Transcript Impact of ICT`s on library and Information Science

Impact of ICT’s on library
and Information Science
professionals in
Zimbabwe’s academic
institutions
By Collence Chisita & Munyaradzi Shoko
[email protected]
Introduction
• A myriad of possibilities and
opportunities for Information
Professionals through advances in
ICT’s.
• Revolutionalisation of all aspects of
LIS work
• Radical changes aided by the
convergence of technology
• From mere gatekeepers of
information to vigorous
disseminators of information.
Introduction Cont’d
• Adapting to ICT’s as a survivalist
strategy.
“…The challenge is to maintain,
nurture and optimize resources of
libraries with the help of new
technology. Hence we must be ready
...emotionally, professionally and
financially to accept and make good
use of new technology”
Kawatra(2004)
Original Foundation!!
New Dawn for Information
Professionals
• Diffusion of Innovations
• Information/Knowledge at the
epicentre of development
• Transition from traditional to
modern –techno driven Information
Management
• Role of Information Professional at
the push for transition
• use of integrated library systems to
improve service delivery
Challenges of the Digital
era
• High cost of developing ICT
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infrastructure
Dwindling library budgets,
Poor internet connectivity
High cost of hardware and software
Bridging the digital divide
Turning digital divide into digital
dividend
Life wide learning
Challenges of the Digital
era cont’d
“…the Internet holds the greatest
promise for humanity … It offers the
best chance yet for developing
countries to take their rightful place
in the global economy ... ensure
access … the gulf between the haves
and the have-nots will be the gulf
between the technology-rich and the
technology-poor…” Kofi Annan
(1999)
Traditional to techno driven LIS
• From physical to virtually recorded
information/knowledge
management .
• Access to information irrespective
of location and format
• Progression from paper to paperless
libraries
• Access to information without
regard to location and format
Library Consortia
• ICT’s and the “Information deluge”
• Library autarchy (self sustenance)
• Formation of library consortia to
facilitate resource sharing
• Shift from being "all alone" to
collaboration .
• ICT’s as the engine for the
21st.Century online communities .
“The miracle is this, the more we
share the more we have."Nimoy ,L .
Major Library consortia
for academic libraries
• Zimbabwe University Library
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Consortium (ZULC)
College and Research Library
Consortium (CARLC)
ever mounting cost of library
resources
diminishing budgets/limited fiscal
support
competition from free Web Based
resources
digital divide
CARLC ZIMBABWE
Adapting new
technologies
• Creation and development of
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institutional repositories like
UZSpace, using FOSS
Enlistment in the OpenDOAR.
Digital repository searchable from
any of the major search engines
Enhanced visibility.
Global Accessibility.
Overcoming institutional insularity
Going Digital!!!
Benefits of IR
New Skills for Librarians
• digital literacy
• negotiating skills,
• intellectual property rights (IPR),
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creative commons
open access initiatives
Publishing.
Content Management
Copyright
Major Trends
• Shift from print to digital collections
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and services .
From “repository maintenance” to
user-centered approach
From a holdings ideology to an
access strategy based on content
subscriptions .
Formation of consortia for resource
sharing
Rising demands of techno
generation
Digital Library
Integrated Library
Systems
• Millennium Innopac for cataloguing,
acquisitions, serial checking,
circulation and patron services
• Adjusting to ICT Standards and
protocols. e.g. Internet Protocols
• protocol for the exchange of
bibliographic information e.g. Z39
• Remote database searching i.e. inter
and intra-institutional cooperation
Major Challenges
• Using ICT’s to broaden LIS and
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prevent cultural homogenization
Adaptation of business management
principles
Adapting to market oriented
approach.
Using ICT’s for to promote
standardization
Use of ICT’s to break monopoly of
information
Democratization of access to
information through social media
Benefits of ICT’s in
libraries
• Using ICT’s for “creagement”
• Liberating Information professional
from repetitive tasks
• Facilitating association of dissimilar
ideas
• Promoting information sharing
through social media.
• Quantifying usage patterns through
OPAC, Web Based Databases and
Web sites.
Shifting vocabulary and
nomenclature
• Language as a form of professional
identity.
• New LIS lexicography e.g.
- Information navigation,
-Information Economy
-evidence based information
practice,
-e-resources librarian,
- metadata management,
-e-learning resource management
Alignment and
realignment
• Changing Information Science
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Landscape
Changing focus areas
Impact of ICT’s
From Library Studies to Library and
Information Science
Information and Documentation
Information and Communication.
Information Literacy: A
new Pedagogy
Information Literacy covering
following subjects:
• information sources
• searching tools
• electronic information
• searching techniques
• management of Information
• evaluation of e-resources ,scholarly
communication e.t.c
Standardized information literacy
manual
Education and Continuous
Professional Development
• Rapid changes in ICT’s call for CPD
• CPD to overcome redundancy, and
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irrelevancy.
Constant renewal of professional
skills and knowledge
Learning organizations
Learning culture
Constant review of LIS curricular.
New Roles in the Digital
Age
• Knowledge mediator, information
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architect, hybrid librarian and
knowledge preserver.
Masters of copyright, licensing and
electronic redistribution regimes
Enhanced service provision.
Advanced forms of content
handling(subject specialisation)
Communication media and KM
management centers
New Roles in the Digital
Age cont’d
“We have new roles to fill. While
the format of our resources may
change, while access to information
may change, while styles of service
may change, the vision of high
quality, service-oriented,
information centers still fits the
library's mission. We will serve our
user communities best if we
incorporate this into the digital
library.” MacMillan (1999)
Conclusion
• Creating digital platforms for
• IR
• open access
• E-journal portals
• Complementing e-learning
through access to e-resources
• PPPs and community engagement
• Enhancing access to e-resources
“Adaptability is not imitation. It means power
of resistance and assimilation” (Gandhi 1948)