The Role of a Digital Librarian in the Management of Digital Information

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The role of a digital 1. Introduction In an era of digital information, electronic librarian in the technology, WWW's growing popularity and management of digital the tremendous growth of CD-ROM products, digital libraries offer a huge range of multimedia information systems information, everything from movies, speeches, (DIS) images and photos to sounds, text and beyond. The amounts of online, CD-ROMs and other V. Sreenivasulu digital sources of information are exploding and infrastructure for accessing material improves The author almost daily. In building the next generation of digital libraries, multimedia and artificial V. Sreenivasulu is an Information Specialist (Data, intelligence will play several important roles. Computer and Software Group, DCSG), Indian National The multimedia nature of digital libraries Scientific Documentation Centre (INSDOC), New Delhi, India. requires digital librarians for the locating of relevant information efficiently and cost- Keywords effectively and disseminating it in a wide variety Librarians, Information systems, Electronic publishing, of a formats of digital information system Information superhighway, Libraries, Management (DIS). The advent of digital libraries presents a plethora of challenges and opportunities to the Abstract digital librarian. Digital librarians add value and can make digital libraries truly useful and user Stresses that the multimedia nature of the next generation of digital libraries requires the digital librarians friendly. (DL) to be essentially a type of specialist librarian who has A digital librarian, a type of specialist to manage and organize the digital library, handle the information professional who manages and specialized tasks of massive digitization, storage, access, organizes the digital library, combines the digital knowledge mining, digital reference services, functionality for information, elicitation, electronic information services, search co-ordination, and planning, data mining, knowledge mining, manage the archive and its access. The digital librarian digital reference services, electronic information acts as guardian of the information superhighway/the services, representation of information, universal digital library or the global digital library and extraction, and distribution of information, acts as a symbiotic human-machine guru. This article also co-ordination, searching notably CD-ROMs, highlights the roles and functions of a DL in information online, Internet-based WWW, multimedia retrieval, content delivery, navigation, and browsing. It access and retrieval. The ultimate goal of a DL envisages the professional education and training for is to facilitate access to information just-in-time digital librarians in the management of digital information to the critical wants of end users and systems. It denotes the DL's interface functions, roles, additionally to facilitate electronic publishing. skills and competencies for the management of digital The digital librarian plays a distinctive and information systems in the important areas of imaging dynamic role in easy accessing of computer- technologies, optical character recognition, markup held digital information including abstracts, languages, cataloguing, metadata, multimedia indexing The author thanks the anonymous Learned and database technology, user interface design, Information Europe reviewers and Journals Editor programming, and Web technology. This paper finally for their thoughtful comments on earlier drafts of advocates and targets the task of creating a new job title this article, and thanks also Mrs C.M. Anand, ± digital librarian ± to take care of digital libraries and to Scientist ± E2, DCSG at INSDOC for her editorial manage the digital information system. guidance and good encouragement, her ideas and suggestions but most of all for reviewing the paper. Electronic access The author is grateful to the late Sh. C.V. Subba Rao, who planted seeds of motivation, cultivated The current issue and full text archive of this journal is weed control of personality, fertilized for growth available at and helped in reaping the rewards and the yield ± http://www.emerald-library.com publications, research papers ± which ultimately

The Electronic Library brings peace and harmony to the departed soul, Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . pp. 12±20 who is a disciple of Dr S.R. Ranganathan, The # MCB University Press . ISSN 0264-0473 Father of Indian Librarianship. 12 The role of a digital librarian The Electronic Library V. Sreenivasulu Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . 12±20 indexes, full-text databases, sound and video audio-video clips, etc. A digital library is recording in the digital formats. For finding expected to provide access to the digital the right information at the right time, the information collections. research, education and training, learning and A digital library may be considered to be developmental work and disseminating to the any of these (William, 1995): user in required format are the basic (1) machine-readable data files; requirements of DL. (2) components of the emerging National Information Infrastructure; (3) various online databases and CD-ROM 2. Need for a digital librarian in the information products; management of DIS (4) computer information storage devices on which information resides; Necessity is the mother of invention. The (5) computerized networked library systems. emerging global digital libraries or world-wide As practitioners today, we find this definition digital information centers generate the need to be the most useful one: for creating a new job-title ``digital librarian'' A digital library maintains all, or a substantial to manage their digital knowledge resources. part, of its collection in computer-processible The huge digital libraries are emerging as form as an alternative, supplement, or knowledge warehouses. Digital librarians are complement to the conventional printed and required to: microfilm materials that currently dominate library collections (Williams, 1995). . manage the digital libraries; . organize digital knowledge and The component characteristics of digital information; libraries are the storage of information in . disseminate digital information from the digital form, direct usage of communication computer-held digital information; networks for accessing, obtaining . provide digital reference services and information, and copying by either electronic information services; downloading or online/offline printing from a . provide knowledge mining from the master file. Digital librarians enable managing emerging knowledge warehouses; very large amounts of data, preserve unique . handle the tasks of massive digitization, collections, provide faster access to digital storage process, and digital information, facilitate dealing with data from preservation; more than one location, and enhance . provide universal access and retrieval of distributed learning environments. They also digital knowledge, ultimately access to all; help to perform searches that are manually . catalogue and classify digital documents not feasible and offer to protect the content of and digital knowledge. the owner's information (Husler, 1996).

3. Digital library 4. The role of a digital librarian in the management of DIS Digital libraries are electronic libraries in which large numbers of geographically Digital information system management distributed users can access the contents of refers to the overall competencies large and diverse repositories of electronic (knowledge, know-how, skills and attitudes) objects ± networked text, images, maps, necessary to create, store, analyze, organize, sounds, videos, catalogues of merchandise, retrieve and disseminate digital information scientific, business and government data sets (text, images, sounds) in digital libraries or ± they also include hypertext, hypermedia and any type of information. To describe the roles multimedia compositions (Yerkey and of the digital librarian, the following concepts Jorgensin, 1996). are introduced to understand further. A digital library is understood to have the information stored predominantly in an 4.1 Guardian of information electronic or digital medium. The digital superhighway (ISH) information collection may include digital The information superhighway is a vision or a books, digital scanned images, graphics, metaphor. It envisions a fusion of the two-way textual and numeric data, digitized films, wired and wireless capabilities of telephones 13 The role of a digital librarian The Electronic Library V. Sreenivasulu Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . 12±20 and networked computers with a cable TV's sub-document indexing and summarization capacity to transmit hundreds of programs. techniques ± more than that of paper Services would be delivered by documents. telecommunications networks, cable TV networks, and the Internet and mobile 4.6 Knowledge and data mining communications (William et al., 1995). The digital librarian will require a limited Infrastructure that provides band width-on- knowledge of data mining and discovery of demand and information-on-demand services knowledge from digital libraries to extract are called information superhighway. There unmet information needs of users. For this will be two types of information services such purpose, unsupervised learning techniques as public (free) services and commercial such as clustering, and composite term services. The use of existing telephone, fax, discovery techniques etc., are useful. analogue TV broadcast services will be supported in the initial information 4.7 Search and retrieval co-ordination superhighway. In addition, new services such It requires comprehensive knowledge of the as videophone, multimedia electronic retrieval engines and indexing structure so messaging, digital TV/HDTV broadcast and that the digital librarian can achieve the goal movie and video-on-demand service, will be of creating information queries with respect to provided (Lu, 1996). the search system.

4.2 Guardian of the global digital library/ 4.8 Digital librarian's interface functions the universal digital library and roles in the management of DIS The digital library is really a transitory phase A fundamental role of a DL in digital libraries towards the universal digital library, a vast is to act as an intermediary who brings distributed information and active repository together users and information (see Figure 1). accessible from anywhere with increasing Digital library access tools are the right set of improved indexing, extraction and tools used in novel ways to tackle a plethora of summarization techniques. It will be a library challenges and opportunities for information without walls or national boundaries. access technology and faster access (Kikuchi et al., 1996). 4.3 Digital librarian acts as symbiotic human-machine guru 4.9 Digital information access The digital librarian acts as an intermediary in There is a variety of information retrieval the task of massive digitization of information, techniques, including metadata searching, its storage, dissemination, managing the full-text document searching. In knowing archive, and making available digitized what can or cannot be retrieved from the networked information to the end users. digital library information sources, the digital Digital librarians and computers depend on librarian acts as an expert in the acquisition of each other for processing and dissemination digital information (see Figure 2). of digital information and both are inter- 4.9.1 Accessing and retrieval of digital related. information through digital library access tools The method used to store, find and retrieve 4.4 Navigation, browsing and filtering digital information from DIS is called the The navigation of the future would tend to access method. The technology used to integrate with the human-assisted access information digitally provides information retrieval from the networked ``navigation paths or digital library access universe and would support rapid information tools'' through the digital information system navigation and precision retrieval. The digital (DIS). librarian is an expert in navigation, browsing and filtering, digital reference services and 4.9.2 Mobile information access: a vision of electronic information services from the tomorrow digital information sources. The ability to access information on demand at any location confers competitive advantage 4.5 Multimedia search and indexing on individuals in an increasingly mobile A multimedia digital library requires not just world. The data from shared file systems; standard indexing and retrieval, but also relational databases, object-oriented 14 The role of a digital librarian The Electronic Library V. Sreenivasulu Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . 12±20

Figure 1 Digital librarian's interface functions, skills, roles in the management of DIS

Figure 2 Digital information access and retrieval

databases, and other repositories must be retrieving, indexing, storing, organizing and accessible to programs running on mobile dissemination of digitized information. The computers. list given below is the digital information sources and pools, and these are used as 5. Digital library access tools, pools and digital access tools which ultimately aim to sources of digital information for the facilitate universal access to all: digital librarian . Online public access catalogues (OPACs): meta-databases (describe, There are various tools available to use in provide link to other databases/digital digital information systems and they facilitate information sources; online databases in accessing, searching, browsing, navigating, (Knight-Rider, OCLC, MEDLINE). 15 The role of a digital librarian The Electronic Library V. Sreenivasulu Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . 12±20

. Internet-based tools: e-mail networks, digital librarian in the management of digital mailing lists, electronic conferences, information systems and digital libraries: World Wide Web, Website home pages, (1) Internet, WWW: Wide Area Information Services (WAIS), . navigation, browsing, filtering; Web browsers, Gopher systems, and . retrieving, accessing, digital Veronica Archie, FTP, Telnet, Usenet, document analysis; Newsgroups, BBS, Listservers, discussion . digital reference services, electronic groups. information services; . Digital networks/networking: BLAISE, . searching network databases in a MEDLINE, NICNET, DELNET number of digital sources and Web AGRIS, INIS, all sorts of networks. sites; . Hypertext/Hypermedia. . creating home pages, content . Multimedia (high bandwidth computer conversion, downloading techniques; networks). . Web publishing, electronic . Multimedia networking protocols. publishing; . Cellular and pager networks. . archiving digital documents, locating . Electronic publishing tools. digital sources; . Net-dwelling software agents. . digital preservation and storage; . Electronically fax/commercial vendors. . electronic messaging, connectivity . Telephone/TV. skills; . Web authoring. (2) Multimedia, digital technology, digital 6. Components of a digital information media processing: system . multimedia indexing, image processing, object-oriented processing; The components of a digital library may . interactive digital communications include: and visualization; (1) personal library system for the users; . cataloguing and classification of (2) organizational library system for serving digital documents, digital content; groups of individuals; . searching and retrieval of text, images (3) new users as well as existing local or and other multimedia objects; distant database users; . speech recognition, image (4) database servers to handle remote visualization; requests; and . advanced processing capabilities (5) a variety of system functions to co- exploiting digital medium; ordinate, manage the entry and retrieval . conferencing techniques including of digital information. teleconferencing, video conferencing. (3) Digital information system, online, optical information: 7. Competencies and skills of a digital . interfacing online and off-ramps, librarian in the management of DIS/ twists and turns of digital knowledge; digital libraries . development of digital information sources; The competency of a digital librarian is . digitization of print collections; represented by different sets of skills, attitudes . competency to manage CD-ROM and values that enable a digital librarian to network station; work as a digital information professional or . development of machine readable digital knowledge worker and digital catalogue records; knowledge communicator (Sreenivasulu, . design and development of databases; 1998). There are skills and competencies that . design and development of software the digital librarian should develop. One is the agents for digital libraries; ability to manage the digital libraries and . conversion of print media into digital digital knowledge in terms of digital media; knowledge management. The following are . knowledge in digital knowledge the skills and competencies required for a structures. 16 The role of a digital librarian The Electronic Library V. Sreenivasulu Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . 12±20

There are additional skills that the digital . Digital information management librarian should develop. One is the ability to (Deschatelets, 1997): computerized text think in terms of knowledge networks (Owen, analysis; database creation; database 1999): distribution; design of interfaces; design (1) Internal networks: of retrieval languages document . personal networks; structuring; language-related industry . project teams, competence groups, (e.g. translation, terminology, software); GroupWare; network-related activities (e.g. Internet, . internal digital knowledge resource; intranet, extranet, LAN, WANs); optical- . intranets. based information products (CD-ROMs, (2) External networks: CDI, DVD); telecommunications; virtual . external knowledge resources; reality; communication formats; . external personal networks; competitive intelligence; data mining; . customers, suppliers, partners; knowledge mining; technology watch. . extranets. . Digital technology: computer system components; central processing unit primary and secondary storage capacities; 8. Professional education and training types and trends in computers, computer for the digital librarian in the peripherals; computer software, management of digital information application software, data resources systems/digital libraries management. For more than 25 years, schools of . Digital technology media processing: online information studies have been adapting their tutorial; filter enhancements; frame- curricula and teaching activities to the new viewer for digital document distribution information technologies (IT). All of those Internet/WWW publishing support changes have occurred within the broad through distribution; common umbrella of information studies. The new interfaces; searches within hierarchical digital information system (DIS) creates a classification or domains; searches major shift in the paradigm of the information against keywords or expressions transfer process (Deschatelets, 1997). containing Boolean logic; give users easy Included as a supplement here is a syllabus access to information, services for a course on digital information systems, irrespective of their physical location; prepared by Prof. M.A. Gopinath, building more intelligence to Documentation Research and Training applications and services; manage-wise Centre, Bangalore (Gopinath, 1996). In this systems; desktop management; network course, each component is considered as a analysis; virus protection; Windows and separate paper. The components of each multimedia presentation; CD-ROMs; course paper are outlined. The syllabus meets simulations; visualizations. to a large extent the educational requirements . Knowledge base through digital libraries: of the digital librarian. In addition to that, interface features; multimedia system and digital information system management will multimedia stream playback; multimodel require co-operation between different and hypermedia; information retrieval/ academic units. To accomplish that, both access system; training support; creativity and certain entrepreneurial spirit surrogation and storage; intellectual will be required. property systems; digital preservation . Digital information system: international system; network system; World Wide dimensions of digital information system Web. (DIS); technological and behavioral dimensions of DIS; components of digital Apart from the above outlined curriculum, information system; information system the following papers are also aimed at training activities; input of data resources; the digital librarian with innovative vigor and processing of data into information; approach (Sood and Sreenivasulu, 1998): output of information products; storage . Online information access and retrieval. of data resources; control of system . Information networks and networking. performance. . Advanced information technology. 17 The role of a digital librarian The Electronic Library V. Sreenivasulu Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . 12±20

9. The role of a librarian transforms into librarian. Reference librarians, cybrarians or that of a digital librarian information brokers will be augmented by digital librarians in the digital world. What will be the role of a librarian in the The digital librarian will become the future? It seems to fit in with the notion that guardian of digital information and will be the library will disappear as an institution. the vehicle to preserve democratic access to The Internet will become a significant force in information. The digital librarian's role will the information world. If work becomes be increasingly towards offering consultancy decentralized and teleworking becomes the to the users in their efforts in providing norm, we are going to have ``Virtual libraries'', digital reference services, electronic with a vast increase in the range and variety of information services, navigating, searching digital information resources. The `èlectronic and retrieval of digitized information cottage'' worker becomes the norm, working through Web documents that span the on a contractual basis for different kinds of Universal Digital Library or the Global organizations, connected to corporate Digital Library. The digital librarian will be databases and information files online an embodiment of a digital information (Wilson, 1995). professional or digital knowledge worker, The logical sequence of this is that the who will ensure that the digital libraries are librarian, too, becomes a predominantly used effectively and with ease. Digital online worker, supporting the citizen/worker librarians with newly acquired skills can play by selling services. Finding relevant a meaningful and leading role in the information faster than the competitors, faster networked information society of the than a non-information-worker can find it, millennium. Digital librarians add values and and surviving on the basis of superior can make digital libraries truly useful and knowledge of the networks and digital user friendly. information resources available through The digital librarians, who, imbued with an them. We already have the words to describe ethic of equitable access, will function as well- these roles: digital librarian, digital trained intermediaries in a heterogeneous information professional, cybrarian, and information environment ± an environment information broker. that if not actively hostile to users is certainly A different view of the future might be one confusing ± and will find and make sense of where a ``digital library'' is more like a the vast amounts of digital knowledge for ``knowledge warehouse'', where a complex their users. The knowledge that ``digital system of professionals whose expertise librarians'' bring to this knowledge supports access to information acts as an environment would make sense of a intermediary to a variety of digital and other multiplicity of digital collections and sources (Kuny and Cleveland, 1998). resources, provide access to a network of key Although, at this stage, it is difficult to define contacts, identify cost-effective strategies for what the role of the digital librarian will be, in information retrieval, and assist users in the the long term, a few things already are clear. It publication and creation of new knowledge. is especially important to understand that the Redirecting the focus of librarians' attention ultimate goal is not just to facilitate access to and resources from the development of digital information just-in-time to the critical ``digital libraries'' to the development of want of end-users and additionally electronic ``digital librarians'' will be vital to the future of publishing, but to create and develop digital the profession. The time has come to invest in knowledge channels, digital knowledge people and not technology (Lankes, 1998). sources which allow synergy between partners Central to the vision of the new digital library leading to mutual exchange and enrichment is a digital librarian who cares about people. of digital knowledge domain. Digital library collections will be more appreciated with the `ìntellectual processes and services'' that a digital librarian might 10. Conclusion provide. It can be said that the digital librarian It is ironical that all these technologies are working in the digital knowledge domain is a under way, but not yet co-ordinated and specialist in the area of digital libraries, digital targeted at the task of creating a digital information systems and digital knowledge 18 The role of a digital librarian The Electronic Library V. Sreenivasulu Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . 12±20 sources. The digital librarian can be manager library information centres and information of a digital library, digital information centre professionals to the XXIst century'', Proceedings of or a librarian of the electronic library, which 49th FID Pre-Conference Education and Training, may be a division/section of a traditional Jaipur, October 11-12, pp. 112-18. Sreenivasulu, V. (1998), ``Computer information literacy: library. It has to be clear that this is a fairly challenges for the modern information professional modest role, which offers excellent at the advent of the XXIst century'', Online CD-ROM perspectives for the digital librarian. Review: International Journal on Online, Optical, Several personal characteristics plus the and Networked Information, Vol. 22 No. 6, new skills and competencies are essential for pp. 395-7. the digital librarians to create and manage William, B.K. and Saffady, S. (1995), ``Digital library digital library collections and services. concepts and technologies for the management of Demonstrated skills and sophisticated collections: an analysis of methods and costs'', expertise competencies are needed for digital Library Technology Reports, Vol. 31, May-June, p. 221. librarians to manage the digital information William, B.K., Sawyer, S. and Hutchinson (1995), Using system (DIS) in the important areas of Information Technology: A Practical Introduction to imaging technologies, optical character Computers and Communications, Richard D. Irwin recognition, markup languages, cataloguing, Inc, Chicago, IL, p. 579. multimedia indexing, database technology, Wilson, T.D. (1995), ``The role of the librarian in the 21st user interface design, programming, and Web century: keynote address for the Library Association technologies. Northern Branch Conference'', Longhirst, Exit librarian ± Enter digital librarian/ Northumberland, 17 November, on Internet at cyberarian (Exit, 1998). http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/l-M/is/lecturer/ 21stcent.html Yerkey, A.N. and Jorgensin, C. (1996), `À course in digital libraries'', DESIDOC Bulletin of Information References Technology, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 31-9.

Deschatelets, G. (1997), `Òpening LIS curricula to the new world of electronic and strategic information'', FIS News Bulletin, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 13-20. Further reading Exit (1998), `Èxit librarians, enter cybrarians'', Business Gates, B. (1997), ``Conquers India'', Competition Success Line, April 25, p. 20. Gopinath, M.A. (1996), `Èducation for digital information Review, April, pp. 24-5. Malwad, N.M., Rajasekar, T.B., Ravichandra Rao, I.K. and system: a courseware'', in Malwad, N.M., Rajasekahr, T.B., Ravichandra, I.K. and Satyanarayana, N.V. (1996), Digital Libraries: A Satyanarayand, N.V. (Eds), Digital Libraries: Dynamic Storehouse of Digitized Information, New Dynamic Storehouse of Digital Information, papers International Publishers, Bangalore. presented at the SIS96; 15th Annual Convention Nirmala, N., Sreenivasulu, V. and Deep, S. (1998), and Conference, Bangalore, January 18-20, `Ìnternet beyond 2000: the world of virtual library New Age International Publishers, New Delhi, information services'', Proceedings of Society for pp. 210-15. Information Science (SIS) Conference Virtual Husler, R.P. (1996), ``Digital library: content preservation Libraries, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, in digital world'', DESIDOC Bulletin of Information April. Technology, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 31-9. Sreenivasulu, V. (1997), ``Multimedia information for Kikuchi, Hideki, et al. (1996), `Ùser interface for a digital users/librarians: need and seeking pattern'', library to support construction of a virtual library'', Proceedings of 14th FID/C4O Congress and IEEE Proceedings of Multimedia '96. Assembly Migrating to Electronic Information Era, Kuny, T. and Cleveland, G. (1998), ``The digital library: November 20-21, INSDOC, New Delhi, myths and challenges'', IFLA Journal, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 112-26. pp. 107-13. Sreenivasulu, V. (in publication), ``Role of information Lankes, R.D. (1998), `ÀskA's lessons learned from K-12 technologies in electronic information transfer digital reference services'', Reference & User and in providing value added information Services Quarterly, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 63-71. services'', DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Lu, G. (1996), Communication and Computing for Technology. Distributed Multimedia Systems, Artech House, Sreenivasulu, V. and Nandwana, H.B. (1998), ``The Boston, pp. 368-71. emerging world wide virtual university: trends, Owen, J.M. (1999), ``Knowledge management and the issues, and innovations'', Proceedings of DELNET information professional'', Information Services and Annual Convention and Conference, DELNET, New Use, Vol. 19, pp. 7-16. Delhi, November. Sood, S.P. and Sreenivasulu, V. (1998), `Òverhauling LISc Sreenivasulu, V., Deep S. and Gout, M.S. (1998), ``Data curriculum with a slant to digital age: preparing mining and visualization techniques in large 19 The role of a digital librarian The Electronic Library V. Sreenivasulu Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . 12±20

databases'', Proceedings of 49th FID Conference Conference Virtual Libraries, University of towards the New Information Society of Tomorrow: Hyderabad, Hyderabad, April. Innovations, Challenges & Impact, INSDOC, New Sreenivasulu, V., Subhashini, R.K. and Deep, S. (1998), Delhi, October 1-17, FID Publication, No. 719, ``Electronic publishing on the World Wide pp. III, 134-41. Web: the services, architectures, process Sreenivasulu, V., Nirmala, N. and Deep, S. (1998), ``User and pitfalls'', Proceedings of Society for interfaces for a digital library to support Information Science (SIS) Conference Virtual construction of a virtual personal library'', Libraries, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Proceedings of Society for Information Science (SIS) April.