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Online a : h ps:// esea ch endsjou nal.com ISSN No: 2584-282X
Indexed Jou nal Pee Re iewed Jou nal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRENDS IN EMERGING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Volume 3; Issue 1; 2025; Page No. 172-175
Recei ed: 17-10-2024
Accep ed: 28-11-2024
To de e mine he di e en needs ha public lib a ies, ha e in o de o
close he digi al di ide
1Man i and 2D . Dha am Vi Singh
1Resea ch Schola , Depa men o Lib a y Science, Maha aja Ag asen Himalayan Ga hwal Uni e si y, U a akhand, India
2P o esso , Depa men o Lib a y Science, Maha aja Ag asen Himalayan Ga hwal Uni e si y, U a akhand, India
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17264069
Co esponding Au ho : Man i
Abs ac
In he linked wo ld o oday, ha ing in e ne connec i i y has an impac on e e y hing om job sea ching o heal h ca e o high-quali y
educa ion. Reg e ably, he e is a dispa i y in access o his ype o in o ma ion, known as he "digi al di ide," which is mo e common in
some a eas and among membe s o speci ic g oups, such as low-income and mino i y g oups. The classic de ini ion o he e m "digi al
di ide" is " he gap be ween hose wi h and hose wi hou in e ne access." Such access is impac ed by a pe son's possession o he necessa y
echnology o connec o he in e ne , hei capaci y o ob ain an in e ne connec ion, o a combina ion o he wo. Unde hese ci cums ances,
public lib a ies' unc ion has changed om aluing he p in wo ks in hei collec ions o assis ing ci izens in o he digi al wo ld and building
on amps in o i . The digi al di ide, acco ding o he Uni ed Na ions Educa ional, Scien i ic, and Cul u al O ganiza ion, is a phenomenon ha
a ises om unequal access o and use o in o ma ion and communica ion echnologies, c ea ing a knowledge gap be ween in o ma ion
"ha es" and ha e-no s wo ldwide. In socie ies whe e compu e p o iciency opens he doo s o economic success and pe sonal ad ancemen ,
en y o good ca ee s and educa ional oppo uni ies, ull access o social ne wo ks, and oppo uni ies o ci ic engagemen , his dicho omy
h ea ens o c ea e an unde class o in o m poo people who un he isk o u he ma ginaliza ion. In o de o gua an ee ad an ages in he
digi al age, public lib a ies p o ide h ee c ucial componen s. Access, con en , and in as uc u e. People who do no ha e access o he
in e ne and he Wo ld Wide Web h ough he use o in o ma ion and communica ion echnologies (ICTs) a e becoming mo e and mo e
disad an aged in e ms o hei abili y o ob ain in o ma ion in he digi al e a.
Keywo ds: In o ma ion, Educa ional, Scien i ic, Cul u al O ganiza ion, Ma ginaliza ion
In oduc ion
A public lib a y se es as a local in o ma ion cen e and
social ins i u ion ha is es ablished, main ained, and un by
he public o he bene i o socie y. The public lib a y's
se ices a e o e ed wi h he p emise ha e e yone has
equal access. By p o iding o he cul u al, educa ional,
ec ea ional, and in o ma ional needs o he public, lib a ies
suppo he ad ancemen o socie y.
Public lib a ies a e e e ed o as "a lib a y o he people,
by he people, and o he people." A pe son's abili y o
succeed in socie y is mos ly dependen on hei educa ion.
People hus acqui ed a desi e o knowledge and
in o ma ion in o de o con end wi h he apidly changing
social en i onmen and o compe e in he global
ma ke place. The gene al popula ion isi s he public lib a y
o ake ad an age o i s esou ces and se ices in o de o
sa is y hei desi e o knowledge and in o ma ion.
Impo an ea u es o public lib a y
1. Equali y o access: This e e s o he ac ha i is
a ailable o e e yone, ega dless o age, cas e, c eed,
sex, o eligion.
2. F ee se ices: The e is no cos o anyone in he
communi y o use a public lib a y's se ices.
3. Local o na ional au ho i ies a e in cha ge o public
lib a ies.
4. A public lib a y's legal and inancial ounda ion: i s
legali y is a equi ed social ac i i y in suppo o a
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socie al desi e. In a simila ein, he na ional and
municipal go e nmen s' inancial obliga ion gua an ees
he con inua ion and expansion o hei se ices in
addi ion o acknowledging social demands.
Mission o he public lib a y
1. Es ablishing and os e ing ea ly eading habi s in
youngs e s.
2. Encou aging o mal educa ion a all le els as well as
sel -di ec ed and indi idual lea ning.
3. O e ing chances o indi idual c ea i e g ow h.
4. Fos e ing child en's and you hs' c ea i i y and
imagina ion.
5. Fos e ing a espec o he a s, echnological
ad ancemen s, and cul u al he i age.
6. Making e e y pe o ming a s cul u al exp ession
accessible.
7. P omo ing cul u al a ie y and encou aging c oss-
cul u al communica ion.
8. Encou agemen o he o al he i age.
9. Ensu ing ci izens ha e access o a a ie y o communi y
in o ma ion.
10. O e ing local businesses, associa ions, and in e es
g oups su icien in o ma ion se ices.
11. Suppo ing he g ow h o compu e li e acy and
in o ma ion capabili ies.
12. Encou aging and aking pa in li e acy p og ams and
ac i i ies o all age g oups, as well as s a ing hem
when needed.
Signi icance o he s udy
Wi h he o ma ion o he Cen al Uni e si y, many s a e
p i a e uni e si ies, and s a e go e nmen uni e si ies in he
s a e, has wi nessed he educa ion indus y g ow
as onomically du ing he pos -Independence e a. Fo he
bene i o s uden s s udying lib a y science, hese
ins i u ions p o ide a ange o deg ee p og ams, including
bachelo 's, mas e 's, and doc o al deg ees in lib a y and
in o ma ion science. When nume ous o he p es igious
ins i u ions (NITs, IITs, IIMs, and AIMS) a e ope a ing in
he s a e, he esea che would need o be awa e o he
g ow h and p og ess o he s a e's lib a ies. The epo
emphasizes he ad an ages ha hese ins i u ions gain om
ha ing lib a y science s uden s. These o ganiza ions a e
c ucial o he job ma ke .
E e y educa ional ins i u ion places a g ea deal o alue on
i s lib a y, hus he s udy will undoub edly o e a
ounda ion o he adop ion and ad ancemen o lib a y
au oma ion as well as an o e iew o i s cu en s a e.
Addi ionally, his esea ch will be bene icial because i will
show how widely used lib a y au oma ion highe educa ion
ins i u ions. I will assis lib a ians and adminis a o s in
unde s anding he signi icance o lib a y au oma ion.
Resea che s will bene i om knowing mo e abou he s a e
o academic lib a ies. Thus, we will co e lib a y
au oma ion, i s unc ion in educa ional ins i u ions, new
echnology in lib a ies, and ICT applica ions. We will also
go o e he impo ance o lib a y au oma ion o he g ow h
o lib a ies in gene al.
Objec i es o he s udy
1. To assess he in as uc u e and cu en s a e o public
lib a ies.
2. To esea ch how public lib a ies can help close he
digi al gap.
3. To de e mine he di e en needs ha public lib a ies
ha e in o de o close he digi al di ide.
Re iew o li e a u e
Acco ding o O e bey, T. A. e al. (2017) [3], public lib a ies
and highe educa ion ins i u ions ha e pa ne ed o c ea e
wo e ec i e STEM (science, echnology, enginee ing, and
ma hema ics) p og ams in Ohio's u ban a eas. Ohio S a e
Uni e si y Science Ca e in Columbus ca e ed o p ima y
school pupils, while Cle eland's Mean G een Science
Machine ca e ed o high school kids. Acco ding o he
s udy's indings, he majo i y o s uden s ecognized he
alue o STEM cou ses o hei u u e p o essional
ad ancemen . Sugges ions we e o e ed o enhance he
child en's quali y.
A s udy by Sheikh, M. M. (2017) [4] e alua ed na ional
p ojec s o close he digi al di ide and go e nmen e o s o
gi e access o digi al in o ma ion. His esea ch showed ha
he main obs acle o b idging he di ide in u al socie y is
people's a i udes, o hei unde es ima ion o he impo ance
o communica ion echnologies, which makes hem e y
indi e en o ICT ad ances. Addi ionally, i was disco e ed
ha he go e nmen 's ICT p ojec was w ecked because i
lacked unding, and he ecommended ha p omo ing
elecommunica ions in as uc u e is a c ucial i s s ep in
closing he digi al gap.
The book collec ions o wo public lib a ies in Cape Town,
Sou h A ica, a e assessed by Ska zynski & Nassimbeni
(2016) [5]. The bene i s o leisu e eading we e assessed
using a ques ionnai e app oach, which also co e ed he
a eas o in o ma ion and comp ehension, abili ies, a i udes
o alues, enjoymen , c ea i i y, and ad ancemen . The
lea ning objec i es pu o h by he UK's Museums,
Lib a ies, and A chi es Council se ed as he ounda ion o
he ques ionnai e. Acco ding o he s udy's indings, a
signi ican po ion o esponden s ci ed he ad an ages o
eading.
In he Ke alan dis ic o Th issu , public lib a ies a ilia ed
wi h local sel -go e nmen o ganiza ions we e e alua ed by
Mee a, K. (2016) [6]. To collec in o ma ion om use s,
lib a ies, and elec ed o icials, a su ey me hod using a
ques ionnai e was employed. The ou come demons a es
ha he main issue acing lib a ies is a lack o unding. Only
one lib a y in he coun y and one in he ci y ha e compu e
sys ems. The lib a ies employed so wa e and a
compu e ized ca aloguing sys em ha we e buil locally.
The adop ion o lib a y and in o ma ion policy lib a y ac s,
he c ea ion o an e icien adminis a i e amewo k, and
he alloca ion o enough esou ces o lib a y se ices we e
all co e ed by Mish a, B. B. e al. (2016) [7]. The s udy
ecommended ha he a ious ypes o public lib a ies be
gi en compu e s and lib a y so wa e packages a educed
p ices, along wi h he unding o pu his idea in o p ac ice.
Resea ch Me hodology
While any s udies is pe o med, i 's miles on any de ailed
populace. Popula ion manne e e y and each en i y which is
o be p o ec ed unde he examine o he esul o he s udies
is supposed o hose. Popula ion o a obse e may be he
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olks, o ganiza ions, i ems, e en s, and many o he s. Inside
he gi look a , he e a e h ee classes o popula ion i.e.
special lib a ies, hei cus ome s and hei lib a y s a .
Gene al popula ions o unique lib a ies a e 20, o
Delhi/NCR.
The i s ques ionnai e (Fo Lib a y s a ) was disbu sed
amongs se en y six (se en y six) esponden s oge he wi h
lib a y expe s, IT specialis s and non-expe s. Lib a y s a
in he le el o peon and a endan u ned in o excluded. Ou
o he se en y six, mos e ec i e six y (62) esponden s has
e u ned c ammed in ques ionnai es. Some o he se o
ques ionnai e ( o lib a y cus ome s) ha e been allo ed o
1750 lib a y use s, ou o hose 1114 cus ome s ha e
esponded he same wi h he eac ion a e o 64%.
Obse a ion o he lib a ies ha e been also done o ecognize
nume ous componen s associa ed wi h IT p og ams in
lib a ies. Ga he ed eco ds ha e been abula ed and coded
he use o MS excel. Fu he , he s a is ics we e analyzed he
use o SPSS and MS excel so wa e p og am.
P esen obse e has ollowed Desc ip i e-analy ical me hod
i.e. su ey app oach. Ques ionnai e app oach u ned in o
selec ed as he ool o su ey. Fo ca ying ou his
examine, uni s o he es ablished ques ionnai es had been
o ganized and dis ibu ed o collec ing he da a. Ea lie
han dispensing he ques ionnai es, a pilo obse e became
pe o med o es he alidi y o he ques ionnai e. A he
bases o he esul o his look a , a ew amendmen and
co ec ion we e made in he ques ionnai es. Consequen ly,
oge he he ques ionnai e ha e been acco dingly p e-
examined and inally s uc u ed main aining in ision o
a ge s o he ha e a look a .
Da a Analysis and In e p e a ion
Table 1: Compu e Skills
Compu e Skills
Mean
S d De
Rank
Basic Compu e Skill (MS O ice)
4.485
0.138
1
Wo king wi h compu e so wa e
4.227
0.149
2
Ins alla ion and cus omiza ion o so wa e
4.227
0.153
3
Compu e Ne wo king
4.178
0.132
4
G aphic skills
4.066
0.144
5
Wo king wi h Compu e Ha dwa e
2.856
0.139
6
Web Page de elopmen (HTML, XML e c.)
2.620
0.132
7
Compu e secu i y
2.316
0.122
8
The esul s o an analysis o compu e p o iciency among
he a ious ca ego ies o lib a y wo ke s. The s a is ic shows
ha IT p o essionals ha e g ea e le els o compu e
p o iciency han lib a ian p o essionals and non-
p o essionals in a a ie y o a eas. Howe e , when i comes
o compu e so wa e, ins alla ion and cus omiza ion, web
page cons uc ion, and compu e secu i y, he e a e no
many no able di e ences in he compu e skills be ween IT
expe s and lib a y p o essionals. Howe e , compa ed o IT
p o essionals, lib a y p o essionals ha e lowe le els o
echnological abili ies in he a eas o undamen al compu e
skills (mean 4.485), isual skills, compu e ne wo king
(mean 4.178), and compu e ha dwa e (mean 2.856).
Highes s d De o ins alla ion and cus omiza ion o
so wa e (0.153).
Mean sco e o compu e skills a he lib a y (4.485), b oken
down by s a ca ego y. Based on he a o emen ioned
analysis, i was de e mined ha employees in he chosen
lib a ies ha e good o excellen skills in using compu e
so wa e, ins alling and con igu ing so wa e (4.227), PC
ne wo king (4.178), and g aphics (4.066), bu a e age o
poo skills in using compu e ha dwa e, c ea ing websi es,
and main aining pe sonal compu e s. In compa ison o
lib a y p o essionals and non-specialis s, IT specialis s ha e
highe le els o PC p o iciency. In lib a ies, non-specialis s
ha e he lowes le el o compu e ap i ude.
Abili ies o lib a y eam o wo ke s in lib a y p ecise
da a gene a ion applica ions
The deg ee o lib a y s a membe s' IT p o iciency was also
assessed using a 5- ac o scale, wi h he esul s based mos ly
on he mean o he esponses, as shown in able 5.2. The
le el o capabili ies o sea ching o in o ma ion online and
digi aliza ion is ound o be abo e h ee, which is a good
s age. Howe e , he mean o abili ies on he emaining IT
p og ams is ound o be below 4.0, indica ing ha he
lib a y s a 's IT p og am p o iciency is ei he poo o
a e age.
Table 2: Lib a y speci ic i applica ions
Lib a y speci ic IT applica ions
Mean
S d De
Rank
In o ma ion sea ch h ough In e ne
4.097
0.141
1
Digi iza ion
4.016
0.131
2
Da abase managemen
2.952
0.15
3
Managing E-Resou ces
2.806
0.141
4
Open Sou ce so wa e/Open access
2.758
0.131
5
Building Digi al lib a y/Ins i u ional
eposi o y
2.71
0.129
6
Communal media
2.629
0.14
7
Ba Code Technology
2.532
0.121
8
RFID Technology
2.306
0.112
9
The esul s o an analysis o skills on se e al lib a y-speci ic
IT applica ions among he a ious ca ego ies o lib a y
wo ke s. The cha shows ha IT p o essionals ha e g ea e
le els o abili y on se e al IT applica ions han lib a y
p o essionals do, including digi iza ion, da abase
managemen , e- esou ce managemen , and in e ne
in o ma ion sea ch. The le el o expe ise among lib a y
p o essionals and IT expe s is qui e simila o he
emaining IT applica ions used in lib a ies. In compa ison o
IT expe s and lib a y p o essionals, non-p o essionals ha e
he lowes skill le els ac oss all IT applica ions.
Impo ance o compu e skills: On a i e-poin scale, he
esponden 's pe cep ion o he signi icance o compu e
li e acy among lib a y s a membe s was eco ded. By
de e mining he mean o he esponses o each alen , he
same was analysed. Table displays he same expe imen 's
ou come. Acco ding o he analysis, he mean ele ance o
all compu e abili ies is ound o be be ween 4.254 and
4.416, indica ing ha esponden s belie e hese skills a e
c ucial o lib a y employees. This able e eals ha he
ele ance o undamen al compu e knowledge, so wa e
expe ise, so wa e ins alla ion and modi ica ion expe ise,
and ne wo king expe ise is a ed highe because he mean is
abo e 4. The impo ance o he emaining skills is a ed
lowe han ha o hese skills. Table 5.3 lis s compu e
abili ies acco ding o how lib a y s a membe s ank hem,
om mos impo an o leas impo an .
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Table 3: Impo ance o Compu e Skills
Compu e Skills
Mean
S d De
Rank
Basic Compu e Skill (MS O ice)
4.417
0.125
1
Wo king wi h compu e so wa e
4.342
0.154
2
Ins alla ion and cus omiza ion o so wa e
4.193
0.142
3
Compu e Ne wo king
4.122
0.144
4
Compu e secu i y
4.913
0.138
5
Web Page de elopmen (HTML, XML e c.)
4.594
0.120
6
G aphic skills
4.424
0.121
7
Wo king wi h Compu e Ha dwa e
4.255
0.110
8
Impo ance o skills in lib a y speci ic IT applica ion
The alue o lib a y s a membe s' IT applica ion skills was
also e alua ed based on esponden s' pe cep ions, which is
shown in able 3. The able below lis s lib a y-speci ic IT
abili ies in he o de ha esponden s said we e mos
impo an o leas signi ican o lib a y s a : highly
impo an o leas impo an . Excep o social ne wo king
and RFID echnology knowledge, i has been de e mined
ha esponden s conside all o he lis ed IT abili ies o be o
u mos ele ance o lib a y wo ke s.
Conclusion
ICT is ha ing a p o ound impac on aining ia opening he
whole in e na ional o knowledge and allowing coaching
and gaining knowledge o o ake icini y pas he
adi ional ba ie s. The exponen ial g ow h and
de elopmen o in e ne and using on-line communiqué
o e ookies wi h an in e ac i e mode in a hi way. Time,
dis ance and languages we e cons an ly been hu dles o he
o mal aining machine. A e he eme gence o s a is ics
e a, he echnological solu ions like, ai s in in o ma ion,
communica ion and compu ing echnologies ha e made
powe ul ools o a huge a ea o he popula ion. Email, cell,
ideo con e encing, sa elli e TV o PC applica ions,
in e ne , in ane and www and so on commenced changing
he exis ence o ms o p esen day populace. Jou nal, ou e
subs ances & pa en a e di e en o essen ial sou ce o ac s
ha a e now ob ainable in an elec onic o m. Using ICT in
academic lib a ies mo i a ed inc easing numbe o eshmen
in nume ous be e educa ion es ablishmen s and esea ch
publica ions in jou nals and books. Impa ing enough
mone a y assis ance and echnical s ee age and suppo o
use ICT will help he ins uc ional lib a ies o ende
equi ed excep ional and imely o e ings o he lib a y
use s.
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