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Emergence of Digital Library Services in India
Baman Parida
Abstract
This paper emphasizes the significance of digital libraries in present information era and
describes their superstructure and technological requirements. It mainly depicts various
aspects of digital library development and different types of reference services being provided
in digital environment which include: (i) personalized services (ii) web-based reference
and information services (iii) search engine services (iv) digital reference services for general
public as well as academic community (v) co-operative digital library service. This paper
highlights present scenario of digital library services in India. It outlines the initiatives taken
by the UGC, India, the INFLIBNET Centre, DELNET, IITs, RECs , National Research
Organisations/ Institutions of India in the digitization of libraries and information centres in
order to provide digital library services. Further it suggests that in a developing country like
India where resources are limited, funds are inadequate the library and information
professionals should develop their skill and proficiency to meet the challenges of
technological developments and changes emerging out of digital library services.
Keywords : Digital library, Digital library service, Digital Information, Digital Library
Management, Digital Library Development, INFLIBNET.
0. Introduction
The digital library is an electronic or virtual library where information is selected, acquired, processed,
organised , stored and retrieved in digital form. The developed countries have already digitized their
libraries. The developing countries are in the process of digitization of their libraries. The users of digital
libraries are the universal users who should have facility to access to all created and acquired digital
sources of information in the form of electronic text, image, map, sound, video and multimedia. Thus the
digital libraries are attributed to electronic databases and capable of handling large data and servicing
users effectively in resource sharing environment.
1. Digital library infrastructure
A digital library has certain technological requirements such as:
i. Locally developed database
ii. Local library system with adequate personal computers having LAN and CD-ROM Drives.
iii. Electronic mail service
iv. Network connection to have access to other data bases
v. Various functions to coordinate, manage the entry and retrieve data.
vi. Multimedia Kit
vii. Well trained manpower
viii. Computer Hardware with Audio-Visuals, Video Conferencing Kit, Pentium Web Server, Laser
Printer, Scanner, Barcode Scanner, Barcode Printer, Digital graphic printer and UPS.
ix. Software and its accessories.
2nd International CALIBER-2004, New Delhi, 11-13 February, 2004 © INFLIBNET Centre, Ahmedabad
200 Emergence of Digital Library Services
The super structure of digital library rests on some important factors like: (i)the human need for information
especially that is timely and relevant and (ii) accumulation of information, and all the supporting
infrastructure that includes research community, professional associations, libraries and publishers,
advances in methods and technology leading to developments in net working, information science,
information storage and retireval, hyper-media, human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence and
other areas of computer science that make digital libraries a possible proposition.
2. Digital Library Services
Always library services are followed by library works. But now the advancement in information technology
has brought changes in the concept of traditional library work as well as service. The recent trend and
change in the information related field especially in collection, storing, processing and dissemination of
information have resulted in to the evolution of digital libraries . Now most of the reference books like
encyclopaedias , dictionaries, directories, hand books, etc. are published in electronic form. Similarly
about 50% of the existing secondary resources like abstracting and indexing services are available in
electronic form for example, Chemical Abstracts Service, Index Medicus, Engineering Index. At present
most of the digital libraries have been highlighted mainly on providing access to diverse digital information
resources. The provision of personalized reference and information services is considered as one of the
important characteristics of the library and information profession. However reference services include
(I) Either finding the required information on behalf of users, or assisting users in finding information
themselves; (ii) Instruction in the use of library resources and services, and (iii) user guidance in which
users are guided in selecting the most appropriate information sources and services.
In this changing scenario, reference works of modern libraries are influenced by a set of related technical
and economic factors, especially the increasing use of technology and techniques. To cite some examples,
the recent developments in the INTERNET and in Web Technologies have brought significant changes in
the concept of traditional reference services and a number of web-based “expert services” , that are now
offered by many non-library organisation. Information services are provided to the users on demand as
well as anticipating the user needs including various forms of current awareness and selective
dissemination of information services. Such services are provided to the users to keep them abreast of
the latest developments in their field of interest through on-line search services in digital information
environment, even by the non-library organisations like Dialog.
3. Personalized services
Most of the researches on digital library development have focused on access to and retrieval of digital
information but they have overlooked the personalized service aspects, as primary goal of library
information services. However the technology and information resources, on their own, can not make up
an effective digital library. On priority basis the personalized services in a digital library environment
would help the users to find information resources available in a digitally chaotic world. In a Delphy study
it was revealed that (I) the primary roles library professionals play in digital libraries include organization
of macro and micro-documents (Cataloguing and indexing), selection and acquisition and acting as
gateways to the provision of information services, and (ii) the best reasons of developing a digital library
include: increasing access to information serving and users needs and bringing organization to the
unstructured universe of electronically available information. However there is a demand for end-user
instruction on the use of digital libraries and the digital library professionals who are subject specialists
should help users to formulate disciplinary search strategies and provide assistance in developing new
digital information resources.
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4. Web-based reference and information services
Several reference and information services are now available on the web and many of these services are
provided by non-library organization. Also a web site that provides a categorized listing of libraries that
offer real-time reference services using specific software, live interactive communication tools, call centre
management software, bulletin board services and other INTERNET technologies. Of course, most of
these services are designed for registered users of some specific libraries in-digital information
environment. HodgKin has made an aggregation approach to reference and information services.
According to which more than one reference sources is made accessible digitally and also it is more
practicable in terms of visibility and profitability than a single reference source. Further (I) it’s reference
service becomes much better known to professional users and thus easier to find, by providing access
to several reference works, (ii) by tackling a number of reference works at a time, the publishers can
achieve economics of scale in production and development (iii) the user’s search session is likely to be
much more powerful and fruitful.
According to Chowudhury and Chowudhury online reference and information services can be broadly
categorized into three groups : (I) those from publishers , database search services and specialized
institutions (ii) those provided by libraries and /or experts through the INTERNET and (iii) where the users
need to conduct a search and find information through the web. Also they have listed several online
information services that belong to the first category comprising various current awareness, and SDI
services, for example :
a) Contents pages services from commercial publishers, such as Elsevier’s Contents Direct Service
and IDEAL Alert from Academic Press.
b) Information on new books available for free from publishers and vendors, such as Wiley Book,
Notification Service from Wiley, and Amazon.com.
c) SDI services from online search services providers, such as Dialog ( Dialog Alerts)
d) Current contents and ISI Alerting Services from ISI and so on.
However some of these services, particularly the contents page services from publishers of journals,
are free, while for others, such as Dialog Alerts, or Current Contents from ISI, users need to register and
pay for the services. There are also some web-based reference services where users need to conduct a
search in order to answer their reference query. For example, the Internet Public Library (www.pl.org.),
Britannica(www.britanica.com), the Electric Library (http/ask.library.com/refdesk.asp) and the Internet
Library for librarians (www.company.com/inforetriever/). Most of these web-based reference services are
available free of charge but some charge a small amount as fee. For example, the Electric Library
charges an annual subscription fee.
5. Search Engine Services
Sherman made a comparision among three web-based reference services like (a) Ask Jeeves, (b) the
Electric Library, and (c ) Information please and observed that:
(a) Ask Jeeves (www.askjeeves.co.uk) basically a search engine, is useful for complex questions
and is a good choice for searchers who lack Boolean or other searching skills, because of its
strong natural language parser and question- and- answer template structure. The users can ask
a question on a given topic and it comes up with a list of questions on the same or similar topics;
the users can select any of those predefined questions and then it provides further answers. It
processes each query syntactically (to analyse the grammer) and semantically (to determine
meaning) and then its answer processing engine provides the question template response (list
202 Emergence of Digital Library Services
of questions the users see after they ask a question). When the users clicks on a response, the
answer-processing engine retrieves the answer template that contains links to the answer locations.
Thus Ask Jeeves can help users to select a query from a pre-defined set of queries on a given
topic. So it is considered as a useful model for reference and information services in digital
libraries.
(b) The Electric Library is an excellent choice for a serious researcher in need of timely content from
a wide array of otherwise unavailable sources. It provides access to various on line reference
sources and allows users to either select a specific source or conduct a search on a range, or all,
of the sources.
(c) Information please is a suitable tool for students and other researchers, as an authoritative
source of facts and pointers for further investigation.
Moreover Chowdhury and Chowdhury have suggested some other useful search engine services like (I)
Web help.com (www.about.com) that claims to offer real time search assistance with a real live expert-
any time, day or night, (ii) About.com (www.about.com) is a service that shows a number of pre-defined
categories related to a search topic given by the user. For example, a simple search on ‘e-commerce’ not
only produces a list of sites, but also provides a set of topics related to e-commerce, such as e-commerce-
definition, e-commerce security, the advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce, e-commerce
statistics and so on.
6. Digital Reference Services for General Public
Today web-based digital reference services are being provided by a network of public libraries. The
users make their query on an enquiry page and it is automatically routed to one of the participating
libraries which records it as an e-mail message to the user containing necessary and available information.
For example, the British Library, London provides special reference services for business, scientific,
technical, medical, patent and environmental information which range from answering simple queries
up to complex questions involving on line data base searches. Of course some of these services are free
if users put simple queries, but for complex queries users need to pay at the prescribed rate which
covers the costs of staff time, on-line searching and value added tax (VAT).The British Library provides
STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) Search Service for which users need to pay (www.bl.uk/services/
current/stm-search.html). Similarly New York Public Library (Digital Library), American Library of Congress,
Alexandria Digital Library, Berkeley Digital Library, Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Victoria State Library,
Vatican Library, etc. are some other libraries which provide digital reference services for users.
7. Digital Reference Services of Academic Libraries
Web based reference services are also now being provided by academic libraries, Recently a study
report on web-based reference services reflects the current practices of digital library services in seventy
academic libraries of USA. The study shows that university libraries allow their patrons to put reference
questions in a variety ways: 99% offer e-mail reference, 96% offer reference services by appointment
while 29% of the libraries offer real-time virtual reference. These libraries use customer relationship
management (CRM) software packages for providing web-based reference services in the virtual reference
environment.
8. Co-operative Digital Library Services
The rising cost of digital reference sources and its proper processing by the trained manpower and also
the initial infrastructural investment for introducing new services in libraries have influenced different
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organisations to choose a co-operative model of digital reference services. As a result some co-operative
projects have been launched for providing web-based reference services to the users who can ask for
such services from a remote location at any time. The Library of Congress, USA has launched the
collaborative digital reference service with a mission to provide the users, anywhere anytime through an
international digital network of libraries. This network has three main components consisting of (I)
Member Profiles (ii) Request Manager-Software for entering, routing and answering reference queries;
and (iii) knowledge Base- a searchable database of questions and answer sets. In this network a
participating library sends a question to the system on behalf of a user and the system looks in to the
knowledge base for a match. Then a reply is sent to the relevant library through e-mail. Incase the
question and its corresponding answer is not found in the knowledge base, then it is passed on to the
Request Manager where using the profiles of participating libraries and their information resources
collection, expertise etc, relevant query is passed on to an appropriate library. This library receives the
query, finds an answer and sends back reply to the results store and answer to the knowledge base.
Thus the Knowledge Base and Request Manager become able to provide reference service in digital
environment. However, the Library of Congress and OCLC have developed a co-operative “Question
Point” the advanced generation of collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDTS) in June 2002 which
integrates local as well as global electronic reference networks.
9. Present Scenario in India
All the six IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) created as centres of excellence for higher training, research
and development in science, engineering and technology, have automated their libraries and now they
have access to more than one thousand electronic journals. The Central Library IIT, Delhi has switched
over to the Silver Platter’s Electronics Reference Library (ERL) technology for providing access to
bibliographic databases subscribed on CD-ROM. The technology facilitates simultaneous and integrated
access to ERL complaint reference databases to multiple users across the LAN / WAN Via TCP / IP. This
library offers network-based CD-ROM search services from the CD-ROM databases subscribed in the
central library . Most of its databases have now been transferred to ERL technology and its CD-NET
system has been installed for searching of CD-ROM databases on the campus intranet. This Library has
started subscribing to the web-based full-text electronic journals with availability of high speed INTERNET
connection and about 1330 electronic journals are accessible full text.
In most of the higher learning and research institutes in India such as the Regional Engineering Colleges
(RECs), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TFIR), Indian Institute of Science (IIS), Indian Statistical
Institute (ISI), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Institute of Veterinary Research of India (IVRI),
All India Institute of Medical Science (AIMS), Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), Institute of Physics,
Institute of Life Science, Shaha Institute Nuclear Physics, The Medical College Libraries etc, have
automated their library systems. Some of them are in the process of digitization of rare and valuable
documents. Digital library services in India are in developing stage. At present most of the university
libraries have taken steps to provide web-based reference and information services in digital environment
in addition to their traditional library services. These services include:
• Access to library catalogues and union catalogues.
• Access to bibliographic databases
• Access to subject gate ways in specific disciplines
• Providing links to web sites
• Accessing and procuring e-reference sources
• Subscribing to e-journals
• Reference services provided by librarians and experts on the web
204 Emergence of Digital Library Services
• Document delivery services
• On-line current awareness services
• Digitization of library resources, considering their intellectual value.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) of India has launched the major initiative for setting up nation
wide communication network for Indian universities called UGC-Infonet. Each university was to establish
a LAN in its campus linking all the teaching departments including library. ERNET of India and INFLIBNET
Centre, Ahmedabad are conducting a series of training programmes for technical staff of each participating
university library for managing and maintaining the network at their premises. The INFLIBNET Centre
will administer and monitor the E-Journal programme and will have independent electronic access to all
the publications to help with the process. The INFLIBNET Centre has carried out training programmes
in various places to spread awareness and to develop expertise in the University community in the use
of E-Resoures under the networked environment. The INFLIBNET Centre has developed and also
recently released library automation software package new version for university libraries (SOUL) for
building up digital library services. Soul is Windows based user friendly software, based on client server
architecture with multi-user and multi language facilities which supports internationally known standards
such as CCF, AACR-II andMARC-21, etc. Thus INFLIBNET centre is patronizing for digitization of college
and university libraries and encouraging e-subscription and e-learning in Indian Universities and colleges.
The DELNET (Delhi Library Network) created as a metropolitan network in 1988, has changed its name
to Developing Library New Work (DELNET) in 2000. The main objectives of DELNET are to promote
resource sharing among its member libraries, develop a network of member libraries, collect store and
disseminate information, offer computerized information services in digital environment .The DELNET
presently avails the high speed satellite communication facilities of NIC spread across the country and
its 620 member libraries can access about 35 lakh bibliographic records in machine readable form. Also
it maintains an online union catalogue of books available in its member libraries in CCF format. Its union
catalogue is continuously updated. DELNET has been networking the libraries of about 400 affiliated
institutes of AICTE, New Delhi. DELNET presents two management software packages i.e. DELMARC
and DELPLUS.
10. Conclusion
The digital library movement in India is rapidly increasing and the traditional libraries are now on their
way to digitization in a phased manner. Of course, the financial constraint of different institutions and
government departments, creates problem to acquire necessary IT equipment and infrastructure. In
India UGC and INFLIBNET Centre have taken steps to develop a consortium where college, university
and research libraries can join for subscription to on-line journals. Similarly procurement of e-reference
sources on CDs can be made and on-line current awareness service of the content pages of the journals
subscribed may be provided on the Intranet. However in a developing country like India where resources
are limited, funds are inadequate, the library professionals have to take careful and judicious decisions
in selecting library materials for digitization. Also the library and information professionals have to keep
on watch for newer technological developments and noticeable changes in the use of many information
platforms such as Internet, multimedia and digital library. Thus the library personnel should develop their
professional proficiency and communication skill in order to meet the challenges emerging out of digital
library services.
11. References
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About Author
Dr. Baman Parida is Reader in DLIS at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India. He has
authored four books and one glossary and contributed several research papers. He
has guided a good number of Ph D scholars and associated with academic activities
of different universities. He is associated with ILA, IASLIC, IATLIS and SIS and
organised several Library Seminars and Conferences as General Secretary of Utkal
Library Association. He was actively involved in organising INFLIBNET’s CALIBER-
98 at Bhubaneswar.
E-mail : parida_baman@yahoo.com
