Design/methodology/approach – Usage reports of six online databases subscribed by the Central
Library were analyzed, a survey by emailing users a questionnaire and four deep interviews were
conducted.
Findings – The amount of usage increases yearly, however it is still low in comparison with the
number of subscribers who have registered for using online databases. Users did search for their
research and study rather than for their teaching or professional knowledge update. Often they looked
for journal articles and theses rather than e-books. Key words and titles were used the most when
searching. Reading the guidance from the library websites or from the databases was most used. This
suggested that most users did not know how to use the databases and preferred to learn by
themselves. Email was preferred by users to communicate with library staff. English language and
database searching skills were the biggest barriers preventing users from employing online databases