Newsday - Tapiwa Gomo | 2012-03-12
It is beyond question the introduction of the Internet into our lives has brought more benefits than negatives. It has surely cut the cost of communication and transport and facilitated speedy decision-making.
In fact to those who have access to it, it has made life exciting and somewhat contributed to empowerment and the development of some communities.
However, despite all these positives, there are still concerns from the library and academic fraternity.
In the early 2000s, most librarians were concerned the Internet was threatening the existence of the libraries and the professions of librarians.
These arguments even delayed Google’s expansion of its vast digital library in 2009 arguing that, it would kill the book, render thousands of librarians jobless and deny access to knowledge to those who could not afford online subscriptions.
Politically, it was argued the deal would make Google a ring-leader of the literary cartel that wielded too much power in the knowledge industry and control over prices of digital books.
In fact, most of the arguments bordered on power and commercial interests by other competitors than saving libraries and enhancing access.
For a progressive librarian or any advocate of reading culture, it is mundane to think of a library as a physical collection of books in this day and age.
While access to the Internet remains limited, it is beyond doubt Internet has enhanced access to a wide collection of virtual knowledge worldwide.
As part of its defence, Google argued it was better to have a one-stop virtual centre for those who had access to the Internet by pooling together millions of books scattered across the world which would be inaccessible to most readers.
It is no doubt that in Africa knowledge and research are central to development and therefore imperative for libraries to playing a leading role especially in research and development.
One way of doing that is to stop whining about lack of a reading culture when most people spend the better part of their time reading on the Internet.
The starting point would be to move away from the traditional and conservative attitude to information sharing.
While paper may be irreplaceable anytime soon, signs are on the wall a physical book is faced with a number of threats, from the Internet itself to the environmental activism.
The only way out is to adapt to these new developments than be behind the library counters.
Virtual libraries give users access to billions of latest books and papers across the world at affordable cost than this physical book.
It is better to provide access to wide collection of materials to those who can access Internet.
For a reader nothing can defeat or is as plausible as having access to reading materials round the clock from anywhere in the world — so librarians shape them.
However, despite all these positives, there are still concerns from the library and academic fraternity.
In the early 2000s, most librarians were concerned the Internet was threatening the existence of the libraries and the professions of librarians.
These arguments even delayed Google’s expansion of its vast digital library in 2009 arguing that, it would kill the book, render thousands of librarians jobless and deny access to knowledge to those who could not afford online subscriptions.
Politically, it was argued the deal would make Google a ring-leader of the literary cartel that wielded too much power in the knowledge industry and control over prices of digital books.
In fact, most of the arguments bordered on power and commercial interests by other competitors than saving libraries and enhancing access.
For a progressive librarian or any advocate of reading culture, it is mundane to think of a library as a physical collection of books in this day and age.
While access to the Internet remains limited, it is beyond doubt Internet has enhanced access to a wide collection of virtual knowledge worldwide.
As part of its defence, Google argued it was better to have a one-stop virtual centre for those who had access to the Internet by pooling together millions of books scattered across the world which would be inaccessible to most readers.
It is no doubt that in Africa knowledge and research are central to development and therefore imperative for libraries to playing a leading role especially in research and development.
One way of doing that is to stop whining about lack of a reading culture when most people spend the better part of their time reading on the Internet.
The starting point would be to move away from the traditional and conservative attitude to information sharing.
While paper may be irreplaceable anytime soon, signs are on the wall a physical book is faced with a number of threats, from the Internet itself to the environmental activism.
The only way out is to adapt to these new developments than be behind the library counters.
Virtual libraries give users access to billions of latest books and papers across the world at affordable cost than this physical book.
It is better to provide access to wide collection of materials to those who can access Internet.
For a reader nothing can defeat or is as plausible as having access to reading materials round the clock from anywhere in the world — so librarians shape them.
No comments:
Post a Comment