INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN LIBRARIES SERVING PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

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The paper deals with the development of modern technique and technology serving persons with disabilities, and also with possibilities of their use in libraries. Some communication devices of the new generation designed for this category of users are described, as well as different types of electronic documents, devices and softwares for reading. The relationship between advantages of the use of information technologies in libraries and the services offered directly by library personnel is also discussed. The important role of the development of mobile, small-sized hardware is emphasised, as well as accessibility of electronic information on web. These are the main prerequisites for development of virtual libraries, which symbolize potential availability of information kept in libraries to everyone.

THE WORLD DIGITAL LIBRARY

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The author outlines the development of the World Digital Library, from the idea of its establishment, through the design and first steps, presentation of the first prototype in 2007, to its public launch in April 2009. The author also presents a short list of important digital documents of the WDL, as well as the basic functionalities of this web site. The second part focuses on the usage, feedback and participation, with special emphasis placed on building the capacity of digitization in the developing countries. The paper concludes with a list of priorities, a description of the challenges in the future and next steps.

VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES IN EUROPE: THE EUROPEAN LIBRARY APPROACH

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The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of The Bridging Worlds Conference held in October 2008, in Singapore. One of the main topics the National Library Board of Singapore, the organising party, wished to address was the roles cultural institutions, such as libraries, may play in (virtual) communities and how they can build audience share based on these communities. In this context The European Library – gateway to Europe’s national library resources – explained how it markets its services to academic communities in and, to some degree, outside Europe. The European Library focuses its portal on the European academic community and fits its services primarily within the academic working processes. Other mechanisms and channels help it reach other types of user groups from all over the world. For example, it is the main library contributor in Europeana, the cross-domain portal that launched its first public beta-version in November 2008. Emphasising the value of using different channels to serve different communities – either via Europeana or by plugging-in existing virtual environments via application programming interfaces (APIs) and widgets – The European Library is a great example of how important (channel) marketing is to online public institutions. Further references are made to the “test, measure and (re)act” methodology and challenges in presenting a crawler and user-friendly portal. Overall the paper provides an interesting insight in the marketing approach of one of the biggest digital libraries, and how it tries to work with cultural differences and changing user requirements. Calling for the adoption of a more market-oriented approach by public institutions, it is of interest to all information professionals, but especially marketers of public institutions and other market-oriented, certainly those interested in channel marketing.

WORLDCAT – THE POWER OF GLOBAL LIBRARY COMMUNITY, EFFICIENCY AND SHARING

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The global environment in which libraries operate has changed dramatically in recent years. People discover items of interest in a variety of ways and library services need to build their workflows accordingly. Regardless of a library’s presence in its local geography, it will be its ability to make resources available in a global Web environment that will guarantee its relevancy and longevity. Since its inception in 1971, WorldCat has evolved to meet the changing needs of the world’s library community. Begun as a union catalogue of library holdings, WorldCat has become a global hub around which discovery, delivery, automation, sharing and management occur. Every time a librarian, partner or end user makes a connection on the WorldCat network, that activity enables other avenues for cooperation, efficiency and discovery. WorldCat has become the foundation of an array of services that connect libraries, vendors, partners and users in a shared, global platform.

DIGITAL FORTRESS: NATIONAL DIGITISATION STRATEGY IN SERBIA

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Digitisation of the national heritage is a complex process requiring a systematic approach at all levels, as a logical and balanced development of the national digitization project is necessary. A good national strategy should provide the needed systematic approach. Is there something that can facilitate faster adoption of this document, and are there any obstacles along the way? The search for answers leads from the previous efforts put in the digitization strategy document in Serbia, to the recommendations of the European Union in the field, including some examples of good practice in the neighboring countries that have some sort of national digitisation programs, but also the polemics of strategy sustainability.

The current state in Serbia confirms that unsystematic digitisation and sequencing of individual and closed projects, does not provide long-term results equal to the ones achievable by a clear policy and a systematic approach to digitisation. On the other part, creating a national digitisation strategy in Serbia looks like conquering a huge digital fortress. 

VIRTUAL LIBRARY OF SERBIA

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Article explains the history of shared cataloguing in Serbia, and gives details about the establishment of the shared union catalogue – Virtual Library of Serbia – with the support of international project funding. Search possibilities are explained in detail. The regional cooperation in COBISS.Net Balkan library network is presented, together with the data on participating libraries, number of records available and importance of the network for all libraries and their users in the region. In the context of world trends concerning the transformation of library catalogues into portals with links to full texts, the present status and activities planned for future development are described and explained.

ADAPTATION, EVOLUTION, REVOLUTION

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In the first part, the author discusses the question of reading and reading culture in Serbia, the difference between readers and non-readers, the essential importance of reading to the survival of the individual. In the second part, the author considers the challenges facing libraries today, the need of their adaptation to a new information environment, the evolution that is so profound and far-reaching that it is almost revolutionary by its character, the virtual world that becomes more real than the physical one. In the third part, the author shows that libraries do not serve only living men, but also robots, reffers to the secret of success of the National Library of Serbia and concludes that changes are so radical that they actually represent a revolutionary shift. 

ON POSSIBILITY AND REALITY – ONE (NON)ARISTOTELIAN READING OF E-BOOKS

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The problem of books and reading is being analyzed in the light of changed paradigms of reading and anthropological consequences of new media. Relationship of classical to virtual/electronic is being viewed from the standpoint of Aristotle’s onthological difference between reality and possibility. Prospects and difficulties of e-literature as a literature of possibilities, as well as consequences of dematerialization are beeing examined. By problematizing the term “virtual” and its entities, the author speaks of “new reader’s” fate in the new virtual world.

PORTALS IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

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This paper considers terminological questions concerning web and library portals and presents their different classifications. Libraries opted for active participation in the creation of reliable information sources at the age of e-science, and it was crucial for portals to be seen as key segment of academic librarianship. The realization of library portals must be preceeded by detailed analysis, but evaluation and refining are also seen as obligatory.

A selection of active portals is presented as the illustration and starting point for the prediction of possible development in the nearest future. 

VIRTUAL LIBRARY

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One of the requirements of modern society is use of many different media so that they become part of basic literacy. Since the libraries have an important role in the information society, this paper presents the concept and development of a virtual library in order to make the concept closer to those who distance themselves from the use of modern technology for various reasons prefering traditional forms of information. In this way, the communication between library user – electronic source could be easier.