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Role of library professionals in the Digital Era
K.Murugan1, Dr.S.Ravi2, Dr.S.Surianarayanan3
Introduction
The information era with its electronic facilities have imposed many challenges in
each and every sphere of developmental activities in. Libraries and Information Centers
and the library profession as a whole are no exception to this. Librarianship is a service
Profession, which is an ancient and honorable one. It is a blend of core professional
expertise in three areas - information, information technology and users. Librarianship
addresses all these three areas whereas all other fields including computer science and
communications technology address some part of these.
It is because of the effective information retrieval services require the unique
professional mix of knowledge such as information, users and information technology.
The invention of World Wide Web has drastically changed the information environment
in an unpredictable way. As a result, the role of librarian has shifted to that of an
information provider or knowledge navigator who uses new techniques to search
information in the light of information technology and the requirements of the users.
Lack of resources, constant change and the need for flexibility, effective communication
define the work – role of librarians today.
Technologies
The digital era requires certain technologies. They are basically grouped as:
Computer technologies with input devices that collect and convert information
into digital form. Such devices include keyboards; touch screens, voice
recognition systems, flatbed scanner, reprography copy stand, high – resolution
digital camera, image navigator software etc.
1 Librarian, Dr. Sivanthi Aditanar College of Physical Education, Tiruchendur – 628 215
2 Reader & Head LIS Wing, DDE, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar – 608 002
3 Librarian (SG), Sri Paramakalyani College, Alwarkurichi – 627 412.
Storage technologies – a variety of devices to store and retrieve information in
digital form such as magnetic tapes/cassettes, floppy disks, hard disks, DAT Tape,
CD – ROM, smart cards, etc.
Processing technology – creating the systems and applications software that is
required for the performance of digital network.
Communication technologies – primarily to communicate information in digital
form.
Display technologies – varieties of output devices.
Library Automation:
Definition:
Encyclopedia Britannica defines it as “The name given to an automatic system of
working. The difference between automation and mechanization, a related term, is being
mainly one of degree”.
Need for Automation:
1. Large growth of Document
2. Users Services
3. Cooperation and Resource sharing
4. Greater Efficiency
Computer in Libraries:
The application of the computer to library operation has two aspects namely
housekeeping routines and information storage and retrieval. The house keeping routines
include acquisition and ordering work, cataloguing, circulation control, serial control and
keeping of records, statistics for overall management purpose. The application of
computer to information service dissemination of information, computerized databases,
information transfer and distribution etc. compromises generation and collection of
information, information retrieval, current awareness services, selective
Digitization
Initially printed document will be scanned and converted to a standard format (like
HTML, XML, etc.) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) will be used to capture the
text character for searching. Finally using metadata and cataloguing information, the
existing document will be converted in to digital document.
Resource Sharing:
Resource sharing ‘give’ and ‘take’ which is other words means that the library
should be prepared to allow other libraries to use your resources and in turn, you can use
their resources. The libraries having howsoever large resources cannot be self sufficient.
In the ultimate analysis, it will have to depend upon other libraries for information
requirement of its readers. The needs of readers have also changed over the years. As a
person does not work in his speciality alone, but research or teaching work being
interdisciplinary, he has to draw material from other disciplines as well.
Resource sharing from its elementary concepts of inter library lending now includes
collection development, shared cataloguing, exchange of content page of journals,
obtaining photocopies of articles, allowing readers of other organizations for library and
many other spheres. This will mean developing upon catalogues and databases of various
types. With the use of computers, this work has been facilitated. The membership of
existing networks, etc, will allow libraries to use their resources optimally and avoid
wastage. During the last decade or so a number of networks have come into existence in
India, but solid cooperation of libraries participating in it is essential.
Networking:
Computers are said to be inter-connected if they are able to exchange or interchange
information.
Nowadays technologies have expanded the horizons of the individual library to
encompass resources on a national scale with the fast growth of telecommunication and
computer systems. Computer networking has opened the possibility of sharing the
bibliographic system and the database of libraries. Latest developments in
telecommunication and in computer technology have been a major moment to the
development and expansion of library network.
Need for Resource Sharing and Networking of Libraries
1. Creation of awareness among librarians and document lists for realization of the
need for resource sharing and networking.
2. Improve the access and exchange of information available in different libraries.
3. Explore various options for application of Information Technology in networking
of libraries.
Roles of library professionals in the digital era
1. To provide intellectual access to information in any format
Providing intellectual access to information is a role librarians have filled for a
long time. Traditionally librarians have done this via print-based resources. During the
second half of the twentieth century the range of available resources expanded to include
microform, video and audio formats. The final decades of the twentieth century witnessed
a further explosion in formats, and libraries can now offer information in the form of
print, audio, video, microforms, numeric, computer programs, or multimedia composites
of each. For librarians, the most important issue is to provide the information in whatever
form it is packaged.
Within the digital library environment, the choice of format is not the most
crucial issue. It is being able to provide information resources to patrons - regardless of
format. Librarians and patrons will no longer be restricted to 'a single entity where
everything is stored', but rather librarians will be able to offer 'a range of services and
collections, linked together or made accessible through electronic networks'.
The development in electronic access to scholarly journals is a key example of
the shift from ownership to access. University and research libraries especially, find the
option of providing electronic access to journal subscriptions to be a means of dealing
with complex multi-campus organizations where the client population comprises an
increasing mixture of on- and off-campus students.
Providing electronic access to journal literature was one of the first ways libraries
began to use the newly-evolving technologies. The development of electronic reserve (e-
reserve) collections, demonstrates another way in which librarians are adapting new
technologies to deliver services more effectively. Electronic reserves provide the ability
to digitize a printed document, video, audio, or data, so that many students can access it
simultaneously without the limits of attending a library building within opening hours.
The technology to provide digital access to library reserve collections has been
available for some time. However the wholesale adoption of this mechanism has been
impeded by a lack of clear copyright and intellectual property ownership laws for the
digital environment.
2. To evaluate available sources of information
Young (1998) observed, 'the computer will not replace the book any more than
the book has replaced speech'. He also contends that printed resources and digital media
are not alternatives. This is an important distinction and forms a significant issue for
librarians. Electronic sources of information are excellent for data which must be timely
and is subject to frequent change, such as stock market data, weather reports, and
population statistics. It is also valuable for the ease in which information such as full-text
articles from newspapers and journals can be delivered. Printed resources may continue
for a long time to be the most efficient form of delivering ideas and theories as opposed
to data in subject areas such as history, philosophy, and literature.
In evaluating electronic sources of information there is also a distinction to be
made between those sources of data which have been digitized for the speed and ease of
transportation, and data which is of limited usefulness, volatile and fluid in nature.
There are numerous free resources available on the web, to say nothing of the full-
text journals now available. Whether or not to include these in the library catalogue is a
challenge facing librarians in the digital library environment.
3. To organise and structure information
Traditionally, librarians have organised and managed information resources through
classification schemes. The retrieval of information relevant to a user's enquiry has been
facilitated by standardised methods of describing resources, such as MARC.
Many of the challenges facing those attempting to organise and structure information
in the digital environment is its nature. Ward and Wood (1998) note that one significant
management problem in the networked environment compared to traditional library
management issues, is coping with the nature of the 'information space'. They describe
the information space as large and rapidly growing, highly distributed, of varying quality,
and dynamic. Working with such resources requires an understanding of traditional
library management issues, but also the ability to adapt these to the new environment, and
even to go beyond these skills and develop news ways to organise and structure
information. For librarians to effectively organise and structure information available on
the internet, they require more than basic IT skills.
Metadata specifies the format for describing a digital resource in much the same
way the MARC format specifies the descriptive elements of an item held in a library
collection. Seven workshops have been held around the world to first define, and later
refine, the core elements to be used in describing networked resources. The first, held in
Dublin, Ohio in the United States in 1995, give the Dublin Core its name. The aim of this
scheme is that the creators of internet resources can insert the descriptive data about their
resources at the time of creation, and this will lead to an environment where the majority
of resources available on the Internet are searchable using a standard scheme.
4. To ensure the preservation of information
The issue of preservation in the virtual library environment is a complex one.
Librarians and archivists have long-established standards and guidelines for the
preservation and storage of print materials for long-term survival. The preservation of
electronic and digital information resources creates new dilemmas for librarians and
archivists.
As Klemperer and Chapman (1997) observe, digital media have not been around
long enough for fail-safe archiving and preservation procedures to be developed. One of
the significant issues affecting preservation of digital information resources is the very
technology which creates them. These technologies have an increasingly rapid
obsolescence and the preservation of digital information is dependent on ensuring that the
software and the mediating technology is also preserved. Many research initiatives have
been directed to the preserving of digital information resources. Cathro (1999) states:
The ability to access and read digital information in the future will depend on
strategies such as migration (in which the data is migrated ... to new operating systems
and data structures) or emulation (in which modern computers emulate the operating
systems and data structures of previous eras).
5. To provide specialized staff to offer instruction and assistance in interpreting
resources and access to resources
Information retrieval is the most obvious skill a librarian demonstrates to the public.
The increasing sophistication of search engine design is creating an environment where
anyone can, at varying levels of efficiency retrieve information from the internet. It has
been suggested that the skills of the reference librarian are becoming superfluous
(Odlyzko, 1996). However, without professional guidance many searchers, particularly
novice internet-users, do not exploit the full potential of search engines and consequently
do not retrieve all the relevant information available to them. Pollock and Hockley (1997)
examined the use of the internet by internet-naïve but PC-literate users and concluded
that to execute successful searches, internet users need at least a basic understanding of
internet searching concepts, but also very high levels of support - from a librarian or other
experienced internet searcher.
The digital environment provides both an opportunity and a requirement for
librarians to develop greater familiarity with IT-type skills.. They concluded that staff
working in different areas of university libraries required different skills.
Paraprofessional staff required practical 'hands on' experience and training. Librarians are
moving into database development, courseware, open learning and academic staff
development and need a combination of knowledge, skills, aptitudes, and personal
qualities in order to fill their multi-faceted roles.
6. Economic impact
The economic implications of the developing digital library are varied and
complex. On the one hand, libraries are facing immense increases in budget requirements
for the necessary equipment to provide access to electronic and networked services.
Another cost, which is less obvious and immediate, is the increasing demands on
librarians to develop and evaluate resources in new formats, often without a
corresponding increase in staffing to offset their 'new' responsibilities. On the other hand,
the ability to network resources and provide digital versions of previously printed
material provides the opportunity to reduce the costs of some resources and services.
The infrastructure needed to support the many technological developments forms
a significant component of today's library budget - an item not previously necessary. The
cost not only of computers, printers, scanners, and associated cabling, but the physical
space in which to provide these workstations, is considerable. This equipment is
expensive to install and maintain, and the cost of upgrading or replacing must be
anticipated, as the rate of technological change is increasingly rapid.
As demonstrated here, the need for the skills of the librarian in seeking, accessing,
and evaluating information is likely to increase rather than decline. The challenge for the
library administrator is likely to be in redeploying skilled staff into these new service
areas, reassessing the need for traditional library services, and providing a fine balance of
the 'old' and the 'new' in terms of services and resources.
Conclusion:
In this information digital era, easy access to information is an essential prerequisite, it
is necessary to the enormous needs of all its potential users.
Reference:
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2. Coyle,K(2000). “Change, change. change: libraries and the future.” The Australian
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3. Chandel, A.S AND Sharf, Veena, ed. Planning in library resource sharing, Lucknow:
Print House, 1987.
4. Das gupta, A. Notes on Resource sharing in libraries. Library Review v.12,
Newzealand; 1980, p.291 – 294.
5. Falk, Howard. “Developing Digital Libraries.” The Electronic Library 21, no.3
(2003)
6. Information power: How companies are using new technologies to gain a competitive
Edge. Business week oct.1985.
7. Kisley, Dave. “Libraries, the Internet and resource sharing.” Paper presented at the
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