Remote access (Off-Campus access) to e-resources via EZproxy and RemoteXs facilities: A case study of Allama Iqbal Library system, University of Kashmir

This paper is an attempt to study the comparison between of Remote access facilities provided by Allama Iqbal Library using different softwares viz., EZproxy and RemoteXs and its impact on the user community at the University. The findings is based on the usage statistics of different category of users like faculty members, research scholars, students and staff members which had been registered at Allama Iqbal Library System for online and remote access to e-resources via EZproxy and RemoteXs softwares. The Library has been providing single window access to its digital content/e-resources through EZproxy software to its huge collection of online resources from 2010 and upto January, 2019. Since February, 2019, Library has shifted to the new and latest state-of-the-art RemoteXs software which acts as a gateway to accessing digital resources of Library from anywhere and anytime. The cost-effective cloud-based service model of RemoteXs has enabled our Allama Iqbal Library system in creating our own digital library portal with facilities to reach the target users in efficient manner. RemoteXs has also eased us from investing and marinating huge hardware infrastructure of e-mail servers, central servers, bandwidth costs, IP address registration etc. This indeed has helped the University to focus on core-academic research activities and use saved funds aptly. The findings show that users from all these categories were using e-resources; the awareness about e-resources encourages users to use such resources to the maximum; and the users are using personal computers, laptops, tablet computers, mobile devices more for accessing the information. The impact of e-resources was visible from the decrease in number of printed journals in comparison to the increase in number of electronic journals and online databases. The use of e-journals/e-databases has increased manifold. The printed material is being quickly replaced by the electronic resources due to its ease of access and availability.