Awareness, access, and extent of utilization of e-books library resources of seminarians and faculty in the theological seminary of Iglesia Filipina Independiente

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the respondents’ awareness, access, and utilization of e-books library resources and the relationships among these variables. The respondents of the study were all the 12 faculty members and 60 seminarians enrolled in the School Year 2018-2019 at a theological seminary in Pangasinan. This study is a descriptive-correlational study that employed the one-shot survey design. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The finding shows that both faculty members and seminarians were fully aware of the existence of the e-books library resources. Faculty members were most aware of Biblical Studies e-books while the seminarians were aware of the existence of e-books of all subjects. More than half of those who were aware of the e-books library resources also accessed these resources. The most accessed e-books by faculty members were materials on Theology, Spirituality, and Pastoral Studies, while e-materials on Biblical Studies for the seminarians. Of those who accessed the e-books, all faculty members were able to utilize them, while there were two seminarians who did not. Materials on Theology, Spirituality, and Pastoral Studies were the most utilized by faculty members while for seminarians, the most utilized was Biblical Studies. Among the subject areas, Christian Education obtained the highest frequency of usage by faculty, while Church History by seminarians which also ranked number one for both faculty and seminarians. Demographic characteristics of respondents were associated with access, and extent of utilization of e-books library resources. There is a strong relationship between age of the respondents and their access to e-books on Theology and History. In addition, a strong relationship was found between sex of the respondents and their access to ebooks on Practical Theology. Further, subject currently teaching by faculty members, and the seminarians’ year level have strong association to their access to e-books on Theology, Biblical Studies, and History. There is a strong relationship between age of the respondents and their extent of utilization of e-books on Practical Theology. A strong association was found between the subject currently taught by the faculty members and their extent of utilization of e-books on Theology and History. Associations between respondents’ awareness and access, awareness and extent of utilization, and access and extent of utilization of e-books library resources were also explored. It was revealed that there is a moderate relationship between respondents’ awareness of e-books on History and Practical Theology and their access to such library resources, while a weak relationship was found between the respondents’ awareness of e-books on Theology and Biblical Studies and their access to these e-books library resources. There is a weak relationship between respondents’ awareness of e-books library resources on all subject areas and their extent of utilization of such resources. Further, here is a strong relationship between the access of respondents to e-books on Theology, Biblical Studies, and History and their utilization of e-books on such subject areas. However, there is weak relationship between these two variables with regards to e-books on Practical Theology.