data was interpreted by using two open-source software Vantage point (powerful text-mining tool for discovering meani...

The study aims to identify trend, in adoption of social networking sites (SNS), most common SNS among people. Analyze the time people spending on SNS. Through this study, it investigated people choice if they are allowed to select one SNS only. The survey method was used to collect data and an online questionnaire was designed in Google Docs as da...

The present study is the first of its kind as it attempts to ascertain the current status of library and information science (LIS) research from the Chinese perspective, by focusing on English research contributions by Chinese LIS scholars. Leading contributors; individual (author) contributors; institutional contributors, and research collaboratio...

Purpose Universities across the globe are spending an increasing amount of their budgets to offer Web-based services to cater information need especially off-campus students. However, the success of Web-based services depends on how well the target users are satisfied with the use of the Web services. The aim of this study is to assess students’ sa...

The present study is the first of its kind as it attempts to ascertain the current status of library and information science (LIS) research from the Chinese perspective, by focusing on English research contributions by Chinese LIS scholars. Leading contributors; individual (author) contributors; institutional contributors, and research collaboratio...

This study aims to investigate the internet accessibility and usability among the graduate students in the Public Sector Universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study adopts a descriptive survey design. The data was collected by administering a structured questionnaire as data collection tool from 1001 graduate students, selected through...

This study explores the current status and features of Pakistan's academic library Web sites. A checklist describing features and content was prepared based on a review of the literature related to academic libraries’ Web sites. Then, all 85 library Web sites of Pakistani universities and degree-awarding institutions recognized by the Higher Educat...

The aim of the present study is to determine thecollaborative activities of Asian library and information science (LIS) researchers through bibliometric, social network analysis at the author, institution, and country levels ofthe LIS publications produced by Asian researchers. For the study, research articles were derived from the 1994–2013 Web of...

This article highlights the research productivity and scholarly communication of library and information science professionals during 2003–2012 by using Web of Science databases from 40 library and information science core journals. Data was interpreted by using two open-source software Vantage point (powerful text-mining tool for discovering meani...

Libraries around the world are using the technology in best possible ways to satisfy their users through efficient and effective library services. The paper aims to discuss the process of KOHA implementation in Government College University (GCU) Libraries Lahore, while replacing the Library Management Software (LMS) implemented in 1999. The articl...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore, by a quantitative analysis, growth rates of, and trends in, global publications in the field of library and information science (LIS) produced by library science professionals. Design/methodology/approach – A survey approach was used in this paper. Journal Citation Reports 2010 was the major sourc...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore, by a quantitative analysis, growth rates of, and trends in, global publications in the field of library and information science (LIS) produced by library science professionals. Design/methodology/approach – A survey approach was used in this paper. Journal Citation Reports 2010 was the major source...

Abstract Purpose- The purpose of this study is to explore, by a quantitative analysis, growth rates of, and trends in, global publications in the field of library and information science (LIS) produced by library science professionals. Design/methodology/approach – A survey approach was used. JCR (Journal Citation Reports) 2010 was the major source...

The purpose of this study was to explore the information literacy (IL) practices, methods and techniques being implemented in China’s university and research libraries. The study selected a concurrent mixed-methods research design. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews with professionals from 10 universities a...

This study will be helpful to improve the library website services. Participant’s overall responses to the UMT library website were favorable, indicating the scope and contents of the library website to be broadly appropriate to the library community. This study made many suggestions for new contents. Usability problems were identified in two main...

The study assessed the opinions of the Pakistani library experts in terms of: organization for digitization work (execution of digitization work & staffing patterns); funding patterns; and access patterns for digitization projects. The study opted qualitative research design and in-depth interviews were conducted to collect the data from purposely...

The purpose of the study is to identify the barriers that are hindering the digitization of print information resources in university libraries of Pakistan. The study opted mixed methods research design based on QUANtitative and QUALitative strands using survey research method. The subjects of the study were central libraries of the universities (b...

Purpose – The paper aims to describe the characteristics and purposes of Pakistan Research Repository (PRR). A quantitative analysis of this repository is carried out by analyzing the content of the repository. A critical analysis of the entire growth strategy, population and web interface is also included in this paper. This study also proposes ce...

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to analyze the prevailing digitization practices in university libraries of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted quantitative research design and survey research method was used to conduct the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from the subjects of the study. F...

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine the perception of Library & Information Science (LIS) community about professional training, training agencies and training methodologies. The study provides an analysis of development/enhancement of library practices and its relation with competencies acquired through professional trainings. It also fo...

University libraries are, around the world, are initiating digitization projects to convert their knowledge resources from analogue formats into digital ones and offering access through electronic means. Nevertheless, digitization projects required certain level of digitization capabilities in terms of technology, finances, and human resources. Thi...

The use of digital media is on rise around the world and same phenomenon is emerging in Pakistan. The study was intended to explore the use of digital media and demand for digitized contents in higher education sector of Pakistan. The research questions were answered by a comprehensive literature review along with semi-structured in-depth interview...

The purpose of the study was to investigate LIS Community's perceptions towards Open Source Software (OSS) adoption in libraries. The study adopted quantitative research design and a Likert type scale of 20 items was designed to collect data. Attention was given to three variables – organization type (public/private sector), library type (academic/...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss key issues related to the adoption of open source software (OSS) in Pakistani libraries. Design/methodology/approach Literature review and principal author's first‐hand experience of Koha (OSS) implementation in Provincial Assembly Libraries of Pakistan under Pakistan Legislative Strengt...

This study investigates information-seeking behavior and satisfaction level of teachers of National Textile University, Pakistan. A questionnaire collected data on preferred types of information sources and formats, methods for getting information, and level of user satisfaction of library services. The findings reveal that books, communication wit...

This chapter aims to discuss the development of digital libraries in Pakistan. It gives an account of the digital transformation taking place in the country and reviews a few digital library initiatives. It discusses a number of issues associated with the development of digital libraries with specific reference to Pakistan. The major issues appear...

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is one of the most exciting technologies that revolutionize the working practices by increasing efficiencies, and improving profitability. The article provides details about RFID, its components, how it works, and its usage in different sectors i.e. retail sales and supply chains, livestock industry, courier se...