SCIENTOMETRIC SKETCH AND ACADEMIC VISIBILITY OF NOBEL LAUREATE SVANTE PÄÄBO

Abstract

The swedish scientist Svante Pääbo received his noble prize in Physiology or
Medicine in the year 2022, due to his work for the modern human evolution and the
neandertal genome. The study attempted to ascertain and assess the academic visibility of nobel laureate Prof. Svante Pääbo from 1974 to 2023. The data was retrieved from the Google Scholar database. The study makes use of a number of scientometric parameters to identify Prof. Svante Pääbo's most prolific sources, most referenced works, authorship patterns, and top publications. Afterwards, the gathered data was processed and examined using a variety of programmes, including Microsoft Excel, VosViewer, and Publish or Perish. The study found that during 1974-2023, Prof Pääbo had the most citations (12304) in the year of 2015. He contributed the most publications (49) in Nature. The research shows that he collaborated closely with Krause J, Green Re, Kelso J, Prufer, K . His article named "A
global reference for human genetic variation" received the most citations. The collaboration rate was 0. 86. It was also observed that the most number of publications belongs to the group of seven authorship (26. 48%).

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ISSN: 2349-9621
LIS TODAY
A Peer-reviewed Bi-Annual Journal of
Library and Information Science
Vol. 9, No. 2 December, 2023
CONTENTS
1.
MAPPING OF COLLABORATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS PATTERN OF
SOCIOLOGY RESEARCH IN INDIA BETWEEN 1991 AND 2020:
A SCIENTOMETRIC STUDY
Lambodara Parabhoi and Prof. Manoj Kumar Verma
1
2.
SCIENTOMETRIC SKETCH AND ACADEMIC VISIBILITY OF NOBEL
LAUREATE SVANTE PÄÄBO
Tathagata Dhar
12
3.
INCLUSIVE LIBRARY FOR IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN VIETNAMESE
UNIVERSITY
Bui Thi Hong and Tran Thi Khoi Nguyen
21
4.
WEBOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF WEBSITES OF CENTRAL UNIVERSITIES OF
EASTERN INDIA: A STUDY
Anubhaw Kumar Suman and Dr. Madhu Patel
33
5.
STUDENTS PERCEPTION TOWARDS INFORMATION RETRIEVAL VIA
SMARTPHONE : A STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF JAMMU
Amrita Sharma and Dr. Meghna Dhar
43

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[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 1
MAPPING OF COLLABORATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS PATTERN
OF SOCIOLOGY RESEARCH IN INDIA BETWEEN 1991 AND 2020:
A SCIENTOMETRIC STUDY
Lambodara Parabhoi
Research Scholar, Department of Library & Information Science
Mizoram University, Aizawl-796004
suresh19871987@gmaill.com
&
Prof. Manoj Kumar Verma
Professor, Dept. of Library and Information Science
Mizoram University (a Central University),
Aizwawl-796004, Mizoram
Email: manojdli@mzu.edu.in
Abstract
Recent past year, there has been renewed interest in research evaluations and it play
vital role for building reputations of country, organization, institutes and also individual
researcher. Several studies have documented on research evaluation using bibliometric cc
indicator. In this paper, applied bibliometrics indicator for evaluate the research preference
of Sociology research published in India between 1991 and 2020. We accessed Scopus
database and retrieved 2410 publications. The growth of both citations and publications was
not stable overtime period fluctuated. Result showed that, Indian Sociologist scholarly
communion communicated in various format and preferable source of journal was
“Economic and Political Weekly”. More than half of the publications communicated
individually rather than collaboratively. Jawaharlal Nehru University and University of Delhi
standout in top leading organization in terms of contributions. Top most frequently keyword
was “India”. Indian sociologist prefers to collaborate with developing countries such as USA
and UK.
Keywords: Sociology Research, Research Evaluation, Collaborations and Publications
Pattern, Sicentometrics, Bibliometrics, Indian Sociology
1. Introductions
Research evaluations play a key role
for the development of country, organization,
institutes and also individual researcher. In
order to know, the strength and weakness of
the given area, we often do research evaluation
using various parameter and we found that,
bibliometric tool has been frequently applied
to evaluate the research. In recent past year,
several studies have been conducted using
bibliometric indicators and periodically
evaluate the research performances in science
and technology, arts and humanities and social
sciences (Abramo et al., 2015; Brink et al.,
2006; Ebadi & Schiffauerova, 2015; Kousha &
Thelwall, 2017). We may also see that,
bibliometric indicator has been applied for
ranking of nation, institutes and universities
(i.e. QS Ranking, THE Ranking and NIRF
Ranking etc.) even if for individual researcher.
India is the fifth leading contributor in
research in the world (Kanaujia et al., 2022;
Kocyigit & Akyol, 2021; Thelwall, 2017).
Every year, a large amount of research has
been conducted and communicated using

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 2
various scholarly platform. These scholarly
communications are to be evaluated
periodically. (B. M. Gupta et al., 2013)
reported that India ranked as 12th position
and contributed 1.18 % world share between
2001and 2010. In this paper, we conducted an
sicentometrics study on Sociology research
publishing Indian researcher using
Scientometric indicators.
2. Research questions
 RQ: What is the growth of Sociology
research in India?
 RQ: What are the publications type in
Sociology research in India?
 RQ2: What are the top collaborator in
Sociology research in India between 1991
and 2020?
 RQ: Who is top leading contributor in
individual organizations in India and
abroad?
 RQ: How national and international
collaboration happen in Sociology
research?
 RQ: What are the key areas of research in
Sociology in India?
 RQ: What are the publications and
collaborations pattern in Sociology in
India?
3. Previous research
In the research past year, several
bibliometrics and sicentometrics study has
been conducted on humanities and social
science in India and abroad (Barrot, 2023;
Dhawan et al., 2015; Garfield, 1984; Goel &
Garg, 1994; Gülgöz et al., 2002; Missen et al.,
2020; Norris & Oppenheim, 2007; Sangam,
2001; Seaman & Kaczor, 2017). For instance,
(Barrot, 2023) evaluated the research
performance of education research contributed
by South-East Asian countries. The finding of
study showed that 13,527 publications
published in 709 different sources indexed in
Scopus database. Leading countries from the
study region were published to preferred
published in top ranked journal. However,
developing countries were preferred to
published in low ranking journal indexed at
Scopus.
(Missen et al., 2020) reviewed the
scholarly research output published by 50
social scientists from Pakistan .The study
reported a total 2000 document published
social scientist during 2009–2018.Gender
disparity in research were found and male
dominance in social science research however
the gender disparity low in social science
research in Pakistan. Due to collaboration in
research citation growth were found. Science
research were found dominance in the study as
compare to social science research.
(B. M. Gupta et al., 2009) made a
comparative study of research performance of
social science research of Brazil, China and
India using bibliometric indicator. Study
reported that India ranked as 13 position in
Social Science research and USA was the top
leading contributor in social science research.
China was leading contributor of number
(29282) of research publications among Brazil
(6472) and India (13596) while Brazil was
received high average rate of citation ((1.66)
as compare to India (0.82) and China (0.52)
between 1996 and 2007.
(R. Gupta et al., 2014) reported that
University of Delhi (654) and Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi (510) was the
top leading institute and contributor in the
field of social science during 2008-2012 . It
was also reported that top 25 academic
institutions in India that specialize in the fields
of economics, econometrics, and finance have
made a significant contribution to research in
these domains, represent 19.87% of the total
research output. Similarly, 15.6 % of
contributions received from top 25 leading
institution in psychology in India.
(Neelamma & Nyamagoudar, 2017)
reviewed of political science research output
using bibliometric indications. The sample of
the data was. The study revealing a steady
growth, moderate collaboration, and the
dominance of single-author papers in the

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 3
South Asian Journal of Socio-Political Studies,
with Tamil Nadu emerging as a leading
contributor. Out of the total 533 publications,
In the year 2009 highest number (63) of
articles found, which accounts for
approximately 11.63% of the total
publications.
(Kaur & Nagaich, 2019) analysed
9525 articles authored by Indian scholars in
Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) from
2005 to 2014, finding a preference for
publication in Indian journals and a positive
correlation between collaboration and research
impact in SSH. the majority of the research
conducted resulted in articles being published
and almost half of the publications were
authored by a single researcher without any
collaboration.
(Tripathi et al., 2018) evaluated the
Indian social contribution during 2005–2014.
Authors reported that 9525 publications
contributed Indian social scientist and
preferred to publisher their document in Indian
origin journal. in the year 2011 and 2014
highest number of publications contributed
social scientist. From the result it was found
that high impact on collaborative research than
single authorship publications.
(Bhui & Sahu, 2018) reported 623
publications published by IIT Kharagapur
fulltime faculty during 2000-2016. The study
further revealed that majority of publication
contributed in the between 2010 and 2014,
―Psychological Studies‖ preferred source of
publications. Further reported that both single
and collaborations research have been seen
during the study year. IITKGP prefers
communicated their scholarly output in
reputed published such as Sage and Springer
and Taylor & Francis etc.
(Parabhoi et al., 2022) examined the scholarly
research output published selected ICSSR
research institute. A total 4411 document
published by Indian Social Scientist and it
was preferring to communicate their research
in ―Economic and Political Weekly‖ 647.
despite of high rate of individual papers, the
low rate of average citation found individual
authors that collaborative work. Both nation
and international collaboration found during
the study period.
4. Method
In order to collect, Indian sociology
publications, the study used Scopus database
hence, the database is comprehensive dataset
for social science research and frequently used
in sicentometrics research. The study used
advanced search options and enter subject
area‖‖ and affiliated country limited to
―India‖. In order to collect comprehensive
literature, We used Scopus subject category
and remove irrelevant documents from the
result, the study used filtered options (Barrot,
2017, 2023; Khir et al., 2023; Lee, 2023).
The search key terms are as flows
―SUBJAREA ( soci ) -sociology AND
political AND science AND
AFFILCOUNTRY ( India ) AND NOT
SUBJAREA ( medi OR nurs OR vete OR dent
OR heal OR mult ) AND NOT SUBJAREA (
agri OR bioc OR immu OR neur OR phar )
AND NOT SUBJAREA ( ceng OR chem OR
comp OR eart OR ener OR engi OR envi OR
mate OR math OR phys )‖. The search further
limited to English language limited 1991-
2020. The data exported on 12 Dec, 2023 and
included all type of publications (Book, Book
Chapter, Conference paper, articles and
reviews etc.) for analysis. A total 2410 number
of documents found published between 1991
and 2020.
5. Data analysis
5.1 Growth of Publications in Sociology
in India
Table 1 shows an overview of
scholarly outcome of sociology research in
Indian published between 1991 to 2020. The
data shows a significant increase in the
number of publications over a period of 30
years. In the year 1991 starting with a mere 3
publications and the number steadily growth, it

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 4
was impressive increase up to 2410
publications by 2020. Simultaneously, the
number of citations substantial rise from 11 in
1991 to an aggregate of 26673 by 2020, with
notable spikes in certain years, most notably in
the year 2015. Over a period of time both
citations and number of publications
fluctuated. It was noted that very few
publications and citations found in the year
1994, where the number of publications is low
(1) document and received 0 citation. Notable
growth observed in both publications and
citations in the years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
and 2012.
Year
Citation
No of Documents
1991
11
3
1992
208
10
1993
105
7
1994
0
1
1995
114
7
1996
43
5
1997
196
7
1998
419
15
1999
178
7
2000
205
9
2001
831
22
2002
602
17
2003
204
18
2004
680
19
2005
240
14
2006
511
21
2007
633
28
2008
1279
48
2009
1553
80
2010
1210
61
2011
1421
74
2012
1787
133
2013
1901
150
2014
1512
126
2015
2820
156
2016
1790
222
2017
1960
264
2018
1571
273
2019
1209
303
2020
1480
310
Grand
Total
26673
2410
Table.1 Growth of Publications
5.2 Distribution of Publications by Type
of Documents
As shown in table.2 offers a
comprehensive overview of the distribution of
research documents by types. From the result,

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 5
it observed that articles emerge as the
dominant (58.92%) of the total publications
types and it received (67.47 %) citations.
Books, though fewer in number, exhibit
significant influence and contributing (13.07
%) of papers and (14.58 %) of citations. Book
chapters, representing (18.09%) of
publications and (8.78%) of citations.
Reviews, with (7.68% ) of publications which
contribute substantially to both the number of
citations (7.94%). While conference papers,
editorials, letters, and notes make up smaller
proportions.
Doc Type
No Papers
% of Paper
No of Citations
% of Citation
Article
1420
58.92
17995
67.47
Book
315
13.07
3888
14.58
Book chapter
436
18.09
2341
8.78
Conference paper
13
0.54
139
0.52
Editorial
25
1.04
109
0.41
Letter
1
0.04
0
0
Note
15
0.62
82
0.31
Review
185
7.68
2119
7.94
Grand Total
2410
100
26673
100
Table.2 Distribution of Publications by Type of Documents
5.3 Preferable Source in Sociology
Research in India
The below table illustrates top sources
of publications in the field of sociology
research in India published between 1991 and
2020. The below data comprehensive compare
and highlights the diversity in contributions,
ranging from general socio-economic and
political analyses to specialized areas and it is
showcasing the multifaceted nature of
sociological research publications in India.
The journal ―Economic and Political Weekly‖
emerges as the foremost contributor,
contributed 223 papers and received 1983
citations, underscoring its pivotal role in
disseminating sociological research.
―Contributions to Indian Sociology‖ reflecting
its significant influence and ranked as second
position with 57 papers and 675 citations.
Sociological Bulletin and Indian Journal of
Social Work follow, contributing 42 papers
with 87 citations and 38 papers with 36
citations, respectively. Notably, the Indian
Journal of Gender Studies stands out in fifth
place, contributing 35 papers and
accumulating 258 citations. The journal
―Social Science and Medicine‖ with a lower
paper count 19 but a remarkably high citation
counts 867.
Rank
Source of Publications
No of
Paper
No of
Citation
1
Economic and Political Weekly
223
1983
2
Contributions to Indian Sociology
57
675
3
Sociological Bulletin
42
87
4
Indian Journal of Social Work
38
36

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 6
5
Indian Journal of Gender Studies
35
258
6
International Journal of Sociology and Social
Policy
23
178
7
Man in India
20
11
8
Social Science and Medicine
19
867
9
History and Sociology of South Asia
18
18
10
South Asia Research
17
230
Table.3 Preferable Source of Journals in Sociology
5.4 Most Frequently Used Keywords
The results obtained from keywords
analysis are shown in table.4. The most
frequently used key term was "India," and it
appeared 273 times which is suggesting a
strong emphasis on research contextualized
within the country. "Gender" holds the second
position and indicates a significant focus on
gender-related sociological inquiries, with 63
occurrences. The term "caste" ranked as third
positions with 40 occurrences. "Identity" and
"culture" take the fourth and fifth positions,
respectively, highlighting the attention given
to understanding individual and collective
identities, as well as cultural influences in
Indian sociology. Remarkably, "women‖
ranked as sixth position with most frequently
occurring keyword, emphasizing the specific
focus on gender issues. Some frequently used
keyword were "Democracy", "education",
"Religion" and "development these keywords
ranked in the top 10 frequently used keywords.
Top Keywords
Rank
Words
Occurrences
1
India
273
2
Gender
63
3
Caste
40
4
Identity
37
5
Culture
27
6
Women
24
7
Democracy
23
8
Education
23
9
Religion
22
10
Development
21
Table.4 Most frequently Used Keywords
5.5 Top 20 Leading Contributor by
Organization in Sociology Research in
India The provided below data outlines the
top 20 leading contributor by organization in
Indian sociology research and data was ranked
by highest the number of documents. It was
observed that Jawaharlal Nehru University
(JNU) secures the top position with 228
documents, showcasing its central role in
shaping sociological discourse in India.
Followed by University of Delhi and Tata
Institute of Social Sciences claim the second
and third positions with 178 and 172
publications, respectively. It was also observed
that both technology and management

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 7
institutes are ranked in top leading institutes
such as the Indian Institutes of Technology
(IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, and
IIT Kanpur) and management schools like the
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
Further, some institutes like International
Institute for Population Sciences, National
Institute of Advanced Studies, and Centre for
the Study of Developing Societies underscores
the interdisciplinary nature of Indian sociology
research. The rankings highlight the
collaborative efforts of diverse institutions in
advancing sociological knowledge, with JNU
and University of Delhi emerging as key
leaders in the field.
Document by Affiliations
Rank
Affiliations
No of Doc
1
Jawaharlal Nehru University
228
2
University of Delhi
178
3
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
172
4
University of Hyderabad
72
5
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
48
6
Delhi School of Economics
42
7
O.P. Jindal Global University
41
8
International Institute for Population Sciences
39
9
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
36
10
Panjab University
35
11
Jamia Millia Islamia
32
12
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
32
13
National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore
29
14
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
29
15
Azim Premji University
29
16
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
27
17
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
26
18
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies India
26
19
Institute of Economic Growth India
23
20
South Asian University
23
Table.6 Top leading Contributor by Organization in Sociology
5.6 International collaboration in
Sociology research in India
Table 7 display the top collaborating
countries contributing to Indian sociology
research, by the highest number of documents
produced in collaboration. The United States
leads and ranked as first position with 185
collaborative documents, which clearly shows
the extensive international collaboration
involving of American researchers in the
Indian sociological landscape. UK follows
closely with 121 documents, reflecting a
robust partnership in sociological research
between Indian and British institutions. It was
also observed from the below table that, India
socialist made diverse and global network of
research collaboration involving in these
countries, Australia, Netherlands, and
Germany, with 52, 47, and 42 collaborative
documents, respectively. Canada, France,
South Africa, China, and Brazil also emerge as
prominent collaborators, showcasing the
widespread international engagement in Indian
sociology research.

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 8
Top Collaborator
Rank
COUNTRY/TERRITORY
No of Doc
1
United States
185
2
United Kingdom(UK)
121
3
Australia
52
4
Netherlands
47
5
Germany
42
6
Canada
40
7
France
34
8
South Africa
29
9
China
27
10
Brazil
23
11
Japan
23
12
Norway
22
13
Sweden
19
14
Switzerland
19
15
South Korea
17
Table.7 Top 15 Collaborator by Country
5.7 Authorship Pattern:
From the below, it was noted that
Indian sociology publications have a diverse
range of authorship patterns, with a majority
of single-author publications, it was followed
by two-author and three-author collaborations.
Closer inspection of the table 8 shows that
significant proportion of publications,
accounting for (57.88%) are attributed to
single authors Indian sociology research,
which indicates significant prevalence of
independent scholarly contributions.
Interestingly, Two-author publications
constitute (17.01%) of the total followed by
Three-author papers contribute to (7.3%),
suggesting a moderate presence of
collaborative efforts involving three authors.
Four-author papers follow, comprising 3.82%
of the total, while publications with more than
four authors contribute (13.98%), ranked at
third highest number of publications.
Authorship Pattern
No of Paper
% of Paper
Single authors
1395
57.88
Two author
410
17.01
Three Authors
176
7.3
Four Authors
92
3.82
More than four
337
13.98
Table.8 Authorship pattern in Sociology research India between 1991-2020
5.8 Conclusion and discussion:
The current research carried out on
research outcome on ―Sociology‖ published in
India between 1991 and 2020 using Scopus
database. From the result, it was revealed that
majority of the scholarly communication type
was research article 58.92% followed by book
chapter and books. Which indicates, that
Indian Sociologist prefer to communicate in
journals and research articles. It was also
observe from the result, Sociologist prefer
communicated their scholarly output in
―Economic and Political Weekly‖. More than
half of the publications communicated
individually rather than collaboratively.
Jawaharlal Nehru University and University of

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 9
Delhi standout in top leading organization in
terms of contributions. These results suggest
that, they are showcasing its central role in
shaping sociological discourse in India. The
most frequently used term, "India," appears
273 times, suggesting a strong emphasis on
research contextualized within the country.
"Gender" holds the second position, indicating
a significant focus on gender-related
sociological inquiries, with 63 occurrences.
The United States leads the list with 185
collaborative documents, underscoring the
extensive international collaboration involving
American researchers in the Indian
sociological landscape. The United Kingdom
follows closely with 121 documents, in
summary, these results reflecting a robust
partnership in sociological research between
Indian and British institutions. This
collaborative landscape emphasizes the global
nature of sociological inquiries in India,
benefitting from a rich exchange of ideas and
perspectives among scholars from various
nations.
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(2014). Ranking of Indian universities in
social sciences using bibliometric
indicators during 2008-12. DESIDOC
Journal of Library and Information
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https://doi.org/10.14429/djlit.34.7340
Kanaujia, A., Singh, P., Nandy, A., & Singh,
V. K. (2022). Research contribution of
major centrally funded institution
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123(9), 1082–1088.
https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v123/i9/1082
-1088
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Social Science Research in India: A
Mapping Report. SSRN Electronic
Journal, October.
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S., & Sahid, Z. (2023). ASEAN Library
and Information Science ( LIS ) research
( 2018 – 2022 ): a bibliometric analysis
with strategies for enhanced global
impact. In Scientometrics. Springer
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Kocyigit, B. F., & Akyol, A. (2021).
Bibliometric and Altmetric Analyses of
Publication Activity in the Field of
Behcet‘s Disease in 2010–2019. Journal
of Korean Medical Science, 36(32), 01–
10.
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wikipedia citations important evidence of
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Akhtar, N., Asmat, H., Coustaty, M., &
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analysis of social science and science
disciplines in a developing nation: a case
study of Pakistan in the last decade.
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(2017). Research Trends in Political
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Comparing alternatives to the Web of
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[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 11
Tripathi, M., Kumar, S., & Babbar, P. (2018).
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0-2247

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 12
SCIENTOMETRIC SKETCH AND ACADEMIC VISIBILITY OF
NOBEL LAUREATE SVANTE PÄÄBO
Tathagata Dhar
Librarian,
Naba Barrackpur Prafulla Chandra Mahavidyalaya, Kolkata
Email: tdtathagata@gmail.com
Abstract
The swedish scientist Svante Pääbo received his noble prize in Physiology or
Medicine in the year 2022, due to his work for the modern human evolution and the
neandertal genome. The study attempted to ascertain and assess the academic visibility of
nobel laureate Prof. Svante Pääbo from 1974 to 2023. The data was retrieved from the
Google Scholar database. The study makes use of a number of scientometric parameters to
identify Prof. Svante Pääbo's most prolific sources, most referenced works, authorship
patterns, and top publications. Afterwards, the gathered data was processed and examined
using a variety of programmes, including Microsoft Excel, VosViewer, and Publish or Perish.
The study found that during 1974-2023, Prof Pääbo had the most citations (12304) in the
year of 2015. He contributed the most publications (49) in Nature. The research shows that
he collaborated closely with Krause J, Green Re, Kelso J, Prufer, K . His article named "A
global reference for human genetic variation" received the most citations. The collaboration
rate was 0. 86. It was also observed that the most number of publications belongs to the
group of seven authorship (26. 48%).
Keywords: Scientometric, academic visibility, citation metrics
1. Introduction
Svante Pääbo, a Swedish geneticist
born in 1955 at Stockholm. He was the first to
decode the Neanderthal DNA and identify the
hominid Denisova. He received the Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2022 for
his revolutionary work on hominin DNA and
human evolution. Pääbo pursed his phd from
Uppsala university and postdoc from
University of Zürich and University of
California. His most significant discoveries
occurred after he used DNA extraction and
sequencing to investigate the connection
between modern and ancient people. He used
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to sequence a
piece of the Neanderthal genome, indicating
that humans and Neanderthals are separate
species that swerved by one another 500,000
years ago. Pääbo went on to sequence the full
Neanderthal genome, finding up to 4% overlap
with the genomes of persons of European and
Asian descent. Additionally, Pääbo analysed
the mitochondrial DNA from a 40,000-year-
old finger bone found in the Denisova Cave in
Russia, proving the existence of the
Denisovans, a previously unidentified hominid
species that coexisted with humans and
Neanderthals. All three species interbred, and
as a result, up to 6% of the DNA of
contemporary Southeast Asian and Melanesian
peoples can be attributed to the Denisovans.
(The Nobel prize in physiology or medicine
2022). In today's digital and social media age,
online visibility is crucial. By Using
academic websites like LinkedIn,
ResearchGate, Academia. edu and Google
Scholar, it is possible to establish connections
with audiences far outside of the traditional
academic borders. An essential step on the
road to academic visibility is collaboration.

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 13
They offer a diverse approach
and additional knowledge.
Notable collaborators can also help
us become more visible in our respective field
(Mauvais-Jarvis, 2016). A quick and easy tool
to conduct a thorough search for academic
literature is Google Scholar. We can Search
across a variety of subjects and sources from a
single platform, including academic
publishers, professional associations, online
repositories, institutions, and other websites.
This includes articles, theses, books
and abstracts. Google Scholar assists us in
locating pertinent research throughout the
intellectual community (About google
scholar).
2. Objectives
 To figure out the top metrics for
publications according to GS rank
 To find out the total number of
publications with citations
 To recognise the authorship patterns
 To know the author collaboration
networks
 To identify the most widely cited sources
 To point out the most often used keywords
by prof Pääbo
3. Research Problem
No study was found to showcase the
academic visibility of nobel laureate Prof.
Svante Pääbo.
4. Review of related literature
(Sinha, 2017) has examined the
Amartya Sen’s scientometric profile.
According to the study, he published 43 books
between 1960 to 2015,. The most notable
contributor of Dr. Sen was Jean Dreze. The
study also revealed that he is well known for
his work on social issues, politics,
government, and financial economics in
addition to his contributions to the field of
education.
(Bhattacharyya & Bhattacharyya
Sahu, 2020) describes the informetric potrait
of Elinor Ostrom, who became the first female
laureate to win the Nobel Prize in Economics,
The study identified that she wrote 197
publications between 1965 to 2018. The study
is based on scopus data. Her work, which
appeared in 116 journals was on the
management of natural resources. Her
bibliometric study sheds light on both the
significance of her significant work and its
potential future significance.
(Bhui & Bhattacharyya Sahu, 2017)
studied the scientometric portrait of S. R.
Ranganathan. The study is based on the
publications as well as his citations as shown
in the Google Scholar database. The study
found that during 1952-2014 he received 3017
citations.
(Akakandclwa, 2008) attempts to
study a biographical picture of professor Seter
Siziya, who made a significant impact in the
field of medicine. During 1988 to 2008,
professor Seter Siziya contributed 152 papers.
According to the study, Siziya has worked
with 241 researchers from different
institutions. A. S. Muula, E. Rudatsikira, T.
Marufu, and M. Tshimanga were the top
collaborators.
(Aichouchi & Gorry, 2018) describes
the Hagenmüller's work. The study reveal that
he published 796 papers and has more than
16,000 citations. The authors used different
scientometric parameters to examined the
impact of his work, collaborations and his
main research topics.
(Bansal, 2018) has studied the
publication output of Nobel Prize winner
Arieh Warshel, who received his nobel prize
in chemistry in the year 2013.
Throughout 1968
to 2016, he contributed 393 publications, inclu
ding 25 book chapters.
His writings are evaluated based on th
e year, authoring trends, and communication st
yls.
For the purposes of this research, the data has
been retrieved from the Warshel Centre for M
ultiscale Simulations website.

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 14
5. Methodology
The publication data of professor
Svante Pääbo have been collected from google
scholar database using Publish or Perish
software, which is a software program that
retrieves and assesses academic citations. For
further research, the papers were downloaded
in a number of file formats. It was
subsequently processed and analyzed using
programmes like VosViewer to further analyze
and visualize the downloaded data.
Professor Svante Pääbo has written 555 papers
and received 125729 citations from 1974-
2023. The h-index and g-index of his google
scholar profile are 168 and 354 respectively.
6. Data Analysis
6.1 Most prolific sources
Sources
Count
Nature
49
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
41
Science
27
Molecular biology and evolution
14
Genetics
9
PLoS biology
9
Nature genetics
8
Cell
7
Nucleic acids research
7
PloS one
7
The American Journal of Human Genetics
7
Genome research
6
American Journal of Human Genetics
5
Journal of Molecular Evolution
5
Science
5
Trends in Genetics
5
Current biology
4
Genome biology
4
Molecular Biology and Evolution
4
Molecular Ecology
4
Table 1- Most prolific sources
Table 1 shows the most prolific sources
preferred by Svante Pääbo. We can discover
from the table that Svante Pääbo published 49
publications in Nature, which is one of the
leading multidisciplinary science journal. He
contributed 41 publications in Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences followed
by 27 publications in Science. He also
contributed 14 publications in Molecular
biology and evolution.
Paper
s
Citation
s
Year
s
Cites_Yea
r
Cites_Pape
r
Cites_Autho
r
Papers_Autho
r
Authors_Pape
r
h_inde
x
g_inde
x
555
125729
49
2565. 9
226. 54
38624. 03
175. 37
4. 97
168
354

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 15
6.2 Top publication metrics based on GS algorithm
Cites
Year
GSRank
ECC
CitesPerYear
CitesPerAuthor
AuthorCount
Age
12304
2015
1
12304
1538
12304
1
8
6042
1989
2
6042
177. 71
863
7
34
4408
2010
3
4408
339. 08
630
7
13
2450
2007
4
2450
153. 13
350
7
16
2200
2002
5
2200
104. 76
314
7
21
2195
2005
6
2195
121. 94
2195
1
18
2103
2014
7
2103
233. 67
300
7
9
2065
2010
8
2065
158. 85
258
8
13
2006
1997
9
2006
77. 15
334
6
26
1950
2012
10
1950
177. 27
279
7
11
1946
2000
11
1946
84. 61
487
4
23
1550
2004
12
1550
81. 58
221
7
19
1378
1989
13
1378
40. 53
1378
1
34
1361
2014
14
1361
151. 22
194
7
9
1236
2013
15
1236
123. 6
177
7
10
1218
2001
16
1218
55. 36
244
5
22
1186
2016
17
1186
169. 43
148
8
7
1167
2011
18
1167
97. 25
167
7
12
1112
2011
19
1112
92. 67
139
8
12
1093
2002
20
1093
52. 05
156
7
21
Table 2 Top publication metrics based on GS algorithm
Table 2 illustrates the top publications
of Svante Pääbo based on Google Scholar.
From this table we can observe that, 12304
citations received in the year of 2015 which
acquired first GS rank (1538 cites per year),
which had one authorships followed by 2nd,
3rd and 4th GS rank received in the year
1989,2010 and 2007 where he received 6042
citations (177. 71 cites per year), 4408
citations (339. 08 cites per year) and 2450
citations (153. 13 cites per year) respectively.
6.3 Most cited articles
Cites
Title
Source
ECC
Citesperyear
12304
A global reference for human genetic
variation
Nature
12304
12304
6042
Dynamics of mitochondrial DNA evolution
in animals: amplification and sequencing
with conserved primers.
Proceedings of
the National
Academy of
Sciences
6042
863
4408
A draft sequence of the Neandertal genome
Science
4408
630
2450
Distribution, silencing potential and
evolutionary impact of promoter DNA
methylation in the human genome
Nature genetics
2450
350
2200
Molecular evolution of FOXP2, a gene
involved in speech and language
Nature
2200
314

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 16
2195
Initial sequence of the chimpanzee genome
and comparison with the human genome
Nature
2195
2195
2103
The complete genome sequence of a
Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains
Nature
2103
300
2065
Genetic history of an archaic hominin group
from Denisova Cave in Siberia
Nature
2065
258
2006
Neandertal DNA sequences and the origin
of modern humans
Cell
2006
334
1950
A high-coverage genome sequence from an
archaic Denisovan individual
Science
1950
279
1946
Mitochondrial genome variation and the
origin of modern humans
Nature
1946
487
1550
Genetic analyses from ancient DNA
Annu. Rev.
Genet.
1550
221
1378
Ancient DNA: extraction, characterization,
molecular cloning, and enzymatic
amplification.
Proceedings of
the National
Academy of
Sciences
1378
1378
1361
Ancient human genomes suggest three
ancestral populations for present-day
Europeans
Nature
1361
194
1236
Complete mitochondrial genome sequence
of a Middle Pleistocene cave bear
reconstructed from ultrashort DNA
fragments
Proceedings of
the National
Academy of
Sciences
1236
177
1218
Ancient DNA
Nature Reviews
Genetics
1218
244
1186
The Simons genome diversity project: 300
genomes from 142 diverse populations
Nature
1186
148
1167
The evolution of gene expression levels in
mammalian organs
Nature
1167
167
1112
Deep proteome and transcriptome mapping
of a human cancer cell line
Molecular
systems biology
1112
139
1093
Intra-and interspecific variation in primate
gene expression patterns
Science
1093
156
Table 3-Most cited articles
Table 3 demonstrates the most cited
articles written by the by the noble lauterate
Svante Pääbo. It can be discovered from the
table that “A global reference for human
genetic variation” article published by Nature
received both the highest number of citations
(12304) and cites per author followed by
“Dynamics of mitochondrial DNA evolution
in animals: amplification and sequencing with
conserved primers” (6042 citations) and “A
draft sequence of the Neandertal genome”
(4408 citations) respectively.
6.4 Total number of cited publications
Year
New
Total
1991
342
3498
1992
366
3864

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 17
Table 4- Total number of publications with citations
Table 4 describes the year wise citations
received by the Svante Pääbo during 1991-
2023. It can be find from the above table that
he received total 125729 citations. Out of
which in the year of 2021 he received the
highest citations (9773) followed by the year
of 2019 (9076) and 2022 (8914) respectively.
6.5 Authorship patterns
One authored
73
13. 15
Two authored
58
10. 45
Three authored
44
7. 92
1993
450
4314
1994
647
4961
1995
589
5550
1996
881
6431
1997
894
7325
1998
1004
8329
1999
1319
9648
2000
1330
10978
2001
1691
12669
2002
1745
14414
2003
2053
16467
2004
2303
18770
2005
2611
21381
2006
3297
24678
2007
3347
28025
2008
3380
31405
2009
3131
34536
2010
3701
38237
2011
4067
42304
2012
4755
47059
2013
4952
52011
2014
5850
57861
2015
5857
63718
2016
6850
70568
2017
7874
78442
2018
8276
86718
2019
9076
95794
2020
8625
104419
2021
9773
114192
2022
8914
123106
2023
2623
125729

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 18
Four authored
52
9. 36
Five authored
54
9. 72
Six authored
66
11. 89
Seven authored
147
26. 48
Eight authored
53
9. 54
Nine authored
7
1. 26
Ten authored
4
0. 72
Eleven authored
1
0. 18
Table 5- Authorship patterns
Collaboration Rate= 486/559 = 0. 86
Table 5 discuss a total of 73 (13. 15%)
documents are one authored, 58 (10. 45%)
documents are two authored, 44 (7. 92%)
documents are three authored. Out of the
remaining, she wrote 52 documents in four
authorship, 54 documents in five authorship,
66 documents in six authorship, 147
documents in seven authorship and 53 (9.
54%), 7 (1. 26%), 4 (0. 72%), 1 (0. 18%)
document in eight, nine, tenth and eleventh
authorship respectively. The most number of
publications belongs to the group of seventh
authorships with 26. 48% of the total. The
collaboration rate found 0. 86 which indicates
that most of the work of Prof Carolyn Ruth
Bertozzi was written in collaborative ways.
Figure 1- Author collaboration network

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 19
Figure 1 illustrates the author
collaboration network generated by the
VOSviewer. Out of a total of 990 authors 96
authors meet the requirement. The author of
this study is assumed to have written at least 5
documents. As observed from figure 1, Prof
Pääbo had very strong collaboration with
Krause J, Green Re, Kelso J, Prufer, K etc.
Figure 2-Visualization of Co-occurrence networks
Figure 2 shows the two clusters which
are pointed out in the analysis. This analysis
follows full counting method. The most
occurring key terms are "analysis", “genome”,
“neandertal”, “modern human” belonging to
the red cluster, while other most visible terms
are "chimpanzee", “evolution” and "human"
from the green clusters.
7. Discussion and conclusion
We can conclude with the fact that the
purpose of the study is to draw the
scientometric sketch and to identify the
academic visibility of scientist Svante Pääbo
during 1974-2023. The study found that, in the
year 2015, Prof. Pääbo had the most citations
(12304), earning the top GS rank (1538
citations annually) with one authorship. The
Nature article "A global reference for human
genetic variation" received the most citations.
According to the analysis, Prof. Pääbo had the
most citations (12304) in 2015. According to
the data, the group of seven authorships has
the greatest number of publications (147, 26.
48%). Collaboration rate of 0. 86 suggests that
Prof. Pääbo wrote collaboratively on the
majority of his works. According to the study,
Prof. Pääbo collaborated closely with Krause
J, Green Re, Kelso J, Prufer, K, and other
individuals. Professor Pääbo contributed the
most publications (49) in Nature. The research
also shows that "analysis," "genome,"
"neandertal," and "modern human" are the
most often appearing key terms.
References
 Aichouchi, A., & Gorry, P. (2018). Paul
Hagenmuller’s contribution to solid state
chemistry: A scientometric analysis.
Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 262,
156-163.
 Akakandclwa, A. (2008). A Glimpse at a
Scientist: a Scientometric Portrait of
Professors Seter Siziya. Zambia Library
Associatioll Journal, 23(1–2), 34–46.
 Bansal, S. (2018). Scientometric Portrait
of Nobel Laureate Arieh Warshel. Journal
of Advancements in Library Sciences,
5(2), 63–67.

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 20
 Bhattacharyya, P. K., & Bhattacharyya
Sahu, N. (2020). Informetric Portrait of
Elinor Ostrom, the Nobel Laureate in the
Field of Economic Sciences. Journal of
Scientometric Research, 9(2), 204–213.
https://doi.org/10.5530/jscires.9.2.25
 Bhui, T., & Bhattacharyya Sahu, N.
(2017). Scientometric Portrait of Dr. S. R.
Ranganathan: A Study. International
Journal of Library Science, 15(1).
 Google. (n.d.). About google scholar.
Google.
https://scholar.google.co.in/intl/en/scholar/
about.html
 Mauvais-Jarvis, F. (2016). Developing
academic visibility in the Medical
Sciences. Ochsner journal.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles
/PMC5024799/
 Sinha, A. K. (2017). Scientometric study
of books authored by Nobel laureate
Amartya Sen. Annals of Library and
Information Studies,64(1), 9-15
 The nobel prize in physiology or medicine
2022. NobelPrize.org. (n.d.).
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicin
e/2022/press-release/

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 21
INCLUSIVE LIBRARY FOR IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN VIETNAMESE
UNIVERSITY
Bui Thi Hong
University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Email: hong.buithi@uah.edu.vn
&
Tran Thi Khoi Nguyen
University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Email: nguyen.tranthikhoi@uah.edu.vn
Abstract
As one of the first-hand empirical efforts, the paper investigates the outstanding role
of the inclusive library formed in the university, examines how they work, structure, and its
impacts on cultivating accessibility of students with disabilities. Particularly, the article
emphasizes equality rights, policy reforms, and opportunities for approaching institutions of
higher education, as well as identifies the practical situations existing. Along with that, an
empirical observation was carried out with over 100 websites of libraries in Vietnamese
universities including public and private institutions. The findings of the investigation show
that the inclusive library contributes significantly to the overall development of people with
disabilities, especially in gaining equal accessibility to benefits, rights, policies, and
opportunities from society. As a consequence of the state of current existing situations, which
directly intervene in the special needs of learners with impairments, the paper makes some
recommendations for libraries of Vietnamese universities, such as facilities, library
infrastructure, collections and services, activities, etc. Moreover, these practical solutions to
practical problems aim to raise further awareness among the government, leaders of parent
universities, staff, and non-disabled people with respect to the equal rights and policies of
impaired students, regardless of what conditions and where they are. More importantly, they
have many more equal opportunities for improving and developing comprehensively their
impaired abilities and skills in certain circumstances. Theoretical and practical situations of
the findings are considered below.
KEYWORDS: Inclusive library, people with disabilities, Vietnamese University,
recommendations.
1. Introduction
In a modern and civilized society,
especially for users with disabilities, their need
for equality becomes more and more important
than other ones. Having the same position as
non-disabilities is the most essential thing in
their life. Like other types of libraries, the
inclusive library is also considered to be an
essential part and an ideal place for all levels
of learners, regardless of who they are, where
they live, and their circumstances, they have
equal opportunities to discover available
values which nature brings to them. Apart
from this, they are also given the same rights
without suffering any discrimination (e.g.,
race, religion, sex, language, age, nationality,
etc.), as well as accessibility to benefits from
society. In addition to this, in the educational
environment, the inclusive library is also
considered an indispensable sector of
innovating and enhancing the quality of
inclusive education and training, an important
part that is in charge of different roles to
various forms of disabled populations. It can

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 22
be argued that it makes great contributions to
the lifelong careers of learners with
disabilities, a place that takes them all to an
equal world that they really desire.
It can be reasoned that providing fully
inclusive support and assistance to all
disabilities on the one hand helps them-self
develop in all aspects, and also gives them
opportunities to overcome the community's
prejudice, discrimination, and injustice. On the
other hand, its presence contributes to
reducing a part of the burden for society in
both the present and future. Particularly for
education institutions, determining and clearly
understanding the needs of all target audiences
without discrimination are significant factors
to thrive and achieve much success in the
long-term future, including inclusive and
sustainable development in terms of education.
Along with this, identifying the existing status
and characteristics of people with disabilities
is essential to build a solid foundation in the
structural buildings and make appropriate
products and services for them at the
beginning of the establishment. Regarding
impaired problems, Vietnamese Government
Law shows six main types of disabilities
including Mobility disability; Hearing and
speaking disability; Visual/seeing disability;
Mental disability; Intellectual disability; and
other disabilities/impairments. An extra
illustration of this, Law also presents the
severity of disability into three levels 1.
Persons with severe disabilities are those who
are unable to support themselves in their daily
activities; 2. Persons with moderate disability
are those who can support themselves in some
of their daily activities; 3. Persons with minor
disabilities are those who do not fall under
either type (General Statistics Offices, 2018).
On the whole, it can be seen that the
inclusive library has many distinguishing
factors from the other ones when examined. A
typical example of this can be mentioned is the
specific needs of learners based on their
disabled features including the mental and
physical. From an investigation into the
practical conditions of disabled students, the
paper conducts an exploratory literature
review. Then, examine current situations (e.g.,
the building model including physical
infrastructure and facilities, products/services)
in academic libraries of domestic universities.
Along with that, this practice provides
recommendations for institutions of higher
Vietnamese education institutions, which helps
them to figure out the current problems that
learners with disabilities experience. An
illustration of this is accessibility to library
resources, products, and services. For
institutions of Vietnamese higher education,
given a completed operation model in terms of
all aspects, which not only contributes to
comprehensive goals and sustainable
development but also enhances competition
among others. More importantly, disabled
learners can start a new chapter of their future
life by replying to available opportunities.
2. Discussion of theoretical basis
Identifying the important role and
impact of the inclusive library for students
with disabilities in the inclusive education
environment, a theoretical basis is essential to
increase a clear understanding of the
background, as well as get in-depth knowledge
of influential factors from previous articles.
Some of the points presented are to provide a
convincing explanation of all aspects related to
the approach.
First of all, the main sector can be
recognized that the characteristics of library
target audiences are different from other
libraries, namely people with disabilities.
Looking at disabled features recognizes that
they are various from behavioral, mental,
intellectual, cognitive, and physical - in other
words, they show any condition that affects a
person's body movement and control,
particularly, they tend to have difficulties
participating in daily activities, such as
walking, moving, standing, moving the parts
of the body like muscles, hands, arms, etc
(Kenya, n.d.). According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), “Disability is an
umbrella term, covering impairments, activity

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 23
limitations, and participation restrictions. An
impairment is a problem in body function or
structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty
encountered by an individual in executing a
task or action; while a participation restriction
is a problem experienced by an individual in
involvement in life situations”. More than 1
billion people around the world have some
form of disability (or 15% of the world’s
population (Rayini, 2017). Also, according to
a statistic issued in 2016-early 2017 by the
Vietnamese General Statistics Office, the total
number of PWDs is 6,225,519 people
nationwide, including 5,553,860 people aged
18 years and older (General Statistics Offices,
2018). Thus it can be argued that establishing
or having an inclusive model in terms of
architecture depends mainly on these typical
features.
On top of that it can also mention the
relevant policies of government and
associations, such as IFLA statements, law
documents, or terms issued. Furthermore, the
Government's Law on Rights, Benefits, and
Privileges of PWDs guides that “States should
have preferential treatment policies in every
field to support them to access and use
information and social services. More
importantly, institutions, agencies,
organizations, enterprises, and individuals
must comply with the provision of relevant
legislation for PWDs as well as be responsible
for providing orientation and counseling to
help PWDs to their independent needs
(Nguyen Thi Anh, 2018). It should be noted,
that once they learn the characteristics and
special needs of PWDs, as well as reluctantly
comply with government policies, universities
can provide building models and products and
services to users with standards and quality.
Moreover, the policies also play a primary part
in the source to show awareness of
government and community towards disabled
people. According to the IFLA (International
Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions and UNESCO (the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization) every library must provide
proper services for those who do not have easy
access to them, such as the mentally and
physically disabled, the ill and imprisoned
(Rayini, 2017). Notably, a Joint Circular
No.42/2013/TTLT-BGĐT-BLĐTBXH-BTC
of the Government of Vietnam issued in 2013
by the three ministries mentioned the policies
on scholarship and support for disabled people
in terms of means and learning materials.
Briefly, through the demonstration of the
government’s education policies, it can be said
that passing many rules and regulations aims
to ensure equality of opportunity for people
who have limited accessibility to all existing
areas of society.
Something else that it needs to
comment on is the nature of inclusive
education. Obviously, the UN Convention on
the Rights of PWDs affirmed that education
can entrust PWDs by increasing their
awareness of their choices and reducing their
dependency and vulnerability (Nguyen Thi
Anh, 2018). All of this means is, that if the
universities of Vietnam want to be recognized
as prestigious educational institutions, or
standard quality education by the global
community, they must meet fully the
conditions and terms that are mentioned in the
law documents of associations related to the
Vietnamese government, as well as the goals
on the trend of sustainable development
towards the future.
And so finally, as statements in theory,
communities’ attention to scholars who give
case studies on particular subjects of learners
with disabilities in the inclusive environment
of higher education. This helps other
researchers have much further proof of
considerable knowledge to refer to their paper,
and also provide useful sources of information
to individuals, administrators, governments,
and institutions who contribute substantially to
the future of people with disabilities. In spite
of the disabled groups being regarded as the
labor force is not advantageous to them in
terms of economic growth. An extra
explanation for this, fact also demonstrates
that there are many international studies

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 24
related to disabled individuals, such as
“Library and Information Services to the
Visually Impaired Persons ( Rayini, 2017)”,
“The satisfaction level of Students with
Disabilities with Library and Information
Services (Smadi, 2022)”, “Accessibility and
facilities for the disabled in public and
university library building in Iran (Bodaghi &
Zainab, 2013)”, etc. All argued that library
work specialized in products and services aims
to create a safe framework for personal
conversations that can help to challenge
prejudice, get rid of discrimination, prevent
conflicts, and contribute to greater human
cohesion across social, religious, and ethnic
divisions. In addition to this, they have been
found effective in increasing positive effective
attitudes towards working in diverse groups
(Sharif, et al., 2020). According to Moisey’s
definition of inclusive library, an inclusive
library is a vital community resource,
addressing the diverse information needs of all
members of the community (Moisey, 2007).
However, regarding comprehensive factors at
the university level, there are few mentioned
articles, especially, and no specific studies on
that in Vietnam. The majority of the papers
were undertaken in groups that showed
obvious impairment such as the visually
impaired in public libraries or in the center for
the disabled. Thus, fully understanding and
being acutely aware of defining characteristics
of impaired communities contribute
significantly to making reasonable investment
funds in the process of future innovation to
government and educational institutions.
To sum up, the model of the inclusive
library plays a vital role in the lifelong
learning opportunities for people with
disabilities. Contrary to a variety of illustrated
hypotheses and what is happening in practice,
Vietnamese students with disabilities currently
have practical limitations, such as a shortage
of support from people, equipment,
technology, and clear policies to access higher
education environments in the same areas.
Thus to get on the research topic, the
following sections of the paper negotiate over
the potentially related issues that impact on in
more detail. Through analyzing the existing
situations, the study makes some
recommendations for the model of the
inclusive library to help parent universities pay
further attention to persons with disabilities,
especially for facilitating their accessibility to
an equally inclusive education environment
regardless of no matter what their position and
circumstances.
3. Objective and Methodology
The purpose of the study is to identify
the useful role of the inclusive library as a
basis for a clearer understanding of its
importance, its impact, and its influence on
people with disabilities. Then, it will describe
the state of currently existing situations related
to library buildings in Vietnamese universities.
Examining the different related factors of both
public and private education institutions to
make recommendations for those, which help
them make greater orientations to introduce
remarkable improvements in the model of the
operational mechanism. All of the above is to
provide equal benefits and policies for
Vietnamese students with disabilities in the
present and the future.
The study is conducted by
investigating the theory of previous research
and using empirical observations to determine
the practical impact of related factors on the
learning environment of students with
disabilities in higher education institutions all
over the world, especially in Vietnam. The
typical traits of target-impaired audiences,
policies, the structure model of library
buildings, products, services, and architectural
infrastructure are examples. There are over
100 public and private libraries at Vietnamese
universities identified through its websites and
an exploratory observation within the paper.
4. The state of current situations
According to Wikipedia, “The
academic library is a center or building that is
attached to campuses of a higher education

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 25
institution and serves two complementary
purposes: to support the curriculum and the
research of the university faculty and students.
Academic libraries must determine a focus for
collection development since comprehensive
collections are not feasible”. It means that the
library is located on the campus of parent
universities that aim to serve the goal and
mission of those. Therein, librarians do this by
identifying the needs of the faculty and student
body and the mission and academic programs
of the college or university. To better
understand the operational structure of
building models existing, there are probably
some significant aspects related to examining
whether the capabilities of the provision are
adequate for the needs of impaired students,
with the general developing goal of society
and education in Vietnam now, or not.
The first factor that would be
examined is the capability of providing
significant resources that are strongly involved
in that possibility. 100 of 242 Vietnamese
universities (Nguyen Minh Ngoc, 2022) cover
both public and private campuses. Observation
found that all things initially set into the
mechanism of control and work is to only
target students who are non-disabled, such as
facilities, equipment, IT infrastructure
(including assistive equipment and
technology), physical buildings, products,
services, etc. More interestingly, all libraries in
the public units do not even have any special
services and standard equipment for students
with disabilities (SWDs), and they do not even
get any help from the librarian's assistance
when needed. Similarly, only very few
libraries in the private universities have
services delivered, but they do not provide full
opportunities for use. The reason for this is to
put a limit on available resources and materials
when their patrons ask. Some typical sectors
could be infrastructural buildings, auxiliary
equipment, facilities, and physical spaces (e.g.,
Van Lang University, RMIT University, and
Thang Long University, etc.). As a result of
this, it can be reasoned that giving benefits to
students with disabilities at the same level of
education presents a lack of equality of
opportunity at present.
The second one mentioned the
existing characteristics of target audiences
with disabilities who recently attended higher
education institutions, especially for some
typical cases identified as impaired mobility,
vision, and deafness. According to a report,
MOET has not collected such data from
colleges and universities, however, based on
the information of WHO, only 0.1% of PWDs
in Vietnam obtain a Bachelor's degree and
6.5% have a Certificate of Professional
Practicing (Nguyen Thuy Anh, 2018). Based
on the statistics, it proved that participants in
the university environment of these groups are
not much. Furthermore, another exploratory
discovery also found that places covered a
higher percentage of disabled people than
universities that are in the specialized
vocational training centers or the disabled
centers of the agencies of the local government
and charitable associations. More notably,
while the number of disabled individuals who
tend to join higher education institutions
rapidly has increased in recent years,
conditions for satisfying their basic and
essential needs have been ignored. For an
additional instance in practice, although the
Government and other organizations of
Vietnam recently have a greater awareness of
the rights of community groups with
disabilities, the policies represented towards
inclusive development of them have not been
much. If Vietnamese students with disabilities
get less attention, it is because most suppose
that the impaired belong to the pity group and
often get sympathy from them much more than
obtain themselves in terms of economic
values. Furthermore, most thought that as
there would not be any profit from these
disabled groups, investing in establishing a
standard building or providing separate
products and services to serve only this
audience group at every location is currently
considered unfeasible and costly.
The next one could be demonstrated
that learners with impairments are

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 26
experiencing a vast amount of difficulties and
challenges in their daily lives. Firstly, they
attempt to deal with seeking to assert their
position in a modern, complex, and
competitive world dominated by able-bodied
people. On the other hand, they are trying to
encounter problems of both physical and
mental conditions, which create huge barriers
to their accessibility to a higher education
environment at present, especially for
Vietnamese-impaired students.
The last identification could add that the
consciousness of institutions and communities
to the role of library position of libraries in
education and training activities in particular,
and society, in general, is still low now. As a
result, leading to a lack of attention and
adequate investment in all library work of
universities toward disabled people is an
inevitable result in Vietnam.
In closing, based on theoretically
mentioned illustrations and the results of
exploratory observations on the existing
situations show that the factors, such as the
helpfulness of the inclusive library, a shortage
of related matters including awareness of
communities and the policies of Government
and educational institutions that could be
considered to become big influences on the
success of organizations, on the
comprehensive development of the future of
generally disabled people, and sustainable
development of society in particular. Broadly
speaking, innovation in the operational model
that provides for learners with disabilities is
necessary for every institution of higher
education around the world, especially for
Vietnamese organizations. Some
recommendations are made to help those carry
out further improvement and development
orientation towards the promising future of
users with disabilities in Vietnamese
universities.
5. Recommendations for an overall
improvement
It is necessary for all people with
different forms of disabilities in the overall
education environment to have smooth
accessibility to every collection and service, as
well as allow them to reach and get into the
library building easily and safely. Especially,
people in a wheelchair can reach all
department blocks, and blind or partially
sighted people can walk with a crutch or an
assistive tool without encountering any
obstacles on their way. Deaf people can find
support or communicate with librarians.
Individuals with an intellectual impairment
can easily find information and other materials
in many varieties of different formats.
Therefore, the solutions that meet the needs of
people with disabilities should suit every one
of their profiles. Here, the paper focuses on
three main sections in which accessibility for
students with disabilities is taken into
consideration including facility systems,
products, services, and activities.
5.1.Physical facilities and the model of
the library building
Accessible outside and inside the areas
of the library building should be designed
sufficiently. Wherever impaired users go, they
need to have a smooth trip. Some typical
components of this section can consist of
pathways for wheelchairs, elevator systems,
standard restrooms, stairs, special rooms,
parking locations, automatic equipment, and
modern technical devices including both
software and hardware. All those come
completely with the information and
technology networks for connection. However,
in order to complete these well, the funding
source of the library is the determining factor
in the development process.
 For the outside site, a disabled parking bay
should be provided close to the library’s
gate, ramps with railing at its main gate,
and a proper passage to the entrance with
non-slippery ramps. In addition, it needs to
be equipped with integrated auto-devices
and auto-assistive technologies, such as

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 27
door openers, fire alarms, and telephones.
This is considered to be useful for library
users with disabilities to access the inner-
physical sections of the library building.
 Some things related to this can be included
for the inside side of the building. The first
one is providing clear signs/symbols in
pictogram formats. All are located in
visible sections which help them have an
easy look and understanding. The second
one is that the piece of furniture should
offer a variety of reachable items with
compatible heights. It would be nice to
place it close to or keep pace with the real
abilities of disabled students to enable
access to printed materials easily, as well
as they can get assistance from the
surrounding community immediately.
Apart from that, other devices like audible
and mobile alarm networks should connect
with sound to hear announcements in case
of emergencies, particularly for having
window signs and induction loop systems
to help confirm the identity of disabled
people when they enter. There, the
physical and ground space must be wide
enough for them to move, leave, and get
through. The last one is the structural
infrastructure, library building blocks
should equip a specialized computer
system that is integrated and connected
with a smooth network system to help
librarians interact with library users with
special needs through support services,
regardless of the certain or remote
location.
After all, making inclusive facilities
and infrastructure are the considerable
modifications, which both provide ready
accessibility towards accommodating the level
of satisfaction with needs and develop
interpersonal skills regardless of whoever is in
any regions, or territories.
5.2 Collections and services
Library collections and services
without discrimination are power factors to
greatly assist in overcoming the difficulties
and obstacles faced, and impact on the overall
and lifelong learning process of disabled users.
Designing or the development of collections
and services with non-discrimination not only
reflects the diversity of forms in serving the
community with disabilities but also gives
equal opportunities in an inclusive educational
environment. Anyone else who is eligible for
services in the same way as other participants
should not be denied service. Furthermore, it is
also the way to further the opportunities and
rights of multi-access to the policies, special
educational programs, and government
benefits, as well as gaining a large amount of
wholly-owned knowledge and information
resources that are delivered by the library.
Thereby contributing significantly to the future
development of their own life afterward.
Focusing on the state of current
situations, such as the capability of financial
and human resources, the characteristics and
needs of various existing-user groups with
disabilities to have a basis on improving and
building available materials/adequate
collections and services that serve the special
needs related to the disabilities better. More
especially in the digital age, apart from
traditional categories and forms, library work
should be of concern in providing electronic
collections and digital services to individuals
with disabilities. These are not only necessary
for changing the ways of accessibility,
increasing the degree of information literacy,
and establishing a visual environment and
education, but also reducing traveling time or
visiting process to physical repositories and
library spaces. Additionally with the advent of
technical science, combining adaptive devices
and assistive technology equipment plays an
important role in facilitating easy utilization of
library collections and services efficiently and
optimally in diverse formats. Thus, the
purpose is to enhance the quality and
capability of using library systems fully and
independently for students with disabilities in
universities now, which helps them gain
available benefits and get opportunities for

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 28
higher education environments and jobs in the
future. Some suggestions related to library
collections and services can be looked at
below.
5.2.1. Collections
Specific collections consider it
necessary to help users with disabilities
interact with library information resources in
university that may include many types of
alternative materials in different formats such
as leaflets, talking/audiobooks and newspapers
and periodicals, easy-to-read books, Braille
books, large print materials, E-books, tactile
picture books, and video/DVD books with
subtitles and/or sign language (Irval &
Nielsen, 2005).
5. 2.2. Services
It is essential to see every person as a
unique individual, regardless of their physical
or mental conditions. The special
corresponding service sections of the library
for disabled people can be of great concern to
educational institutions now. For instance,
home delivery and outreach/mobile services
assist students who have poor/serious
conditions or live in remote areas and cannot
take advantage of library physical resources
directly. On top of that other typical services
can also add that are sign language
interpretation services which are used for
storytelling, book presentations, talks, and
discussion groups, among others. Something
else that needs to be considered is a specialist
reading service for patrons with reading
difficulties, and a consultation service for
providing orientations to overcome barriers
encountered in library buildings. In addition, a
range of other services can be on, such as
economic reference service for providing pin-
pointed, exhaustive, expeditious ones based on
questions asked by library users with
disabilities at the same time via
email/SMS/Apps, loan library service for
responding to the requirements of materials
from other cooperating libraries, a circulation
service for offering accessibility to all course
and reference books in a special area where are
spread out from others, inside equipped with
facilities and assistive technologies, and last is
the training service to help them learn on how
to use library in certain places or at home
through website or other support tools.
5.3 Activities
5.3.1. Training and education
All staff need to be knowledgeable
about various disabilities and how to assist
users best. Training and education aim to
further increase the level of employee's
awareness and understanding of forms of
library users with disabilities. In sympathy
with many active assistance in physical/mental
obstacles that impaired learners experience is
essential, especially for supporting them to
have certain orientations to the specific
studying purpose that they intend to in the
future. This proves also partly their
responsibility for contributing to the society's
overall growth. Some examples of the actions
of training and education for librarians follow.
 By sending staff in-depth courses on the
special needs of disabled groups.
Thorough specialists' lessons in medical
and psychological subjects will help them
have more exemplary behavior and be
favorable toward disabled learners;
 Institutions of higher education including
private facilities and government entities
provide staff training programs related to
the library field by closely cooperating
with vendors that supply specialized
facilities, in particular for those who work
in special departments. Through the
opportunity to practice practical skills,
which help them learn more about how to
use adaptive equipment professionally,
also have the ability to take advantage of
assistive technologies optimally in every
era of ICT, especially for gaining much
more skills at serving user groups with
disabilities;
 Strongly encouraging staff to attend
workshops and conferences that are held

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 29
by educational institutions or sponsors
through discussion on the subject of
people with disabilities, in particular for
those who are studying in university. As a
result of gaining practical experience in
understanding the special needs of learners
with disabilities, employees can make
large contributions to developing and
having the complete works of the inclusive
library in the early future.
5.3.2 Working with partnerships
Cooperation activities are essential for
all libraries to enhance and expand their
works, which contribute to achieving
enormous success further in assisting and
serving impaired learners, as well as
constituting big improvements to their lives in
both the present and future. A practical
demonstration of the difficulties and obstacles
that both parties struggle with, such as lack of
the budget to invest in constructing library
buildings and training staff, lack of specialized
equipment and modern technologies that are
not always considered adequate with giving
the complete satisfaction of special needs, and
lack of leaders’ knowledge about how to
implement fully policies towards people with
disabilities, particularly, for following the
rules of library-related law closely. Again, it
could be asserted that the inclusive library
contributes a very crucial part to providing
equal opportunities for disabled learners in the
same way as non-disabilities, for staff who get
stuck in a limited condition. A clear
explanation for this is one of partnerships
involved directly in collaboration with library
work, such as
 Some institutions that could be first
mentioned are national and international
institutions of higher education, entities of
non-government or government, and
donors. Their presence plays a vital part in
giving disabled people a chance to
improve their quality of life and the
process of their long-life learning, for staff
to enhance their competency and skill
toward getting a better future job as well.
Scholarship programs, projects, disabled
support, and right funds are typical
examples;
 The next partners can add that are
philanthropic organizations, sponsors, or
companies working in the field of ICT.
Calling for the grant aid of budgets,
specialized facilities, and physical
infrastructural improvement is to
contribute to the inclusive and sustainable
development of library building in a model
of a new society. In addition, this is also
done in the same way that libraries should
work with different publishers to create
special collections for users with
disabilities in various formats;
 Especially for local government agencies,
the place that gathers experts and
legislators who are in a good position to
persuade the policymakers to pay attention
to the issues of impaired people. Those
who not only can help libraries draft laws
to improve the situation of those with
disabilities, to have a change in a positive
attitude towards the good value of
inclusive libraries for community groups
with disabilities in the local regions, and
also take part in making adjustments in
more coherent policies and regulations that
applied to institutions of higher-parent
education, in particular for learners with
impairments according to the substantive
law of the Vietnamese Government;
 Then, establishing strong connections with
community groups working in other
departments of the school, such as
lectures, faculties, departmental staff, and
outside partnership libraries. Their
attendance is to offer additional assistance
to human resources for libraries in dealing
with all actual barriers of the disabled
immediately or anywhere, and also help
reduce pressure on librarians who lack
practical experience in serving users with
disabilities;
 The last one is enterprises or companies.
Cooperation with all is to bring impaired

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 30
communities career opportunities that suit
their capacities, and also help them look
for much more the ability of competition
in the workplace market, as well as earn a
high level of salary after graduation. It
could be said that consultative and
vocational guidance is essential for the
disabled to have many further chances to
access the placement market, and also help
them have more understanding of
companies' work in order to come up with
the right decisions on their future jobs.
5.3.3 Other indoor activities
Providing indoor activities contributes
to developing personal issues of most
academic students with disabilities, such as
studying, entertainment, research, and other
purposes. Based on defining characteristics of
the needs, library operations should expend
many more special events and programs than
what did. Above all that, they always feel to
be treated equally without discrimination as
non-disabled people when all their
requirements ask for. Some activities inside
the building recommended the following
 The first action that can be added is book
clubs. This helps to improve significantly
the reading capacities of user groups with
intellectual and vision disabilities through
volunteers with non-disabilities;
 Something else that it can comment on is
the annual workshops and conferences.
These events should happen in the library
at least once a year. As a reason for this,
meeting and communicating with the
specialist groups in the different fields is
to make disabled students feel more
openly and confident when coming up
with questions, or needing any assistance.
More specifically, these activities present
them opportunity access to library
products and services much more easily
than they did before;
 The last one is holding an
exhibition/display of materials based on
related events or the chosen subjects as the
library's frequent activity. Conducting this
practice is a good way to introduce all
existing and new resources to patrons,
regardless of whose disabled group are.
On the other hand, this also facilitates their
understanding of how to find all library
materials placed on any shelves, or in any
physical sections of the library including
both on and off-line sites. What currently
almost all libraries in parent universities
have not done yet, at least.
In most cases, it demonstrates that the
appearance of the overall library makes more
specific contributions to the sustainable
development of all aspects of impaired
communities. Namely, the community
groups of disabled students will leave the
gap between disabled people and non-
disabled ones, particularly for accessibility to
values and benefits provided, and give
assistance with the process of their long-term
learning in an environment of inclusive
education. In addition to this, it supports
those who overcome barriers and obstacles
that they are experiencing, as well as gain
something better in the future. Most
importantly, as a further awakening of
consciousness regarding library leaders,
educational communities, staff, users with
non-disabled, and other stakeholders in order
to be treated with respect for the special
needs of disabled individuals when they
come to and ask to use all library things,
especially for awareness of roles and
responsibilities of relevant parties for more
acutely understanding of the various
characteristics of disabled people. For
instance, bring the attention of organizations
and the government to the disabled
community in society, particularly for
feasible policies and law documents. Surely
in the near future, if possible, the inclusive
library will be a place that can exclude the
social prejudice against the disabled group,
which contributes substantially to the
independent development of personal
characteristics with the part of impairments.

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 31
6. Conclusion
An inclusive library goes beyond
existing regulations to provide for disabled
students to seek more excellence in all aspects
related to special needs, such as physical
facilities and infrastructure, collections and
services, and associated activities. Through it,
all previous barriers and challenges of users
with disabilities can be overcome easily, and
they no longer feel anxious in the face of all
obstacles around them. More positively, a
place that helps them take advantage of all
values of resources in society, and also gives
them a chance to go beyond their capability in
order to improve the quality of their future life.
Again, the inclusive library is very necessary
for Vietnamese students with disabilities to
seek equal treatment as non-disabled now.
Especially for parent universities, establishing
this type should turn more attention to forms
of student's student-impaired features, as well
as create more favorable conditions for them
to gain more accessibility to policies and
benefits of inclusive education in the same
way as non-disabilities.
Reference:
 Bodaghi, Nahid Bayat, Zainab, A.N.
(2013). Accessibility and facilities for the
disabled in public and university library
buildings in Iran. ResearchGate.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2
58140630_Accessibility_and_facilities_fo
r_the_disabled_in_public_and_university_
library_buildings_in_Iran
 Choughule, Pradnya (2007), “Role of
information services in Corporate
Libraries”, 5th convention PLANNER,
December 7-8, 160-165.
 EnableMe Kenya (n.d.). The 7 Major
Types of Physical Disabilities.
https://www.scribbr.com/apa-
examples/website/
 General Statistics Offices (2018), National
survey on people with disabilities 2016,
Ha Noi: Statistical Publishing House.
Source: E-book.
 Irval, Birgitta, Nielsen, Gyda Skat (2005),
“Access to libraries for persons with
disabilities - CHECKLIST”. IFLA
professional Reports, No. 69. Retrieved
freely from the internet source.
 Moisey, Susan D. (2007), “The inclusive
libraries that enhance the access of persons
with developmental disabilities to
information and communication
technology”, The Developmental
Disabilities Bulletin, Vol. 35, No. 1 & 2,
p. 56-71.
 Nguyen, Minh Ngoc (2022), “Number of
university students in Vietnam 2016-
2020”, Statistic Website. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/815091/
number-of-university-students-in-vietna/
 Nguyen, Thuy Anh (2018), “Inclusive
learning environment for students with
disabilities in Vietnam’s Higher
Education”, VNU Journal of Science:
Policy and Management Studies, Vol. 34,
No. 4 (2018), p. 51-64.
 Rayini, Junaid (2017), “Library and
information services to the visually
impaired persons”, Library Philosophy
and Practice (e-journal), 1510. Retrieved
from
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphiprac/1
510.
 Rayini, Junaid (2017). Library and
information services to the visually
impaired person. Library Philosophy and
Practice (e- journal), 1510.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewco
ntent.cgi?article=4313&context=libphilpra
c
 Sharif, Naveed, et al., (2020). “A guide to
Inclusive libraries as part of Anti-racism
toolkit”, NHS, Version , 7th December.
Retrieved from a free source of google.
 Smadi, O. Y. (2022). The satisfaction level
of students with disabilities with library
and information services. International
Journal of Education in Mathematics,
Science, and Technology (IJEMST), 10(2),

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, 2; Dec 2023] 32
436-457.
https://doi.org/10.46328/ijemts.2352
 Wikipedia, “Academic library”,
Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia website.
Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_li
brary

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 33
WEBOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF WEBSITES OF CENTRAL UNIVERSITIES OF EASTERN
INDIA: A STUDY
Anubhaw Kumar Suman
PhD Research Scholar
Department of Library & Information Science
Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Bihar, India
Email: sumanubhaw@gmail.com
&
Dr. Madhu Patel
Assistant Professor
Department of Library & Information Science
Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Bihar, India
Email: madhupatel@mgcub.ac.in
Abstract
The study presents the webometric analysis of the websites of 7 Central Universities of the
Eastern India region. The study aims to identify and evaluate the web presence, domain name,
Domain Authority, Page Authority, Google PageRank, Rich files, Language, and Social
Media presence of the selected websites under study. To accomplish the objectives of the
study, the Google search engine, some search engine optimization (SEO) tools, and manual
website visits have been used to analyse the websites under study. Major findings of the study
include that all universities' websites have the same Google PageRank value i.e. 4, the
website of Visva Bharti has the highest Domain Authority, Central University of Jharkhand's
website has the highest Page Authority, the website of Nalanda University is the single
website which uses only one language, i.e. English. All universities have their presence on
social media at different platforms. The study is unique and latest in the website analysis
category. Very few webometric studies have been conducted on the universities of the Eastern
region of India. This study is an effort to fill this gap. The present study concluded with some
suggestions that will be helpful for Policy-makers and Website developers to enhance their
websites and their visibility on the Web.
Keywords: Webometrics; Web Analysis; Domain Analysis; Search Engine Optimization;
Moz; Rich Files; Academic Institutions
1. Introduction
After Bread, Cloth, Shelter, and
Library, the Internet has become the need of
today's information society. Nowadays, the
Internet is a significant and fastest medium of
communication and information transmission.
The World Wide Web (WWW) has become a
crucial source of information for study,
research and academic activities. It is the
outcome of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT). The World Wide Web is the
reason behind the emergence of Webometrics.
Earlier, people mostly used the Internet for
scholarly communications, which increased
the range and slowly vanished the
geographical boundaries in the distribution of
research publications. We get any information
from the Web through websites. A website
gives 24/7 accessibility and convenience in
accessing from anywhere, at any time. It is
also useful for remote users to know about the
organization without visiting physically, and it
increases credibility among the users or
visitors. To evaluate the websites,
'Webometric' is a widely used form of

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 34
bibliometric approach which deals with the
metrics of websites.
In 1997, Tomas C. Almind and Peter
Ingwersen first used the term "Webometrics".
"Webometrics" consists of two words 'web'
and 'metrics'. Webometrics is concerned with
measuring aspects of the Web i.e. websites,
web-pages, words in web-pages, parts of web-
pages, hyperlinks, web search engine results
etc. In the Webometric study, analysis of
websites is performed in various ways. The
characteristics and capabilities of the websites
are also checked to satisfy the end-users
globally through the Web. The webometrics
study helps both Computer Science and
Information Science.
2. Literature Review
Dinda & Rahman (2023) did a
webometric analysis of the websites of 9
Library and Information Networks in India.
Various data from the websites including page
structure, quality, performance score, SEO
score, external and internal links, domain
analysis and website traffic were evaluated for
the study. It was found that INFLIBNET,
NICNET, ERNET, ADINET, and NKN are the
most popular networks in India among them.
Meghwal, Chaparwal & Rajput
(2023) studied the top 10 University Websites
in India according to NIRF (National Institute
of Ranking Framework) Ranking 2023. The
major findings of the study were that the
Indian Institute of Science University website
had the highest Domain Authority (DA) score
of 62 out of 100, and the website of Amrita
Vishva Vidhyapeetham University has the
oldest Domain Name (PA).
Nandi, Das & Mandal (2023) did a
webometric study of National level
Divyangjan Institutes of India. Some
webometric indicators such as total web page
count, in-links, out-links, bounce rate, number
of rich files, etc. were used to conduct the
study. Institute NILD is the highest-ranked
Web Impact Factor (in-link). According to
Web Indicators for Science, Technology and
Innovation Research (WISER), the NIEPMD
institute had the highest webpage value.
Paul & Singh (2023) evaluated the
websites of 24 Indian Institute of Information
Technologies (IIITs). The web presence,
domain authority, page authority, and Google
PageRank were investigated in the study using
search engine tools Moz and Google
PageRank. It was found that IIIT, Allahabad
has the highest domain and page authority
among all, and all websites had the same
domain name of ".ac.in".
Uttkarsh, Sen & Krittika (2022)
analysed the websites of 64 Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR). Researchers
checked the web presence, websites‟
languages, analysed the domain and drew a
network diagram of linked ICAR-Institutions.
For visualization of websites, ScoSciBot4
were used and it was found that ICAR ICAR
Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture
(CIFA), Bhubaneswar was linked with 6 other
institutes' websites.
Uttkarsh & Sonkar (2021) did a
webometric analysis of National Importance
Libraries and Archives of India. Researchers
analysed the websites on the basis of rich files,
network diagram, social media presence and
languages. Google Search Engine, SocScibot4,
and Alexa Internet tools were used in the study
to collect the required data. The study found
that Tibetan Studies has the lowest bounce rate
(50%), and the National Archives of India has
the highest number of rich files, i.e. 506. The
National Archives of India is connected to 4
other websites.
Verma & Brahma (2017) examined
the websites of 10 Central Universities situated
in North-East India. The study analysed the
Web Impact Factor (WIF) and calculated the
link and web pages of the websites of Central
universities in North-East India. The study
found that Tezpur University secured 1st place
with the highest Domain and Page Authority.
Meanwhile, Mizoram University leads with
the highest Total Internal Links and Internal
Equity-Passing Links. The WIF of Mizoram
University was the highest among all.

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 35
3. Scope of the Study
The scope of the present study is
limited to the websites of the central
universities of the eastern states of India.
Presently there are seven (7) central
universities situated in the eastern states,
including Bihar (4), Jharkhand (1), Odisha (1)
and West Bengal (1) [Source:
(https://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/Consolidated_C
ENTRAL_UNIVERSITIES_List.pdf). These
seven universities with their respective states
are given below in Table 1:
Table 1: Showing the List of Central Universities of Eastern India
Sl.
No.
States of Eastern
India
Central University
01.
Bihar
Central University of South Bihar, Gaya
02.
Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari
03.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University,
Samastipur
04.
Nalanda University, Nalanda
05.
Jharkhand
Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi
06.
Odisha
Central University of Odisha, Koraput
07.
West Bengal
Visva Bharati University, Shantiniketan
4. Objectives of the Study
(i) To identify the web presence of the
universities under study.
(ii) To identify the domain of the
universities‟ websites under study.
(iii) To rank the websites on the basis of Rich
Files using Google query syntax.
(iv) To evaluate the number of Domain
Authority (DA), and Page Authority
(PA) of the websites.
(v) To find out the Google PageRank of the
websites under study.
(vi) To find out the languages used by
university websites under study.
(vii) To find the presence of the universities
on social media and their
engagement on social media.
5. Methodology
The current study is intended to
analyse the 7 websites of Central Universities
of Eastern India. Manual website visits,
Google search engine advanced query syntax
(www.google.com), Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) tools viz., Link Explorer
(https://moz.com/link-explorer) and Check
PageRank (https://checkpagerank.net/) were
used to collect the required data. The data
required for the present study was collected
from January 08, 2024 to January 10, 2024.
6. Results and Discussion
6.1 Web Presence
The online existence of any individual,
organisation, institution, company, or any
other entity on the World Wide Web (WWW)
is known as their web presence. This web
presence can be made in numerous ways and
by numerous people, thus to distinguish them
from one another. Each web presence has its
own unique web address known as Uniform
Resource Locator (URL). Table 2 presents all
seven central universities with their website
URLs, which shows their presence on the
World Wide Web or simply the Web.

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 36
Table 2: Availability of Websites of Central Universities of Eastern India
S. N.
Universities
Website Links
1.
Central University of South Bihar (CUSB)
https://www.cusb.ac.in/
2.
Mahatma Gandhi Central University (MGCU)
https://mgcub.ac.in/
3.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural
University (RPCAU)
https://www.rpcau.ac.in/
4.
Nalanda University
https://nalandauniv.edu.in/
5.
Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ)
https://cuj.ac.in/
6.
Central University of Odisha (CUO)
https://cuo.ac.in/
7.
Visva Bharati University
https://visvabharati.ac.in/index.html
From Table 2, it is observed that all
central universities of eastern India have their
web presence with their own website. After
visiting all individual websites, it is also found
that all websites are properly functional and
updated.
6.2 Domain Analysis
A domain name is the unique name of
a website. It is an easy-to-remember address
used to access websites on the World Wide
Web (WWW).
Top-Level Domain (TLD): In Domain Name
System (DNS), a top-level domain (TLD) is
the last part that comes just after the „dot‟ in
the domain name or simply any URL. TDL is
the last segment of text that follows the final
dot (.) of a domain name. For example, in the
domain names „facebook.com‟ and
„wikipedia.org‟, “.com” and “.org” are the
TLDs respectively. Similarly, „.edu‟, „.net‟,
„.gov‟, „.ac.in‟, and „.nic.in‟ are the other
popular examples of TLDs. Top-level Domain
is also known as suffixes. Each and every TLD
has its own registration under the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN).
There are different types of TLDs, but it is
mainly categorized into two parts: -
i. Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs):
Generic top-level domain is one of the
most popular TLDs. gTLDs are available
for registration. ICANN used to heavily
restrict the creation of new gTLDs, but in
2010 these restrictions were relaxed. Now
there are hundreds of lesser-known
gTLDs, such as „.xyz‟, „.top‟, and „.loan‟.
Earlier, there were only seven generic
top-level domains (gTLDs), including
.com, .gov, .edu, .net, .org, .int, and .mil.
ii. Country-code Top-Level Domains
(ccTLDs): Country-code Top-level
domain used for the representation of
country. Each ccTLD is associated with a
specific country. Some examples of
ccTLDs are '.in' for India, „.au‟ for
Australia, „.uk‟ for the United Kingdom,
and „.jp‟ for Japan.
Table 3: URL Domain Analysis of the Websites of Central Universities of Eastern India
S.N.
Universities
Website Links/URL
Top-Level Domain
(TLDs)
gTLDs
ccTLDs
1.
CUSB
https://www.cusb.ac.in/
.ac
.in
2.
MGCU
https://mgcub.ac.in/
.ac
.in
3.
RPCAU
https://www.rpcau.ac.in/
.ac
.in
4.
Nalanda University
https://nalandauniv.edu.in/
.edu
.in
5.
CUJ
https://cuj.ac.in/
.ac
.in
6.
CUO
https://cuo.ac.in/
.ac
.in
7.
Visva Bharti
https://visvabharati.ac.in/index.html
.ac
.in
gTLD= Generic Top-Level Domain; ccTLD= Country Code Top-Level Domain

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 37
Table 3 shows the domain name or
Top-Level Domains (TLDs) of the websites of
central universities of eastern India. Here,
gTLDs and ccTLDs are two sub-divisions of
the TLDs. Among all these seven universities,
six universities use the same Generic Top-
Level Domain (gTLD) name of ".ac", while
only Nalanda University uses ".edu". All these
universities are situated in India, so they use
".in", Country Code Top-Level Domain
(ccTLD). The domain name “.ac.in” represents
the academic institutions‟ websites in India,
and the domain name “.edu.in” represents the
educational institutions‟ websites in India.
6.3 Rich Files
Rich files are various types of file
formats of electronic documents. For this
study, there are four rich file formats: viz.
„.doc‟, „.pdf‟, „.ppt‟, and „.ps‟ were selected,
retrieved and tabulated. Google, which is the
largest and most popular search engine, was
used to collect raw data for this research to
analyse the rich files of the selected websites.
Google provides some query syntax to extract
data from the Web. The four syntaxes used to
acquire the necessary data are shown in
Table 4.
Table 4: Google Query Syntax for Rich Files
S.
N.
Types of Files
Syntax
1.
Microsoft Word (.doc)
site: URL filetype:doc
2.
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
site: URL filetype:pdf
3.
Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt)
site: URL filetype:ppt
4.
Adobe PostScript (.ps)
site: URL filetype:ps
.doc= word document files; .pdf= portable format files; .ppt= power point presentation; .ps=
PostScript
Table 5: Rich Files of the Websites of Central Universities of Eastern India
S.
N.
Universities
.doc
.pdf
.ppt
.ps
Total
Rank
1.
CUO
4,670
24,80,000
3
0
24,84,673
1
2.
CUJ
189
1,82,000
0
1
1,82,190
2
3.
Visva Bharti
41
82,900
0
0
82,941
3
4.
CUSB
3
21,900
0
0
21,903
4
5.
MGCU
1
7,860
0
0
7,861
5
6.
RPCAU
8
7,300
0
0
7,308
6
7.
Nalanda University
3
2,060
0
0
2,063
7
Table 5 is explicit that most of the rich
files are pdf format files. Central University of
Odisha (CUO) with a total number of
24,84,673 rich files, placed in the first rank
which include 24,80,000 pdf files, 4,670-word
(.doc) files and only 3 ppt files. The second
rank was secured by the Central University of
Jharkhand (CUJ) with a total number of
1,82,190 rich files, including 1,82,000 pdf
files, 189-word (.doc) files and single .ps files.
Similarly, Visva Bharti ranked third with a
total of 82,941 rich files, including 82,900 pdf
files and 41 doc files.
6.4 Data Collection through Open Site
Explorer
Open Site Explorer is a product of
Moz.com. It is a free search engine
optimization (SEO) tool. Link Explorer
(https://moz.com/link-explorer) is the current
version of Open Site Explorer, and it uses new
tools to analyse the links. Link Explorer uses a

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 38
“Dotbot” crawler to crawl the Moz collection
of Google Search Engine Result Pages
(SERPs). Using Open Site Explorer, the data
of domain authority and page authority of 7
central universities‟ websites under study was
collected on January 08, 2024.
Domain Authority measures the
strength of entire domains or websites; while
Page Authority measures the ranking strength
of a single page of the website. Both metrics
are calculated using the same algorithm or
methodology. Google does not consider
Domain Authority and Page Authority for
website ranking.
6.4.1 Domain Authority
Domain Authority (DA) provides the
rank or performance of any specific website on
Google search engine result pages (SERPs) at
the domain level. Domain Authority score
ranges from 1 to 100. Thus, the websites with
high domain authority will be on the top of
SERP. The websites having high-quality
external links score high domain authority.
Webmasters use domain authority to compare
their own websites with other competitive
websites.
Table 6: Domain Authority of the Websites
S. N.
Universities
Domain
Authority
Rank
1.
Visva Bharati University
42
1
2.
Nalanda University
39
2
3.
Central University of Jharkhand
36
3
4.
Mahatma Gandhi Central University
35
4
5.
Central University of Odisha
35
4
6.
Central University of South Bihar
34
5
7.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University
34
5
The rank of 7 websites of Central
Universities of Eastern India as per Domain
Authority (DA) is shown in Table 6. Visva
Bharati University got the first rank with the
highest domain authority of 42; after that,
Nalanda University got the rank 2 with domain
authority of 39, and Central University of
Jharkhand got the third rank with domain
authority of 36. Mahatma Gandhi Central
University and Central University of Odisha
both got the rank fourth with domain authority
of 35. The Central University of South Bihar
and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural
University both ranked fifth with the lowest
domain authority value of 34.
6.4.2 Page Authority
Page Authority (PA) is a score developed by
Moz. It provides the rank or performance of a
specific page of any website on Google search
engine result pages (SERPs) at the page level.
Page Authority scores range from 1 to 100.
Thus, the specific page that has a high Page
Authority will be on the top of SERP.
Table 7: Page Authority of the Websites’ Homepage
S. N.
Universities
Page Authority
Rank
1.
Central University of Jharkhand
46
1
2.
Nalanda University
45
2
3.
Visva Bharati University
45
2
4.
Central University of Odisha
44
3
5.
Central University of South Bihar
43
4
6.
Mahatma Gandhi Central University
42
5
7.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University
42
5

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 39
The rank of 7 Central Universities of
Eastern India websites as per Page Authority
(PA) of their homepages is shown in Table 7.
The Central University of Jharkhand got the
first rank with the highest Page Authority of
46. Nalanda University and Visva Bharti both
secured the second rank with Page Authority
of 45; then Central University of Odisha got
the third rank with Page Authority value of 44.
The Central University of South Bihar got the
fourth rank with Page Authority of 43.
Mahatma Gandhi Central University and Dr.
Ranjendra Prasad Central Agricultural
University both got the fifth rank with the
lowest Page Authority value of 42.
6.5 Google PageRank
Google PageRank was developed by
Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were the co-
founders of the American multinational giant
technology company Google. Google
PageRank is useful in ranking web-pages on
Google search result pages. The algorithms of
Google PageRank consider hyperlinks from
numerous websites to a single particular
website as a vote of the popularity of that
particular website, so that website will have
high PageRank on the scale of Google
PageRank, which ranking is based on the
range or scale from 1 to 10.
Google PageRank was patented in the year
1998 but Google has not renewed the patent
after the expiration of the patent in the year
2018. Thus, there are a number of websites
that provide Google PageRank using the
algorithm that is used by Google to calculate
PageRank of the websites on Google search
result pages. Here, Check PageRank
(https://checkpagerank.net/) is used to
calculate the PageRank of the 7 websites of
central universities of eastern India.
Table 8: Google PageRank of the Websites of Central Universities of Eastern India
S.
N.
Universities
Google PageRank
1.
Central University of South Bihar (CUSB)
4/10
2.
Mahatma Gandhi Central University (MGCU)
4/10
3.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University
4/10
4.
Nalanda University
4/10
5.
Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ)
4/10
6.
Central University of Odisha (CUO)
4/10
7.
Visva Bharati University
4/10
Table 8 shows the Google PageRank
of the websites of the central universities of
eastern India. It is found that all university
websites under study have the same Google
PageRank of 4 out of 10.
6.6 Language
India is a land of a wide range of
cultural, religious and linguistic groups, each
of which speaks a different language. It makes
India a multilingual nation in the world. There
are approximately 1500 languages, including
dialects spoken throughout the country and
among these 22 scheduled languages approved
by the constitution of India to use any of them
as an official language.
The websites of central universities may have
visitors from all over India as well as abroad.
So, the websites of central universities need to
have multilingual content, as it will be
beneficial for visitors from different regions,
nations and parts of the globe.

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 40
Table 9: Language of the Central Universities’ Websites of Eastern India
S.
N.
Name of Universities
Languages
English
Hindi
Other
1.
CUSB
✓
✓
✗
2.
MGCU
✓
✓
✗
3.
RPCAU
✓
✓
✗
4.
Nalanda University
✓
✗
✗
5.
CUJ
✓
✓
✗
6.
CUO
✓
✓
✓
7.
Visva Bharti
✓
✓
✓
Table 9 depicts the record of language
used on the websites of central universities of
eastern India. In the above table, we have
categorized the languages into three categories
as: English, Hindi, and Others. It was found
that the websites of all universities under study
are in English language. Out of 7 universities'
websites, except Nalanda University all six
universities were also using Hindi language
content on their websites, and only two
universities, namely Visva Bharti and Central
University of Odisha (CUO) were also using
other languages on their website to reach out
to the maximum people. CUO has some
content in Odia language on its website; while
Vishwa Bharti uses a multi-language option
service on its website. So, it was easy to view
content in many regional as well as foreign
languages on the Visva Bharti website. The
website of Nalanda University is the single
website among the all which is available in
English language only. Thus, it was also found
that English is the most dominant language on
the websites of the universities, and after that,
Hindi stands in the second position.
6.7 Social Media Presence
Social media helps organisations in
building relations with their audiences. Social
networking sites like Facebook, YouTube,
Twitter, and Instagram have become vital tools
for communication in the present Information
Communication Technology (ICT) era. Today,
most people use social media for their various
purposes. So, universities, organizations,
institutions, government bodies, and others use
social media to reach out to their audiences
quickly throughout the globe without any
geographical limitations.
For the social media presence of the
selected universities on Facebook, YouTube,
Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are
considered for the study as these social
platforms are highly used.
Table 10: Social Media Presence of Central Universities of Eastern India
S.
N.
Universities
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
1.
CUSB
6.6K
2.48K
2,942
1,904
-
2.
MGCU
15K
1.73K
6,916
-
2K
3.
RPCAU
6.8K
2.74K
322
-
735
4.
Nalanda University
10K
-
5,184
1,595
-
5.
CUJ
5.8K
411
1,160
-
-
6.
CUO
1.9K
-
2,121
-
242
7.
Visva Bharti
9.1K
5.38K
500
-
-

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 41
From Table 10, it was found that out
of 7 selected universities, all universities have
their presence on Facebook and Twitter while
5 universities have their presence on YouTube.
3 universities including MGCU, RPCAU, and
CUO have their presence on LinkedIn and
only 2 universities, CUSB and Nalanda
University have their presence on Instagram.
With 10K followers, Nalanda University has
the highest number of followers on Facebook.
Mahatma Gandhi Central University (MGCU),
Motihari has the highest number of followers
on Twitter and LinkedIn, i.e. 6,916 and 2K
respectively. Vishwa Bharti has the highest
number of followers or subscribers on
YouTube, i.e. 5.38K and Central University of
South Bihar (CUSB), Gaya has the highest
number of followers on Instagram, i.e. 1,904.
7. Major Findings
 All central universities of eastern India
have a web presence. All universities
have a properly functional and up-to-
date website.
 Among all 7 websites of central
universities of eastern India, 6
universities' websites namely CUSB,
MGCU, RPCAU, CUJ, CUO, and
Visva Bharti have ".ac.in" Top-Level
Domains (TLDs). Only Nalanda
University has ".edu.in" TLD
comprising '.edu' as generic TLD
(gTLD) and '.in' as Country Code TLD
(ccTLD).
 The pdf file format is the most
dominant rich file. The Central
University of Odisha ranked first with a
total number of 24,84,673 rich files
including 24,80,000 pdf files. Nalanda
University ranked last with the least
rich files.
 The Domain Authority of Visva Bharati
University is the highest with 42 and
ranked first among the websites;
followed by Nalanda University with
Domain Authority 39, which ranked
second; and Central University of
Jharkhand with 36 ranked third.
 The Central University of Jharkhand is
at the top most with 46 Page Authority,
ranked first among the websites;
followed by Nalanda University and
Visva Bharti with 45 and both ranked
second. The Central University of
Odisha ranked third with Domain
Authority value of 44.
 All university websites have the same
Google PageRank value of 4 out of 10.
 English is the dominant language
among the websites. English is used by
all the universities' websites. Nalanda
University does not use the Hindi
language, rest of the universities use the
Hindi content on their websites.
 Nalanda University has the highest
number of followers on Facebook i.e.,
10K. Visva Bharti has the highest
number of followers or subscribers on
YouTube i.e., 5.38K. Mahatma Gandhi
Central University has the highest
number of followers on Twitter and
LinkedIn viz. 6,916 and 2K
respectively. Only Central University of
South Bihar and Nalanda University
have their presence on Instagram with
1,904 and 1,595 followers respectively.
8. Conclusion and Suggestions
This study gives a basic idea and
information regarding the websites of 7
Central Universities of Eastern India. The
study aimed to check the web presence of the
universities; identify the domains of the
websites; rank the websites on the basis of rich
files, domain authority, and page authority.
The study also evaluates the Google PageRank
of the websites, content languages, and at last
social media presence and engagement of the
universities. From the above findings, it is
concluded that all universities have a web
presence but their performance is not par. only
Nalanda University is using ".edu.in" Top-
level Domain, while the rest all are using

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 42
".ac.in". The study observed that websites have
neither good nor bad value of Domain & Page
Authority; if it may increase that will increase
their search rank on search engines like
Google. Only Visva Bharti uses multi-
language option on its website including
regional and foreign languages. All
universities should try to incorporate this
feature on their websites to maximize visitors
and website visit count. Google PageRank also
needs to be improved on all universities'
websites. Almost all universities under study
have their presence on social media via
different platforms. But Nalanda University
and the Central University of Odisha are not
available on YouTube till date. The study
recommends that both universities should
make their presence on this platform too, so
that they can share their academic activities
through this video streaming channel.
Webmasters and Policymakers may take
advantage from this study and design the
websites more informative and attractive so
that people visit the websites frequently.
References
 Meghwal, J., Chaparwal, N., & Rajput, P.
S. (2023). A webometric study of NIRF
ranking 2023 top 10 university websites of
India. Technofame: A Journal of
Multidisciplinary Advance Research,
12(1), 118-129. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3
73512103_A_Webometric_Study_of_NIR
F_Ranking_2023_top_10_University_Web
sites_of_India
 Nandi, S., Das, A. K., & Mandal, S.
(2023). Web presence of national level
Divyangjan Institutes of India: A
webometric study. Journal of Indian
Library Association, 59(2), 66-78.
Retrieved from
https://www.ilaindia.net/jila/index.php/jila/
article/download/1756/386
 Paul, D. P., & Singh, A. (2023). Evaluation
of websites of Indian Institute of
Information Technology: A webometrics
analysis. Journal of the Oriental Institute,
72(1), 35-47.
 Rahman, Z., & Dinda, G. (2023). Websites
of library and information network in
India: A webometric analysis. Library
Philosophy and Practice (e-journal),
7672. Retrieved from
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac
/7672
 Uttkarsh, & Sonkar, S. K. (2021).
Webometric analysis of national
importance libraries and archives under
the Ministry of Culture, India. Library
Philosophy and Practice (e-journal),
6400. Retrieved from
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac
/6400
 Uttkarsh, Sen, A. K., & Krittika. (2022). A
webometric analysis of website of
Institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural
Research. Shodhasamhita, 9(8), 160-173.
 Verma, M. K., & Brahma, K. (2017).
Websites of Central Universities in North
East India: A webometric analysis.
DESIDOC Journal of Library &
Information Technology, 37(3), 186-191.
Retrieved from
https://publications.drdo.gov.in/ojs/index.p
hp/djlit/article/view/10906

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 43
STUDENTS PERCEPTION TOWARDS INFORMATION RETRIEVAL
VIA SMARTPHONE : A STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF JAMMU
Amrita Sharma
Library Assistant
Government Degree College Ghagwal
Jammu & Kashmir
Email: amusharma11321@gmail.com
&
Dr. Meghna Dhar
Assistant Professor, Department of Library and Information Science,
University of Jammu (J&K)-180006
Email: dharmeghna@rediffmail.com
Abstract
The main aim of this research paper is to examine and analyze the perception of user
towards the use of smartphone’s in retrieving information with special reference to the
University of Jammu. Smartphones are bringing the web to our door steps thus enabling the
retrieval of required information from anywhere at any time. The study included total 145
participants. Google forms were distributed online to gather the viewpoint of the participants.
The data was analyzed via MS-Excel. The study revealed that majority of the participants
were females i.e. 73.1% and rest were male i.e. 26.9%. Further, the study revealed that
majority of the participants i.e. 136 owned android phones in comparison to the others. Also,
according to the results majority of the students use the smartphones with the purpose of
retrieving information/ knowledge. In comparison to the use of smartphone with traditional
documents majority of the participants claimed that although being more expensive, yet it is
more informative and time-saving. Despite of these advantages majority of the participants
i.e. 73.1% students claimed that smartphones cannot replace libraries.
Keywords: Data, Information, information retrieval, University of Jammu, Smart phones,
Libraries
1. Introduction
The modern era indicates the need and
importance of information. Therefore, “right to
information” is universal. We, the human
beings are in the information age. From early
days to modern time information was, is and
will continue to be the need of an hour. As
information plays a central role in every
information society, so does the knowledge
and wisdom revolves around it. Information is
required in every speck of life whether it is in
concern of terrorism, or developing a vaccine
for corona virus or it is about the economic
growth of a country.
The first use of the word
“information” is dated back to 14th century.
This (information) English word is derived
from the Latin word “informatio” which is
again derived from the word “informare”. The
word informare means “to shape an idea
of”.The basic fundamental unit of information
is data. Data are simple facts, or figures or raw
material for information. When this data is
processed, arranged in logical sequence and
becomes meaningful in order to be presented
or communicated to or by someone, it
becomes information. The word “data” is
supposed to be first used in English in 1640s.
Moreover, data is Latin word and plural of

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 44
“Datum”. The data can be either collected
from the primary sources, secondary or tertiary
sources. Thus, we can say that data are the
building blocks of information. This can be
better understood by the following example,
total number of male students in M.LIS course
or number of persons infected by covid-19 in
Jammu region. Thus, when this raw material
(data) is collected processed, interpreted and
finally presented in a logical sequence to form
a meaningful structure becomes information.
Large amount of information is generated
every second in every field but particularly in
science and technology which needs to be
updated regularly as well as timely. This
sudden or rapid increase in the amount of
information is termed as “information
explosion”. The information is generated at
“source” and utilized at “sink”. This
information is shareable, transmissible and
communicable from one person to another or
from one form to another or from one place to
another as well as from one country to another
or from one continent to another. The
information can either be tacit or explicit. The
information can be needed by anyone, at
anytime, anywhere for decision- making. The
examples of information are the information
required by someone to reach a particular
destination or the strategy, planning of the
chemicals that can be used to make vaccine in
order to combat the corona virus.
2. Information Retrieval via
Smartphone: Present Situation
Now-a- days libraries are offering their
services via smartphones in order to satisfy the
growing demands of their users. Smartphones
serves as a tool and thus makes it possible to
connect the users to the e- libraries. In
situation when schools, colleges and
universities are closed information can be
shared through smartphones , meetings can be
conducted on various apps such as zoom,
Google team and so, also there are number of
apps which can be downloaded on the
smartphones that enables the user to share the
information. Students are opting for the online
classes, e-dictionaries, e- encyclopedias, and
so on. Even information can now be acquired
through the audio- books now available on the
different platforms via smartphones.
These tools also assist the user in
communicating to the libraries. When one
himself cannot visit to the libraries the user
can access the library through their
smartphones which not only saves his/her
precious time but also his / her efforts. It
provides the access to the mobile databases,
mobile OPACs offered by various libraries
and so on.
3. Review of Related Literature
Lohia&Madhusudan (2021)
investigated the use of smartphones for
enhancing Digital Information Literacy Skills
among the LIS students of University of Delhi.
In comparison to the females(42), majority of
the respondents were males (48). The paper
reveals that maximum percentage of
respondents (87.8%)used websites whereas
only 52.2%) uses e-database to obtain required
information. Maximum percentage of
respondents favored Google Scholar i.e.
82.2% in comparison to the other databases.
Tellaet al. (2021) carried a study on
the way of using smartphones for accessing
library materials and services in selected
academic libraries among undergraduates. The
study was conducted in five different
Universities in South West Nigeria. The
results showed that maximum percentage of
undergraduates uses Android phones i.e.
61.3%. The results further revealed that among
all the services offered, reference service is
mostly used by the students. Majority of the
undergraduates i.e. 52.5% agreed to the
statement that access to library materials and
services via. Smartphones is quicker and also
time saving.
Kwasitu& Chiu (2019) studied the
mobile information behavior among the
students of Warner Pacific University. The
primary data was collected by using the
questionnaire methods and a structured

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 45
questionnaire was prepared and distributed
among the respondents. After the collection of
primary data, three things were investigated in
the study i.e. technology diffusion, the way
use of the online library resources and lastly
the influence on mobile behavior of both
traditional and non-traditional students. Out of
the total 268 respondents, in view of
population demographics, the maximum was
white respondent with 40.7% followed by
Hispanics with 24.6%, African American with
13% and only 0.3% were included in another
category. The pedagogical usage model
reveals that 19.2% respondent reads e-mail
followed by accessing Moodle application
(16.6%), reading articles (15.3), music
listening (14.4%) and note-taking at last place
(10.1%). Internet topped with 24.4% in
context of most preferred information source
whereas librarian was at least level with only
3.1%.
Elahi et al. (2018) conducted a study
on the perception of the users regarding the
use of mobile phones in retrieving
information. Thirty – five structured
questionnaires were distributed, out of which
twenty- five were received. The questionnaire
was divided into three sections. Section A
included questions related to demography. The
study revealed that out of the total 25
respondents 18 were males and only 7 were
females. Section B included questions
regarding the experience of using mobile
phones. The 7-point Likert scale was used.
The study revealed 80 % of the respondent
have smartphone and only 5% have traditional
phone. The maximum number of 18
respondents are using mobile phones for more
than 10 years while only 4 respondents are
using mobile phones between 7-9 years.
Section C included questions regarding the
type of services respondents want to have from
libraries via the use of mobile phones, level of
agreement regarding the advantages of
introducing mobile phones for retrieving
information from libraries based upon 7-point
Likert scale.
Bergman &Yanai (2017) conducted a
comparative study between smartphone
retrieval and computer retrieval. The retrieval
of 57 participants were considered under 4
different conditions. Condition 1st and 2nd
involves files using PC’s and emails using
PC’s respectively and further condition 3rd and
4th involves files using smartphones and
emails using smartphones respectively. The 57
participants conducted 3 retrievals in each of 4
conditions mentioned above which contributed
to total of 684 retrievals. The study further
reveals the most favored retrieval method used
in the abovementioned 4 experimental
conditions was the navigation for files and
inbox scrolling for emails.
Lee& Song (2015) conducted a
comparative study to determine the mobile
information seeking behavior among the
students of Illinois University and Kyungsung
University. The primary data was collected by
distributing questionnaire among the
undergraduate students enrolled in the
business program. The questionnaire was
divided into three parts i.e. firstly the mobile
device ownership, secondly activities using
mobile devices and lastly the library mobile
services. The study further reveals that out of
total number of 115 respondents 45 were male
and 70 were female in Kyungsung University.
Majority of respondents owns smartphones in
both UIUC (i.e. 108) and KU (i.e. 125)
whereas only 69 respondents owns tablet PCs
in UIUC and 15 respondents in KU and the
total percentage of the students who owns both
i.e. smartphone and tablet PCs was 66% at
UIUC and 12% at KU. Out of total number of
108 students at UIUC 56.5 % currently owns
iPhone followed by android owners with
38.9% whereas majority of students at KU was
android owners with 91.2%, followed by
iPhone owners with only 8.8 %.
Aharony (2014) conducted a study on
the mobile libraries taking into view the
librarians and the LIS students perspectives.
The study was conducted in Israel and
involved librarians along with the LIS
students. The primary data was collected by

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 46
distributing 2 questionnaire among the
participants. The first questionnaire fetch the
personal information of the respondents
whereas the 2nd questionnaire gather data on
the mobile technology. In context of
demographic information, the study reveals
that 17 % were male librarians and 18.41%
were males LIS students whereas 83% were
females librarians and 81.56% were female
LIS students. Two core variables i.e. TAM and
personal innovativeness were considered in the
study. Lesser number of the Israeli participants
in the study as well as only the Israeli
participants were some of the limitations of the
study. Chen et al. (2013) conducted a study
under the title “Use of mobile apps in
information seeking: An international
viewpoint”. In order to find out how
smartphone help in transformation of mobile
information seeking and establish the human-
computer relationship, a pilot study was
conducted on 7 participants. Two diary apps
namely My Diet Diary and Evernote was
employed in the study. The result revealed that
both the apps were equally favored by the
user. Next, social media usage behavior
among the participants was studied to find out
the reason for the selection, use and rejection
of the social app. A total of 202
undergraduates took part in the online
discussion and agreed that “EdveNTUre” was
helpful to them in completing their
assignments. The paper also reveals the
perception of graduates on online discussion
for learning.
Lippincott (2010) conducted a study
to indicate the mobile future for academic
libraries. The study gives a detail sketch of the
e-books available and served to the users on
their smartphones. Some academic libraries
are already providing e-books to their e-book
readers. The study also focuses on an
application for smartphone users developed by
Eucalyptus. It has several features like it
provides its users with the facility of page
turning function in order to give them the
feeling of self-belongingness of physical book.
Then it also provides the books to the users
from the Project Gutenberg. These books are
totally free from the copyright.
4. Methodology
The primary data for the proposed study
was collected by distributing Google forms
online to the respondents which highlighted
the various aspects involved while retrieving
the information via mobile phone. The online
questionnaire consisted of both close-ended
and open-ended questions. Also the data of
this study was collected from secondary
sources of information. The primary and
secondary data was collected from books,
reports, journals, theses, online e-resources
etc.
5. Scope of the Study
The scope of the present study is
confined to the students of University of
Jammu, UT of Jammu & Kashmir.
6. Objectives of the Study
The following objectives have been set
forth for the present study-
1. To determine the way users are
retrieving information via their mobile
phones.
2. To find out the frequency of usage of
Smartphones for retrieving information.
3. To identify the purpose of using
smartphones.
4. To find out various problems faced by
the users while accessing information.
5. To explore the perception of users on
advantages of using mobile phones in
retrieving information.
7. Sample Population
The proposed study is conducted on the
use of smart phones by the user belonging to
the University of Jammu, UT of Jammu &
Kashmir. The required data was collected from
the respondents and used for further analysis.
8. Data Analysis

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 47
The collected data were organized and
tabulated using the tables and percentages. The
purpose of analysis is to reduce data to
interpret-able form so that the relation of
research problems can be studied and
tested. The collected data is thoroughly
analyzed and presented into following tables:
8.1 Respondents distribution
Table 1. Distribution of respondent’s gender wise
S.No
Gender
No. of Respondents (n=145)
Percentage (%)
1.
Male
39
26.9%
2.
Female
106
73.1%
Total
145
100.0
Figure 1. Distribution of respondent’s gender wise
Table1 and Figure1 shows the
distribution of respondent’s gender wise. The
above table reveals that the total number of
respondents are 145, out of which 39 (26.9%)
are males and 106 (73.1%) are females. Thus,
the maximum percentage of females reveals
that majority of females actively participated
as comparison to the males.
8.2 Type of Smartphone respondent currently owns and use
Table 2. Type of Smartphone respondent currently owns and use
S.No
Type of smartphone
No. of respondents (n=145)
Percentage (%)
1.
Android
136
93.79%
2.
iPhone
8
5.5%
3.
Windows
1
0.68%
4.
Any other
0
0%
Total
145

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 48
Figure 2. Type of Smartphone respondent currently owns and use
Table 2 and Figure 2 indicates the type
of smartphone respondents currently owns and
use. Out of the total number of respondents
(145), android users are 136 (93.7%), iPhone
users are 8 (5.5%) and window user are 1
(0.6%). Thus, it is observed that majority of
the respondents are android users followed by
iPhone and window.
8.3 Number of hours spent while using smartphone
Table 3 Time spent using a smartphone in a day
S.No
Number of hours
Number of respondents (n=145)
Percentage (%)
1.
Less than 1 hr.
05
3.4%
2.
2-4 hr.
76
52.4%
3.
5-7 hr.
55
37%
4.
8-10 hr.
06
4.1%
5.
More than 10 hr.
3
2.1%
Total
145
Figure 3.Time spent using a smartphone in a day

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 49
Table 3 and Figure 3 indicates the time spent by respondents on their smartphone in a single
day. The number of respondents who are using their smartphone less than one hour are 05 (3.4%)
whereas number of respondents using their smartphone for 5-7 hr. and 8-10 hr. are 55 (37%) and 06
(4.1%). The majority of number of respondents are using their smartphone for 2-4 hr. are 76 (52.4%)
and number of respondents using it more than 10 hr. are 03 (2.1%).
8.4 Number of smartphones with internet access
Table 4 Number of smartphones with internet access
S.No
With or without Internet accessibility
Number of respondents (n=145)
Percentage
(%)
1.
With internet access
140
96.5%
2.
Without internet access
05
3.5%
Total
145
Figure 4. Number of smartphones with internet access
Table 4and Figure 4 indicates that
majority of number of respondents (140 or
96.5%) are having internet access to their
smartphones whereas only 05 (3.5%) of the
respondents are without internet access.
8.5 Source of internet Table 5 Source of internet access
S.No
Source of internet access
Number of respondents (n=145)
Percentage (%)
1.
University Wi-Fi
08
5.5%
2.
University LAN
00
0%
3.
Mobile Data
137
94.4%
Total
145

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 50
Figure5.Source of internet access
Table5 and Figure5shows the source
of internet access to the respondent’s device.
None of the respondent used university LAN
as a source of internet access whereas majority
of number of respondents use their own
mobile data as a source of internet access to
their smartphone. Only 08 (5.5%) of the
respondents use university Wi-Fi.
8.6 Purpose of using smartphone
Table6 Purpose of using smartphone
S.No
Purpose of using smartphone
Number of respondents (n=145)
Percentage
(%)
1.
Retrieving information/knowledge
43
29.6 %
2.
Online classes
35
24.1%
3.
Reading e-books
14
9.6%
4.
Reading e-journals
12
8.2%
5.
Reading e- newspapers
20
13.7%
7.
Reading e-mails
12
8.2%
8.
e- library
06
4.1%
9.
Database searches
03
2.0%
Total
145
100
Figure6. Purpose of using smartphone

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 51
Table 6 and Figure 6 indicates the
purpose of using internet on their smartphones.
Retrieving information/ knowledge was
ranked at the first place by the respondents
(29.6%), followed by online classes (24.1%) in
the second place, reading e-newspapers
(13.7%) in the third place, reading e-books
(9.6%) in the fourth place.
8.7 Problems faced while using internet
Table 7 Problems faced while using internet
S.No
Problems faced while using internet
Number of respondents(n=145)
Percentage
(%)
1.
Smartphone illiteracy
03
2.1%
2.
Unavailability of internet facility
39
26.8%
3.
Slow internet access speed
53
36.5%
4.
Unavailability of Wi-fi facility
22
15.1%
5.
Frequent loss of signal
18
12.4%
6.
High cost of browsing
10
6.8%
Total
145
Figure 7. Problems faced while using internet
Table 7 and Figure 7 indicates the major
problems faced by users while using internet
on their smartphones. It was observed that
slow internet speed was a major problem faced
by the users with a count of 53 responses
contributing to total of 36.5%. Another major
problem was unavailability of internet facility
with a count of 39 of responses contributing to
the 26.8%.
8.8 Sources of information
Table 8 Sources of information used on smartphone
S.No
Source of information
Number of respondents (n=145)
Percentage
1.
E- books
38
26.2 %
2.
E- magazines
08
5.5%
3.
E-newspapers
22
15.1%
4.
E-journals
10
6.8%

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 52
5.
E-encyclopedias
16
11.0%
6.
E- dictionaries
51
35.1%
Total
145
Figure8. Sources of information used on smartphone
Table 8 and figure 8indicates the
sources of information used on smartphones.
E- Dictionaries (35.1%) are most preferred
information source used on smartphone
followed by e-books (26.2%), e- newspapers
(15.1%), e-encyclopedias (11.0%)and e-
journals (6.8%).
8.9 Smartphone vs. traditional documents
Table 9. Comparison of use of smartphone with traditional documents
S.No
Statements
yes
No
Total
1.
More expensive
82
63
145
2.
More informative
121
24
145
3.
Easy to use
131
14
145
4.
Time saving
123
22
145
Figure9. Comparison of use of smartphone with traditional documents

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 53
Table 9 and figure 9 indicates
comparison of use of smartphone with
traditional documents. Majority of responses
are in favor of that smartphone is easy to use,
time saving and also more informative than
traditional documents.
8.10 Does Smartphone has enhanced knowledge
Table 10 Enhancement of knowledge via Smartphone
S.No
Enhanced knowledge
Percentage
Not enhanced knowledge
Percentage
1.
144
99.3 %
01
0.7 %
Total
Number of respondents = 145
100.0
Figure10.Enhancement of knowledge via Smartphone
Table 10 and Figure 10 indicates that majority of respondents i.e 99.3% of respondents are in
favour of their knowledge enhancement via smartphone whereas rest 0.7% denied.
8.11Whether smartphone can replace library services or not
Table11Smartphone can replace library services or not
S.No
Can be replaced
Percentage
Can not be replaced
Percentage
1.
39
26.9%
106
73.1 %
Total number of
respondents n=145
Figure 11.Smartphone can replace library services or not

[LIS Today. Vol. 9, No. 2; Dec 2023] 54
Table 11 and Figure 11 indicates that
majority of respondent (73.1%) are in favor
that smartphones cannot replace library
services whereas only 26.9% of the
respondents says that smartphones can replace
library services.
9. Findings
 Findings reveal that maximum numbers of
respondents are females 106 (73.10%)
whereas remaining were males 39
(26.89%).
 Majority of number of respondents have
android smartphones 136 (93.79%)
whereas only 1 (0.68%) of respondents
have windows smartphones.
 Maximum number of 76 (52.4%)
respondents spent about 2-4 hrs. on their
smartphones in a day while retrieving
information whereas about 03 (2.1%)
respondents spent more than 10 hrs.
 Majority of respondents 140 (96.5%) have
internet access to their smartphones
whereas only 05 (3.4%) respondents are
without internet access.
 The major source of internet access on
their smartphone is mobile data 137
(94.4%) whereas none of the respondent
uses university LAN.
 The major purpose of using smartphone is
for retrieving information/knowledge 43
(29.6%) whereas about 03 (2.0%) seek
database search as a purpose of using
smartphone
 In regard to the problems faced while
using internet majority of respondent
claim that slow internet speed is the major
disadvantage 53 (36.5%) whereas only 03
(2.1%) respondent claim smartphone
illiteracy to be a problem.
 The major source of information on
smartphone is e-dictionaries i.e. 51
(35.1%) and least source of information
chosen by respondent is e-journals i.e. 10
(6.89%).
 The findings also reveals the comparison
of use of smartphone with traditional
documents in terms of more informative
121 (yes) and 24 (No); easy to use
131(Yes) and 14 (No); time saving
123(Yes) and 22 (No) and more expensive
82(Yes) and 63(No)
 Maximum of respondent 144 (99.3%)
agreed upon the statement that smartphone
have enhanced their knowledge whereas
only o1 (0.7%) disagreed with the
statement.
 Majority of respondents 106 (73.1%)
agreed upon the statement that smartphone
cannot replace library services and 39
(26.9) disagreed with the statement.
10. Conclusion
The proposed study is sought to examine
the user’s perception towards Use of
Smartphone’s in Retrieving Information with
Special Reference to University of Jammu.
The objectives of the study are met
satisfactorily. Although the use of smartphone
have enhanced our knowledge but yet they
cannot replace the library services. Also the
purpose of using smartphones vary from
student to student. Besides of the problems
faced by an individual while using the
smartphones, the use of smartphones also
added up in acquiring the information. Today,
the use of smartphones is one of the way by
which libraries are coming within our hands
and flow of information is taking place.
Majority of the students agreed with the
statement that use of smartphones have
enhanced their knowledge but yet they cannot
replace the library and the librarians.
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