OK, you had heard about this great book from an acquaintance you met some six months ago. Now you want to while away your weekend and wish to read the same book. But since then you have forgotten the name of the book and even the author. How to go about it? Well, the place is not the corner bookstore, it?s the Web. Finding a book online has become easier than ever?if you don?t know name of the book or the author, search by subject!
That?s digital library, essentially the application of information technology into the library science. Over the last decade, IT has evolved significantly, so the physical format of the book is gradually being superseded by the digital format. Recently, former professor of IIM-Kozhikode, Dr MG Sreekumar, said that the next decade is going to be the decade of digital revolution. The user of a digital library need not to go to the library physically; people from all over the world can gain access to the same information, as long as an Internet connection is available.
Sreekumar was speaking at the International Conference on Digital Libraries and Knowledge Organisation held at MDI Gurgaon recently. The 3-day conference was held in association with Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centres (IASLIC), INDEST-AICTE Consortium, ministry of human resource development, UNESCO, Goethe-Institut, and South Asian Studies Council, Yale University.
In the past few years, procedures for digitising books at high speed and comparatively lower costs have improved considerably, thus making it possible to digitise millions of books per year for creating digital libraries.
Dr Antony Jose of MDI Gurgaon added that now users can have access to an overwhelming range of information at the click of a mouse. Digital library can link e-learners to access library and networked resources anytime and anywhere. And then there are cost-savings, too. A traditional library must spend large sums of money on staff, maintenance, rentals, buying new books, etc. Digital libraries reduce and in some instances even do away with these costs. Knowledge organisation systems can improve the organisation of digital libraries and facilitate better access to their content. In a technology driven world, libraries play a crucial role in the fostering of knowledge.