Managing Digital Library Services : Proposed Negros Oriental Digital Library (NOrDiL)
A
Concept Paper
Submitted to
Dr. Earl Jude Cleope
Professor
Ed 333 – Research Issues and Problems in Education
Myra Entona-Villanueva
October 21, 2013
Introduction
Knowledge is always a quest of every human being. Curiosity motivates us to explore more to be informed and knowledgeable of the chosen subject. Like material needs, human hunger for knowledge is seamless, no boundary or satisfaction. Once it served, the more you will crave for more. The library as source of authoritative, current and quality information has to answer this information needs of the library patron. It’s time to bring the library to their offices, home, schools, restaurant, malls, beaches and anywhere where people gather. A mentor once comment, “Young people now a days has no time to read. Look at them while waiting for a ride or taking a ride, instead of reading a book, they play candy crush and other mobile games.” So, why not bring library to their phones? The researcher aims to make information more accessible to the patron. If mobile games can entertain our readers, so it’s a challenge to make information available through their mobile phones and other electronic gadgets.
Silliman University Library serves not only the bonafide students and faculty of the university but to the knowledge community of Dumaguete City and even the whole province of Negros Oriental. Researchers/Students from neighbouring universities, colleges and schools avail the library services and collection for a minimal pay. However, administrators and faculty library attendance declined in past years. They have one common reason, they are busy people. Another observation is our students attendance to cyber library increases everyday while reading areas attendance increases only a week before and during examination. These observations challenged the researcher to conduct this study, if they don’t have time to come to the library, the library will go to them. The librarians will deliver the information to their offices, home and classrooms through their phones, ipad, tablet and other electronic gadgets.
Hepworth name the new learners as “the Google generation”, “digital natives,” “the Y generation,” “millennials” – as if they were a completely new phenomenon.” These are most of our library patron today, whether we accept it or not they got the most numbers of our statistics in the library and occupy spaces most of the time. They are noisy, out going, not respectful because they speak their mind, cannot stay in one place for long periods of time, love to explore, use to get what they want in a click of their fingers and wanted an active learning environment. In short, this generation of library patron are opposite of what the library use to serve before. These techno savvy generation’s information needs is challenging among information professionals. It only shows that managing a digital library is very much far from traditional one. Change is always welcome to a librarian who wanted to improve or create something new not for her own sake but for the satisfaction of the library patron. Substantive change that introduces something entirely new service to better serve our diverse library patron of this generation.
According to Philippine Daily Inquirer “remote working is here to stay, building productivity, reducing operating costs and increasing staff retention. Multilocation working is becoming the norm.” Survey findings stated that 36% work remotely for half the week or more, 70% say that seamless remote management is an achievable goal but only if managers undergo special training, 49% consider trust an important issue, 70% of the companies use reporting 56% systems to monitor mobile employee efficiency, 61% use video communication between managers and employees, 56% believe remote management helps maintain a more professional relationship. In the advent of technology, this situation is possible effective remote services like of the library will be in demand and effective. In this community people are occupied with many things and going to library and browsing materials is time consuming for them and it will later discourage them to use the best collection in the library. But in the advent of technology, library is adapting its possibility to serve client remotely for convenient and without losing their interest to be informed anywhere they are. If our baby boomers think that going to the library is time consuming, how much more the generation Y of our knowledge community. Librarians, library services and library collection are being challenged to take a detour to become effective agent in middling between information and the user.
This paper will explore the possibility of putting up the first digital library in the province of Negros Oriental that will provide a 24 hour access to electronic materials such as research papers, e-books, e-journals and even video clips of information that can answer library patron’s need and even can be accessed remotely or by not coming to the library physically, because its services will be available in the virtual world. It will also investigate the readiness of the librarians and library patron and the availability of primary collection to start the digital library.
The primary research hypotheses of the study are that Negros Oriental’s librarians and library patrons are not ready for the digital library, there is no sufficient electronic materials to put up a digital library and school administrators and the official of the Province of Negros Oriental are not supportive with the digital library.
Definition of terms (operational definition)
Digital Library – a repository of authoritative digital records necessary for
library patron’s research needs which renders library services 24 hours in the internet.
Online Indexing - a clickable list of subjects/topics found in the website which
Links the patron to the bibliographic data or full text.
Online Circulation – a digital library service to let the patron borrow and
return e-books, e-journals and other library materials and return it without going physically to the library.
Online Information Library Instruction – a video clip presentation built in
the website to educate library patron and visitors about the policies, rules and regulations and teaching library patron on information skills.
Online Selective Dissemination of Information – a list of newly acquired
materials and journals will be posted in the website for the convenience of the library patron.
Open Source Software – is a software allows the user to collaborate, innovate
and modify to produce a website to be the platform of the digital library.
Virtual Reference – a 24 hour library service on line to answer library patron
queries on information needs.
Conceptual Framework
Higher Education Institution is the propose repository of the digital library, aside from its stability and accessibility, repository should be open to the new platform of the system of the digital library which includes the personnel, collection and most of all administration’s support. HEIs in Negros Oriental are best source for researches, learning resources and academic content information to be the seed infobank for the digital library. The on-going resource sharing agreement between libraries of Silliman University, Negros Oriental State University and Foundation University can be utilized too. Dumaguetenos are source for local history which already in print form but only few were given the opportunity to access it. The digital library will be the venue for local government transparency program for this will be the repository of LGU’s budget and program records. People will not only know the HEI resources but as well as the LGU infolink such as the on going and proposed local government projects, investment information of the province and the on-going and up coming activities of the province . Tourists will find NOrDiL as useful source of information regarding the province’s tourist spots, hotel location and rates and other information which they need to make their stay in the province ease and relaxing.
The digital library will employ system administrator who will develop, secure and maintain the system. A librarian who will look into the collection development and render services in the virtual world. To start with the collection, the digital library can start with what is already available electronically from HEIs and local government records. The researcher is looking into the future that NOrDiL can have its own subscription in a wide variety of e-journals, e-books and can have an international linkages. As of the equipment, the researcher aims to start with the latest technology both the hardware and software for NOrDiL. An open source software will be used either DSpace, Koha, or Evergreen. Space is not a problem for NOrDiL because its services will be online, a small but convenient office space is good for a start. Traditional library services is not possible for the NOrDiL because we will be serving the library patron online through its website and it will offer the following online services : virtual reference, circulation, information literacy instruction, selective dissemination of information (SDI) and indexing and abstracting service. Resources will be catalogued, and different types of electronic resources indexes will be made available such as citation-index, alphabetical index, string and permuted indexes for easy access of the user. A 24 hour Ask me Librarian service will be available online to answer the users query anytime, anywhere.
Librarians will be trained to collaborate, communicate and share resources. They will know and practice the freedom of use and free access. Always looking means to deliver information to the clientele without prejudice and without even asking what the library clientele do with the information they ask. Librarians always wanted to provide relevant and accurate information to society, anytime, anywhere in a right time and in a right place. This is our gift to society. In the advent of technology, librarians role change and being challenged. The librarian of 21st century move out from its traditional job as caretaker of books to a multi-skilled librarian. This is the only profession which mission is to provide an evaluated information to library patron without cost Contribute knowledge to the society through research and repackage information and make available to a self-design website and make all library services available 24 hours online. Its a call that librarians take this challenges to become an effective information specialists of the 21st century with special skills in programming and webpage design. The role of librarians in lifelong learning is vital as ever. NOrDil will be the first who can provide not only bibliographic data of documents but also the full text and it will be the first functional digital library not only in Negros Oriental but to the whole country.
Methodology
This study will use a self-made questionnaire to know the profile, electronic resources, current e-services, conservation and preservation program of the four (4) universities of Negros Oriental, namely : Foundation University, Negros Oriental State University, Silliman University and St. Paul University and public libraries or government information offices of the six (6) cities of Province of Negros Oriental, namely : Bais, Bayawan, Canlaon, Dumaguete, Guihulngan and Tanjay ( www.census.gov.ph). A system analysis will be conducted to know the best open source software that can cater the diverse need of NOrDiL, the researcher will critically analyze the three most used open source software today : the DSpace, Koha and Evergreen.
NOrDiL will serve not only the residence of the Province of Negros Oriental but eventually will be shared to the world because it will use the open source software for its integrated library system. As member of international network, NOrDiL patron can access not only the database of the library but of other member libraries of the network. Basic to complicated questions will be entertained 24 hours by our competent librarians supported by qualified and innovative systems administrator.
As an output of this study, a propose Negros Oriental Digital Library portfolio will contain a Mission, Vision and Objectives of the digital library. It will provide the organizational structure to have a clear communication among the library staff. A will define policies, procedural manuals and job descriptions will be formulated to assist the staff to implement well the services of the digital library. The list of equipment and specification of both the hardware and software will be provided. A floor plan and furniture needed for the library will be made available also. An online evaluation tool to assess the effectiveness of the services and staff will be included to constantly update and re-evaluate to best service library patron. For future reference and be assured that digital library will continue to grow and adopt the changes and development of the future, a five year development plan will be formulated, which includes : personnel, collection (digitization program), hardware and software, services, and budget as the key result areas.
Reference
Engard, Nicole C. Practical Open Source Software for Libraries. Oxford : Chandos Publishing,
c2010. (025. 00285 En2)
Mellor, Robert. Knowledge Management and Information Systems : Strategies for Growing
Organizations. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, c2011. (658.4038011 M49)
McIntosh, Joyce. Library and Information Science: Parameters and Perspectives. Canada: Apple
Academic Press Inc., 2011. (020 L61)
36% of PH Execs Work Remotely: Survey Shows Growth in Flexible Working. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 28 (287), B8. September 23, 2013.
Web 2.0 and Libraries : Impacts, Technologies and Trends. Oxford: Chandos Publishing, c2010. ( 020.2854678 W38).
The Whole Digital Library Handbook. New Delhi : Indiana Publishing House, c2009. (R 025.00285 W62)
Time Table
Task / Date / RemarksCompletion of Chapters 1, 2 and 3 / March-April 2014
Colloquium / August 2014
Distribution of Questionnaire / September 2014
Gathering and Interpretation of Data / October- November 2014
Pre-Oral Defence / December 2014
Final Defence / January 2015
Revision / February-March 2015
Budget
Items / AmountAdviser’s Fee / Php 15, 000.00
Panelists’ Fee (1000 x 4 x 3) / Php 12, 000.00
Editor’s Fee / Php 8, 000.00
Food during the Defence (1000 x 3) / Php 3, 000.00
Supplies / Php 10, 000.00
Fare / Php 5, 000.00
Total / Php 53, 000.00
To God be the glory!