What is Digital Information?
Before elaborating the role of libraries and librarian in managing the digital information, most appropriately among the libraries' collections itself, defining the digital information might give clearer view of what these discussion for.
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete (discontinuous) values. By contrast, non-digital (or analog) systems use a continuous range of values to represent information. Although digital representations are discrete, the information represented can be either discrete, such as numbers, letters or icons, or continuous, such as sounds, images, and other measurements of continuous systems.
The word digital comes from the same source as the word digit and digitus (the Latin word for finger), as fingers are used for discrete counting. It is most commonly used in computing and electronics, especially where real-world information is converted to binary numeric form as in digital audio and digital photography [1].
Properties of Digital Information
- Synchronization: Since digital information is conveyed by the sequence in which symbols are ordered, all digital schemes have some method for determining the beginning of a sequence. In written or spoken human languages synchronization is typically provided by pauses (spaces), capitalization, and punctuation. Machine communications typically use special synchronization sequences.
- Language: All digital communications require a language, which in this context consists of all the information that the sender and receiver of the digital communication must both possess, in advance, in order for the communication to be successful. Languages are generally arbitrary and specify the meaning to be assigned to particular symbol sequences, the allowed range of values, methods to be used for synchronization, etc.
- Errors: Disturbances (noise) in analog communications invariably introduce some, generally small deviation or error between the intended and actual communication. Disturbances in a digital communication do not result in errors unless the disturbance is so large as to result in a symbol being misinterpreted as another symbol or disturb the sequence of symbols. It is therefore generally possible to have an entirely error-free digital communication.
- Copying: Because of the inevitable presence of noise, making many successive copies of an analog communication is infeasible because each generation increases the noise. Because digital communications are generally error-free, copies of copies can be made indefinitely.
- Granularity: When a continuously variable analog value is represented in digital form there is always a decision as to the number of symbols to be assigned to that value. The number of symbols determines the precision or resolution of the resulting datum.
The process of retrieval information nowadays, have been changes as the information can be access in either physical materials as well as electronic version. Physical and electronic versions serve different purpose where former may be preferred for embedded graphic objects. However, electronic versions are easier to access as long as there are internet access and its visibility allow access from any location or time. Those electronic version include e-book, e-journal, online database and etc. As the version of information have been developed from time to time, it also effect the role of the libraries and librarian in managing the information.
It is very challenging for libraries and librarian in order to assist users in providing them with the right and accurate information especially in managing and developing the digital information. In this situation, overall competencies includes knowledge, know-how, skills and attitude is required by the librarian in order to create, store, analyze, organize, retrieve and disseminate digital information.
The librarians should expert in navigation, browsing and filtering the digital reference services and electronics information resources from variety of digital information sources. Librarian should have an expertise to select and incorporate appropriate information sources to be acquired by users.
Besides that, they also should have knowledge in multimedia search and indexing in order to provide sub-document indexing and summarization techniques. This skills will assist users to retrieve reliable information needs and avoid information overload.
Other than that librarians also should have some knowledge in data mining and discovery of knowledge from digital library to extract unmet information needs of users. Librarian also are required to have comprehensive knowledge in search and retrieval co-ordination in retrieval engines and indexing structure so that they can create information queries with respect to the search system.
Librarian should create users awareness in assist them to retrieve the digital information. So that, users will get accurate and reliable information. There is a variety of information retrieval techniques including metadata searching, full text document searching and others. In knowing what can or cannot be retrieved from digital information sources, librarians should acts as an expert in the acquisition of digital information.
Therefore, librarians and libraries should play their roles in order to make sure that users can retrieve reliable and accurate information not only when they seek for physical materials as well as digital information.
The librarians should expert in navigation, browsing and filtering the digital reference services and electronics information resources from variety of digital information sources. Librarian should have an expertise to select and incorporate appropriate information sources to be acquired by users.
Besides that, they also should have knowledge in multimedia search and indexing in order to provide sub-document indexing and summarization techniques. This skills will assist users to retrieve reliable information needs and avoid information overload.
Other than that librarians also should have some knowledge in data mining and discovery of knowledge from digital library to extract unmet information needs of users. Librarian also are required to have comprehensive knowledge in search and retrieval co-ordination in retrieval engines and indexing structure so that they can create information queries with respect to the search system.
Librarian should create users awareness in assist them to retrieve the digital information. So that, users will get accurate and reliable information. There is a variety of information retrieval techniques including metadata searching, full text document searching and others. In knowing what can or cannot be retrieved from digital information sources, librarians should acts as an expert in the acquisition of digital information.
Therefore, librarians and libraries should play their roles in order to make sure that users can retrieve reliable and accurate information not only when they seek for physical materials as well as digital information.
References
Miller, L Peters, K Pappano, M & Manuel, K 1999. 'A research view for librarians working with electronic serials and licensing agreements in the age of the Internet and distance education', The Bottom Line: managing library finances, 12 (3), pp113-119.
Sreenivasulu, V. (1997), ``The role of a digital librarian in the management of digital information system (DIS)", The Electronic Library Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2000 . pp. 12-20
The logical sequence of this is that the librarian, too, becomes a predominantly online worker, supporting the citizen/worker by selling services. Finding relevant information faster than the competitors, faster than a non-information-worker can find it, and surviving on the basis of superior knowledge of the networks and digital
information resources available through them. We already have the words to describe these roles: digital librarian, digital information professional, cybrarian, and information broker (Sreenivasulu, 2000).
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