Page 238 - DLIS007_LIBRARY AUTOMATION

Unit 12: Library Automation Services

There are certain types of content which lie inaccessible or less used in their present Notes
physical forms that can be put to more visible and enhanced use through digitization.
Also heavily used content presently available in limited numbers of copies can be
identified for conversion to electronic format. The linear text in many of the print
sources presents difficulties for providing a hypertext approach or a multimedia
feeling, for simulating learning by doing; sustaining attention and interest for long
duration calls for using electronic technologies to enable content to be more
functional. The static content in printed sources fails to attract users who are
increasingly exposed to the widely appealing features of broadcasting and IT-
intensive presentation tools. Multimedia-enabled digital information will be useful
to a large percentage of illiterate and older population also. There are cases such as
papers in journals and conferences in print form that never get their deserved
visibility and often end up without reaching the target population. The digital
dissemination of this content may lead to very effective teaching and more focused
research in most areas. To demonstrate the efficacy of digital libraries and collections,
libraries must be able to identify materials in the public domain, sources generated
in-house, and similar materials to overcome the constraints of copyright.
Culture and Conflicts Faced by Users
Searching for manual sources required scanning catalogue cards or indexing and abstracting
sources. As cross-references often increase the number of cards or pages, there was a
difficulty in being very exhaustive. Conducting selective dissemination of information
(SDI) services had been extremely difficult as the document profiles must be matched with
user profiles with the aid of semi-mechanical systems. Most of these limitations are easily
eliminated in the electronic environment due to the very nature of information processing
and organization in electronic form. The inherent advantages of indexing electronic
information help the user to search for any or all the fields in a timesaving manner. Since
document profiles are already stored in the database and search software supports creation
of user profiles, current awareness services (CAS) and SDI services are achieved more
easily. The concern for end-user searching was dominant right from the beginning of
early CD-ROM database systems since the time spent for searching does not involve
communication costs as is the case with online searching. Also with the universe of
knowledge getting increasingly complex as a result of continuing advances in research in
intra and inter-disciplinary areas, vitiating the search conducted by a generalist like a
librarian may not be effective in amassing the user’s information requirements completely
or not achieving the desired results expected by the user.
The convoluted information requirements of present day researchers require sufficient
knowledge of their disciplines and since the users are increasingly exposed to the
computerized work environment, they feel very confident to conduct information searching
on electronic systems. The professional ethos and egos also plays a part as users find more
satisfactory results from electronic systems than manual systems, and in a relatively easy
and convenient way. The librarians should recognize the confidence and maturity of users
to conduct searches on their own as they have better knowledge of their disciplines, more
exposure to the different keywords and their relationships and because of the inherent
advantages of locating related sources serendipitously while scanning the retrieved results.
There should be closer interaction and effective communication between library
professionals and users to understand each other’s views about information needs and
use. Library user meetings, orientation sessions for new users, special help for research
scholars, training programmes about usage of print and electronic resources, a help desk
at reference counter, holdings locator services, interacting with users through phone and
email, encouraging users to approach the librarian, ask a librarian, and user friendly
websites are some options practiced in libraries in India.
Contd...

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