Digital libraries for the developing world

Digital libraries (DLs) are the killer app for information technology in developing countries. Priorities here include health, agriculture, nutrition, hygiene, sanitation, and safe drinking water. Computers are not a priority, but simple, reliable access to targeted information meeting these basic needs certainly is. DLs can assist human development by providing a non-commercial mechanism for distributing humanitarian information on topics such as health, agriculture, nutrition, hygiene, sanitation, and water supply. Many other areas, ranging from disaster relief to medical education, from the preservation and propagation of indigenous culture to educational material that addresses specific community problems, also benefit from new methods of information distribution

Library performance measurement in the digital age

Book synopsis: University libraries around the world have embraced the possibilities of the digital learning environment, facilitating its use and proactively seeking to develop the provision of electronic resources and services. The digital environment offers opportunities and challenges for librarians in all aspects of their work - in information literacy, virtual reference, institutional repositories, e-learning, managing digital resources and social media. The authors in this timely book are leading experts in the field of library and information management, and are at the forefront of change in their respective institutions. University Libraries and Digital Learning Environments will be invaluable for all those involved in managing libraries or learning services, whether acquiring electronic resources or developing and delivering services in digital environments

Developing information services for special library users by designing a low cost digital library : the experiment of NOC-Digital Library

This research originates from a belief that special libraries in developing countries need to modernise and implement their ICT infrastructure and articulate information policies that will facilitate the exploitation of information resources to the optimum to increase national productivity. Special libraries and information centres in developing countries in general and in the Arab world in particular should start building their local digital libraries, as the benefit of establishing such electronic services is considerably massive and well known for expansion of research activities and for delivering services that satisfy the needs of targeted users. The aim of this paper is to provide general guideline for design a low cost digital library providing services that are most frequently required by various categories of special library users in developing countries. This paper also aims at illustrating strategies and method approaches that can be adopted for building such projects. The paper intends to describe the phases and stages implemented for building a low cost digital library services for the NOC. It also aims at highlighting the barriers and obstacles facing Arabic content in the digitization stage

General guidelines for designing bilingual low cost digital library services suitable for special library users in developing countries and the Arabic speaking world

The World is witnessing a considerable transformation from print based-formats to elec-tronic-based formats thanks to advanced computing technology, which has a profound impact on the dissemination of nearly all previous formats of publications into digital formats on computer networks. Text, still and moving images, sound tracks, music, and almost all known formats can be stored and retrieved on computer magnetic disk. Over the last two decades, a number of special libraries and information centres in the Arab world have introduced electronic resources into their library services. Very few have implemented automated and integrated systems. Despite the im-portance of designing digital libraries not merely for accessing to or retrieval of information but rather for the provision of electronic services, hardly any special library has started the design of digital library services. Managers of special libraries and information centres in developing countries in general and in the Arab world in particular should start building their local digital libraries, as the benefit of establishing such electronic services is considerably massive and well known for expansion of re-search activities and for delivering services that satisfy the needs of targeted end-users. The aim of this paper is to provide general guideline for design of special low cost digital library providing ser-vices that are most frequently required by various categories of special library users in developing countries. This paper also aims at illustrating strategies and method approaches that can be adopted for building such projects. Seeing the importance of designing an inexpensive digital li-brary as basic principle for the design accordingly, the utilisation of today's ICTs and freely avail-able open sources software is the right path for accomplishing such goal. The paper intends to de-scribe the phases and stages required for building such projects from scratch. It also aims at high-lighting the barriers and obstacles facing Arabic content and how could such problems overcome

Establishing the Digital Library: don’t ignore the library standards and don’t forget the training needed.

The literature on Digital Libraries tends to be about developing your own digital library, but most usage of digital libraries worldwide is access to commercial databases of full-text material: initially scholarly materials, but more recently, newspapers and monographs. There is no difference in principle between the industrialized world and developing countries; everyone want to access the same materials. Electronic materials are heaper to deliver to developing countries when compared with printed materials. The main problems concern spending wisely the little money that developing countries have and establishing the infrastructure to get the digital material to the users who need them. The standards needed to implement digital libraries are universal, and librarians in developing countries need to be aware of these standards and support their implementation in their systems, develop an appropriate infrastructure, and put resources into training so that the tools can be used to good effect. The Open Access movement must be taken into account and repositories set up for institutional materials as in the industrialized world

The Role of Digital Library in Bridging the Language Divide: Comparison Study of Arabic and Other Languages

Developing countries are often said to suffer the disadvantages created by a ‘digital divide’ – the gap between the digitally advantaged and the digitally disadvantaged. Much of the attention given to the digital divide had focussed on the most severely disadvantaged countries (particularly in Africa and parts of Asia). This study was examined the phenomenon in the context of developing Arab countries, with a particular focus on the capacity of digital libraries to bridge the ‘divide’ as it applies to research and scholarly communication. This will entail a case study of University of Jordan.A particular focus of the study will be on assessing the particular challenges and frustrations facing Arabic-speaking researchers in their use of networked information services. That is, while the term digital divide is often used as a means of expressing the technology gap between developed and developing countries, it may well be that a further divide is created because of the domination of the languages and content of the developed world in the networked environment.The research will investigate the potential for digital library services to better serve Arabic-speaking scholars, in particular though the increased access to scholarly publishing in Arabic. It will also explore the policy initiatives and constraints that may impact upon the future development and implementation of digital library services for the benefit of Arabic-speaking scholars. There are no current published studies that deal with the capacity of digital libraries to address the digital divide in the developing Arab World. The findings of this research will provide important recommendations aimed at improving the capacity for digital libraries in Jordan and the wider Arab World to promote Arabic scholarship. Keyword: Digital Libraries, Arab world, Arabic languag

DIGITAL LIBRARIES IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Digital libraries (DL) are seen as a hope to developing countries in their struggle for accessing bibliographic resources, especially in a context where the traditional distribution mechanisms failed tragically. Several difficulties are however faced by these countries to build and use digital libraries, due mainly to its high development costs and to the poor existing ICT resources in these countries. This paper discusses the importance of digital libraries for developing countries and introduces the main challenges they face in building and using such libraries. The current alternatives and major initiatives for making digital information accessible to developing countries are also addressed.The Online Digital Libraries have the great advantage of making bibliographic resources, including the most recent publications, accessible anytime and anywhere as far as a computer with Internet access is available. This fact is considerably important for developing countries where the traditional mechanism for distribution such resources failed tragically (Witten, 2004). These libraries are therefore a very good alternative especially for regions and countries where there are difficulties in accessing bibliographic resources. Institutions and researchers in the developing countries frequently have no access to the research literature published in the developed countries due mainly to the high costs and inadequacy of the distributions mechanisms (Arunachalam, 2003). A study conducted in 2003 concluded that 56% of the institutions in the countries with less then US$1000 GDP per capita, have had no international journal subscription for the last 5 years and that 21are however high. Nevertheless, a considerable amount of money has been invested in such projects around the world. For example the Library of Congress invested initially US$60 million in the development of the American National Digital Library!1 US 24 million were awarded in the ambit of the First Digital Library Initiative and over US 50 million2 in the Second. The high building costs might hinder the construction of digital libraries in developing countries since the decision makers prefer to put their scarce resources in addressing the existing basic needs such as drinking water, health, sanitation, nutrition etc

Why Print and Electronic Resources Are Essential to the Academic Law Library

Libraries have supported multiple formats for decades, from paper and microforms to audiovisual tapes and CDs. However, the newest medium, digital transmission, has presented a wider scope of challenges and caused library patrons to question the established and recognized multiformat library. Within the many questions posed, two distinct ones echo repeatedly. The first doubts the need to sustain print in an increasingly digital world, and the second warns of the dangers of relying on a still-developing technology. This article examines both of these positions and concludes that abandoning either format would translate into a failure of service to patrons, both present and future

Opportunities for public libraries and Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a powerful tool for public libraries,especially in parts of the world where access to other resources is cost-prohibitive: it supplements library resources with timely, useful information; acts as a tool for librarians answering reference questions; provides a pathway to primary and secondary sources and citations; helps library clients perform research; and provides a vital platform for ecording local knowledge, in local languages, not typically supported by the larger research and publishing industry. Experiments within existing communities suggest that by engaging in Wikipedia, public libraries can expose both their staff and patrons to more complex and sophisticated strategies for dealing with the changing digital landscape. Public libraries and their supporting networks would greatly benefit from a strategy for engaging with Wikipedia. Wikipedia strategies could also serve other library needs, encouraging engagement with a key 21st-century resource for education and learning, providing a model for developing and teaching complex digital literacy skills, and creating a venue for sharing local cultural heritage with a wider audience. These opportunities are even more present in the context of the developing world, where libraries have become de facto access points for digital information yet may not have capacity or resources to invest in digital tools. Equally, Wikipedia has the potential to point clients to libraries, where resources in their areas of interest can be found. Wikipedia-library engagement connects Wikipedia with the important role libraries play in bridging inequalities in access to information, while also being a source for local and regional knowledge and resource discovery

Developing Information Services for Special Library Users by Designing a Low Cost Digital Library: The Experiment of NOC-Digital Library

This research originates from a belief that special libraries in developing countries need to modernise and implement their ICT infrastructure and articulate information policies that will facilitate the exploitation of information resources to the optimum to increase national productivity. Special libraries and information centres in developing countries in general and in the Arab world in particular should start building their local digital libraries, as the benefit of establishing such electronic services is considerably massive and well known for expansion of research activities and for delivering services that satisfy the needs of targeted users. The aim of this paper is to provide general guideline for design a low cost digital library providing services that are most frequently required by various categories of special library users in developing countries. This paper also aims at illustrating strategies and method approaches that can be adopted for building such projects. The paper intends to describe the phases and stages implemented for building a low cost digital library services for the NOC. It also aims at highlighting the barriers and obstacles facing Arabic content in the digitization stage