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Consultant (Digital Library Services & Systems Review)
Singapore National Library Board
The Swiss watch example illustrates the importance of discovering paradigms for success. We need to be alert and respond to changes promptly and positively in order to maintain the lead and play a relevant role. We must constantly review the business we are in and always look ahead, anticipate changes, innovate and provide excellent services and products. Libraries have been a little slow at exploiting the Internet to their advantage. In fact coffee houses in the U.S. and U.K. were among the first to offer their diners free access to Internet. It was much later that libraries introduced Internet to the users. The Internet has increased accessibility to information sources and there is a growing reliance and over dependence on free information on the Internet. People may be making use of factoids rather than facts. Libraries must look at how they can continue to help users as we have always done in the past and also look at new opportunities that will add value to the user and ensure that users continue to get the right information at the right time in the right form.
Singapore is an island-city-state of about 646 sq m, with no natural resources. Singapore's success, thus, becomes very much dependent on her people. The Government, in the Next Lap, articulated the need to develop her only resource, the people. To maintain her competitive edge, Singapore's response to the emerging knowledge economy, information explosion and rapid knowledge obsolescence is to be a learning nation. Singapore's long-term competitiveness depends on the nation's capacity to learn faster and apply knowledge better than other countries. Lifelong learning and re-skilling our people are not choices. They are necessary for Singapore to remain competitive in the global economy.
The Library 2000 Vision is one that "continuously expands the nation's capacity to learn through a national network of libraries and information resource centres providing services and learning opportunities to support the advancement of Singapore." The Committee has recommended six strategic thrusts that will help transform library services and turn vision to reality. These str ategies considered national aspirations, people's rising expectations and changing lifestyles, technological advances and best practices in the field. The Committee also identified three key enablers that will help turn vision into reality.
It is the people who make the difference to any system and hence the need to identify and develop high calibre staff. They will ensure the best collection and maximise the potential of technologies, facilities, locations, and partnerships to provide the best service. There is, thus, a compelling need for a systematic and deliberate planning process to develop not just the collection and servic es, but more importantly the human resource. Training, staff shortage, career prospects and remuneration need to be addressed. The roles of library staff are changing. They are moving away from the traditional tasks of cataloguing and classification to more value-added services such as information searching, analyses and dissemination. They are acting as mediators between users and technolog y by assisting them to tap the vast amount of information in digital form. Existing librarians need to be reskilled and their job functions redefined. In Singapore, the current postgraduate and certificate/diploma programmes at the Nanyang Technological University and Temasek Polytechnic, respectively, will be fine-tuned to train sufficient numbers of new wave librarians and library technicians to meet the needs of this decade. International talent may be absorbed to inject new ideas into the library fraternity and help alleviate the skills and personnel shortage. Scholarships may be offered to enhance not only the prestige of the profession but to create a core group of top calibre leaders to lead the implementation of Library 2000 in the years to come.
Technology will be exploited to help improve business operations, access and quality of services. The convergence of media, computers and communications will offer new opportunities for the provider and user of information. It will affect the way we manage and distribute information. The future is in technologies that promote and enhance accessibility and retrievability. Among these are inte lligent agents and retrieval tools that will help in sieving out the relevant information and presenting them in more manageable portions. These tools can help sieve out the facts from the factoids. Automation in libraries will be expedited to enable them to plug into the electronic world of information.
The Committee recommended the setting up of a statutory board to spearhead the implementation of the Library 2000 recommendations. The new library board should be flexibly restructured and given the support and tools to do the work effectively. A team of high calibre staff with executive and professional leadership has to be set in place to lead the transformation of the current library servic e and to implement the Library 2000 vision.
The Government set up the National Library Board in September 1995 to spearhead the implementation of the Library 2000 Vision. The Chairman of the Board is Dr Tan Chin Nam, Managing Director of the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board. Dr Tan had led the mammoth Library 2000 study as Chairman of the Library 2000 Review Committee. The Board has presented its 5 year strategy to the government and is awaiting approval for funding. The main function of the NLB is to develop national and public library services in Singapore and to spearhead collaboration with other government agencies to promote resource sharing and access to information. The Board will also play the lead role in developing a national manpower plan for library and information services professionals. Emphasis will be place d on identifying the type of staff required, the skills and training needs, as well as reviewing the schemes of service. Greater emphasis will be placed in encouraging and promoting use of library and information services. Programmes initiated will support and ensure that the diverse information needs of the population are better satisfied. This will continue to be done through the cultivation of reading habits, development of information skills as well as the provision of information in both electronic and print media such as books, periodicals and audio-visual materials.
Proposal for a National Reference & Information Service
The National Library Services come directly under the purview of the NLB. So far, greater emphasis was placed in developing public library services to create a reading nation and support literacy efforts. A review of the existing reference services was carried out and a proposal to establish a National Reference and Information Service (NRIS) was endorsed by the NLB Board. The NRIS will serve the growing demand for information to support the learning needs of the population -- be it for personal or professional development -- and also that of the business and research community. The NRIS will comprise of the National Library, a Singapore Resource Library and a Multimedia Information Centre. These libraries will network and establish links with other specialised agencies and librari es to offer total National Library Services (NLS). A Reference Point will be set up to entertain enquiries from the users. The collection will be developed and more electronic information services will be offered. The NLS will commence providing value-added services to target user communities and expand this over time. Emphasis will also be placed on staff training and development. Existing staff will be trained in new skills and others recruited to supplement the scarce resources.
Phased Implementation Approach
A realistic implementation strategy will be adopted. A phased implementation strategy with a philosophy of rapid prototyping will be adopted. This will allow for experimentation and only the successful ideas will be extracted and implemented on a larger scale. It will also allow decision makers to gauge user reaction to new services and test price sensitivity. Examples of concepts that have been prototyped include :
The Regional Library concept was first prototyped at Tampines. Here, we introduced a number of new services and tried out new approaches to enticing users. Displays were more attractive. IT was extensively exploited to improve access, and make services more convenient for the user. Self-service kiosks and home delivery services were introduced. More electronic and multimedia based informatio n services were made available. It is being managed by a Steering Committee comprising of business and community leaders and the grassroots.
Jurong West Community Library
This is a prototype of a community library in a commercial complex. Here, we are trying out the concept of co-locating libraries at commercial complexes instead of standalone buildings. Again, users are being introduced to new services such as Internet access, multimedia-based information services and self-check machines.
Children's Community Libraries
A number of these have been introduced across Singapore. They serve as Neighbourhood Libraries but cater to the young. These are located near homes and serve a target area.
Led by Business and Community
The Library 2000 Review Committee strongly recommended that organisations with a strong emotional impulse should spearhead the introduction of new services to target groups of users. This is because being in the business, they would understand their environment and the needs of their sectors, and hence can plan to serve its user base in a more responsive manner. Local community organisations sho uld take the lead in running the neighbourhood libraries with professional assistance and funding subsidies from the government. Examples of such initiatives are :
The National Computer Board has set up a team to create a network of borderless libraries. It works closely with lead user agencies like the National Library Board and National Science and Technology Board to bring information to the people. It has initiated a number of projects. The projects will focus initially on making the library catalogues and content available to the users. Relevant lo cal and international libraries and information providers will be linked to provide a basic suite of services and to facilitate electronic access to information. The then National Library had also launched NL.Line which allows users to access the Nation/Public Libraries' catalogue and make requests, reservations, enquiries and be kept informed of new titles etc.
These developments show that Singapore is making headways to turn the Library 2000 vision into reality and Singaporeans will be soon be able to enjoy the benefits of tomorrow's library today!