DIGITAL LIBRARY AND ITS SERVICES, DIGITAL LITERACY: THEIR INTERCONNECTION

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DIGITAL LIBRARY AND ITS SERVICES, DIGITAL LITERACY: THEIR

INTERCONNECTION

Moumita Saha

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Abstract

With the exceptional elevation of information and communication technology, the world moved to a different age. Now the information’s has not been stored in the big store houses, so called traditional libraries. Information’s are floating through the internet. A large part of users as well accept the movement of information sharing. As the mode of operation changed, the traditional store house libraries also shifted from their conventional way of information collection as well distribution. As a result digital libraries grown up as an attached part in parallel with the conventional one. The library services also change the operation format; the services are now more user centric and automatic. A user can automatically find his requirement and request for it through the internet. It’s also very necessary for the professional those who are related with this field that they must have good sound knowledge on computer and its relevant technology. In an word they need to be digitally literate.

This paper tries to throw lights on the different aspect of digital library services and as well as the relevant literacy need for providing quality services. It is also discussed that how digital literacy and conventional information literacy are interrelated. It’s also help to find out the limitation and barrier for digital library services and the literacy as well.

Key words: Digital library, digital library services, digital literacy, information literacy.

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History on library and information science/services told that Libraries started off as store houses, somewhere books were more preserved than utilized. Librarians marked as someone form of custodians and their interactions with users were minimal, for example only in findings books and handover to the users. Then there was a huge movement came which shift all the conventional system and technique with a fresh new look, this what we call information communication technology (ICT). Librarians were supposed to be custodians who did not encourage the use of books. The users were expected to use the library on their own. At most, if a user asked for a book, then the service that would be offered by the so called librarian was to pass on the book and leave the user alone.

Perhaps with all the advance step of ICT, Library and information science also change its usual mode of storage in big store house; the resources are digitized in the form of digital document, stored in hard disk, conveyed through internet. Now these short of digitized activity populate a new kind of Library, called “Digital Library”.

Digital Library

While reviewing the definitions of digital library, William Arms noted that "An informal definition of a digital library is a managed collection of information, with associated services, where the information is stored in digital formats and accessible over a network”. A crucial part of this definition is that how the information is managed? A stream of data sent to earth from a satellite is not a library. The same data, when organized systematically, then it becomes a digital library collection. Most people would not consider a database containing financial records of one company to be a digital library, but would accept a collection of such information from many companies as part of a digital library. Digital libraries contain diverse information for use by many different users. Digital libraries range in size from tiny to huge. They can use any type of computing equipment and any suitable software. The unifying theme is that information is organized on computers and available over a network, with procedures to select the material in the collections, to organize it, to make it available to users, and to archive it. ‘Digital library’ synonymously terms as "electronic library" and "virtual library". From the point of view of Berkeley there are many definitions of a "digital library." The elements that have been identified as common to these definitions are (Leiner, 1998)

 The digital library is not a single entity;

 The digital library requires technology to link the resources of many;

 The linkages between the many digital libraries and information services are transparent

to the end users;

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 Digital library collections are not limited to document surrogates: they extend to digital

artifacts that cannot be represented or distributed in printed formats.

So Digital Libraries is somehow changes the mode of operation for the librarians, they need to develop their digital and ICT skills to work with this kind of operational mode. So the need to be digitally literate.

Paul Glister states that “Digital literacy is the ability to understand information – more important to and integrate in multiple format that computer can deliver” (Plunkett). As per Wikipedia “A digitally literate person will possess a range of digital skills, knowledge of the basic principles of computing devices, skills in using computer networks, an ability to engage in online communities and social networks while adhering to behavioral protocols, be able to find, capture and evaluate information, an understanding of the societal issues raised by digital technologies (such as big data), and possess critical thinking skills”.

Digital (computer) literacy is the new title for ‘educated’. Both teachers and students have no option but to acquire a level of computer-literacy to catch up with the growing digital societies. Governments and higher education institutions are making all out efforts by providing e-Learning environments to gain some levels of digital literacy of the masses at large and the university-constituents. Both developed and developing states are trying to figure out a required digital literacy curriculum for the training of teachers and the students. However, given that there are several meanings of computer-literacy therefore; research is going on about the contents of the curriculum and the pedagogical requirements of ICT-education. Furthermore, the concepts of global-village, globalization, information or knowledge community, e-Pedagogy, e-Students and e-Courses – all are casting increasing pressures on the academicians, HEIs and governments to take digital opportunity initiatives (DOI) for digital-literacy of the masses to generate workforce for the e-Government, e-Commerce and e-Learning. Research reveals that learners grip different perceptions about the nature and role of ICTs such as: instrumental and substantive (Nawaz & Kundi, 2010). So for maintain quality services on digital library, all the librarians and as well the other associates staff must need to have literate fare enough with the digital world.

The change of Library services in Digital age

Since the 1980s, each new step in library automation has moved the way of library services. In hindsight we can see a number of movements, among them: entry from multiple sections, making more resources feasible; making data available in raw forms and attenuation in the role of intermediaries. All these movements have been turn on by technological developments in the field of networking, file storage, and more graphic user interface.

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can be created, stored, organized, accessed and transmitted with relative ease, and in forms that we could not have thought of earlier.

Access from numerous resources: The key result of automation efforts was to make access

more convenient to library users. In the days of card catalogues; library systems often enforced users to travel to a central catalogue or multiple divisions just to discover holdings. Today users can brainstorm all holdings from workstations throughout the system (and often from home). This notion of access from multiple sections has also influenced the use of indexing and abstracting services. In 1970s unless a user eager to incur a significant pay-per-user fee from a private online service s/he had to travel to the site in his/her library system that had the published volume containing the sought after index. In the 1980s the users had to go to section that had the CD-ROM of a particular index seated. Today those indexing and abstracting services are seated online as databases or on CD-ROM servers, and are usually accessible throughout the system. Divorcing library services from physical location provides a deep difference in what a library is today. Making more resources available; for many years library automation systems were thought of as merely ways of delivering only bibliographic records (essentially online catalogs). But over the time, these systems have been building up with more services. Many automation systems are currently delivering indexing and abstracting services. There are number of other non-library information services (such as phone listings, course descriptions, class schedules, pre-enrollment capabilities) are being conveyed through the same system that delivers library automation.

Making information available in raw forms: The types of information available to users in

digital form have continued to grow. If we consider a bibliographic record to be a “representation” of an original book or article, then over the past decade we have been providing users with progressively truer representations (i.e. representations that are closer and close to original raw material). Indexing and abstracting, services have moved from providing searchable index terms or descriptors, to searchable abstracts to (more recently) full text articles and books. In online library catalogues, have moved from bibliographic records, to full text and page images. This movement towards rawer information or more detailed representations is often called “enhanced record” and has been a key element for those studying information retrieval. But if one considers that cataloguers and indexers have always been in business of “abstracting” from original materials to create searchable records, another way to look at these “enhanced record, is the abstract which is little closer to the materials that they are abstracted from.

Diminishing roles for negotiator: The success of library automation has meant that users highly

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Implications of technological changes/advances on the library environment: we are already

observing a revolution in the world of libraries, libraries are becoming less important for the materials they collect or house, and more important for the kind of materials they can access in response to user requests. This movement from collecting materials “just in case” some one’s will need it, to delivering materials from elsewhere “just in time” to answer a user’s needs, is a profound shift for the library as an institution. This shift is direct result of the recent proliferation of digital networking in an environment where standards for description were already well established. This is currently evident in major research libraries where librarians spend much of their time creating (World Wide Web based electronic pointers to resources on the internet). Efforts like this are likely to greatly escalate in the fore seeable future. These movement imply less in person mediation by library staff (as patron access information directly, but more of behind the scenes mediator role in selection and creating a noted/evaluation guides to external resources). This means a greater role for library staff as instructors, troubleshooters and guides. (Mayega, 2008)

Example of some renowned Digital Library and their services:

The Library of Congress American Memory (https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html):

American memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.

Digital Library of India (http://www.dli.ernet.in/): Hosted by: Indian Institute of Science,

Bangalore in co-operation with CMU, IIIT-H, NSF, ERNET and MCIT for the Govt. of India and 21 major participating centers. Provide all the services of digital library such as cataloging, searching, one can select their language the author everything with some mouse click.

California Digital Library (http://www.cdlib.org/): Provide access base library service for their

scholar’s and members.

IIMK (Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode) digital library -

(http://iimk.ac.in/gsdl/cgi-bin/library): Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode is under taken a project for providing all the facility of libraries; they include the digital library section with their main web page.

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A number of societal trends have the potential to severely influence libraries, particularly as this move into the online information delivery environment. Key elements among these trends is the movement from flat fee pay to pay – per – use model, best – seller phenomenon, the consolidation of electronic information distributors, erosion of provably, and issues of access and cultural diversity.

Flat fee Vs pay – per – use: The movement towards pay – per – use model is likely to severely

influence user mode, particularly as this begins to penetrate web based delivery systems. Pay – per- use models tends to discourage exploration and encourage viewers /readers to examine items that others have already deemed popular (favoring best sellers over more esoteric works). Libraries 1980s experience with pay per – use online indexing and abstracting services led by many librarians to embrace newer flat– fee model that arose such as CD – ROMS.

Best seller phenomenon: Economies of scale make mass distributed information cheap and

available, and can lead to an environment where smaller audience information is more lavish and harder to find over time this may well lead to the favoring of electronic delivery of entertainment over delivery of information.

Privacy: As people begin to pay for the information they receive electronically, what kind of

privacy issues does this raise? Will reading and buying mode be traced and sold as demographic data? Can libraries maintain to take their strong conventional privacy stand when providing pay – per – view information?

Access: who will guarantee access in an era when someone must pay for each byte of

information that is accessed? Can libraries contrive to provide free (or flat - fee) access to all their constituents in a pay – per – view era? Will the best – seller phenomenon take hold and make available only least common – denominator information (as in broadcast television) will the information needs of the less affluent be met in the way that they can afford. (Mayega, 2008)

Digital Literacy

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example, using a computer involves procedural skills (file-management), and cognitive skills (intuitively reading the visual messages in graphic user interfaces) .With the changes in technology, the elements of computer literacy are constantly changing and thus, educators must constantly revise the course to include the latest technological movement.

The Inter-relation between information literacy and digital literacy:

There is a close relationship between information literacy and digital literacy. When a librarian helps a patron search for articles in a database, there is an interplay between information literacy (which database to search, which terms to use, which limiters to employ, how to evaluate the articles in the results, how to use the information found effectively and ethically, etc.) and digital literacy (how to navigate the library web site, how to get to a search page or find the advanced search page, how to find the help files, how to save or export the citations and full text, how to set up an account in a social media site, how to upload files to that site, how to comment on others’ postings, etc.).

Aspect of digital literacy to consider:

Bowdon (2008) has developed a useful conceptualization of digital literacy which comprises four dimensions: underpinnings, background knowledge, central capabilities, and attitudes and perspectives (Nawaz & Kundi,2010):

• Underpinnings: Foundational education; Basic ICT skills

• Background knowledge: The nature of information – forms, sources/origins, understanding of the ‘Publication chains’, authorship, provenance

• Central capability: Finding/searching; Navigating; Synthesizing; critically analyzing; Creating; and Communicating

• Perspectives: Independent learning; proper use of information (respect for privacy); and Ethical behavior in digital communication, in a higher education environment, foundational literacy and basic.

So depending upon the operation mode of services, professional need to learn that level.

Barrier to getting digitally literate:

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and technological circumstances. The key challenge in learning surroundings is to adapt the computer-based system to distinctly skilled learners. If the environment is too typical the user will be bored, confused or frustrated. On the other hand, too simple or non-systematic environments cause motivational problems. As per Aaron, Technology is by nature disruptive and so, demands new investments of time, money, space and skills and changes in the way people do things. Furthermore, face to face communication is critical for classroom social relationships and interpersonal processes while, online technologies have decrease backing for social interconnection. Although, emotions can be conveyed through e-mail or chatting, it does not replace the fundamentals of our socio-emotional well-being.

Conclusion

Libraries are an elemental part of the community that surrounds it. Librarians need to identify the movements that have already taken place in libraries, and to be aware of the ways in which broader societal change are influencing libraries. In the context of libraries, Buckland raised a question, how library services can be made more significant? The answer should be digital library services and for that digital literacy should be the main weapons. Digital literacy can be defined as survival skill in the digital era. It constitutes a system of skills and strategies used by learners and users in digital Environments. Information literacy and digital literacy are not rival concepts; they are complementary areas for students in higher education. Librarians have an obligation to their institutions to inform broader discussions of curricula whenever we have significant input to offer, and this is such a time. Let’s employ both digital literacy and information literacy in our efforts to provide rich educational experiences for students in higher education.

References:

Leiner, B. M. (1998). Definitions of digital libraries. Retrieved December 20, 2015 from http://home.wlu.edu/~whaleyt/classes/DigiLib/Whaley/Definition.html

Mayega, S. (2008). Library information services in the digital age. Retrieved December 19, 2015 from http://eprints.rclis.org/12567/2/Paper.pdf

Nawaz, A. and Kundi, G.M. (2010). Digital literacy: an analysis of the contemporary paradigms .

Journal of Sciene and technology education research, 1(2), 19-29 retrieved December 20, 2015 from http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/IJSTER/article-full-text-pdf/68579321822

Plunkett, C. Digital Literacy. Retrieved December 21, 2015 from

https://cleach.wordpress.com/what-is-digital-literacy/

Digital literacy. Retieved December 22, 2015 from

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http://iimk.ac.in/gsdl/cgi-bin/library

https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

http://www.cdlib.org/