Library Network

Learning Content Summary

The Library Network learning resource provides librarians and library students with an understanding of library networking. Learners will grasp how multiple libraries collaborate, share resources, and improve services through interconnected information systems. By studying library networking, participants will learn how it enhances access to diverse information resources, complements traditional services with digital resources, and opens new roles for librarians. Additionally, learners will explore the benefits of Electronic Document Delivery (EDD) as a cost-effective solution for obtaining periodicals. This resource equips participants with the knowledge to support collaboration and adapt to evolving information technology trends for efficient library services.

Goals

At the end of this study, learners should be able to:

• Understand the concept of library networking and its significance in facilitating collaboration and resource sharing among multiple libraries.
• Appreciate the benefits of library networking, including increased access to diverse information resources, complementing traditional services with digital resources, and improving information delivery.
• Recognize the role of library networking in enabling new opportunities and roles for librarians, such as managing and reorganizing information, developing new applications, and customizing software to support teaching, research, and learning activities.
• Gain insights into Electronic Document Delivery (EDD) as a viable alternative to expensive journal subscriptions, allowing libraries to efficiently meet the information needs of their patrons.
• Acquire knowledge about adapting to evolving information technology trends for efficient and effective library services through collaborative efforts among libraries.

Definition of Library Network

Network Diagram

A library network is widely defined as a group of libraries coming together with an understanding to help each other to meet the information needs of their patrons. It is a collection of interconnected information systems and communication facilities that work together through a more or less formal agreement to perform information handling operations to provide better services to users. As a result, it is crucial to emphasize that the critical aspect of library networking is the sharing of library materials among libraries through the use of information and communication technologies.

Benefits of Networking in Nigeria Library

Increased Access to Local and International Libraries and Information Resources

One of the most important benefits of networking is that it makes available the products of a variety of information suppliers and facilitates interaction with library and information resources. Due to budget shortages and growing library material prices, many libraries have turned to networks to access a variety of services. The realization of the global digital library is built on collaboration, sharing, and open technology, which is, of course, central to the delivery of the global digital library. Academic libraries can use the Joint Academic Network Service (JANET) for a variety of purposes, including access to textual and numerical databases, access to periodical agents and book suppliers, access to and transfer of bibliographic records, access to networked bibliographic and other databases, and so on. This ability to access national networks (such as JANET) enabled universities to use network technology more easily than by running their system. Once connected, the interface is the same and operates as if the resource was accessed locally; such users are likely to be reflected over the internet.

Complement to other Resources/Services

The internet, as an international complement to traditional library reference books, has the potential to provide up-to-date information when more traditional publishing kinds may be locked. While most traditional reference resources, led to journal articles or books, www-based resources led to a variety of information sources, including unpublished documents, project proposals, online sites, and so on. A notable example of a library that incorporated the internet into its operations via a public access internet gateway system known as (Bodeleian Access to Remote Databases) is the Bodeleian Library. Its experience also demonstrates that it is possible to integrate electronic and printed content and present the two as complementary.

Improved Traditional Information Services

The integration of new electronic resources and services with traditional activities is a progression. Among the many and various chances that IT provides libraries to complement and improve current traditional services, the main factor underlying networks is that it allows libraries to give multimedia-based material in ways that they have not been able to do previously. Several academic libraries use the internet to showcase and explain the services they provide, either in-house or on the Internet, allowing end users to interact with them via the internet. General information about the library's location, rules, and registration procedures; information about reader services (e.g., loans, reservations, and available facilities); information about collection and subject access; and information about people are among the types of information libraries post on the web (e.g. staff profiles). Other libraries' OPACs, newsgroups, bibliographic databases, electronic journals, and other library-related websites, to name a few, are among the external services to which links are provided by a library's home page.

New Roles for Libraries and Librarians

Library networking improves access to information and gives libraries and librarians a plethora of new opportunities and roles, such as; creating, managing, filtering, locating, and reorganizing information, customizing software, developing new applications, and translating information into different formats to support teaching, research, and learning activities. The evolution of information technology necessitates new abilities for library employees to steer the evolution and avoid becoming obsolete in the corporate world of the twenty-first century.

Electronic Document Delivery (EDD)

Libraries and information centres in Nigeria are struggling to meet the demands of an ever-increasing number of clients while also dealing with steep increases in the cost of books and journals. The increasing difficulty in subscribing to core journals due to price increases and the necessity to make additional library space play a big part in the acceptability of the EDD service, which is a feasible alternative to pricey journal subscriptions. Instead of paying for periodical subscriptions, money may be spent on acquiring and delivering periodicals. The British Library Document Supply Center (BLDSC), the world's largest institution dedicated to the supply of documents on loan or as surrogate copies to remote users, is a notable example of Electronic Document Delivery. (Each year, it receives roughly 3.7 million queries.) However, as technology advances and a growing number of full-text journals become available on the internet, silver platter's goal to create a global library is "search by search." It is an internet-based service effort that allows users (libraries) to search the bibliographic records of Silver Platter for (free) and unlimited searches. The linker on Silver Platter connects users from the bibliographic record to the whole record. Users begin paying when they wish to see the search result or the actual (full text) record. Users must pay, just as they must for document delivery services; however, instead of receiving the document by fax or mail, the user will receive it automatically on the screen. Some databases, which a library is likely to access only a few times per year, do not require a full subscription. This internet-based new service adds resources to a library's collection without the need for additional annual memberships or online connections now that libraries can have free access to silver platter's search-by-search collection on a pay-as-you-go basis (paying only for what libraries use), Furthermore, because the balance of a library account is presented on the screen together with details of the databases searched, usage statistics can assist libraries in making the most use of their money.

Question for Practice

1. Define library networking and explain its significance in supporting collaboration and resource sharing among multiple libraries.
2. What are the benefits of library networking, and how does it contribute to increased access to diverse information resources for library users?
3. How does library networking complement traditional library services with digital resources, and what are the advantages of integrating electronic resources with traditional activities?
4. In what ways does library networking create new opportunities and roles for librarians, and how can they leverage technology to support teaching, research, and learning activities?
5. Explain the concept of Electronic Document Delivery (EDD) in library networking, and discuss its role as a cost-effective solution for obtaining periodicals and meeting the information needs of library patrons.