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The widespread use of Internet in the world is creating an impact on library services as well. Malaysian academic libraries are no exception. Little information is available on the use of Internet and its implications in Malaysian academic libraries. This exploratory survey focused on the use of Internet in Malaysian academic libraries. The purpose is to find out (a) the areas where the Internet is more extensively used, (b) the existing awareness among librarians on the Internet, (c) the education programmes that have been provided to librarians concerning the Internet, (d) the types of facilities that have been provided by the libraries for enhancing the use of Internet and (e) the success rate of using the Internet in Malaysian academic libraries (the latter including a survey on the academic users). Nine academic libraries were chosen and questionnaire technique was used. The data collected were analysed and described accordingly using Quattro-Pro and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). It was found that all surveyed libraries used Internet and it has become an integral part of most library functions. Among the major obstacles for a wider use of Internet were; lack of trained staff and lack of awareness among users. Of the academic users of Internet, majority is from the science field followed by the arts and humanities field. The use of Internet is spreading rapidly and there is a need for more trained staff to meet user needs. There is tremendous potential for Muslim librarians too. Suggestions were made according to the findings and areas where future studies needed are also pointed out.

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This study examines the use of Internet for business purposes in Yemen. The main sectors observed are banking and private trade organizations. It was assumed that security is a main concern in e-commerce. A survey of the banking industry and private business organizations in Yemen is conducted. Through the survey and interviews a thorough study is performed about the: Internet facilities available in Yemen (the infrastructure, the service providers), the literacy and use of ICT in the above two sectors, the level of e-commerce adopted, the main hurdles in the adoption of e-commerce, and measure required to increase the adoption of e-commerce. The study has concluded that in general the above two sectors realize the importance of ecommerce for their business and they are willing to proceed further with the ecommerce. The main causes in the delay of e-commerce adoption are the discrepancies in the infrastructure (technology, service providers and human resources), high costing of the Internet facilities, bureaucratic hurdles in obtaining the facilities, and the non availability of a secure environment. In spite of the fact that they have a high concern about the Internet security, their awareness about the security hazards and the protection measures is 1t minimum. It is also observed that the public awareness of the ICT in general is very low. In light of the data collected, the study has come up with certain recommendations for the authorities interested to improve the e-commerce in Yemen.

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This study investigates the delivery methods practised by the public university libraries in delivering user education programme. The main objective of this study was to find out the differences and similarities between the selected university libraries in terms of types of delivery methods used, preferred delivery methods and problems faced by library end-users and librarians. The population of the study comprised of undergraduate students and librarians (in-charge of training) in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). These libraries were located in the Wilayah Persekutuan and Selangor. Data was gathered through formal interviews with the librarians (in-charge of training) and library users. The major findings of this study showed that there were four types of delivery methods practised in the three selected public university libraries. These methods were lecture with hands-on, one-to-one instructions, classroom lectures and point of use. Furthermore, students and also librarians preferred lectures with hands-on as their delivery method. This study also found that there were several problems faced by the students and librarians during the training which can be categorized as technical and human problems. The findings of this study may be used as guidelines for libraries to improve their training programme in the future.

This study aimed to compare the usage of the Internet of the academic staff in the Faculty of Arts, Aden University and Sana’a University in Yemen. It also attempted to find out the differences between the academic staff from both universities with regard to their usage of the Internet, as well as to know if there is a relationship between computer literacy and the use of Internet. The study investigated the problems faced by the academic staff in relation to using the Internet and also identify the similarities and differences in terms of problems faced by them. A questionnaire was used to obtain the relevant data. The total number of respondents was 143. The results showed that in general there were no differences in using the Internet by the academic staff in both universities. With regard to the relationship between computer literacy and use of Internet, the results showed that there was a significant relationship between the level of computer literacy and the usage of Internet for both universities. The duration of Internet use increased with those academicians who considered their level of computer literacy as ‘advanced. While those who considered their level of Internet literacy as ‘good’ had used the Internet for 2-3 times a week. With regard to the problems faced by the academic staff of both universities, the results showed that they encountered the same problems with the exception of one department. The findings also revealed that the majority of the academic staff from both universities preferred printed materials. About half of the respondents received informal training in using the Internet, mainly through self-instruction. They used the Internet mostly at home and in the Internet cafés.

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Reference services are considered one of the key activities in academic libraries. Currently, digital reference services have attracted the attention of libraries and information practitioners and researchers all over the world. The main objectives of this research are: (i) to determine whether the selected academic libraries in Malaysia provide digital reference services, and (ii) to identify the characteristics of the digital reference services if the selected academic libraries in the country do offer these services. This research is an exploratory case study of four selected academic libraries in Malaysia. These libraries are International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), University Putra Malaysia (UPM), University of Tenaga National (UNITEN), and University of Multimedia (MMU). This research adopts a qualitative approach in data collection. The sample of this study comprises of eight professional librarians and eight library personnel working in the reference department or staff whose primary responsibilities are providing reference services or information services at these selected academic libraries. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect information or data concerning digital reference services. This study explores four selected academic libraries offering digital reference services in which the asynchronous mode of digital reference services (e-mail reference and web form) are the current services offered. The findings of this study showed that both group of respondents (professional librarians and library personnel) responded positively to the idea or the concept of digital reference services. This indicates that the digital reference services have great potential to be developed and implemented in the Malaysian academic libraries.

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