Page 247 - DLIS007_LIBRARY AUTOMATION

Library Automation

Notes Libraries, which until recent times were essentially stacking print material, have now begun to
acquire electronic media like CD-ROMs and multimedia packages. In coming years, libraries
will have to prepare themselves for conversion to electronic libraries, commonly referred to as
digital libraries. The beginning has been made in India also, to convert hard catalogue records
in machine readable form and provision for electronic based services has also been initiated.
Libraries, as intermediaries, are dependent upon the actions of suppliers of information on the
one hand and users of information on the other. The libraries have to build into their future
strategies the concept of continual change. They may be required or expected to operate and
make provisions for more sophisticated and integrated options. Some such options could be:

Connect into more networks.
Provide more ways for their users to access information.
Offer a wider range of services.

Be prepared to take on more functions.
Be well-established organizers of information in counteracting confusion and uncertainty.
Be advisers and helpers in the information process, which will be in more demand than
ever.

Continue to introduce innovative technologies to improve services and facilities.
Make provision for users to plug portable devices into library networks.
Provide multifunctional terminals for users.

Have servers accessible via the Internet.
Provide access to the Internet as a routine service.
Provide necessary skills to organize the internal information resources of the parent
organization.

Be prepared to provide a wider range of communication facilities in the future, allowing
users to communicate more effectively with the library, with each other and with the
external world.
May not need to plan for ever-increasing storage of physical materials.
Consider the most effective ways of helping their users to navigate through the mass of
electronic information available to them.
Help users by developing better information retrieval tools based upon knowledge of
user preferences.

Consider making available a wider range of electronic media to users in future.
Make provision on their networks for devices that can read the new media at convenient
points.

Play the role of gateways to external systems, providing access to information over which
they have no ownership rights and little control.

Consider subscription to Internet-based services for their users as an alternative due to
spiralling cost of certain products in physical format.
Provide services for remote users who may or cannot visit the site physically.

Offer something more than can be obtained by users at home, thereby making their
services effective enough to attract users away from alternative information providers.

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