Organising e-journals from the point of view of humanities: a case study at the University of Parma

Purpose - Research was carried out at the University of Parma with the purpose to investigate the organisation of e-journal titles from a user viewpoint, in order to find out what influence the approach adopted by the library may have on the use of e-journals and what characteristics the organisation of e-journals should have to enable an easy discovery of resources. Design/methodology/approach - The case study involved students, faculty members and library staff in classics and medieval studies. Research methodology comprised a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach: a focus group, observations, interviews, and a questionnaire. Findings - The group of users appeared still reluctant to use e-journals, the main barriers to use being lack of awareness and limited number of relevant resources. Users were favourable to being provided with multiple points of access to e-journals. Their preference appeared to be based on the familiarity of the method and similarity to the organisation of their physical library. The organisation of e-journals adopted at Parma had the potential to meet the users' expectations, but its actual implementation seemed to require more effective promotion and user-centred design. Originality/value - This paper may prove useful to humanities librarians engaged in providing user effective organisation of e-journals and in encouraging researchers and students to use electronic journals.