An Ethnographic Study of Academic Staff’s Electronic Library Database Utilization

The motivation for this study stemmed from one of the researchers’ experiences as an Academic Subject Librarian (ASL) and context-specific issues that arose from the existing literature. Earlier methodological reviews reported the extensive use of the quantitative survey approach to examine academic staff’s use of e-library databases, often providing limited insight into participants’ experiences and the human, social, and cultural contexts shaping such use. Therefore, the study used an alternative lens to understand the reasons for low use of the e-resource and improve our understanding of e-library database utilization by academic staff through ethnographic research. A stratified sampling method was used to select participants for the study. The study’s findings confirmed that most academics showed resistance to e-library databases’ use due to human/cultural and social components. The core results outlined the impact of shared experiences and social support as invaluable resources for uptake to improve. The conclusions assert that sociocultural factors and environmental contexts affect academics’ utilization of e-library databases. The study provided new insights to university library administrators to improve services and enhance academics’ e-library database use through providing the best fit of utilization interventions to suit the cultural context of the users.