Influence of Information Technology on Library Practices in Schools - Research Proposal Example

Influence of Information Technology on Library Practices in Schools Institution Student’s Name Influence of Information Technology on Library Practices in Schools 1.0 Introduction The invention and innovation of computers and internet facilities have caused great changes in the practice of librarianship. Most of the libraries in the world have initiated the integration of computers in their systems (Vijayakumar and Vijayan, 2011). The development of the computer and internet in library work has led to the development of a new field of study known as the virtual library. Such courses are today offered in the universities even up to the doctoral level. The digitization of the library has become a change that the librarians have to cope with. Consequently, most of the librarians engage in the digitization process. Digitization is the process of which the analog and traditional materials are converted to digital and electronic copy. Such the analog and traditional materials include paper documents such as maps and books (Routhier Perry, 2014). However, it is important to be able to distinguish between ‘digital preservation’ and ‘digitization for preservation.’ Digital preservation is the process of which the original digital materials and the analog materials converted to be digital are preserved. The digital materials include the electronic files such as video games, websites, and emails. Digitization should not be considered as preservation. 1.1 Importance of Library Digitization There are three main importances of digitizing the libraries. First, it helps in the preservation of the endangered resources in the library. Second, library digitization helps in the improvement of the efficiency of information search in the libraries. Lastly, it improves the accessibility of the library resources. In explanation, most of the libraries act as a storage point for the materials (Tedd & Large, 2005). The digitization, therefore, helps in the storing of such materials for future reference. Such materials can be in the form of government official gazettes, musical recordings that are not live, analog maps, photo images, research projects, old manuscripts, and other historical records. Digitization can, therefore, help in the preservation of the precious information. The digital images that are of high quality when made available electronically help in the reduction of wear and tear of some of the fragile elements. However, a digital copy should not be considered a replacement for the original one. It is, therefore, important to store the original hard copy in a safe place in the library. Some of the importance of school librarians engaging in teaching services includes technological input in schools and assisting in expounding educational technology and information literacy in schools. They also help the teachers, administrators, parents and counselors to expand their technological know-how. Librarians also work with the teachers, administrators, parents and counselors to enhance the performance of the students. Lastly, they help in the development of technological literacy standards and local information. 1.2 Research Objectives The main objective of the study to determine the influence of information technology on library practices in the schools in the United States. The specific objectives of the study are: i. To determine the situation of school librarians in the wake of information technology ii. To analyze the benefits of schools teaching their private library curriculum iii. To evaluate the research methods within digital research environment in libraries 1.3 Research Questions The main research question for the study is; does information technology have an influence on the library practices in the schools in the United States? The specific research questions for the study are; i. What is the situation of school librarians in the wake of information technology? ii. What are the benefits of schools when they teach their private library curriculum? iii. What are the research methods within digital research environment in libraries? 2.0 Literature Review According to Vijayakumar and Vijayan (2011), the libraries are today operating in a situation that is quickly changing. In explanation, they are today required to integrate the latest technologies to maintain and continue the impacting the society positively. The use of information technologies in libraries helps those learning to access the right data at the right cost and right time. It helps progress the comprehensiveness of a library and condenses the stack of work done by the librarians. Information technologies have eliminated the boundaries that once existed in the world thus enhancing the services that the libraries offer to its clients. Routhier Perry (2014) indicates that digitization of the libraries has grown over the years. Today it is considered the standard form of which analog materials in information centers, archives, and libraries are preserved. The process enables the storage of the information once considered to be fragile to be available for a long time. In other words, digitization of the library makes the delicate materials to be available for the future generation. However, the changes in technology indicate that the methods that are used today are not viable or sufficient to be used in the future. There are constant changes in the formats and software thus making the processes used to be absolute in a shorter period. The changes apply to both the digital materials and the hard copies that have been converted to digital ones. In explanation, digitization is not mainly a preservation technique since the information converted will still need to be preserved. It is, therefore, important to understand digital preservation and how it can be used in the preservation of collective information for future use. In contrary, Astle and Muir (2002) indicate that most of the digitization projects have not lived to meet their potential when it comes to preserving the original materials. As a result, there has been little done to ensure that the digitized materials are preserved. Even though digitization of the libraries has significantly increased the access of the materials, the range of the digitized materials is very narrow. Furthermore, the digitization process also has been driven mainly by the restrictions of the copyrights as opposed to demand. There is also a disproportion between the funding to preserve the traditional materials that are not digitized compared to those that are digitized. According to Vrana (2011), a good number of libraries have engaged in digitization projects. However, still a half of the public libraries have not yet engaged in the comprehensive digitization process but in the planning process. The public libraries have also not engaged in the mass digitization but have engaged in systematic digitization of given collections in the library. To ensure that the digitization process is enhanced in the public libraries, there is a need for better financial support, better infrastructure and additional training of the staff in the library. In agreement, Raju (2014) indicates that a good number of academic libraries in Finnish have gone through a rapid transition in which documents have been disseminated digitally. Consequently, the digitization process has enabled for long-term preservation of the printed materials that are less used. It also enabled in the reduction of the premise costs of the libraries. According to AlQudsi-ghabra, Safar, and Qabazard (2013), there is a clear difference between libraries in private and secondary schools. The differences can be considered in the form of facilities, policies, resources, services, qualification, training, and job descriptions. 3.0 Methodology The study will use descriptive research method. This will help in ensuring that the participants or respondents are accurately depicted. It will help in the describing people that engage in the study. The survey will be conducted during the study period (Mitchell, Jolley, & Dawson Books, 2013). The data to be collected during the process will be in both qualitative and quantitative format. The quantitative data will be collected through questionnaires while the qualitative data will be collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Data also will be collected from the relevant secondary sources such as plans and reports. Moreover, data will be collected through observation and taking of photographs. However, the major instrument for data collection will be the questionnaires. The qualitative data will be analyzed through content analysis in which it will be transcribed and coded appropriately to seek for the appropriate themes. On the other hand, the quantitative data will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The data will be presented in tables, pie charts, pictorials, and graphs. On the other hand, the qualitative information and the secondary data will be used to support the quantitative data. References AlQudsi-ghabra, T. M., Safar, A. H., & Qabazard, N. M. (2013). Comparison of private and public school library services in Kuwait: A case study. School Libraries Worldwide, 19(1), 45. Astle, P. J., & Muir, A. (2002). Digitization and preservation in public libraries and archives. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 34(2), 67-79. International Society for Technology in Education (n.d.). The role of school librarians in promoting the use of educational technologies. Retrieved from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:hCcEfkQ7xOMJ:https://www.i ste.org/docs/pdfs/the-role-of-school-librarians-in-promoting-the-use-of-educational- technologies_9-10.pdf%3Fsfvrsn%3D2+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=firefox-b Mitchell, M. L., Jolley, J. M., & Dawson Books. (2013). Research design explained. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Raju, J. (2014). Knowledge and skills for the digital era academic library. The Journal of academic librarianship, 40(2), 163-170. Routhier Perry, S. (2014). Digitization and Digital Preservation: A Review of the Literature. SLIS Student Research Journal, 4(1), 4. Tedd, L. A., & Large, A. (2005). Digital libraries: Principles and practice in a global environment. München: Saur. Vijayakumar, A., & Vijayan, S. S. (2011). Application of information technology in libraries: an overview. Library Progress International, 31(2), 159. Vrana, R. (2011). Organizational aspects of digitization projects in the Croatian public libraries. Library management, 32(8/9), 589-598. Read More