Current and Global Trends in Library and Information Services

Abstract

The advancement of ICT (Information, Communication and Technology) has

brought a lot of changes not only on the library and information services but also on

the roles and expectations of the librarians and information professionals. As a

librarian you are expected to do more and more especially in this age of information

explosion. There is a real danger that librarians and information professionals will be

left behind if it still insists on the old role of the traditional librarians. So it is

important that there is a new change in paradigm. As the saying goes, change or

perish. This paper will attempt to understand what a successful, relevant and dynamic

librarians and information professionals must be in this Information Age. It will also

focus on the issues, trends and challenges in preparing new era librarians and

information professionals.

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INTRODUCTION

National development effort is simply any activity that raises real incomes,

thereby offering new hopes of expanded opportunities for people, communities,

and enterprises. As both the global and national economies become more and more

knowledge-driven, specialized knowledge has become the indispensable asset for

further economic development. Local businesses benefit greatly in specific ways

from libraries, including access to new ideas, knowledge and information. In

particular, relocating businesses, start-up businesses, small businesses of all kinds

and infrastructural provision are perceived as enjoying the greatest benefits from

library products and services. Indeed, existence of libraries has been cited as a

reason for a business’ decision to relocate to a particular community and the

strategic locations of beneficial infrastructural facilities. Studies also found that

business information resources were significantly more valuable with expert help

of library staff. In other words, not only are information sources themselves

viewed as important resources for people seeking mission-oriented information,

but professional services provided by librarians are believed by many to be critical

factors in finding, accessing and utilizing information resources to the fullest

extent, especially with regard to electronic resources.

Democracy and national development demands that the masses, the source

of authority, should be well informed about all important matters. Although many

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are receiving this instruction in schools, the work of schools cannot be complete

without the backing of libraries. Libraries are an indispensable companion to

formal education. The library must give persons of all ages the chance to keep

abreast with their times in all matters: 'By offering them, impartially, works

representing conflicting points of view, it enables them to form their own opinions

and preserve that attitude of constructive criticism towards public affairs without

which there is no freedom. UNESCO Bulletin for Libraries XV, (1961),

There will always be changes in the environment, and these changes will

affect librarians and information professionals: their role, job opportunities, self-

image, motivation and even survival. Librarians therefore need to find a solution to

timely repositioning and role claiming. We live in an Information society where

the development of information technology and telecommunication networks is

accompanied by a corresponding increase in knowledge, with a rapidly growing

flow of information.

This new information environment requires new skills in seeking, processing

and dissemination of information. The base for a Librarian’s ability to understand

and use information is a qualitative, ongoing learning process.

CURRENT AND GLOBAL TRENDS

Before discussing on the current and global trend in library and information

services let’s first look at some current trends discussed in most recent literature of

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library and information management. These current trends somehow or rather will

have a bearing in shaping librarians and information services in the new era. They

are summarized as follows:

• Library functions in information and knowledge-based society

• Knowledge-based economy – information and knowledge as drivers to boost the

economy

• Information management recognized as an important discipline

• Information recognized as commodity (information brokerage, information

entrepreneurship, fee-based information)

• Information recognized as power/strength/weapon

• Information strongly link to decision-making, strategic management, competitive

advantage, innovation, R&D

• Knowledge management – leveraging organization

• Globalization of information

• Integrated and widespread ICT applications

• Mushrooming of information systems – need for Information System

Management (ISM)

• Growth of electronic / internet resources

• Role of digital/electronic/virtual library

• Librarians is designated as cyber librarians

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• Librarians expanded & changes in digital environment

• New breeds of information professionals: CIO, CKO, Information consultants

and analysts

• Competency- based assessment/training

• Leadership skills

• Access role replace custodial role

• Customer-focused/customer-centered, user oriented approach in provision of

services

• Strategic alliances, partnership and collaborations

• Librarians need new management knowledge and skills

• Specialized knowledge & skills in library and information management

• Double degree (major-minor concept)

• Trend to develop digital contents to facilitate access

In addition to the professional skills mentioned above, the librarians and

information professionals of the future must be equipped with a wide range of

personal and transferable skills in order to manage the changing environment in

which he or she works. The importance of transferable skills over information

technology skills should be highlighted here.

Management and interpersonal skills will make librarians more effective

managers of networked resources and services. As Hastings (1996) says "it is more

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important that digital librarians possess particular personal qualities (which are

innate) rather than specific technical expertise (which can be learned). This is not

to say that the way to avoid the electronic age is for library professionals to stick

their heads in the sand. The information professional must change and adapt to the

new electronic information environment, he or she must learn about new

technologies and be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of them. Librarians

should not feel threatened by computers and technical developments but should

move forward with the new technology and take a pivotal role within

organizations. Information professionals within libraries are playing an increasing

role in dealing with information in electronic formats by creating Web pages to

promote their services to external customers and choosing automated library

management systems. Skills in information organization are more necessary in this

age of information explosion. Librarians and information professionals have a key

role to play in this era. For example, librarians are well equipped to take intranet

projects through the various stages of design and maintenance as they understand

their users and their organizations information needs and have the range of skills to

manage knowledge effectively. The role of the librarians in this context is to help

users find the information they require then provide them with the tools to assess

and use the resources for their individual needs. Creth (1996) suggests that

librarians achieve this by "actively seeking out users in a variety of settings" and

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by making "full use of information and multimedia technology" by offering

instruction in a variety of formats (including Web based instruction and online

tutorials). New era librarians and information professionals should be able to

manage the Digital Information System as this encompass the overall

competencies (knowledge, know-how, skills and attitudes) necessary to create,

store, analyze, organize, retrieve and disseminate digital information (text, images,

sounds) in digital libraries or any type of information.

Traditionally, libraries were collections of books, manuscripts, journals, and

other sources of recorded information. In the last 50 years, libraries have

increasingly developed into a provider of information resources and services that

do not even require a building. The terms digital library and virtual library are used

to refer to the vast collections of information to which people gain access remotely.

Digital Libraries

The world is going through an information technology revolution that has

drastically changed many facets of the human life, from education, industry,

economy, and politics to entertainments. In addition, the unprecedented

capabilities of the information technology to process, store, refine and disseminate

data, information and knowledge in a variety of ways across geographical

boundaries had dramatically changed the ways in which governments, the public

and the private sectors and libraries operate all over the world. As Ajayi (2002) has

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rightly put it, the emergence and convergence of information and communication

technologies (ICT) has therefore remained at the centre of global social-economic

transformations. As pointed out by Ogunsola and Okusaga (2008) libraries are now

extending their traditional roles of facilitating self-education and individual

enrichment by providing low-cost or free computer access to online resources. The

potential of what can be achieved in information generation, acquisition,

collection, processing, display and dissemination, was very exciting and

intoxicating, and resulted in futuristic dreams. All these electronic developments

form the basis of digital library which is equally termed virtual libraries. It is all

these technological developments which gradually give birth to what is now known

as digital library. At this juncture, one can ask what we mean by the term "digital

library". Digital library can be defined as one in which all the texts and spoken

books are stored as digital files, which will take a long time to achieve. A digital or

virtual library is the online access provided by other facilities or it may mean a

website which offers links to various sites with a large store of information in a

catalogued or archived form. The term may refer to all material related to any

subject that is available on the Internet. A digital library generally is part of a

network with linkages to other libraries.

The advances in the fields of telecommunications, computer technology, and

satellite communications have revolutionized information delivery services in

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advanced countries. As asserted by Akpan (2001), information can be delivered

across countries into houses and offices instantly. It must be realized that the

sharing, however, has been uneven across the globe. Countries with advanced

technology are years ahead of countries with developing economies. Within

developing economies, some have moved further ahead than others. In Nigeria, the

expression "virtual library" or "digital library" is relatively new, being a little more

than a decade old. One of the writers who coined it is Nancy Schiller, who defined

it in 1992 as "libraries in which computer and telecommunication technologies

make access to a wide range of information resources possible".

According to Irokwe (2001), a digital library is a library that harnesses digital

technologies as infrastructure to search, collect, organize, store and distribute

cultural, historical and scientific information whether it is text, visual images or

sound. The virtual library or digital library can be regarded as a child of necessity,

arising from need to use technologies in accessing the explosion of information for

human survival and development. This requires that all operations of the library be

computerized.

The Issue of Staff: The Right Staff

Staffing and getting the right staff is a major issue in e library in Nigeria just as it

was in the developed world when they stepped into electronic library system.

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Information professionals are now required to take on a wider variety of roles

requiring a broader range of skills than ever before and far more than their

exposures at the Library Schools. A number of e-Lib projects have helped to

successfully highlight these issues in recent years, (Stephen Pinfield) 2001. These

issues include how e library staff are obtained, trained and retained in order to

carry out this work. E-library projects in Nigeria are most likely to have problems

recruiting and retaining staff with the right skills across the sector because the

Library Schools do not offer relevant courses at the moment. Thought also needs to

be given to staffing structures which are currently biased in favour of traditional

library roles. There may be a need in many organisations to review the

fundamental organisational structure to see whether it is best able to deliver the

wide range of services required by e library.

A virtual or digital library can therefore be defined as a collection of library

resources in electronic/digital format at various locations, which can be accessed

and used with great ease using computer information technologies for the purpose

of teaching, study, research, learning, leisure, and decision-making.

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Electronic Resources

Taking Nigeria as an example, improving the quality of libraries in the

higher education system will improve the quality of the products of the system. In

recent times and as attested to by the findings of a 2001 Nigerian Institute of Social

and Economic Research/World Bank report on the quality of Nigerian Universities,

the competencies demonstrated by university graduates are "lowering at an

alarming rate". The poor state of academic libraries was implicated as a major

cause. The Nigerian virtual library project is a justifiable venture for bolstering

higher education quality. In another sense, the virtual library will enable students,

lecturers, and other scholars to profit more fully from electronic communications

revolution by having access to databases critical for their research and teaching.

Within the higher education system in majority of African universities, libraries are

far from being up-to-date. Books, journals, abstracts and other collections are not

current. The typical setting is to have a few fairly recent titles and a fairly large

collection of old titles. There are gaps in sequence which could be critical for

knowledge generation and dissemination. As a result of the above lapses, the

importance of virtual or digital libraries in African universities can never be

overemphasized. A digital library scheme will facilitate access to a vast collection

of books and journal, titles from as far as back in time as possible. A subscribing

library in Nigeria or any other African university will be several times richer and

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current in its collection of books and journals than presently the case. Estimates by

the www.virtuallibrary.com for 2001 showed that the installation and running cost

of a virtual academic library in a university is a mere .015% of the cost of

establishing a "real" academic library and less than 2% of the operating cost. All

the higher education institutions in Nigeria have physical libraries which require

about 1 billion Naira in capital, recurrent, and maintenance cost annually. This type

of electronic library resources can be shared by all institutions at a fraction of the

total cost required to support all the physical libraries within the higher education

system in the country (Ogunsola and Okusaga, 2008).

Furthermore, it is projected that 1,000 electronic databases/resources are

equivalent to 30,000 volumes of printed materials. These will require 2,650m2 of

shelf space alone. Thus, minimal resources can be mobilized for maximum

advantage in terms of library development in Nigeria and other developing

countries. In recent times, post-secondary educational institutions have been under

tremendous pressure for change as a response to demising budget, need to reach

students other than their traditional clientele, and adapt current development in

information technology for their delivery of institution. As a result many

institutions of higher learning worldwide have turned towards electronic

networking in academic services. The virtual or digital library also provides a

platform for sharing knowledge. It is not a one-way flow from resource-rich to

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resource-poor countries. Instead, it has been set up for uniformity in the

interchange of ideas. Consequently while universities in Nigeria and other

developing countries will take advantage of down loading materials from the

developed world, such universities will have the opportunity of uploading output

of research in the form of books, dissertation//theses and journals to the global

network of virtual libraries.

Also, differences in access to information technology and the ability to participate

fully in global electronic information networks is in itself a measure of the unequal

distribution of power in today's increasingly connected global economy and polity.

In Nigeria, for example, there are very few people with the advanced training that

enables them to contribute fully to new technology about electronic information

systems. It is precisely because of this situation of inequality that Nigeria and other

developing countries should be included in developing new knowledge in these

areas. It must also be realized that many of the print materials held in collections in

Nigerian Universities, particularly older historical manuscripts, are deteriorating

rapidly. Some materials cannot even be consulted by researchers for fear of

accelerating their decline. This is the trend in many other African countries. Many

research institutes and libraries, have suffered from deep funding cuts since 1980s,

and collections of all kinds have not been adequately maintained. Preservation is

central to maintaining the quality, longevity, integrity and accessibility of data.

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Digitalization within the framework of the virtual library project can be used to

create a high-quality copy of an item, thus protecting the original and ensuring that

the information that it contains is both permanently preserved and made accessible.

Although traditional channels of communication will remain important, the new

information and communication technologies hold great potential for broadly

disseminating knowledge at low cost, and for reducing knowledge gaps within

countries and between industrial and developing countries. In a broad sense as

revealed by Ogunsola (2004) access to the right information at the right time gives

people greater control over their destinies.

As a result of all these global technological changes, the purposes of higher

education have been transformed. According to Capron (2000), mail, telephone,

TV and radio, books, newspapers and periodicals are the traditional ways by which

users sent and received information. However, data communication systems have

been evolving since the mid-1960s.

It must be realized that Africa's development hinges on effectively participating in

the information society, and this requires low-cost Internet access. Yet Africa has

the most expensive Internet access in the world partly because its Internet traffic

transits through Internet exchange points in the US or Europe. As a result, Africans

must pay "long-distance" charges, and data transfer speeds are slow. Thus, the

digital divide continues to widen. This is one of the constraints militating against

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digital library development in our higher education institutions. As pointed out by

Rosenberg (2005), Africa has 13% of the world's population but only 2% of the

world's telephone lines and 1% of Internet connectivity. It is also noted that up

country or newer university libraries and (in multi-site libraries) branch libraries

lag behind in Internet connectivity. Programmes that assume all libraries within a

region or countries that have the same needs and aspirations are unlikely to

succeed. Therefore as most African countries still do not have good access to the

Internet; online resources like digital libraries or the Internet are not yet the

solutions to bridging the digital divide. Hence, one can confidently conclude that

traditional libraries are still alive and this will continue for a long time especially in

developing countries. The paper acknowledges that the Internet will eventually

take over in Africa as the means of providing access to digital academic

information. As such, African governments are urged to continue to look at ways

in which they can improve their national access to reliable and cost-efficient online

access. In addition, to paid resources, there are millions of open access sources that

are available with no cost to most of us. It is estimated that more one million full

text books are available in global market.

Furthermore, numerous government documents, academic pages, and

thousands peer reviewed open access journals are available via World Wide Web.

One of the well-known examples is “Directory of Open Access Journal” provide

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more than seven thousands academic journals. In addition, thousands of magazines

and newspapers from around glob are freely available via the internet.

CURRENT AND GLOBAL TREND OF THE NEW ERA LIBRARIANS

The new era librarian is a technology application leader who works with

other members of the information management team to design and evaluate

systems for information access that meet user needs. Where required, the new era

librarian provides instruction and support so that end users can make optimal use

of the information resources available to them. The new era librarian is capable of

working in the hybrid world of print and electronic media and providing the best

mix of information resources in the most appropriate formats for the environment.

The new era librarian plays a key role in developing information policy for the

organization ensuring that access to all information resources -- from internal

records to external databases – is provided in the most strategically-Effective and

cost-effective manner. The new era librarian also plays another important role in

ensuring that contractual, legal and ethical obligations regarding information use

are met.

The electronic information age provides new opportunities for organizations to

produce as well as use information products. New era librarians, given their

familiarity with the information marketplace, can be key contributors to the

development, marketing and use of information products.

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New era librarians are knowledge-based practitioners who use research as a

foundation for their own professional practice and who support the conduct of

research through their professional associations. Research has shown that the

provision of appropriate information can lead to: better informed decision-making;

the ability to proceed to the next step in a project or task; improved relations with a

client; and the exploitation of new business opportunities. The right information at

the right time can also benefit the organization by saving the time of highly paid

employees, avoiding poor business decisions, and even direct loss of funds.

In the information age, new era librarians are essential -- by responding with a

sense of urgency to critical information needs they provide the information edge

for the knowledge-based organization. In order to fulfill this key information role,

new era librarians require two main types of competencies: Professional

competencies relate to the special librarian's knowledge in the areas of information

resources, information access, technology, management and research and the

ability to use these areas of knowledge as a basis for providing library and

information services. Personal competencies represent a set of skills, attitudes and

values that enable librarians to work efficiently; be good communicators; focus on

continuing learning throughout their careers; demonstrate the value-added nature

of their contributions; and survive in the new world of work. The following

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sections highlight the major professional and personal competencies of new era

librarians:

Professional Competencies

• has expert knowledge of the content of information resources, including the

ability to critically evaluate and filter them

• has specialized subject knowledge appropriate to the business of the organization

or client

• develops and manages convenient, accessible and cost-effective information

services that are aligned with the strategic directions of the organization

• provides excellent instruction and support for library and information service

users

• assesses information needs and designs and markets value-added information

services and products to meet identified needs

• uses appropriate information technology to acquire, organize and disseminate

information

• uses appropriate business and management approaches to communicate the

importance of information services to senior management

• develops specialized information products for use inside or outside the

organization or by individual clients

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• evaluates the outcomes of information use and conducts research related to the

solution of information management problems

• Continually improves information services in response to the changing needs

• is an effective member of the senior management team and a consultant to the

organization on information issues

Personal Competencies

• committed to service excellence

• seeks out challenges and sees new opportunities both inside and outside the

library

• sees the big picture

• creates an environment of mutual respect and trust

• has effective communications skills

• Works well with others in a team

• provides leadership

• plans, prioritizes and focuses on what is critical

• committed to lifelong learning and personal career planning

• have personal business skills and creates new opportunities

• recognizes the value of professional networking and solidarity

• is flexible and positive in a time of continuing change

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From the preceding section it would seem that there is an abundance of potential

roles for the librarian. To take up these roles will require careful and timely

preparation. Preparedness is a key issue in repositioning ourselves for new roles.

Preparedness includes content knowledge and related skills but, more importantly,

it includes survival skills. The following are a few suggestions that could also

shape the teaching approach, assessment methods, etc. Survival skills could

include the ability to:

• carry out environmental scanning and rapid decision-making

• critically analyze the professional domain and where it is heading

• employ time management to keep librarians from putting off preparing for new

roles

• manage change

• work collaboratively (it is impossible to monitor new developments alone)

• study independently

• think creatively

• assess one's strengths, weaknesses and progress in continuing learning

When considering the roles that have been discussed and their requirements, it

seems that, apart from survival skills, new era librarians should focus more on

affective skills and characteristics such as:

• enthusiasm for life-long learning and new roles

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• will-power (because nothing will come easily)

• assertiveness

• creative thinking

• self-confidence

• innovativeness

Conclusion

Librarianship has undergone a radical change in recent years, which will be

continued in the future. As libraries have changed, so too, has the role of the

librarian. Increasingly librarians have assumed the role of educator to teach their

users how to find information both in the library and over electronic networks.

Public librarians have expanded their roles by providing local community

information through publicly assessable computing systems. Some librarians are

experts on computers and software. Others are concerned with how computer

technologies can preserve the human cultural records of the past or assure that

library collections on crumbling paper or in old computer files can still be used by

people many centuries in the future. The work of librarians has moved outside

library walls. Librarians have begun to work in the information industry as sales

people, designers of new information systems, researchers, and information

analysts. They are also found in such fields as marketing and public relations and

in such organizations as law firms, where staffs need rapid access to information.

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It must be realized that despite the changes in the roles and functions of libraries

over the course of history their cultural role has not. Libraries remain responsible

for acquiring or providing access to books, periodicals, and other media that meet

the educational, recreational, and informational needs of their users. They continue

to keep the business, legal, historical, and religious record of a civilization. They

are the place where a toddler can hear his or her first story and a scholar can carry

out his or her research. New technologies are dramatically increasing the

accessibility of information, and librarians are adapting to the evolving needs of

users that emerge from the adoption of these new technologies. Technological

advances have presented the opportunity of automating some aspects of traditional

libraries.

By deciding to change to digital production, a traditional library would make it

much easier to cooperate with other libraries around the world. The more that a

library can communicate with others the more they will be able to learn what has

already been done. One of the ways we waste time and money is to try to invent

everything ourselves. Whatever you are trying to do in developing your library,

you can guarantee that somebody else has already done something similar. If we

are working with traditional methods and the only means that we have of sending

materials to other institutions is by the post, then it is understandable that libraries

tend to concentrate on their own affairs and their own public. It takes weeks to

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communicate with other libraries then the efforts becomes too much and it is faster

to produce materials than to borrow it, if however, libraries can start to use the

Internet to exchange information and materials, the exchange can happen in

seconds. The digital library offers more possibilities for enhanced scholarly

communication. The Internet and related technologies such as electronic mail

enable collaborative projects to be undertaken between geographically distant

groups. All developing nations can derive tremendous advantages from this

technology for updating the knowledge of its researchers and scientists. The entire

world is going online. The agenda for global preparedness includes the

development of telecommunications and Internet infrastructure.

Technology is the backbone of digital library, and the centre piece of preparedness

is the expansion of technology in Nigeria and other developing countries.

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