Libraries experienced significant changes after the CDS/ISIS system of the 1980s. The 1968 Library of Congress MARC1 and MARC2 programs were key developments during this period. The introduction of the Internet brought about a major transformation in the library world, with widespread internet usage in libraries starting around 1990 and becoming prevalent by 1997–98. This shift revolutionized data collection and services, with LAN, WAN, and Internet techniques becoming essential for assessing the fourth formula of library science. Simultaneously, the development, implementation, and use of library management software began.
In the first decade of the 21st century, libraries began to play a new role. With the help of library management software, traditional libraries get an automation system. Before long, this automation system began to be experimented with and implemented at a slightly more advanced level, which became known as the digital library.
The ultimate goal of any library, be it a traditional library or a digital library, is to fulfill the information needs of its customers and provide information necessary for research. In order to fulfill this goal, all other supporting functions, such as collection change, maintenance, development and advancement of technology, etc., have to be performed. But the roles and responsibilities of an author, publisher, supplier, and user in a digital library environment are quite variable. Here, one can perform the functions of collection, storage, use, and control for both information professionals and users alike.
In a digital environment, only digital information is served, and very little of it is permanently created. Most digital assets are collected from remote computers over networks, and very few of them have any accountability. In this scenario, determining what information the professional library needs, how to organize it, who will be responsible for these tasks, deciding which criteria to use, and so on, can be quite challenging.
Issues and Challenges
Intellectual Property Issues:
For a long time, there have been various laws to protect intellectual property, which have both advantages and disadvantages. Library copyrights, patent encryption, license agreements, and international agreements have been used and violated equally in the past. But in the digital environment, such laws and safeguards are imperative to obey. Because in the digital environment, it is very easy to duplicate any information almost effortlessly and instantly. In this environment, it is almost impossible to identify an author, publisher, and user separately.
Data Value Issue:
Information is generally selected or purchased based on the credibility of the visa provider and the manufacturer’s reputation. The same information will be of one kind of value to students at the postgraduate level and of a different value to researchers or teachers. Therefore, in terms of a digital library, it is very difficult to assess the value, quality, etc. of digital information with ease of maintenance, easy search, and easy extraction.
Political and Cultural Sovereignty:
Since digital libraries can have information flows from all over the world, information production and services are likely to be dominated by a few multinational corporations. This can lead to great industrial and cultural disruption. In that case, it is important to have government control over the collection of any cultural information. If you do it again, you may lose access to information from many countries abroad. UNESCO has proposed a solution to this controversy. That is, every country should have a national information infrastructure whose job it is to collect, maintain, and distribute the country’s culture without any secrecy.
The digital divide:
The term “digital divide” describes the unequal access to information technology and its infrastructure across various institutions within a country. The rapid development of information integration technology has greatly transformed people’s lifestyles, societies, and aspirations. As a result, we have transitioned from an industrial society to an information- or knowledge-based society. Today, information integration technology has advanced to the point where interstellar data transport and exchange are no longer obstacles.
In this information society today, after food, clothing and shelter, the basic element of living is the availability of information through fast and seamless digital connectivity. In this society, information is power, capital and control of the world. Whoever has the information is powerful, rich and in control. Whoever does not have information is nothing but a dead, inanimate object. This is how the digital divide can be explained in today’s society. The fundamental question of mankind is: who will control whom?
The digital divide can be divided into different levels or generations.
1. High powered computers with low-performance computers;
2. Digital divide on the basis of internet connectivity is seen as follows:
A .Dial -up vs Dedicated leased line connection
B. Small Bandwidth vs Brand Bandwidth;
C. Cheap connection vs expensive brand connection;
3. The digital divide in terms of increasing accessibility is as follows:
A. Controlled Access vs. Free or Uncontrolled Access;
B. Low or trial-based access versus subscription-based access;
4. The division also depends on the availability of computers; for example, somewhere in the office, home, cyber cafe, computers or Internet connections are available everywhere, but somewhere they are not found across the tri-border. Naturally, a great division was created.
Digital Right Management:
According to the American Library Association, the term digital rights management is used to refer to the technology that controls how digital content is used. For example, a copyright holder has a complete copy of his work with which he can determine the policy of reprinting or distributing his work to the public. But there are no strict or copyright controls on how one uses that work, whether it is just for reading or for teaching and research purposes. However, in the case of digital rights management, it is absurd that he cannot even read, write, or make copies for research purposes without a legal permit. In this sense, digital rights management is far more daunting than copyright.
E-Slavery:
Slavery here refers to the restriction of use and control of proprietary and technological production. The word slavery literally means a person who has no self-control and no right to do any work voluntarily. All of them are controlled by others. So this slavery, or digital slavery, is all those conditions imposed on the users of digital data or information for which they can use the digital data or information according to their needs without being controlled by others. How much information the user receives—what is needed or what is unnecessary—is also determined by others. Thus, digital rights management creates a greater distance between the information-rich and the information-poor rather than creating a bridge between them.
Digital libraries require information technology, integration technology, online databases, CD-ROMs, multimedia databases, usernets, email services, national and international networks, etc. In such circumstances, free software may be the only viable option for building a truly informational society.
