Marketing of information services and products in university libraries of Punjab and Chandigarh

Marketing of information servicesand products in university libraries of Punjab and Chandigarh (India)An attitudinal assessment of libraryprofessionalsAmritpal KaurDepartment of Library and Information Science,Guru Nanak Dev University,Amritsar,India,andSarita RaniBhai Gurdas Library,Guru Nanak Dev University,Amritsar,IndiaAbstractPurpose –The purpose of this paper is to determine the attitude of library professionals towards the concept of marketing and also how it is applied in practice to marketing of university library products and services.Design/methodology/approach –For the purpose of the study,library search concerning the subject was made to examine the findings of earlier relevant studies.To collect the relevant data,a questionnaire was designed and distributed to the subjects under study.Interviews were also conducted with the librarians/professional staff to fill in any gaps in the questionnaire.Findings –The librarians/professional staff have positive attitudes towards the marketing of library information services and products and admit that each library should have a mission statement and a full time professional to handle marketing-related activities;but in practice,no library under study has its own logo,mission statement or a specifically designated personnel for marketing-related activities.Originality/value –The study explores the possibility of adopting marketing strategies in university libraries to provide value-added,need-based and user-oriented services/products.Keywords Information services,Information media,Marketing management,University libraries,India Paper type Research paperIntroductionMarketing which for the years has been used successfully by the profit making sectors of the economy to promote demand for products and services has now been considered equally related and relevant to the management of library operations.In fact there are several factors that have compelled the librarians to get themselves involved in a formalized effort of this nature.The advent of information superhighways,dwindling library budgets,increasing user needs,complexity of information requirements,emphasis on accountability,competition from the private vendors and outflow of information are forcing the information professionals to adopt marketing techniques to optimize the use of library resources and services.The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at /0143-5124.htmMarketing of informationservices515Received 2February 2008Reviewed 24February 2008Accepted 12April 2008Library Management Vol.29No.6/7,2008pp.515-537q Emerald Group Publishing Limited0143-5124DOI 10.1108/01435120810894536University libraries invest huge amounts on the collection development,processing and storage of information resources.These resources,which are so expensive often remain unutilized resulting in the wastage of money,time,energy and space.The libraries can solve their problem of underutilization of resources and services by applying marketing principles.Marketing is basically an approach towards consumer satisfaction.To market information services,the librarian must be sensitive to the needs of both the staff and the users,and provide services which really meet the patrons’needs.Sensitivity does not come if one is not positive about it.The marketing concept will fail to work if the environment in which it is applied is not conducive and the librarian is not positive and enthusiastic about it.A positive change in the attitude of the librarian towards marketing is a prerequisite for making it successful in the library.Hence the issues to be tackled are those relating to the individual psychology and attitude of the librarians/professional staff on the utility and relevance of the marketing concept in the university libraries.Concept of marketing According to Kotler (1994):The marketing concept holds that the key to achieving organizational goals consists in determining the needs and wants of target market and delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than the competitors ....The marketing concept rests on four main pillars,namely target market,customer needs,coordinated marketing and profitability.Smith (1995)states:Marketing is a stance and an attitude that focuses on meeting the needs of the users.Marketing is a means of ensuring that libraries,librarians and librarianship are integrated into both today’s and tomorrow’s emerging global culture.Marketing is not separate from good practice.It is good practice.Bushing (1995)says:Marketing offers both a theory and a process by which libraries can link products,results and roles.Marketing can assist libraries in determining their future and in identifying quality products –services,programs and materials ....In terms of libraries,the concept of marketing means a sufficient change in the traditional attitude of the librarians towards acquisition,organization,processing and retrieving information.The basis of library services should be to help its users in solving their information gathering and processing needs.This the library can do only if it relies on systematic information collection,procedure and policies and adjusts its products,services and organizational policies and procedures to the demands of the users.Under the marketing concept,the patron is the focus and not the librarian,for the patron is the reason for the library professionals being there.Marketing is concerned with customers and the satisfaction of their needs with appropriate products and services.Review of related literatureAmaral (1992)carried out a survey of managers of geosciences and mineral technology libraries in Brazil to determine their knowledge about marketing techniques and theLM 29,6/7516adoption of the same in the libraries.The results showed that they had insufficient knowledge of the subject,and that marketing was confused with advertising,publicity and sales or promotion.Rathore(1995)in a study of agricultural research institutes under Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR),New Delhi revealed that the research institutes of ICAR had a lack of total application of marketing concept such as written statement of marketing plan,separate budget for marketing of information products/services and segmentation.Mohan(1998)in a survey of special and university libraries and information centres of India found that though the librarians had positive attitude towards the marketing of library and information services,they perceived some barriers in applying the concept of marketing in libraries such as lack of knowledge,skills and exposure to the concept of marketing and lack of manpower andfinancial support.Rajesh Singh(1999)in a survey of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)libraries and information centres of northern India showed that the librarians had positive attitude towards the marketing of library and information services and products.The survey conducted by Manjunatha and Shivalingaiah(2001)of Indian Institutes of Technology(IITs),Regional Engineering Colleges(RECs),Indian Institutes of Management(IIMs),national level research and development organizations,and universities in South India,revealed that84per cent of the total sample disagreed that marketing was concerned only with industrial or profit oriented products.Of the respondents,91per cent agreed that marketing principles could also be applied to library services.Broady-Preston and Steel(2002)carried out a study of a sample of librarians of six public libraries of London using semi-structured questionnaire,unobtrusive observation and analysis of mission statements.The results of the study suggested that a planned internal marketing programme tended to improve the success of public library services.Nkanga(2002)in a study of selected information providing institutions,in particular special libraries in Gaborone,Botswana,found that though a majority of the librarians and information officers i.e.67per cent were in favour of marketing their services to the users,in practice very few of them undertook formal marketing planning and prepare marketing plans.Promotion was the only element of the marketing mix to which they pay attention.Kanaujia(2004)in a survey of Indian research and development libraries and information centres revealed that though the librarians had a positive attitude towards marketing of library information products and services,there was less evidence of the systematic and planned use of marketing in the service design,pricing and delivery of information products/services.Kavulya(2004)in a case study of selected university libraries of Kenya indicated that although no library was reported to have been involved in any formal marketing research strategy,the librarians were aware of some of the strengths and weaknesses of the services provided.The investigator concluded that more emphasis was put on the promotion of already existing services.Wenhong(2006)in a case study of the Library of Chinese Academy of Sciences (LCAS)–National Library of Sciences for China described in detail different tools and Marketing of informationservices517methods used for applying the marketing principles in the library The researcher concluded that though there had been a lot of activity relating to marketing,the library had no marketing strategy at the organizational level and sustainable plan to do the marketing.Scope of the studyThere are six universities in Punjab and Chandigarh,namely Panjab University Chandigarh (1947);Punjabi University,Patiala (1962);Punjab Agricultural University,Ludhiana (1962);Guru Nanak Dev University,Amritsar (1969);Punjab Technical University,Jalandhar (1997);and Baba Farid University of Health Sciences,Faridkot (1998).Baba Farid University of Health Sciences and Punjab Technical University have been excluded from the study as a personal visit to these universities revealed that these have not yet been able to develop the library infrastructure good enough for the purpose of including in the present study.As a consequence,the following four universities have been included in the study:(1)Panjab University,Chandigarh (PU);(2)Punjabi University,Patiala (PbU);(3)Punjab Agricultural University,Ludhiana (PAU);(4)Guru Nanak Dev University,Amritsar (GNDU).Objectives of the studyThe main objectives of the study are to:.Assess the attitude of professional staff working in the libraries under study towards different aspects of marketing especially the “4Ps”i.e.product,price,place and promotion..Know the existing status of marketing of information services and products in the university libraries under study..Examine resources and facilities of the libraries in relation to marketing..Determine the extent to which the principles of marketing are put into actual practice in the libraries under study..Suggest ways and means for improving marketing practices in university libraries.Research methodologyFor the purpose of the study,a questionnaire was designed.It consists of two parts.Part I consists of seven sets of statements which are designed to measure the attitude of librarians/professional staff towards different aspects of marketing of information products and services and it asks the librarians to respond on a scale as to their agreement or disagreement with each statement by using the five-point Likert scale:strongly agree,agree,undecided,disagree and strongly disagree.Part II makes a request for providing information about certain library data such as library policies,various services provided,availability of infrastructure,time and budget spent on marketing related activities.It also contains a list of various promotional activitiesLM 29,6/7518which may be employed in a library.The questionnaire was pre-tested before using it with the survey population.The questionnaire was distributed to all the59professionals(Librarians,Deputy Librarians and Assistant Librarians)of all the university libraries under study.Of the responses,52(88.1per cent)were received out of59.The details are given in Table I. Analysis and discussionBackground of respondentsAnalysis of the data regarding background of librarians/professional staff presented in Table II indicates that out of52respondents51.9per cent are males and48.1per cent are females;a majority of the respondents,i.e.76.9per cent,possess a postgraduate degree,48.1per cent have more than ten year experience,84.6per cent have not studiedResponse received University Population Number Per cent PU242083.3PbU111090.9 PAU9888.8 GNDU151493.3 Total595288.1Table I. Population and responsereceived fromprofessional staffItems of the background variablesNumber ofrespondentsPercentage ofrespondentsCumulativepercentageSexMale2751.951.9 Female2548.1100.0 Qualification sPostgraduate4076.976.9 PhD1121.298.1 MPhil1 1.9100.0 Others–––Years of professional experien ce0-3years1 1.9 1.9 4-6years1426.928.8 7-10years1223.151.9 Above ten years2548.1100.0 Marketing concept studied in School of Library and Information ScienceYes815.415.4 No4484.6100.0 Workshops or short-term courses/seminars attendedNil4994.294.21-32 3.898.0 4-61 1.9100.0 7-10–––Table II.Background ofrespondents Marketing of informationservices519marketing concept in their schools of library and information science,94.2per cent have not attended any workshop and seminar on marketing of information services and products.Concept of marketingTable III shows the responses of the librarians/professional staff to the statements relating to the concept of marketing.The data presented in the table exhibits that the statements 1-5are positive and the response of respondents for these ranges from 76.9per cent to 98per cent.More than 94per cent of the respondents either agree or strongly agree that the concept of marketing is equally applicable in the field of library and information science and it should form an important component of the curriculum in the library schools.Of the respondents,84.6per cent think that it relates not only to selling and advertising but also to customizing the services and 82.7per cent admit that traditional view of libraries towards marketing has been in terms of promotion only.Need for marketingTable IV shows the responses of the librarians/professional staff to the statements relating to the need for marketing.The positive response to all the statements shows that librarians/professional staff feel the need of applying the marketing principles in the libraries in an era of global competitiveness and shrinking resources.The data given in Table IV shows that more than 90per cent of the respondents of all the university libraries admit that planning and conducting a marketing programme offers the librarians an opportunity to assess the usage of the services/products,justify the cost involved in the production of services/products and identify the services/products which are to continue/discontinue.The library services often remain either underutilized or unutilized because these are not popularized fully and the users are often ignorant about the services provided by the libraries as is evident from statement 1(response 86.5per cent).This shows that if we want that the library services should be fully utilized,users should be made aware of the existence of the services provided by the libraries through promotional activities.Marketing planningTable V exhibits the responses of the librarians/professional staff to the statements relating to marketing planning.The response rate for these statements ranges from 84.6per cent to 98.1per cent.Of the respondents,84.6per cent agree that libraries conduct marketing programmes at random rather than develop a coherent programme.A major problem in developing the marketing programmes in the library is obtaining manpower and financial support (90.3per cent).Positive response to all the statements clearly indicates that the university libraries should frame a “mission statement”and “marketing plan”for each product/service and user group.Immediate feedback on quality of services and products is essential for making the necessary adjustments to meet the users’requirements.First P of the marketing mix:productTable VI illustrates the responses of the professionals to the statements relating to the first P of the marketing mix,“product”.Overall positive response rate ranges from 61.5per cent to 90.3per cent for the statements 1-4.It indicates that libraries mustLM 29,6/7520S r .n o .S t a t e m e n t s S A AT o t a l S A þA U DS DT o t a l D þS D1T h e c o n c e p t o f m a r k e t i n g i s a p p l i c a b l e n o t o n l y t o b u s i n e s s o r g a n i z a t i o n b u t t o l i b r a r y a l s o13(25.0)38(73.0)51(98.0)1(1.9)–––2M a r k e t i n g i s s o m e t h i n g b e y o n d s e l l i n g a n d a d v e r t i s i n g18(34.6)26(50.0)44(84.6)6(11.5)2(3.8)–2(3.8)3T h e t r a d i t i o n a l v i e w o f l i b r a r i e s t o w a r d s m a r k e t i n g h a s b e e n i n t e r m s o f p r o m o t i o n o n l y7(13.5)36(69.2)43(82.7)3(5.8)6(11.5)–6(11.5)4L a c k o f k n o w l e d g e a n d e x p o s u r e o n t h e c o n c e p t o f m a r k e t i n g d i s c o u r a g e s l i b r a r i a n s f r o m a d o p t i n g i t i n t h e l i b r a r y e n v i r o n m e n t6(11.5)34(65.4)40(76.9)5(9.6)7(13.5)2(3.8)9(17.3)5M a r k e t i n g c o n c e p t s h o u l d b e a n i m p o r t a n t c o m p o n e n t o f t h e c u r r i c u l u m i n l i b r a r y s c h o o l s23(44.2)26(50.0)49(94.2)1(1.9)2(3.8)–2(3.8)N o t e s :S A ¼s t r o n g l y a g r e e ;A ¼a g r e e ;U ¼u n d e c i d e d ;D ¼d i s a g r e e ;S D ¼s t r o n g l y d i s a g r e e ;fig u r e s i n p a r e n t h e s e s a r e p e r c e n t a g e sTable III.Attitude about the concept of marketingMarketing of informationservices521S r .n o .S t a t e m e n t sS A A T o t a l S A þA UDS D T o t a l D þS D1L i b r a r y u s e r s a r e o f t e n w o e f u l l y i g n o r a n t o f t h e f u l l r a n g e o f s e r v i c e s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e m .17(32.7)28(53.8)45(86.5)2(3.8)5(9.6)-5(9.6)2P l a n n i n g a n d c o n d u c t i n g o f m a r k e t i n g p r o g r a m m e o f f e r s t h e l i b r a r i a n a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o a s s e s s s e r v i c e s /p r o d u c t s a n d t o j u s t i f y t h e c o s t i n v o l v e d i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f s e r v i c e s /p r o d u c t s17(32.7)32(61.5)49(94.2)2(3.8)1(1.9)–1(1.9)3M a r k e t i n g p l a n n i n g p r o c e s s h e l p s u s t o i d e n t i f y w h i c h s e r v i c e s /p r o d u c t s t o c o n t i n u e /d i s c o n t i n u e18(34.6)30(57.7)48(92.3)3(5.8)1(1.9)–1(1.9)4I n c r e a s i n g r e s o u r c e c o n s t r a i n t s a n d s h r i n k i n g l i b r a r y b u d g e t s h a v e m a d e i t i m p e r a t i v e f o r t h e l i b r a r i e s t o e m p l o y m a r k e t i n g t e c h n i q u e s i n t h e i r o p e r a t i o n s18(34.6)33(63.5)51(98.0)1(1.9)–––5T h e e l e c t r o n i c i n f o r m a t i o n a g e a n d g l o b a l c o m p e t i t i o n h a s f o r c e d l i b r a r i a n s t o c o n s i d e r u s i n g t h e c o n c e p t o f m a r k e t i n g i n t h e l i b r a r i e s a l s o15(28.8)28(53.8)43(82.7)6(11.5)3(5.8)–3(5.8)N o t e :F i g u r e s i n p a r e n t h e s e s a r e p e r c e n t a g e sTable IV.Attitude about the need for marketingLM 29,6/7522S r .n o .S t a t e m e n t s S A AT o t a l S A þA U D S DT o t a l D þS D1E v e r y l i b r a r y m u s t h a v e a m i s s i o n s t a t e m e n t15(28.8)36(69.2)51(98.1)1(1.9)–––2T h e l i b r a r y s h o u l d h a v e a m a r k e t i n g p l a n f o r e a c h p r o d u c t /s e r v i c e a n d u s e r g r o u p14(26.9)33(63.5)47(90.3)4(7.7)1(1.9)–1(1.9)3I t i s i d e a l t o d e s i g n a t e a f u l l t i m e p r o f e s s i o n a l t o h a n d l e t h e m a r k e t i n g e f f o r t23(44.2)26(50.0)49(94.2)3(5.8)4L i b r a r i e s c o n d u c t m a r k e t i n g p r o g r a m m e s a t r a n d o m r a t h e r t h a n d e v e l o p a c o h e r e n t p r o g r a m m e8(15.4)36(69.2)44(84.6)6(11.5)2(3.8)–2(3.8)5A m a j o r p r o b l e m i n d e v e l o p i n g a m a r k e t i n g p r o g r a m m e i n t h e l i b r a r y i s o b t a i n i n g m a n p o w e r a n d fin a n c i a l s u p p o r t15(28.8)32(61.5)47(90.3)3(5.8)1(1.9)1(1.9)2(3.8)6I m m e d i a t e f e e d b a c k o n t h e q u a l i t y o f s e r v i c e s /p r o d u c t s i s e s s e n t i a l f o r m a k i n g t h e n e c e s s a r y a d j u s t m e n t s t o m e e t u s e r s ’r e q u i r e m e n t s13(25.0)35(67.3)48(92.3)4(7.7)–––N o t e :F i g u r e s i n p a r e n t h e s e s a r e p e r c e n t a g e sTable V.Attitude about marketingplanningMarketing of informationservices523S r .n o .S t a t e m e n t sS A A T o t a l S A þA U D S D T o t a l D þS D1T h e s u c c e s s o f a l l m a r k e t i n g p l a n n i n g a n d p r o m o t i o n a l e f f o r t s h i n g e s d i r e c t l y o n t h e q u a l i t y a n d e x c e l l e n c e o f p r o d u c t s /s e r v i c e s w h i c h a r e d e s i g n e d /d e l i v e r e d11(21.1)32(61.5)43(82.7)6(11.5)3(5.8)–3(5.8)2T h e r e s h o u l d b e a n o p p o r t u n i t y f o r u s e r s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e d e s i g n i n g p r o c e s s o f a n y n e w s e r v i c e /p r o d u c t w h i c h i s t a r g e t e d a t t h e m15(28.8)25(48.1)40(76.9)6(11.5)5(9.6)1(1.9)6(11.5)3L i b r a r i e s m u s t c o n s t a n t l y i n t r o d u c e n e w p r o d u c t s a n d s e r v i c e s t o r e m a i n v i a b l e12(23.0)20(38.5)32(61.5)10(19.2)9(17.3)1(1.9)10(19.2)4T h e l i b r a r y n e e d s t o e v a l u a t e i t s i n f o r m a t i o n p r o d u c t s /s e r v i c e s c o n s t a n t l y t o d e t e r m i n e i f t h e y n e e d t o b e c o n t i n u e d ,m o d i fie d o r w i t h d r a w n .15(28.8)32(61.5)47(90.3)3(5.8)1(1.9)1(1.9)2(3.8)N o t e :F i g u r e s i n p a r e n t h e s e s a r e p e r c e n t a g e sTable VI.Attitude about the first P of the marketing mix –“product”LM 29,6/7524constantly introduce new products and services to remain viable and should evaluate them constantly to determine if these need to be continued,modified or withdrawn. Second P of the marketing mix:priceTable VII shows the responses of the professionals to the statements relating to the second P of the marketing mix,“price”.It is apparent from the table that there is a mixed and split response for these statements.Overall response shows that76.9per cent of the respondents agree with the statement that economics of new technology has made it difficult for the libraries to offer services free of cost.More than50per cent of the respondents agree that user charges prevent misuse of library services but they also want that these should not become a barrier to use.Table VII highlights the confusion prevailing among the professionals about whether to charge or not to charge for the services/products provided by the library.84.6per cent of the respondents are in favour of charging only nominal fee from the users as is evident from statement no.4. Third P of the marketing mix:placeTable VIII exhibits the responses of the librarians/professional staff to the statements relating to the third P of the marketing mix,“place”.The data given in Table VIII demonstrates positive responses for all these statements.A total of90.3per cent of the respondents of all the university libraries accept that if the access to the material and services is inconvenient or presents emotional problem to the user,the usage will be reduced considerably.This positive response shows that in this information technology environment,library staff should deliver the services in the right format, at the right time and at the right place.Access to the products and services should be convenient to the users to increase their use.Fourth P of the marketing mix:promotionTable IX exhibits the responses of the librarians/professional staff to the statements relating to the fourth P of the marketing mix,“promotion”.The data given in Table IX depict that all the respondents either agree or strongly agree with all the statements about the fourth P of the marketing mix,“promotion”.This shows that professionals accept that promotional efforts such as user orientation programmes(100per cent), user surveys(88.5per cent),preparation of brochures and sending them to the target groups(92.3per cent),publicity and contact programmes(92.9per cent)are essential to increase the library usage.Marketing-related activitiesMarketing planningTable X gives information about marketing related activities in the university libraries under study.It shows that no library has it own logo,mission statement and specifically designated personnel for marketing activities.All the libraries have a marketing plan of some sort,system offines for over-due materials and publish annual report and newsletter.All the libraries allow outsiders to use the library by charging nominal fee.Table XI indicates the budget and time spent on marketing related activities.PbU, PAU and GNDU spend less than1per cent of the budget on marketing related activities which is very insufficient to introduce planned marketing in an effective way.Only PU Marketing of informationservices525S r .n o .S t a t e m e n t sS A A T o t a l S A þA UDS DT o t a l D þS D1T h e e c o n o m i c s o f n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s h a s m a d e i t d i f fic u l t f o r l i b r a r i e s t o o f f e r s e r v i c e s f r e e o f c o s t11(21.1)29(55.8)40(76.9)7(13.5)4(7.7)1(1.9)5(9.6)2U s e r c h a r g e s p r e v e n t m i s u s e o f l i b r a r y s e r v i c e s /p r o d u c t s5(9.6)23(44.2)28(53.8)6(11.5)17(32.7)1(1.9)18(34.6)3F e e s s h o u l d n e v e r b e c o m e a b a r r i e r t o u s e ;e v e r y o n e d e s e r v e s e q u a l ,u n r e s t r i c t e d a c c e s s t o i n f o r m a t i o n1(1.9)26(50.0)27(51.9)7(13.5)13(25.0)5(9.6)18(34.6)4C h a r g i n g t h e u s e r s w i t h o n l y n o m i n a l c o s t w i l l m o t i v a t e t h e m t o u s e t h e s e r v i c e s /p r o d u c t s r e p e a t e d l y14(26.9)30(57.7)44(84.6)4(7.7)4(7.7)–4(7.7)N o t e :F i g u r e s i n p a r e n t h e s e s a r e p e r c e n t a g e sTable VII.Attitude about the second P of the marketing mix –“price”LM 29,6/7526S r .n o .S t a t e m e n t s S A AT o t a l S A þA U DS DT o t a l D þS D1I f a c c e s s t o m a t e r i a l a n d s e r v i c e s i s i n c o n v e n i e n t o r p r e s e n t s e m o t i o n a l p r o b l e m t o t h e u s e r s ,t h e u s a g e w i l l b e r e d u c e d c o n s i d e r a b l y13(25.0)34(65.4)47(90.3)4(7.7)1(1.9)–1(1.9)2A d v a n c e s i n i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y h a v e r a i s e d t h e u s e r s ’e x p e c t a t i o n s o f i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i s i o n i n t e r m s o f b o t h q u a l i t y o f s e r v i c e a n d s p e e d o f d e l i v e r y14(26.9)32(61.5)46(88.5)5(19.6)1(1.9)–1(1.9)3I n f o r m a t i o n e x p l o s i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f s i g n i fic a n t n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s a r e c r e a t i n g a s t r o n g d e m a n d f o r i n n o v a t i o n i n t h e c h a n n e l s o f d i s t r i b u t i o n8(15.4)31(59.6)39(75.0)8(15.4)4(7.7)1(1.9)5(19.6)N o t e :F i g u r e s i n p a r e n t h e s e s a r e p e r c e n t a g e sTable VIII.Attitude about the third P of the marketing mix –“place”Marketing of informationservices527。