Users’ Attitudes Towards E-Resources in Academic Libraries: A Theoretical Perspective on Libraries as Local Knowledge Infrastructures

Academic libraries are being increasingly perceived as a significant local knowledge infrastructure that extends beyond the formerly peripheral role of print collection. They are at the nexus of digital integration, democratization of knowledge, and value creation to the people, through the provision of electronic resources (e-resources). This paper is a conceptual study of user attitudes and strategies towards e-resources in academic libraries and how they fall into the technology adoption and management paradigms. The paper uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Information Behavior Model of Wilson, and Public Value Theory to know how perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, digital literacy, and institutional support influence the use of e-resources. The discussion elicits the place of the academic library as a support institution to education, but also to democratic participation and locality development. The authors summarize this paper and present policy, practice, and research implications of the significance of libraries in fostering equity and knowledge-based governance.