World Library and Information Congress, Milan, 2009 - IFLA

318
David Beno
Frequency of use No. % Valid %
Every day 510 70.7 70.9
Several times a
week
165 22.9 22.9
Once a week 28 3.9 3.9
Once a month 13 1.8 1.8
None 3 0.4 0.4
Total 719 99.7 100.0
Missing system 2 0.3
Total 721 100.0
Table 1. Frequency of Internet use in general.
Frequency of use No. % Valid %
No use 15 2.1 2.1
Low 32 4.4 4.5
Medium 110 15.3 15.5
High 207 28.7 29.2
Very high 346 48.0 48.7
Total 710 98.5 100.0
Missing system 11 1.5
Total 721 100.0
Table 2. Frequency of Surface Web use for
academic purposes: general.
These fi ndings are surprising, since the extent of
Surface Web use for study and research could
have been expected to be much higher among
undergraduate students than among graduate
students or researchers. One would assume that
students just starting their studies in an academic
institution would tend to rely more on the Surface
Web (whose quality is not very high but is readily
available and convenient), and make more use
of more qualitative sources as their learning progresses.
Nevertheless, the survey indicates that
even graduate students rely heavily on Surface Web
information. A decreased dependency on the Surface
Web occurs at the highest level only – the postdoctorate
group.
Also, no signifi cant differences were found among
the respondents in different age groups, and the
majority (around 80 percent) of all the age groups
reported a high or very high frequency of use for
learning and research purposes. This fi gure is also
a bit surprising because it was expected (based on
previous surveys) to see more extensive use in the
younger age groups.
Further more, only small differences were found
among the various disciplines, and in all disciplines,
around 80 percent of the respondents reported
high or very high frequency of use.
The current statistical survey does not provide
explanations for the heavy use of surface Web
by all groups. Possibly the answer lies in the ease
and convenience of using Internet search engines,
especially compared to the digital databases provided
by the academic library.
Extent of Use of Authoritative Digital Sources
Provided by the Academic Library
We checked to what extent students and researchers
use the electronic sources provided by the academic
library, which are generally perceived as
more authoritative and credible than Surface
Web information: academic e-journals, digital
databases and e-books. Only 28.1 percent of the
respondents use e-journals in a high or very high
frequency, 29.9 percent do so fairly frequently,
and 42.1 percent use them occasionally or do
not use them at all. Overall only 40 percent of
all respondents reported a high or very high
frequency of use of digital databases, while
31.7 percent indicated a low frequency or no use
at all. Only 13.5 percent reported a high or very
high frequency of use of e-books.
Israeli scholars show a clear preference for using
the Surface Web as a source of information for
study and research over the electronic information
resources provided by academic libraries
for the same purposes. While the overwhelming
majority of survey respondents (about 80 percent)
reported a high or very high frequency of use
of the Surface Web for their study and research
needs, only about 28 percent of them reported a
similarly frequent use of e-journals, some 40 percent
reported a high to very high use frequency
of digital databases while only about 13 percent
indicated a high to very high use frequency of
e-books. It seems, therefore, that academic users
use the Surface Web two to three times more
frequently than they do the electronic sources
provided by the academic library (i.e. databases,
e-journals and e-books).