AUTOMATED WEB-BASED E-CATALOG LIBRARY SYSTEM
CHAPTER ONE
Background of the Study
Presently, there has been a paradigm shift in the concept of library and Information centers. Earlier in the traditional form of library and information services, we were concerned with documents in print format and their organization, retrieval and preservation. With the paradigm shift, now we are more or less concerned with hybrid libraries, digital libraries and virtual libraries. This is due to introduction of ICT which has brought about changes in the process of collection development, their organization and accessibility as viewed by Kibirige HM, (2009). Formerly, there were no competitors for libraries. At present with the emergence of web and internet, users can access their required information globally at any point of time and space in their work place. Therefore, the very existence of libraries is in question. In order to establish the importance of libraries, we have to change our traditional methods of services to modern service methods. D. Lankes, (2000), pointed out that in this changing environment, to compete with the advanced needs of users, establishment of digital library is an essential component. Today’s world is digital world, which is concerned with creation, sharing and using information in digital form. Information is floating in all directions and moving all around us. We have to catch right information and make it available to right person at the right time, which is the aim of any modern library.
Chowdhury, G.G. (2002), defined a digital library as a library in which collections are stored in digital formats (as opposed to print, microform, or other media) and accessible by computers. The content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely. The first published use of the term has been traced to a 1988 report to the Corporation for National Research Initiatives. The term was first popularized by the NSF/DARPA/NASA Digital Libraries Initiative in 1994. Bush (1945) created a vision based on experience (“Digital library.”) The Digital Library Federation defines digital libraries as: Organizations that provide the resources, including the specialized staff, to select, structure, offer intellectual access to, interpret, distribute, preserve the integrity of, and ensure the persistence over time of collections of digital works so that they are readily available for use by a defined community or set of communities. Lynch (1994) states that, “digital libraries provide users with coherent success to a very large, organized repository of information and knowledge.” According to Berkeley Digital Library Project, University of California, the digital library will be a collection of distributed information sources
Statement of the Problem
The collection of the traditional libraries is mostly print media, manuscripts, etc. and are not well organized. The documents are deteriorating at a rapid pace, the collection information is not easy to locate and so does not easily reach users, and again the traditional libraries are confined within a physical boundary. Therefore this work intends to give efficient access to information directly to the department and researchers.
Aim and Objectives
The aim of this research work is to Design and implement a web-based e-catalog library system to enable users easily access digital collections of e-books, e-journals e.t.c.
The research work will give access to digital library resources in support of student’s research works and lectures in the department.
The objectives of the study are to:
- Develop a Digital Library Management system to gain access to the holdings of library through automated catalogs.
- To optimize searches in a library collections.
- Implement the system designed in (i) above using Hypertext Pre-processor (PHP).
- To advance digital library technology.
- Test the system implemented in (iii) above for performance.
Significance
The significance of this study is to introduce a digital library system that employs the technology for quick access to library materials, journals, documents audios in digital format remotely using a computer system to solve problems that the traditional library cannot solve in order to improve the height of education in the department of mathematics/statistics/computer science, university of agriculture, Makurdi.
The product of the research will assist the department to manage the resources available for use efficiently keeping a good record of the daily activity and also allowing remote access to the resources of the library. Thus promoting efficient delivery of information economically to all users.
Scope of the Study
This work is focuses on developing a “Design and implementation of a web-based e-catalog library system; this research is bounded to digital E-library system.
Definition of Terms
- Digital Library: A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats.
- Resources: Materials required as a source of information in digitalized library.
- ICT: Information communication technology.
- Traditional Library: A library system that still implements the file base system.
- LAN: local area network.
- Network: Collection of computers and hardware components interconnected by a communication channel that allows remote sharing of resources between the computers.
REFERENCES
Bush, V. (1945). As we may think, atlantic monthly. History of Personal Workstations, New York, Addison-Wesley, 641-649.
Shiri, A. (2003). Digital library research: current developments and trends. Library Review, 52(5), 198-202.
Lynch, C. A. (1994). The integrity of digital information: Mechanics and definitional issues. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 45(10), 737-744.
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