AWKA
LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
ASSIGNMENT: THE BENEFITS OF ICT IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
NAME: OFFOR CHIMEZIE .C.
REG. NO.: 2009636001P
COURSE CODE: LIS 611
COURSE TITLE: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN LIBRARIES
LECTURER: DR. ANUNOBI, .C.
DATE:
INTRODUCTION
Library is the nerve – centre of educational institutions, especially universities. It is also a crucial centre in the educational development of man at any level and more particularly so in any academic pursuit.
Libraries are agents of educational, social, economic and political changes or evolutions in the community and their doors are open to all who need them. Hence, the library has become a place entrusted with the acquisition, organization, preservation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information in whatever formal it might appear.
It is worthy of note that the fundamental determinant of development status of any nation is her information base. Unesco (1977) asserts that “information has become an essential basis for progress of civilization and society. Lack of information and an effective means of exchanging it are now widely recognised as being limiting factors in economic and social development of people”.
Information therefore is the pivot of any meaningful development because development itself comes through decision making and planning, and without information no good decision can be taken. Decisions and plans can only be as good as the information on which they are based.
Library science as a discipline embraces the various components of library resources and operations. The discipline centres on systematic study of the principles and skills pertinent to all aspects of library operations, resources and administration.
The library resources and operations are not static. Changes in technology, user – needs, and societal changes affecting the flow of information can affect existing patterns of service. Library science therefore accommodates and indeed anticipates these development.
Library is dependent on life and change. Without the human and organizational changes that occur, the library would neither function properly nor meet its purposes.
Dr. S. R. Ranganathan formulated the five famous laws of library and information science. The fifth law – “library is a growing organism” is now being challenged by the tremendous progress of ICT and its speedy application in an all fields of library and information science.
MEANING OF ‘ICT’
The term Information Communication Technology (ICT) describes the use of computer based technology and the internet to make information and communication services available to a wide range of users. The term is used broadly to address a range of technologies, including telephones and emerging technology devices. It encompasses any medium to record information, like magnetic tape/disk, optical disks (CD/DVD), flash memory etc. Central to these is the internet, which provides the mechanism for transporting data in a number of formats including text, images, sound, and video.
The first and foremost ICT component, which can be adopted in the libraries, is the computer for library automation and to have an in-house database of library holding, in electronic form. It becomes necessary to equip the libraries to optimize the use of information. E-mail, online retrieval networking, multimedia and internet are the other important technologies, which can be used for faster access to information.
THE BENEFITS OF ICT IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
The benefits of ICT in library situations, and or in library and information science are as outlined and discussed below:
(1) Equips the potential libraries with ICT skills.
ICTs are crucially important for sustainable development in libraries. Librarians are professional library personals. Thus the study of ICT in the discipline of librarianship is an essential approach to preparing librarians on the use of various technological devices that foster library operations.
(2) Educates a librarian to introduce and provide new services, revitalize the existing services by producing faster access to the resources, by overcoming the space and time barrier.
In a technology driven society, getting information quickly is important for both sender and receiver. ICTs have made it possible to quickly find and distribute information.
The integration of information technology (IT) redefines the general outlook about library and its methods of disseminating information. It ameliorates the challenges encountered in traditional method of library operation as it proffers better alternative methods for the collection, generation, communication, recording, management and exploitation of information. It includes those application by which information is transferred, recorded, edited, stored, manipulated or disseminated (Anyakoha 1991). With computers, librarians can offer a series of new services when there is need for them. The services may include recent accession lists, listing of the library holdings in special way, current awareness services.
(3) Enables a librarian adopt a more accurate, faster and permanent storage of information.
Computers have the ability or advantage of storing information more accurately and permanently. This reduces the length of time a librarian spends in keeping records and also help to combat space problems. Records could be kept for a long time and remain protected from some uncertain invisible circumstances, using computer storage facilities.
Most routine duties in libraries like circulation control, listing of serials holdings, acquisitions and cataloguing are usually performed faster than that of traditional or manual methods and the user benefits by getting what he wants to read without waiting for too long.
(4) Offers a librarian relevant knowledge for better management of library to improve performance, thereby improving productivity.
A librarian with ICT skills has more time to formulate policies and make management decisions when the clerical routines in the library are performed by computers. This resultantly leads to improved planning and equitable distribution of work schedule.
(5) Acquaints librarian on optimum utilization and sharing of resources among institutions thereby reducing costs.
Resource sharing is a device evolved by libraries to improve their services to users by broadening availability of information.
REFERENCES
Anyakoha, M. W. (1991): Basic Librarianship: Technologies in Information Work.
Unesco (1977) in Azubuike, K. N. (2000): Fundamentals of Library and Information Services.
NAME: OKEKE CHARLES ANIEDO
ReplyDeleteREG NO:
YEAR: 2009/2010
DEPT: LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
LEVEL: MSC
LECTURER: DR ANUNOBI C
TOPIC: THE BENEFIT OF ONFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) TO LIBRARIANS
Towards the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century many computer software such as Tinlib and cps/isis and the xlib have become amendable to cataloguing processes. Documents can now be catalogued online or in batch mode. Online cataloguing is the most flexible and current. Additious deletions and changes can be made at any time and the results are often instantly available to the user. Some libraries have online public access catalogue (OPACs) where computers provide more access point to documents.
Current effort in retrospective conversion and initiatives to add materials not previously analyzed, allow online public catalogue access to the full range of library collection nation wide and beyond, regardless of the format in which the test resides Cooperatively created bibliography files are now accessible either via electronic gateways from local area network or by using CD-ROM types of equipments maintained in-house, Horn (1987) centralized processing facilitated especially through marce tapes and electronic CIP is now possible EYITAYO (1998).
These are computer produced books catalogues, microphone catalogues and the computer output microphone. The later can be in microfilm or microfiche. It is feasible with this form of catalogue, to provide a completely integrated new catalogue every three months or so, rather than providing supplements to be used with main catalogue.
Other benefits of IT to librarians are exchange of electronic mail (E-mail) with other users to exchange ideas with group of peoples via USEKNET news group- discussion, Groups covering a broad range of issues that include technical topics, hobbies and politics and educands varieties of social issues the break down of application use on the internet is as follows:
Distributed applications- 33
File transfer- 26
Interactive application- 19
Directory service- 5
Electronic mail-17
TOTAL- 100
Civilization is seriously undergoing a very profound transformation in librarianship which is been referred as information explosion.
IT/Internet has considerably removed bottle necks in processing information for varieties of learning, teaching and guide retrieval of information in library.
Sharing information allows a librarian to share information easily. Document electronic mails, videos, soundtracks and images could equally be shared over the network.
Work away from office:
When at home or traveling, the librarian can get connected to the network at work or even exchange files and messages.
Stop sneak net:
A computer network eliminate the need for sneak netting. Sneak net means physical carrying of information from one computer to another.
Share of equipment:
Computers connected to the network can easily share equipment for example, use of one printer by many computers or scanner or modem
I love the way two of you presented in the same page . Susequent assignments should follow this mode .
ReplyDeleteHowever I need to know what ICT is doing or has done for you as a course .
Dr Chinwe