Breaking the Boundaries to Increase More Access to the World of Knowledge

1. Breaking the Boundaries to Increase More Access to the World of Knowledge Sujin Butdisuwan

2. Outline • Trip to Thailand • Library system in Thailand • A need to break the boundaries • Boundaries of the library • Strategies to break the boundaries • Examples of work done in Thailand

4. แบ่งส่วนภูมิภาค

5. Mahasarakham

6. Library systems in Thailand • National library • Public library • Provincial, District • Under the Dept. of Non-Formal Education • Under the local administration • And private firms e.g. Bank • TK Park • School library • Academic library • Special library

7. Why • Due to the fact that the library is a place for everybody to access to information and knowledge, it is important for the library to be prepared and equipped with information and knowledge resources.

8. However there is no library can claim to be self sufficient to serve its users even when increasing the resources in different formats made available for access.

9. We have been witnessing failures in resource sharing, library cooperation and collaboration since more than three decades. The failure is not for lack of implementation plan or strategies; it is because of the boundaries of libraries.

10. In order to increase more access, we have to break the boundaries for successful cooperation and implementation, even in case of consortia. Breaking boundary is people issue more than technological issue.

11. Breaking the boundaries of libraries expects a principle that “all libraries under one principle- no boundaries” for collective effort and also support the idea of equity and equal values among libraries and users.

12. Boundaries vs Barriers • Traditional libraries- each library is like a web on Internet of information resources where it connects people through social network and promoted by the staff of the library. • Barriers of traditional libraries are many like social, policy, willingness of the staff etc.,

13. Digital library – each Internet/intranet web domains are the information resources connecting people through computer network and promoted largely by computer network itself. • Barriers of the digital libraries are access restriction, technology itself and IPR issues (in case of commercial resources) introduced by the license.

14. Boundaries of the libraries Most visible boundaries or barriers of the libraries are: • Institutional boundaries • Geographical boundaries • Subject boundaries • Audience boundaries • Cultural boundaries

15. Boundaries of the mental model (like willingness to share) • Religious boundaries • Size of the libraries • Classification of libraries itself has created boundary – public, academic, special and corporate libraries • Boundary on affiliation of the users • And so on

16. Strategies to beak the boundaries Breaking the boundary is to connect people, processes and information in a way that users want and to make the library (may digital or traditional) more flexible to the dynamics of the society, users and institutions around them.

17. Once breaking the boundaries, it is the collaboration (internal and external) management that enables right access to right users and creating a consolidation and to view resources as a public good.

18. The collaboration requires: • The ability to make resources accessible and available • Provide security to preserve the resources • Optimization of resources by sharing • Provision for automating management for sharing resources • Promote collaboration to enhance service • And finally, virtualization of resources across libraries, storage, dissemination and provide input of data to centralized database for making the resources visible to users.

19. However the boundaries with the existing system are due to: • Cost pressures • Skills shortage • Preservation needs • Sustained innovation • Responsive to change

20. To overcome the boundaries it is deemed to lead back to policies of libraries, and staff issues. As a first step we need to tackle at policies and guidelines for collective practice to deliver value for public tax.

21. The basic practices: • View all libraries as a single entity • Reduce operation and systems cost while maintaining needed capacity • Utilize information and resources across the society efficiently • Respond quickly to the needs of users from other libraries • Gather information across the libraries • Be good in response time for request from other libraries • Be responsive to IPR issues • Consolidate and manage the disparate • Establish the consistency so that users won’t get lost

22. Libraries to operate effectively are necessary to work collectively and share knowledge in terms of procedures, processes and services to users. It has to be tackled at following layers or levels at implantation level • Personnel • Domain of libraries • Strategies • Resources problems • Rewards • Culture • Technology

23. The practical barriers are - Organization barriers • Costs of service for walk-in users • Protection of resources is the priority • Distance of user and library • People behaviorin usage of libraries • Self interest of the staff • Lack of trust between staff and users and among libraries • Risk- of accountability • Fear of exploitation • Fear of contamination

24. Some examples from Thailand • PULINET • ThaiLIS • Thai Library E-Book Consortium • Mahasarakham LibNet

25. PULINET • Established in 1986 • Provincial university libraries (13 libraries) • Resource sharing • Inter-library loan (ILL) • Reciprocal borrowing

26. Thai University E-book Consortium • Out of the PULINET meeting • Started in 2003 with three universities, about two hundred titles • Anytime and anyway access • National consortium by the Commission on Higher Education Office, about 9,300 titles available

27. ThaiLIS • Established in 2000 • Using the UniNet connecting all university libraries; 24 old univ., 58 new univ., 26 private univ. • Aiming at providing one complete search with one access • CHE as Central site • Projects : Union Catalog, Digital Collection (E-books and Reference Databases), Electronic Document Delivery

28. Mahasarakham LibNet • Established in 2006 • Resource sharing among institutions in Mahasarakham province • Headed by Mahasarakham University

29. Final point • Although the boundaries or barriers are removed from the library and the library becomes library without walls or digital libraries or virtual libraries, our major mission still remains. User education or information literacy programs should be continuously emphasized and carried on. Without better understanding and education, it is useless no matter how good our library is.

30. Thank you very much