Page 108 - DLIS408_INFORMATION_TECHNOLOGY-APPLICATIONSL SCIENCES

Unit 10: Classification of Libraries

There is no generally agreed-upon distinction between the terms library science, librarianship, Notes
and library and information science, and to a certain extent they are interchangeable, perhaps
differing most significantly in connotation. The term library and information science (LIS) is most
often used; most librarians consider it as only a terminological variation, intended to emphasize
the scientific and technical foundations of the subject and its relationship with information science.
LIS should not be confused with information theory, the mathematical study of the concept of
information. LIS can also be seen as an integration of the two fields’ library science and information
science, which were separate at one point.

Notes Library philosophy has been contrasted with library science as the study of the aims
and justifications of librarianship as opposed to the development and refinement of
techniques.

Task Define library science.

10.1 Digital Library

The term digital library has a variety of meanings ranging from a digital collection of material
that one might find in a traditional library to the collection of all digital information along with
the services that make that information useful to all possible users. Digital libraries have evolved
as a result of fast technological development in order to cater to the needs of individuals with
varying interests in various fields. Although the term digital library has gained popularity in
recent years, such libraries they have evolved along the technological ladder for the past 30
years. There is lot of interest in digital libraries today. This is reflected in the fact that an
advanced Altar Vista search conducted in early July 1996, on “digital library” or “digital libraries”
retrieved about 20000 entries.
In spite of the plethora of literature it is not clear what we mean by the term “digital library”.
The term is rarely defined, or even characterized. It has been applied to an extraordinary range
of applications from digital collaboratories to collection of electronic journals, software agents
that support inquiry based education, collection of e-mail and similar objects, electronic version
of a public library, personal library collection and the entire internet among others. It is not easy
to see what these have in common except for their digitization. A digital library contains digital
representation of the object found in it.
Most understanding of “digital library” probably also assume that it will be accessible via the
internet, though not necessarily to everyone. But the idea of digitization is perhaps the only
characteristic of a digital library on which there is universal agreement. Digital library is popularly
viewed as an electronic version of a library. The term digital library evokes a different impression
in various groups. To some it simply means computerization of traditional libraries. But to
others who have studied library science, it indicates carrying out the function of libraries in a
new way, encompassing new types of information resources, new approaches to acquisition,
new methods of storage and preservation, more reliance on electronic systems and networks.
But to a computer professional, a digital library is simply a distributed text-based information
system, a collection of distributed information service, etc. A digital library is a library of digital
documents, artifacts and records. The advantage of having library material in digital form are: (i)
the content occupies less space and can be replicated and used electronically, (ii) the content can
be made available on networks, (iii) the search for content can be automated.

10.1.1 Digital Library: Concept and Definition
The working group of the US Government’s Information infrastructure Technology and
Applications defined the digital library as ‘system’ providing user with a coherent access to a
very large organised depository of information and knowledge. R.R. Larson defined digital
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