From A to Z: Examining the online database subscriptions of AUNILO member libraries

• Main Authors: Peñaflor, Janice D.C., Aliwalas, Annabelle F.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: Libraries—Southeast Asia—Special collections—Online databases; Academic libraries—Southeast Asia—Use studies; Collection Development and Management
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/9317
• Institution: De La Salle University

Purpose -The objective of this paper is to find out the types of online databases available to the ASEAN University Network Inter-Library Online (AUNILO) members. It aims to analyze the subject areas covered by the databases and determine the correlation between the number of databases subscriptions to university ranking and research achievement. Design/methodology/approach - This study employed website investigation to gather the list and description of database subscriptions. The list collected was categorized by database type, content type, content provider, and subject. NVivo was utilized to generate the frequency of each content type and the range of subject areas of the databases. Regression analysis was used to verify if there is a correlation between the number of database subscriptions to the university ranking and research score. Findings - The study revealed the libraries provide a wide range of online databases; the majority of them are full-text journal databases provided by an aggregator. Science and Business and Social science are the most dominant subject content in these databases. Results also showed that while there is no statistical significance found between the number of databases and university ranking including research achievement, there is a positive trend indicating that the higher the number of subscribed databases, the higher the ranking and research score. Research limitations/implications – The study focuses on database subscriptions of AUNILO member libraries. It does not include open access databases, individual journal subscriptions, reference management tools, and text-matching tools. Originality/value- The results of the study will help in collection management decisions when it comes to database subscriptions. Libraries may also use the findings for benchmarking purposes. There is no existing study yet that examine database subscriptions among AUNILO member libraries.