Modernization of Academic Libraries: a challenge in the digital era
Modernization of Academic Libraries: a challenge in the digital era
* Vishala B. Mallapur
Assistant Librarian, Centre for Women’s Studies,Kannada University, Hampi,
** Dr.Ramesh .R.Naik
Reader, Department of Library & Information Science, Karnatak University, Dharwad.
Abstract:
The current convergence of technologies, international communications protocols and increasingly flexible web-based services has led to significant changes in the scholarly information environment. These changes, and the opportunities they present, have taken the ‘hybrid library’ from concept to reality. This new reality has forced academic libraries to give serious thought to how they can best realign resources to meet the challenges of the library in the 21st century. This means a significant cultural change requiring rethinking operational processes, as well as resource reallocation and the development of completely new services. This paper examines some of these issues within the context of Indian academic libraries.
1 Introduction:
Only a few years ago librarians were debating whether computers had any place in libraries, just as they discussed - in the beginning of the century - whether typewriters had any place in libraries. Today the library community as a whole is realizing that apart from the immediate practical advantages, computers and information technology in general are the tools of a new information era, just like the printing machine with movable types was the tool of an information era which started with Gutenberg and lasted until the middle of the last century. Thus the important question is no longer whether to use the computer or not, but how to use it well, that is in accordance with its own logic and with its own full potential. Many libraries first used computers for automated production of catalogue cards, later for printed catalogues on paper and later again for microform catalogues. Gradually, the potential of computers as the instrument of a totally new type of catalogue was understood, and the hard-copy catalogue was replaced by online public catalogues.
Before the advent of information and communication technology (ICT), academic libraries were the sole custodians of information, which was predominantly in print. ICT brought changes necessitated by new information repackaging. Academic libraries are faced with managing hybrid resources (print and electronic) and are challenged to acquire the necessary skills. Furthermore, electronic information is eroding the monopoly of academic libraries as the sole access point to information. Nevertheless, academic libraries can maintain their place by serving as an access point to both print and electronic resources.
2 Academic Libraries in the Digital Era:
A well established library is essential for any academic institution. As a focal point for teaching, learning, and research, it is expected to provide standard information resources. Library is no longer considered as a trinity of books, reader and staff or a storehouse of knowledge. In the age of information, libraries are changed into information centers or learning resources centers in which the library professionals perform as information professionals. Today, academic libraries are struggling to keep their place as the major source of inquiry in the face of emerging digital technology. Digital technology has revolutionized not only the way information is packaged, processed, stored, and disseminated, but also how users seek and access information. Academic libraries no longer restrict themselves to print services such as collection development, cataloguing and classification, circulation and reference services, current awareness, selective dissemination, and other bibliographic services, but have extended their efforts to interdisciplinary concepts and computer software and hardware and telecommunication engineering and technology. Numerous creative and useful services have evolved within academic libraries in the digital age: providing quality learning spaces, creating metadata, offering virtual reference services, teaching information literacy, choosing resources and managing resource licenses, collecting and digitizing archival materials, and maintaining digital repositories.
Academic libraries presently are faced with not only the decision on what books and journals to acquire to satisfy faculty and students but also on how to remain relevant in the digital era, mindful of low budgets and resentment on the part of institutional administrators. There is also the issue of library users opting for alternate, more convenient, and “qualitative” sources of information. Users will prefer more computer content, more and more digital repositories of articles, online access to newspapers, etc. Libraries also struggle with when, how, who and where to begin digitization efforts, while keeping in mind that hesitation in the digitization of institutional archives will result in relinquishing the function to another institutional repository host. The consequence is repositioning of academic libraries resources, operations, services and skills. Resources today occur in hybridized form: print and electronic, and therefore services provided and skills possessed by professionals in these libraries should reflect that trend.
3 Automation and restructuring of Academic libraries:
The human element is a very important aspect in implementing as automated system in the library. The library and its staff are the focal point and play a very important role in the goal of library automation. During the course of the automation project, it is crucial for the library to assure a coordinating role and to be aware of what is going on at all times. Staff awareness and participation before installation are crucial to the success of the new system or service. Above it is also equally necessary to that the library staff should have computer literate and professionally experienced and involvement of staff who will be effected at all levels of a new system/service is a requisite to successful implementation.
The history of library automation is sufficiently old now. It started in early fifties in the Untied States of America. The landmark was the initiation of MARC project by the Library of Congress. During 1960s some experiments were carried out in India in this field but very sparingly. During late seventies there were some achievements like production of National Union Catalogue of Scientific Serials by NISCARE , production of Union Catalogue of DRDO libraries of Western Region by the Institute of Armament Technology at Pune. Then came eighties and the whole focus of the librarians shifted towards library automation. A number of seminars were organized on the library automation and still being done so. Librarians graduated from simple library operations to specialized functions including networking. Now Librarians talk about digital libraries and e-journals. But in India where bullock cart and cars are seen on the same road so blocking the fast moving traffic and those bullock carts restrict the speed of the cars to its own speed. To overcome this problem there are only two ways. First, replace the bullock cart with a car, and second, bypass the bullock cart and leave it behind. The state of library automation in our university libraries is more or less the same. We have the libraries like IIT libraries which are highly automated and also totally manual libraries which are really restricting the speed of academic and research in the country.
For academic libraries to maintain a prominent position in their institutions, they must move from limited or local access to universal access. For academic libraries in developing to achieve this, requires expandability, flexibility and compatibility. It requires standard hardware, sufficient capacity, networking capabilities, flexible software, and standards such as MARC for information storage and retrieval, local expertise, and a plan for the next system. Libraries across India are facing sweeping change on account of the media in which information is generated, transmitted, disseminated and archived due to the increasing presence of electronic formats. There is no doubt that information in electronic form is a potential asset, and that can be vigorously applied in any environment. The advent and spread of electronic formats has made a major difference in the information processing and service environments in libraries, especially after the emergence of the Internet and Web as the dominant pathway and repository of electronic information resources. Libraries act as facilitators to provide the right information to their user community. Users visit libraries to borrow identified documents, or to take photocopies/printouts of those documents from reference collections or journals not issued out normally.
The advent of Web-enabled information resources, such as e-journals, e-books and e-reference sources, and their access through networks has taken the library to the users (instead of the users coming to the library) and a significant amount of information access is now taking place beyond the four walls of the library. In many cases users want a ‘pinpointed precision’ in the information search process whereas the library attempts for an ‘exhaustive recall’ to comply with the various ways in which an information source is approached and to satisfy each user’s diverse interests. This information overload may cause doubts in the users regarding the relevance of information services as perceived from a professional angle. Along with quantifying use, it is equally important to assess the qualitative attributes of implicit and explicit use and examine the difficulties of users in properly framing their requests for information. The limitation on the part of library professionals to perceive and represent what is demanded by users in information systems, and the dilemmas of information organization and retrieval to handle these demands must be effectively addressed. It is striking that automation is today accepted by all parties in the academic libraries, the possibility of new organisational structures in connection with automation is often viewed with mistrust and diffidence, if at all acknowledged. Library managers will usually and correctly wish to enter into the automation process on the basis of a large consensus on the fundamental issues in the library. In existing library structures it does seem sensible to acquire some actual experience with the automated processes before the structure is changed. There is a risk that the library may not want to change the structure after automation has been assimilated into daily work routines and that automation may therefore be functioning inappropriately. This risk may reasonably be run, though, since total automation of library functions is still such a new phenomenon that most of us do not understand its consequences sufficiently to introduce sweeping structural reforms before the automation takes place and effect. For libraries to make optimal use of automation a number of conditions must be fulfilled: basic are, of course, a profound understanding of the new tool and a fresh look at what the information process is all about - it does not seem to be about books which are always be there. Among the other conditions is a restructuring of libraries to make a better framework for an information service which fully exploits the potential of the new information technology. An automated library is one where a computer system is used to manage one or several of the library's key functions such as acquisitions, Circulation, Cataloguing, Serials control and the online public access catalog.
4. Factors responsible for Automation in academic libraries:
Twenty years ago, technology revolved around library automation. The use of technology in libraries was simply a means for improving and enhancing library services and resources via automated cataloging, circulation and acquisitions systems. Today, automation has been replaced with a technological environment defined as the array of institutional networks, hardware and applications needed to provide users with access to resources and services in diverse settings. This environment is supported by an infrastructure impacted by personnel and organizational related issues. Amidst this technological evolution, the traditional library mission of service and access to resources is still relevant. These services and resources, however, are taking on new meanings and constructs. Today, librarians provide access to electronic collections, create and maintain digital content, support e-learning, provide real-time e-reference, negotiate contracts and licensing agreements and struggle with the economics of electronic information.
Library and information personnel in academic and research libraries work incessantly in networked environments. Having bigger, better and more technology remains one of the constants in the ways that they manage their jobs. As new technologies evolve, library operations are changing rapidly and library personnel need to adapt to new plans, tasks, and activities. How do librarians working in academic and research libraries react to these technological challenges? What are their perceptions, beliefs and opinions regarding the implications of technology in the work environment? As librarians interact with technology what are the psychological, personal and organizational issues that they encounter? Research on these and other questions will help academic and research libraries in planning and developing effective strategies for managing and supporting systems and services in a techno-environment.Considering the ramifications of technology in an information environment, Indian academic and research libraries need to focus on strategies and plans that will produce a dynamic culture for both librarians and users. They must take practical measures to provide a stable, mutually respectful work environment and to ensure a technological infrastructure that facilitates the provision of fundamental library information systems to the academic and research communities. There are several reasons some of them are:
-Attitude and awareness of the management.
-Attitude and awareness of the Users specially faculty.
-Resources available
-Non-availability of suitable software:
-Level and skill of staff
-Geographical locations.
In response to user needs and demands coupled with changing computer technologies, libraries, in their role as the major information provider for institutions of higher education, have moved beyond automated access tools such as online catalogs and indexed databases. Online, libraries also deliver network-based journals, theses and dissertations, images, class materials, and regional and international news reports. Libraries collaborate with others in the academy (teachers, editors, and researchers) as well as with commercial publishers to provide online access to materials that support all learners, whether on campus or off--the traditional teacher and learner as well as those using networks for asynchronous education. It is one thing to have the technological potential to extend educational programs and improve instructional quality and faculty productivity, but quite another to re-engineer the Academy.
5. ICT and Networking Opportunities for Resource Sharing:
Libraries have often been among the first within organizations to use computers to automate housekeeping activities, and were able to see the potential of IT to access remote databases. The current situation of academic libraries can be understood in several technological contexts. Library automation passed through a number of stages in arriving at the point now where libraries provide on-line access to wide range of electronic information sources and services. Libraries are responding to these forces by aggressively adapting state of the art technologies. Despite encouraging technology initiatives, however, libraries have been slow in adjusting their organizational structures and processes to leverage their potential. Information Communication Technology opens a new door for accessing a number of new information resources and services which are not available otherwise. Building integrated access to the on-line catalogue, locally mounted citation databases, and network access to remote resource and services will enables users to share resources and services and reduce unit costs. One of the important advantages of networking is that it makes available the products of a diversity of information suppliers and facilitates interaction with library and information resources. Given budget cuts and rising prices of library materials, many libraries have taken advantage of networks to reach a variety of services.
The realization of the world wide digital library is based on collaboration. Sharing and open technology are, of course, core to the delivery of the world-wide digital library. Each of the collaborating partners brings a unique set of applications and skills to the delivery and integration of content to the world wide library. Through relationships with the world’s leading primary publishers, various information products and services companies, integrated network-based access to hundreds of electronic journals, there by harmonizing access to all the electronic sources of information that helps to create knowledge. Although there are a range of library activities suitable in the networked environment, libraries should also be responsible for carrying out their traditional services. Libraries of the next decades or longer will continue to utilise many information formats, especially print, CD-ROM, and on-line. Each format will be most appropriate for a certain type of information and a certain type of users. For instance, Internet as an international supplement to traditional library reference works, which has the potential to provide up-to-date information when the more conventional publishing types might be lacking. However, while most of the traditional reference resources, for example, led to journal articles or books, the WWW-based resources led not only to journal articles but also to various information sources such as, un-published documents, project proposals, web-pages, etc.Thus, network resources and services are best regarded as complementary to the print and other forms of conventional libraries, resources and services as well as a valuable add-ons in providing additional information in a format that is easy to access and browse.
6. Improved Traditional Information Services:
In this information age, academic libraries operate in a dynamic and volatile situation with traditional responsibilities. As stated by McClure et al (1994), it is an evolution that new electronic resources and services are incorporated with traditional activities. Among the many and varied opportunities that the IT offers to libraries to support and improve existing traditional services, and of course, the principal factor underlying network’s rapid growth and wide spread acceptance as the information delivery platform of the future is that it allows libraries to provide multimedia based information in ways libraries have not been able to do before. The comparative easy exploitation of text and images, with the potential inclusion of sound and moving pictures makes the network a powerful device. The publication of home pages by academic institutions and others is currently by far the most common activity on the web. College/University web sites now have many purposes such as: making widely available an on-line prospectus for potential students (both internally and externally), essential information like phone and e-mail directories, details of research activities or computer documentation giving access to relevant Internet resources and providing the opportunity for anyone to publish useful information on the web. A number of academic libraries used Internet as a tool for presenting and explaining what kind of services they offer, either in-house or on the net, i.e. letting the end user interact via the Net with their services. The types of information libraries put on the web include: general information about the location, rules and registration procedures of the library; information about reader services (e.g. loans, reservations and available facilities); information about collections and subject access; and also information about people (e.g. Staff profiles). Automation process of academic library helps :
• Increase in access to a broader range of teaching-learning support resources (diverse information sources with relative ease);
• Increase in research productivity (empowers researchers by providing up-to-date information and provide opportunity to participate in the use and generation of knowledge on the network/Internet);
• Increase in instructional effectiveness (provides new services, by reaching library and information resources and services that are unique, valuable, and not available from any vendor in any form e.g. multimedia based information);
• Increase in efficiencies in the administration of library resources (enables to utilize the existing resources and services more efficiently);
• Facilitated resource sharing (utilizing meager resources more effectively, it can also aid to reach a large and rapidly growing remote information resources and services (and even with other countries) institutions in order to provide reliable information sources to its users).
• Competitive advantage over other (potential employers) Institutions and organizations (in terms of recruiting top quality professionals, even students and staff);
• Increase in the general IT knowledge and information literacy of students and staff (to cope with the coming electronic environment);
• Provides a convenient, timely, non-disruptive and inexpensive mechanism for communication (human connections also make the network a valuable tool to contributes for better inter-site liaison, reach a large number of users, etc.).
7. Conclusion:
The emergence of information and communication technology has repositioned the frontiers of academic library resources, operations, and services as well as expectations of user groups. The practice of walking to the library to consult the card catalogue and browse the shelves is moribund in developed countries, and this trend is quickly approaching developing countries as well. Academic libraries must embrace this scenario. The print/e-resources access model can serve as a stepping stone. When such a step is taken, academic libraries must remember expandability, flexibility, and compatibility. IT enhances access to information and provides new opportunities for Academic libraries. In most developed countries University libraries, almost all users have easy access to powerful workstations either located in their own offices or in special student rooms. The libraries themselves are not only equipped with various IT based resources but they also provide their users with IT based services. The Library’s role could include: create, manage, and make available a broad range of instructional materials to support teaching activities. The challenges faced by academic librarians are two fold. First is to automate their library operations and develop the capacity to deal with large quantities of information in a variety of new electronic formats; and second is to continue to strengthen and provide for the growth of their traditional collections and services and for automation to keep pace with increased resources. Automating a library is only the first step. Keeping up with new trends in information and communication technology is also of paramount importance. If the libraries fail to meet these challenges successfully the tremendous investment that institutes have made in their library collections and facilities will be seriously undermined.
References:
1. Jones, DE. 1999. Ten years later: Support staff perceptions and opinions on technology in the workplace. Library Trends 47(4): 711–745.
2.Kaul, H.K. and Baby, M.D. 2002. Library and Information Networking: NACLIN 2002. DELNET, New Delhi, 388 p.
3.Kulkarni, Jagadish N. 2002. Information Technology Application in the Academic Libraries: a ground reality. In: Library and Information Networking: NACLIN 2002. (Eds. Kaul, H.K. and Baby, M. D.) Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, October 21-24, 2002, 29-37.
4.Poole, CE. and E. Denny. 2001. Technological change in the workplace: A statewide survey of community college library and learning resources personnel. College & Research Libraries 62(6): 503–515.
5. Tebbetts, D.R. 1991. Expandability, flexibility, compatibility: Key management considerations in academic library automation. Available: web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit/NIT'91/223-teb.htm.
=========****========
* Vishala B. Mallapur
Assistant Librarian, Centre for Women’s Studies,Kannada University, Hampi,
** Dr.Ramesh .R.Naik
Reader, Department of Library & Information Science, Karnatak University, Dharwad.
Abstract:
The current convergence of technologies, international communications protocols and increasingly flexible web-based services has led to significant changes in the scholarly information environment. These changes, and the opportunities they present, have taken the ‘hybrid library’ from concept to reality. This new reality has forced academic libraries to give serious thought to how they can best realign resources to meet the challenges of the library in the 21st century. This means a significant cultural change requiring rethinking operational processes, as well as resource reallocation and the development of completely new services. This paper examines some of these issues within the context of Indian academic libraries.
1 Introduction:
Only a few years ago librarians were debating whether computers had any place in libraries, just as they discussed - in the beginning of the century - whether typewriters had any place in libraries. Today the library community as a whole is realizing that apart from the immediate practical advantages, computers and information technology in general are the tools of a new information era, just like the printing machine with movable types was the tool of an information era which started with Gutenberg and lasted until the middle of the last century. Thus the important question is no longer whether to use the computer or not, but how to use it well, that is in accordance with its own logic and with its own full potential. Many libraries first used computers for automated production of catalogue cards, later for printed catalogues on paper and later again for microform catalogues. Gradually, the potential of computers as the instrument of a totally new type of catalogue was understood, and the hard-copy catalogue was replaced by online public catalogues.
Before the advent of information and communication technology (ICT), academic libraries were the sole custodians of information, which was predominantly in print. ICT brought changes necessitated by new information repackaging. Academic libraries are faced with managing hybrid resources (print and electronic) and are challenged to acquire the necessary skills. Furthermore, electronic information is eroding the monopoly of academic libraries as the sole access point to information. Nevertheless, academic libraries can maintain their place by serving as an access point to both print and electronic resources.
2 Academic Libraries in the Digital Era:
A well established library is essential for any academic institution. As a focal point for teaching, learning, and research, it is expected to provide standard information resources. Library is no longer considered as a trinity of books, reader and staff or a storehouse of knowledge. In the age of information, libraries are changed into information centers or learning resources centers in which the library professionals perform as information professionals. Today, academic libraries are struggling to keep their place as the major source of inquiry in the face of emerging digital technology. Digital technology has revolutionized not only the way information is packaged, processed, stored, and disseminated, but also how users seek and access information. Academic libraries no longer restrict themselves to print services such as collection development, cataloguing and classification, circulation and reference services, current awareness, selective dissemination, and other bibliographic services, but have extended their efforts to interdisciplinary concepts and computer software and hardware and telecommunication engineering and technology. Numerous creative and useful services have evolved within academic libraries in the digital age: providing quality learning spaces, creating metadata, offering virtual reference services, teaching information literacy, choosing resources and managing resource licenses, collecting and digitizing archival materials, and maintaining digital repositories.
Academic libraries presently are faced with not only the decision on what books and journals to acquire to satisfy faculty and students but also on how to remain relevant in the digital era, mindful of low budgets and resentment on the part of institutional administrators. There is also the issue of library users opting for alternate, more convenient, and “qualitative” sources of information. Users will prefer more computer content, more and more digital repositories of articles, online access to newspapers, etc. Libraries also struggle with when, how, who and where to begin digitization efforts, while keeping in mind that hesitation in the digitization of institutional archives will result in relinquishing the function to another institutional repository host. The consequence is repositioning of academic libraries resources, operations, services and skills. Resources today occur in hybridized form: print and electronic, and therefore services provided and skills possessed by professionals in these libraries should reflect that trend.
3 Automation and restructuring of Academic libraries:
The human element is a very important aspect in implementing as automated system in the library. The library and its staff are the focal point and play a very important role in the goal of library automation. During the course of the automation project, it is crucial for the library to assure a coordinating role and to be aware of what is going on at all times. Staff awareness and participation before installation are crucial to the success of the new system or service. Above it is also equally necessary to that the library staff should have computer literate and professionally experienced and involvement of staff who will be effected at all levels of a new system/service is a requisite to successful implementation.
The history of library automation is sufficiently old now. It started in early fifties in the Untied States of America. The landmark was the initiation of MARC project by the Library of Congress. During 1960s some experiments were carried out in India in this field but very sparingly. During late seventies there were some achievements like production of National Union Catalogue of Scientific Serials by NISCARE , production of Union Catalogue of DRDO libraries of Western Region by the Institute of Armament Technology at Pune. Then came eighties and the whole focus of the librarians shifted towards library automation. A number of seminars were organized on the library automation and still being done so. Librarians graduated from simple library operations to specialized functions including networking. Now Librarians talk about digital libraries and e-journals. But in India where bullock cart and cars are seen on the same road so blocking the fast moving traffic and those bullock carts restrict the speed of the cars to its own speed. To overcome this problem there are only two ways. First, replace the bullock cart with a car, and second, bypass the bullock cart and leave it behind. The state of library automation in our university libraries is more or less the same. We have the libraries like IIT libraries which are highly automated and also totally manual libraries which are really restricting the speed of academic and research in the country.
For academic libraries to maintain a prominent position in their institutions, they must move from limited or local access to universal access. For academic libraries in developing to achieve this, requires expandability, flexibility and compatibility. It requires standard hardware, sufficient capacity, networking capabilities, flexible software, and standards such as MARC for information storage and retrieval, local expertise, and a plan for the next system. Libraries across India are facing sweeping change on account of the media in which information is generated, transmitted, disseminated and archived due to the increasing presence of electronic formats. There is no doubt that information in electronic form is a potential asset, and that can be vigorously applied in any environment. The advent and spread of electronic formats has made a major difference in the information processing and service environments in libraries, especially after the emergence of the Internet and Web as the dominant pathway and repository of electronic information resources. Libraries act as facilitators to provide the right information to their user community. Users visit libraries to borrow identified documents, or to take photocopies/printouts of those documents from reference collections or journals not issued out normally.
The advent of Web-enabled information resources, such as e-journals, e-books and e-reference sources, and their access through networks has taken the library to the users (instead of the users coming to the library) and a significant amount of information access is now taking place beyond the four walls of the library. In many cases users want a ‘pinpointed precision’ in the information search process whereas the library attempts for an ‘exhaustive recall’ to comply with the various ways in which an information source is approached and to satisfy each user’s diverse interests. This information overload may cause doubts in the users regarding the relevance of information services as perceived from a professional angle. Along with quantifying use, it is equally important to assess the qualitative attributes of implicit and explicit use and examine the difficulties of users in properly framing their requests for information. The limitation on the part of library professionals to perceive and represent what is demanded by users in information systems, and the dilemmas of information organization and retrieval to handle these demands must be effectively addressed. It is striking that automation is today accepted by all parties in the academic libraries, the possibility of new organisational structures in connection with automation is often viewed with mistrust and diffidence, if at all acknowledged. Library managers will usually and correctly wish to enter into the automation process on the basis of a large consensus on the fundamental issues in the library. In existing library structures it does seem sensible to acquire some actual experience with the automated processes before the structure is changed. There is a risk that the library may not want to change the structure after automation has been assimilated into daily work routines and that automation may therefore be functioning inappropriately. This risk may reasonably be run, though, since total automation of library functions is still such a new phenomenon that most of us do not understand its consequences sufficiently to introduce sweeping structural reforms before the automation takes place and effect. For libraries to make optimal use of automation a number of conditions must be fulfilled: basic are, of course, a profound understanding of the new tool and a fresh look at what the information process is all about - it does not seem to be about books which are always be there. Among the other conditions is a restructuring of libraries to make a better framework for an information service which fully exploits the potential of the new information technology. An automated library is one where a computer system is used to manage one or several of the library's key functions such as acquisitions, Circulation, Cataloguing, Serials control and the online public access catalog.
4. Factors responsible for Automation in academic libraries:
Twenty years ago, technology revolved around library automation. The use of technology in libraries was simply a means for improving and enhancing library services and resources via automated cataloging, circulation and acquisitions systems. Today, automation has been replaced with a technological environment defined as the array of institutional networks, hardware and applications needed to provide users with access to resources and services in diverse settings. This environment is supported by an infrastructure impacted by personnel and organizational related issues. Amidst this technological evolution, the traditional library mission of service and access to resources is still relevant. These services and resources, however, are taking on new meanings and constructs. Today, librarians provide access to electronic collections, create and maintain digital content, support e-learning, provide real-time e-reference, negotiate contracts and licensing agreements and struggle with the economics of electronic information.
Library and information personnel in academic and research libraries work incessantly in networked environments. Having bigger, better and more technology remains one of the constants in the ways that they manage their jobs. As new technologies evolve, library operations are changing rapidly and library personnel need to adapt to new plans, tasks, and activities. How do librarians working in academic and research libraries react to these technological challenges? What are their perceptions, beliefs and opinions regarding the implications of technology in the work environment? As librarians interact with technology what are the psychological, personal and organizational issues that they encounter? Research on these and other questions will help academic and research libraries in planning and developing effective strategies for managing and supporting systems and services in a techno-environment.Considering the ramifications of technology in an information environment, Indian academic and research libraries need to focus on strategies and plans that will produce a dynamic culture for both librarians and users. They must take practical measures to provide a stable, mutually respectful work environment and to ensure a technological infrastructure that facilitates the provision of fundamental library information systems to the academic and research communities. There are several reasons some of them are:
-Attitude and awareness of the management.
-Attitude and awareness of the Users specially faculty.
-Resources available
-Non-availability of suitable software:
-Level and skill of staff
-Geographical locations.
In response to user needs and demands coupled with changing computer technologies, libraries, in their role as the major information provider for institutions of higher education, have moved beyond automated access tools such as online catalogs and indexed databases. Online, libraries also deliver network-based journals, theses and dissertations, images, class materials, and regional and international news reports. Libraries collaborate with others in the academy (teachers, editors, and researchers) as well as with commercial publishers to provide online access to materials that support all learners, whether on campus or off--the traditional teacher and learner as well as those using networks for asynchronous education. It is one thing to have the technological potential to extend educational programs and improve instructional quality and faculty productivity, but quite another to re-engineer the Academy.
5. ICT and Networking Opportunities for Resource Sharing:
Libraries have often been among the first within organizations to use computers to automate housekeeping activities, and were able to see the potential of IT to access remote databases. The current situation of academic libraries can be understood in several technological contexts. Library automation passed through a number of stages in arriving at the point now where libraries provide on-line access to wide range of electronic information sources and services. Libraries are responding to these forces by aggressively adapting state of the art technologies. Despite encouraging technology initiatives, however, libraries have been slow in adjusting their organizational structures and processes to leverage their potential. Information Communication Technology opens a new door for accessing a number of new information resources and services which are not available otherwise. Building integrated access to the on-line catalogue, locally mounted citation databases, and network access to remote resource and services will enables users to share resources and services and reduce unit costs. One of the important advantages of networking is that it makes available the products of a diversity of information suppliers and facilitates interaction with library and information resources. Given budget cuts and rising prices of library materials, many libraries have taken advantage of networks to reach a variety of services.
The realization of the world wide digital library is based on collaboration. Sharing and open technology are, of course, core to the delivery of the world-wide digital library. Each of the collaborating partners brings a unique set of applications and skills to the delivery and integration of content to the world wide library. Through relationships with the world’s leading primary publishers, various information products and services companies, integrated network-based access to hundreds of electronic journals, there by harmonizing access to all the electronic sources of information that helps to create knowledge. Although there are a range of library activities suitable in the networked environment, libraries should also be responsible for carrying out their traditional services. Libraries of the next decades or longer will continue to utilise many information formats, especially print, CD-ROM, and on-line. Each format will be most appropriate for a certain type of information and a certain type of users. For instance, Internet as an international supplement to traditional library reference works, which has the potential to provide up-to-date information when the more conventional publishing types might be lacking. However, while most of the traditional reference resources, for example, led to journal articles or books, the WWW-based resources led not only to journal articles but also to various information sources such as, un-published documents, project proposals, web-pages, etc.Thus, network resources and services are best regarded as complementary to the print and other forms of conventional libraries, resources and services as well as a valuable add-ons in providing additional information in a format that is easy to access and browse.
6. Improved Traditional Information Services:
In this information age, academic libraries operate in a dynamic and volatile situation with traditional responsibilities. As stated by McClure et al (1994), it is an evolution that new electronic resources and services are incorporated with traditional activities. Among the many and varied opportunities that the IT offers to libraries to support and improve existing traditional services, and of course, the principal factor underlying network’s rapid growth and wide spread acceptance as the information delivery platform of the future is that it allows libraries to provide multimedia based information in ways libraries have not been able to do before. The comparative easy exploitation of text and images, with the potential inclusion of sound and moving pictures makes the network a powerful device. The publication of home pages by academic institutions and others is currently by far the most common activity on the web. College/University web sites now have many purposes such as: making widely available an on-line prospectus for potential students (both internally and externally), essential information like phone and e-mail directories, details of research activities or computer documentation giving access to relevant Internet resources and providing the opportunity for anyone to publish useful information on the web. A number of academic libraries used Internet as a tool for presenting and explaining what kind of services they offer, either in-house or on the net, i.e. letting the end user interact via the Net with their services. The types of information libraries put on the web include: general information about the location, rules and registration procedures of the library; information about reader services (e.g. loans, reservations and available facilities); information about collections and subject access; and also information about people (e.g. Staff profiles). Automation process of academic library helps :
• Increase in access to a broader range of teaching-learning support resources (diverse information sources with relative ease);
• Increase in research productivity (empowers researchers by providing up-to-date information and provide opportunity to participate in the use and generation of knowledge on the network/Internet);
• Increase in instructional effectiveness (provides new services, by reaching library and information resources and services that are unique, valuable, and not available from any vendor in any form e.g. multimedia based information);
• Increase in efficiencies in the administration of library resources (enables to utilize the existing resources and services more efficiently);
• Facilitated resource sharing (utilizing meager resources more effectively, it can also aid to reach a large and rapidly growing remote information resources and services (and even with other countries) institutions in order to provide reliable information sources to its users).
• Competitive advantage over other (potential employers) Institutions and organizations (in terms of recruiting top quality professionals, even students and staff);
• Increase in the general IT knowledge and information literacy of students and staff (to cope with the coming electronic environment);
• Provides a convenient, timely, non-disruptive and inexpensive mechanism for communication (human connections also make the network a valuable tool to contributes for better inter-site liaison, reach a large number of users, etc.).
7. Conclusion:
The emergence of information and communication technology has repositioned the frontiers of academic library resources, operations, and services as well as expectations of user groups. The practice of walking to the library to consult the card catalogue and browse the shelves is moribund in developed countries, and this trend is quickly approaching developing countries as well. Academic libraries must embrace this scenario. The print/e-resources access model can serve as a stepping stone. When such a step is taken, academic libraries must remember expandability, flexibility, and compatibility. IT enhances access to information and provides new opportunities for Academic libraries. In most developed countries University libraries, almost all users have easy access to powerful workstations either located in their own offices or in special student rooms. The libraries themselves are not only equipped with various IT based resources but they also provide their users with IT based services. The Library’s role could include: create, manage, and make available a broad range of instructional materials to support teaching activities. The challenges faced by academic librarians are two fold. First is to automate their library operations and develop the capacity to deal with large quantities of information in a variety of new electronic formats; and second is to continue to strengthen and provide for the growth of their traditional collections and services and for automation to keep pace with increased resources. Automating a library is only the first step. Keeping up with new trends in information and communication technology is also of paramount importance. If the libraries fail to meet these challenges successfully the tremendous investment that institutes have made in their library collections and facilities will be seriously undermined.
References:
1. Jones, DE. 1999. Ten years later: Support staff perceptions and opinions on technology in the workplace. Library Trends 47(4): 711–745.
2.Kaul, H.K. and Baby, M.D. 2002. Library and Information Networking: NACLIN 2002. DELNET, New Delhi, 388 p.
3.Kulkarni, Jagadish N. 2002. Information Technology Application in the Academic Libraries: a ground reality. In: Library and Information Networking: NACLIN 2002. (Eds. Kaul, H.K. and Baby, M. D.) Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, October 21-24, 2002, 29-37.
4.Poole, CE. and E. Denny. 2001. Technological change in the workplace: A statewide survey of community college library and learning resources personnel. College & Research Libraries 62(6): 503–515.
5. Tebbetts, D.R. 1991. Expandability, flexibility, compatibility: Key management considerations in academic library automation. Available: web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit/NIT'91/223-teb.htm.
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