Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to determine the materials cited in doctoral theses of botany, submitted to the Kuvempu University during the years 2000-2006, with the aim of improving the existing collection development of the library. Design/methodology/approach -The study employed descriptive research design. Theses submitted for the award of Doctoral degree from 2000 to 2006 to the Department of Botany, Kuvempu University were examined. The population of the study was all the theses submitted during the periods under study. Data were extracted from title page and references given at the end of each chapter. Extracted data were analysed using statistics. Findings -The study reveals that journals are the most preferred sources of information used by the researchers in the field of botany, accounting for 74.77 per cent of total citations, although citations from books, proceedings, theses, reports and patents are also found. It is also observed those researchers are not taking much advantage of internet resources. The journal Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (USA) was ranked the first, with 158 citations, accounting for 7.57 per cent of the total journal citations. Further, Bradford's law of scattering was applied. It is observed that major citations come from journal literature. In addition, more cited materials were contributed by multi authors and degree of collaboration is 0.75. Research limitations/implications -The paper presents a sense of the importance of botany research, and as such informs that community, as well as researchers involved in citation analysis. Originality/value -The outcome of the study is an original research work with citation analysis of doctoral theses in botany. It highlights the information materials available and used by researchers of the Botany Department for their research work and those which need to be added for a healthy collection.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the grey literature archiving pattern at open-access repositories with special reference to Indian open-access repositories. Design/methodology/approach The Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE) was used to collect data from different document types archived by open-access repositories across the world. Data were collected by advanced search and browse features available at the BASE on document types, the number of repositories by country wise and Indian academic and research repositories. Data were tabulated using MS Excel for further analysis. Findings Findings indicated that open-access repositories across the world are primarily archiving reviewed literature. Grey literature is archived more at European and North American repositories compared to rest of the world. Reports, theses, dissertations and data sets are the major grey document types archived. In India, a significant contributor to the BASE index with 146 open-access sources, reviewed literature is the largest archived document types, and grey literature is above world average due to the presence of theses and dissertations at repositories of academic institutions. Originality/value Grey literature is considered as valuable sources of information for research and development. The study enables to get insights about the amount of grey content archived at open-access repositories. These findings can further be used to investigate the reasons/technology limitations for the lesser volume of grey content in repositories. Furthermore, this study helps to better understand the grey literature archiving pattern and need for corrective measures based on the success stories of repositories of Europe and North America.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of information communication technology (ICT) in 31 college libraries in Karnataka, India by investigating the ICT infrastructure, current status of library automation, barriers to implementation of library automation and also librarians' attitudes towards the use of ICT. Design/methodology/approach -Data-gathering tools used included questionnaire, observation and informal interview with selected college librarians. Findings -Application of ICT in Indian college libraries has not reached a very high level. Lack of budget, lack of manpower, lack of skilled staff and lack of training are the main constraints for not automating library activities. Even though library professionals have shown a positive attitude towards the use of ICT applications and library automation, they need extensive and appropriate training to make use of ICT tools. Originality/value -This is a comprehensive study on the use of ICT in Indian college libraries. Its findings should help college librarians, local government and also the University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

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Information literacy is considered as the crucial skill of the 21 st Century in pursuit of knowledge. It is the ability to recognizing when information is needed and being able to efficiently locate, accurately evaluate, legally and ethically use and also clearly communicate information in various formats. The purpose of this paper is to investigate information literacy skills of the Science PostGraduate students studying in Kuvempu University and Davanagere University of Karnataka State. The survey method is used to conduct the study. A structured questionnaire with 102 questions to measure 102 variables is used to collect the data. The major findings of the study are that majority (92.5%) of the students are skilled to define, develop and revise the information need on a topic, 83.6% identify the different types, formats and 80.2% identify purpose and target audience of information sources and 97.4% understand the organization and production of universe of knowledge. An average 74.1% of students are skilled to identity and use different information retrieval tools, 62.9% evaluate the information sources available both print and electronic formats and 68.1% able to determine the cost and benefit of acquiring information sources effectively; 51.7%of students are skilled to construct and use different information search strategies; 56.9% able to summarize, synthesize and validate the gathered information; 48.3% plan, develop and communicate the information product or performance, 45.7% able to use information ethically and legally and 36.2% able to acknowledge and document consulted information sources properly. On the basis of the findings, some suggestions have been put forward to improve the information literacy skills of the students.