Developing Digital Collections

I was fortunate to be at the Adamson University library last week for their seminar on Library Services via International Collaboration. I wondered what the seminar was all about when I got a call from the Library Director herself inviting me to sit in the seminar. The topic suggested many areas of interest for the practicing librarian. The phrase, international collaboration, would mean globalization among other things "international".

Upon getting the program, I learned that the seminar was simply about collection development but, with a focus on the application of IT especially web technologies and platforms for a digital collection.

With James Galbraith, M Ryann Hess and
Madame Dhel Calimag, Director of Adamson Univeristy
Library (Manila)

It was a full house! What with two scholars from DePaul Univeristy, Chicago as resource speakers, Pinoy librarians were all eager to listen and see models of practice and application of digital collection building from the presentations of James Galbraith, Associate Director for Collections and Scholarly Resources of DePaul University and M Ryan Hess, Web Services Coordinator of the same university.

The library staff at Adamson University did not expect that they will get a very good attendance. Besides, the event was simply a venue for professional sharing and networking. It was not a money-making activity. The librarians at Adamson University are bent at collaborating and sharing resources with DePaul University being

Needless to say, the seminar was a timely one. Everyone is up and about on e-books and e-reading. Setting up a digital collection is not an option but a choice that has to be made. I sensed an unspoken anxiety and wariness among the participants though and suffice it to say that this unease comes from the bigger task of actually going digital. It sets off a host of implications which, for the local librarian, these would mean a lot of work!

One implication is the upgrade of a librarian's competency and training. Second, going digital would also mean tougher library management skills for the library manager who is in the middle: on top is his/her responsibility towards the administration and below is his/her authority and capability to lead the library staff. Developing digital collection would also entail a robust IT manpower and support systems, sustainable budget for its growth and development, on-going training of library staff, users of the library and continued networking skills for collaborative projects.

The long and short of it, developing digital collections require the accommodation of changing paradigms and the assimilation of new business models to run and operate modern library systems.