Experiences of the Library in the Digital Age
Ann Blandford2006
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Abstract
Abstract Libraries as physical structures embody the cultures within which they are situated and provide access to archive materials that represent the evolution of culture over time. Digital libraries serve similar roles to traditional ones in capturing and making available the written cultural heritage. However, the experience of interacting with materials in the digital library is very different to that in the traditional one. Access is democratised, but may be impoverished in other ways.
Key takeaways
- On the other hand, the experience of being 'in' a digital library bears almost no relation to the experience of being in a physical library.
- Here, we draw out three themes from the data: the roles of the library and librarian; finding material in traditional and digital libraries; and experiences of interacting in the library.
- The same participant also highlighted the importance of being able to remove materials from the library to work on them elsewhere (in this case, specifically, at home), and the value of the library as a social space as well as a pleasant place to work: The importance of the library as meeting place was also noted by participant 9.
- Participant 1 also discussed the physical experience of being in the library as something that cannot be replicated in a digital medium.
- Whether alone or with others, the spatial layout and the sense of place afforded by the physical library are essential elements of the experience of being in the library.
Related papers
Library Practices in Digital Era
Library Practices in Digital Era, 2018
An article about a hybrid library - Salar Jung Museum Library at Hyderabad, India
Digital Libraries and Society: New Perspectives on
2005
Digital libraries are large, organized collections of information objects. Well-designed digital library software has the potential to enable non-specialist people to conceive, assemble, build, and disseminate new information collections. This has great social import because, by democratizing information dissemination, it provides a counterbalance to disturbing commercialization initiatives in the information and entertainment industries. This article reviews trends in today's information environment, introduces digital library technology and explores the use of digital libraries for disseminating humanitarian information in developing countries, a context that is both innovative and socially motivated. We demonstrate how currently available technology empowers users to build and publish information collections.
Libraries, Archives and Museums as Democratic Spaces in a Digital Age
2020
Libraries, archives and museums have traditionally been a part of the public sphere's infrastructure. They have been so by providing public access to culture and knowledge, by being agents for enlightenment and by being public meeting places in their communities. Digitization and globalization poses new challenges in relation to upholding a sustainable public sphere. Can libraries, archives and museums contribute in meeting these challenges?
Digital Libraries and Digitisation: an overview and critique
2008
This article provides an overview of some of the main areas surrounding the broad topic of 'Digital Libraries'. This includes the advantages and costs of digitisation; the traditional and digital library; the library community and digitisation; and an examination of various digital library projects. It is not exhaustive, but hopefully, it provides some general information and guidelines for the reader. The article concludes with a critique within a social and political angle, including a consideration of the gender issue.
The Library: Changing Role and services in 21st century's information societies
Conference: ICT and Library in Higher Education : An Indian Perspective, 2020
Libraries have existed for many years however in today’s digital world, wherever we've at our fingertips access to associate endless assortment of knowledge, a brand new customary of knowledge accomplishment has emerged. The libraries of the twenty first century offer a hospitable common area that encourages exploration, creation, and collaboration in societies between students, teachers, and a broader community. The study focuses on role of library and library professional in changing landscape of information societies and role of libraries in this changing moment. Also a short discussion about 21st century’s advanced library services with few challenges faced by libraries in this changing scenario.
Exploring digital libraries: Foundations, practice, prospects
Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 2014
Digital Libraries: Their Role in Building Communities
Innovative Instruments for Community Development in Communication and Education, 2021
The dynamics of libraries called to reinvent themselves can only be weighed by the success recorded by the institutions in the strict area of their professionals and, broadly, by their popularity in the community whose members appreciate the quality of the services they provide. The examples of innovative library activities and services going to be presented speak about a change of mentality and responsibility in such institutions becoming more and more visible in the life of the community they serve. Innovation is accomplished through various solutions: 1) either integrative, by the “democratization” of the librarians’ contribution to specific activities, deeply influencing information access, or 2) collaborative or relational, aiming at getting various user target groups involved in their activities through careful study of their needs, or 3) by direct participation in all possible ways in building communities, with general, educational or research purposes directed towards all the categories of users. David Lankes’ much used citation, “Bad libraries only build collections. Good libraries build services (and a collection is only one of many). Great libraries build communities” was never more actual than today. This is because libraries can no longer afford being static and stick to their traditional services. On the contrary, in order not to lose their users, they have to strive for them by getting involved in the life of the community to which they belong by means of innovation and creativity.
Development of Digital Libraries: Old Wine in New Bottles
Rapid development of information communication technologies (ICTs) has made an environment globally to the growth of digital libraries. Digital libraries (DL) are facilitating researchers, scholars, learners, information professionals to access their information in variety of formats and learning support at their desktops without any geographical barrier. They are providing electronic based (e-based) information delivery to its users crossing the boundaries of time, space and location. DL users can be reached remotest corners of the world to fill their thrust of information. It makes a gateway to the users for retrieving and browsing of desired information from its huge resources like one stop shopping of big shopping mall. It provides extra services of 24X7 hour uninterrupted access through Internet to the users at their desktop. . It supports teaching, learning and research while reaching unreachable without walls. Greater revolution has occurred in the libraries recent past converting paper-based libraries to electronic based ones. With the emergence of WWW and availability of national and global networks, libraries have turned their attention to digital collections rather than building printed-based collection. In this way, librarian's role dramatically changed and is responsible for what digital repositories available for their users and how users can access to the available information within the physical walls of the library or elsewhere.
Related papers
Digital libraries – Concepts, Metaphors and models : A look back at the “decade of the digital libraries”
Assigned for H6637 Digital Libraries & Information Portals in 2007
Libraries, archives and museums as democratic spaces in a digital age. / edited by Audunson, R., H. Andresen, C. Fagerlid, E. Henningsen, H.-C. Hobohm, H. Jochumsen, H. Larsen i T. Vold
Vjesnik bibliotekara Hrvatske, 2020
The research on which the contributions in this anthology is based would not have been possible to undertake without the generous research grant our project received from the KULMEDIA program of The Research Council of Norway. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the council for their support. We would also like to express our gratitude to colleagues from the international LIS community who volunteered to peer review the chapters in this volume, thereby contributing in important ways to the quality of the papers presented in this book. Our gratitude also goes to the respondents who took the time to fill in questionnaires and take part in qualitative interviews, all the LAM-organizations who opened their doors to us and the users who accepted our presence when doing our observations.
Libraries in a digital age: fundamentals and latest thinking - an introduction
The Biomedical & Life Sciences Collection, 2012
Digital Age: Challenges for Libraries
2007
Information technology and globalization are the two most influential forces of the modern times. IT has given new meanings to the transmission, dissemination and storage of information; whereas globalisation is reducing the importance of geographical boundaries. Libraries as an important social institution have been affected by these changes. Information retrieval, information storage and information transmission are the core competencies of the libraries. Digital age characterized by efficient graphic user interface, digital imaging, efficient transfer and storage of texts, is presenting important challenges for the libraries. Information privacy, copyrights, and information security are some of the challenging issues faced by the libraries in digital age. This paper is an attempt to present as well as to discuss the implications of these issues so that strategies can be devised to address them effectively and efficiently.
Inspiration, information: Libraries and Society in an age of change
The aim of this thesis paper is to understand the change in the relationship between libraries and society as part of the effects of today’s changes in technology, to analyze how this change is a reflection of how the very structure of information is being altered by the ways it is conveyed through digital platforms, and to trace its social impact. We are a culture of the book, the way we perceive and interact with the world has been shaped by the implications of print culture, and now this way is being transformed by the implications of digital culture. The different properties attributed to digital technologies enable people to have a more active and significant role in the construction of knowledge in culture.
Key themes and challenges in digital libraries
Exploring Digital Libraries
This chapter provides a high-level view of the key themes, current position and challenges of digital libraries and their technologies, social aspects, collections and communities. It begins by identifying the key themes of the second decade (2002-2012) of progress in the diverse, multidisciplinary, international field of digital libraries. A concept map visualizes the results of an analysis of second-decade digital library literature. The map provides new insights into this complex field by exposing thematic connections between technologies, collections, social forces and online community building. The chapter concludes with a consideration of key challenges facing digital libraries: interoperability, community engagement, intellectual property rights, and sustainability. The key themes of digital library work Existing research to identify core topics Jeffrey Pomerantz and colleagues (2006) produced a curriculum for digital library education that was aligned with the "5S framework" for digital libraries discussed in chapter 1 (see also Yang et al. 2009). They validated their selection of curriculum module topics by manually classifying papers from 1996 to 2005 from two sources: (1) 543 papers in the proceedings of two renowned digital library conferences; and (2) 502 articles published in D-Lib Magazine. Their analysis revealed concentrations from both sources in digital library services; architecture and
“There and Back Again”: Reimagining the Public Library for the Twenty-First Century
Library Trends, 2014
Digital Libraries in the New Millennium
The concept of digital library is not a new one, although it is only recently that digital library is gaining prominence all over the world. This article provides a holistic understanding of digital libraries including its present context and future directions. Various technical issues ingrained in the concept of digital library also has been analysed in the article. Issues like interoperability, information retrieval, property and access control and usability also has been discussed in detail. Although digital library is a technical phenomenon, it has wider social and economic implications. The article casts a critical glance at these implications as well. In the end, ongoing international efforts in the arena of digital libraries also has been discussed.
Users, technology and space in libraries in the digital age
2005
This thesis is a user research study of emerging issues in the use of libraries as public spaces and as information repositories in the digital age. Till recently strong physicality was attached to the library with the only access to its information resources being visiting the library premises. The availability of the Internet, digital documents and wi-fi has brought about unprecedented changes in the function, use and operation of libraries today. The environment of evolving technologies is bringing about a variety of new user practices that creates ambiguity for the future of the library as an institution as well as an architectural space. This study attempts to identify various issues in the use of library spaces today through the means of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Four libraries differing in the technology and quality of space provided have been chosen as case studies. The shifting physical form and meaning of the library's architectural space an...
The Symbolic Meaning of Libraries in a Digital Age
Portal: Libraries and The Academy, 2001
As an increasingly virtual society anticipates the decline of print, it looks to the keepers of the written record to maintain continuity with its past. Libraries cannot formulate intelligent collection and preservation policies without taking into account current perceptions of the fragility of historical memory. Understanding the symbolic role they play in the cultural imaginary will help libraries to map a future that addresses public concerns about the preservation of the historical record.
This document is currently being converted. Please check back in a few minutes.