The Impact of Technology on Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Library Collections

by R. N. Sharma Ph.D.

Overview

Libraries have been part of the human civilization for centuries by playing an important role in the development of people and societies and being instrumental in storing and retrieving information for scholars and other users. Many changes have been introduced in libraries from time to time in order to meet the needs of the changing world. During ancient times, information was written and stored on clay tablets and handwritten materials, which then changed to the printing materials employed during the medieval period. Then came microforms, CD-ROMS, and the online storage method, including databases on the World Wide Web. Technology is still very new to the libraries and their user; the western world having been just introduced to it during the second half of the twentieth century. Editor R.N. Sharma's travels to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East on library assignments have shown him that libraries in those regions are still far behind technologically as compared to the United States and other developed countries.

In the Impact of Technology on Asian, African and Middle Eastern Library Collections, sixteen well-known scholars, library educators, and librarians from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East write about the impact of technology on library collections and services in their countries. Three authors from the United States contribute articles about Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Collections in the United States and the impact of technology on these collections and services. This collection of well written essays gives a clear picture of these countries' libraries as compared to the United States and the ways to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries of these regions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810854482
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/17/2006
Series:	Look and Learn , #1
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 9.04(h) x 0.72(d)

About the Author

R.N. Sharma, Ph.D. is Dean of Library, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey. He has won many awards and honors, including the Academic Research Librarian of the Year Award in 2005 from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his significant achievements and contributions to International Librarianship. He has been the editor of Library Times International since 1984.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Introduction Part 2 Part I: Worldwide Chapter 3 1. The World's Treasure Is One Click Away at the Global Memory Net Part 4 Part II: Asia Chapter 5 2. OCLC Library Information Services and Libraries in Asia and the Pacific Region Chapter 6 3. The Impact of Information Technology on University Libraries in India Chapter 7 4. The Digital Age and Information-Poor Societies: The Case of Vietnam Chapter 8 5. The Impact of Technology on Chinese Library Collections and Services Chapter 9 6. Information Technologies and the Development of South Asian Collections and Services in U.S. Libraries Part 10 Part III: Africa Chapter 11 7. The Role of Libraries in Combating Information Poverty in Africa Chapter 12 8. The Impact of Information Communications Technology on Academic Libraries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Specific Reference to Botswana Chapter 13 9. The Impact of Technology on Library Collections and Services in Nigeria Chapter 14 10. Bridging the Technological, Language, and Cultural Gap: Partnering with an Academic Library in Francophone Africa Chapter 15 11. The Impact of Information Technology on Africana Scholarship and Library Collections in the United States Part 16 Part IV: Middle East Chapter 17 12. The Impact of Technology on Libraries and Collections in the Arab Countries of the Middle East and North Africa Chapter 18 13. Information Technology Applications in Information Work in Egypt: A Puzzle Missing Some Pieces Chapter 19 14. The Impact of Technology on MIddle Eastern Collections and Services in the United States Part 20 Part V: Barriers Chapter 21 15. Barriers in Introducing Information Technology in Libraries Part 22 Appendix: Status of Indian Universities—Connectivity Established as of September 30, 2004 Part 23 Index Part 24 About the Contributors Part 25 About the Editor

Editorial Reviews

a useful addition to the literature on comparative librarianship...a very important information source...

American Reference Books Annual

Introduced to libraries and users in the Western world during the second half of the 20th century, information technology is slowly making its way to less-developed countries. This volume contains 13 contributions from scholars, library educators, and librarians in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, each describing the impact of technology on library collections and services in their countries. It concludes with an essay by Sharma (Monmouth U. Library) that identifies major barriers to introducing information technology in these regions and suggests some possible solutions.

Reference and Research Book News

The expert observations presented in these essays would be of most benefit to the governments and libraries in the economically underdeveloped nations that are the focus of the essays...

College & Research Libraries

...Sharma and his contributors have crafted a work that I highly recommend to students of international librarianship, information technology, and librarianship in the developing world. This text can serve as a useful introduction to the history, challenges, and opportunities created by the introduction of IT to library collections in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

The Library Quarterly

The expert observations presented in these essays would be of most benefit to the governments and libraries in the economically underdeveloped nations that are the focus of the essays...

College & Research Libraries (C&RL)

a useful addition to the literature on comparative librarianship...a very important information source...

American Reference Books Annual (ARBA)

...Sharma and his contributors have crafted a work that I highly recommend to students of international librarianship, information technology, and librarianship in the developing world. This text can serve as a useful introduction to the history, challenges, and opportunities created by the introduction of IT to library collections in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Library Quarterly

The heartbreaking scarcity of libraries, library resources, and basic information technologies throughout Asia, Africa, and the Middle East is illustrated repeatedly in this collection of international case studies and essays by 16 scholars, library educators, and librarians. A few promising developments, most notably Ching-chih Chen's description of the Global Memory Net, are overshadowed by painful recitations of information poverty from around the world. Though U.S. librarians deal with the ever--present issues of shrinking budgets and rising prices, it is difficult to comprehend the enormous hurdles faced by librarians in many less-developed countries. One dilemma in many areas is the lack of publishing in local languages. A chapter on Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa indicates that the entire Arab world produces only about 4000 books annually, and only about 10,000 books have been translated into Arabic over the past 1000 years, a sad commentary on the home of the fabled Library of Alexandria. Edited by Sharma (director, West Virginia Univ. Lib.), this is a fascinating volume though somewhat disheartening to read. Recommended for library science collections and larger academic libraries. Margaret Sylvia, St. Mary's Univ. Lib., San Antonio Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal