What are ICT?

Information Communications Technologies (ICT) - technologies that enable society to create, collect, consolidate, communicate, manage and process information in multimedia and various digital formats for different purposes i.e. computing and telecommunications technologies like the personal computer, CD-ROM, cable TV, cellular phones and the Internet.

Impact of ICT

This technological convergence has brought about an enormous impact on the way we live, work, think and play. These changes are quite prevalent in our everyday lives such as the use of e-mail and cellular phones at home and in the workplace and also linked to all facets of society: business, education, military, recreation, transportation, communication, scientific exploration, knowledge management, etc.

1. Effect of ICT in information creation and use

• ICT made information creation in digital format possible.

• ICT made online access and file transfer possible

• ICT made networking and sharing of information resources possible

• Digital information can be sent in multiple copies simultaneously over information networks in fractions of a minute or even of a second.

• Digital information can be cut/copied and pasted from one document into another

• Digital information may be free or cheaper than print equivalents

• Digital information often modifies librarians’ roles in various ways

2. Effects of these developments on the user community

• Increases the level of technology literacy

• Increases demand for better and faster access to information

• Aggravates discrepancies between the information rich and information poor

3. Effects in library systems

Libraries now and in the future will be quite different from the traditional libraries that we know today. We may still see books and other printed materials within the vicinity but many materials will be available and accessible in electronic format. These resources can be easily accessed and shared through LANs (local area networks), and WANs (wide area networks), of which the best example is the Internet. Most of the collections will be in multimedia and various digital formats. The libraries' collection will not be limited to what is inside the libraries since access to information globally is readily available. Eventually, digital libraries will become common and most of the resources will be digitized and available to anyone, anytime, anywhere. There is even a prediction of virtual libraries wherein all information resources and the library itself will no longer exist physically but will exist digitally in the virtual world. The library will:

• be networked

• be stocked with a core collection that is multimedia

• have access to global information

• become digital

• become virtual

5. Challenges to libraries

The emergence of powerful technologies, vast amounts of information in multimedia and other digital formats, more technologically proficient users, and the widening "digital gap" means that libraries and librarians in particular are faced with the great challenge of dealing with this information revolution. Furthermore, the recent developments in the capability of computers to store, locate, retrieve and transfer huge amounts of digital data at high speed have contributed to the evolution of an information-based society. Libraries must respond to this development in order to remain relevant and important to the society they aim to serve. However, libraries and librarians must first educate and equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills before they can deal with this enormous challenge.

• Collection development

• Resource sharing through networking

• Faster direct communication among scientists and researchers

• Virtual vs. onsite reference service: push and pull technologies

• Better document delivery systems

• Better abstracting and indexing systems

• Availability of full-text materials on the Internet

• Information management vs. collection management

Changing role of librarian in ICT based librarianship

The roles of librarians in an information- based society have changed from relatively passive "gatekeeper" to proactive facilitator of knowledge and information. The profession is continuously evolving into something that is not only concerned with the traditional practices of processing information but also actively involved in the application of ICT in libraries and the development of new services using recent and emerging technologies.

• Creators: developers and producers of information products and services

• Collectors: librarians, archivists and records managers

• Communicators: information workers, extension workers, subject specialists

• Consolidators: reference librarians, information brokers, analysts

List of ICT used in libraries and information systems