The application of IT in the LIM field has been discussed in the literature review chapter. In this section I point out the significant aspects that affect the development of DLs and DLE. The data are based on the annual reports of participating libraries and LIM professional associations. I do not use specific data from any organisation, rather the information below is aggregated from these sources.
Success in IT application
A significant achievement in IT development at the national level has been the establishment of a basic IT infrastructure for the LIM field. In its annual report of 2009, the National Library of Vietnam (2009) identified four types of libraries that invested in
157 IT systems: academic libraries (including university and college libraries); public libraries (central public libraries in provinces); information centres of functional ministries; and, army libraries. Most of the libraries have networks, servers, staff computers, Internet connections and library management software, and some have developed digital collections (National Library of Vietnam, 2009). The Chairperson of the Delta Association summarised, “libraries and information centres have made a significant change by moving from using a manual system to a computer based system, and such fundamental investment is important for the LIM field as it moves to the digital age.” Some managers and deans mentioned that the transformation of the LIM field has raised awareness of the important role of libraries in educational, social and cultural development.
The second important related development in IT for the LIM field is the growth in the application of IT which has created more opportunities for practitioners to work in a computerised library environment. The Chairperson of the Gamma Association indicated that the development of the LIM field, in terms of applying IT in libraries and information centres, gives LIM practitioners a very good opportunity to experience technologies, library software, and an automated working environment in which computers are used for LIM practitioners’ tasks. The change in using computers and networks to manage LIM organisations has, in the minds of some people, also led to a change in the image of librarians. As the official of the Beta Ministry commented:
The image of people who work in libraries has changed. Librarians are not the people who keep books and take them off the bookshelf when requested. They are the people who are capable of using computers to retrieve information from online databases, and who can satisfy information needs by using IT and their digital literacy. (BM-Official)
The changing image of LIM practitioners has also led to a change in the viewpoints of LIM leaders on the competence of LIM practitioners. As discussed in Chapter 5, LIM associations, libraries and LIM schools have introduced new knowledge and skills which benefit LIM practitioners in the digital working environment.
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Shortcomings of the introduction of IT
Stakeholders identified three limitations to the introduction of IT in Vietnam: the investment was focused on big libraries; libraries usually invested more on IT infrastructure rather than on staff development; and services for users are limited.
Two senior LIM practitioners claimed that only public libraries in big cities and academic libraries in larger universities have received investment in their IT infrastructure from the government. The official from the Alpha Ministry point out that there are thousands of public libraries, school libraries and other small libraries still working in the traditional environment without Internet connections, or even computers.
Another limitation of IT projects, according to the Manager of Gia Lam Library, is that even though libraries have invested heavily in IT infrastructure, they have not focused on educating staff members to work in the new computer environment. The manager added that only a few introductory courses for using computers and library software were offered to the library staff in IT development projects but there were no courses that trained staff to understand the requirements of an IT-based working environment such as workflow, digital culture, cooperation, online services and so on. Some stakeholders concluded that the achievements of IT are limited. For example, the former Manager of Dong Da Library shared that when requiring staff to change their working style and habits he often struggled because some staff members did not agree with the requisite changes in the library. The Manager of Ha Dong Library also confirmed that her library’s IT system was used very little because the library did not have qualified staff. She said, “we do not have librarians who can develop library services based on the IT system. As a result, the usage of the IT system is very low.” Rather than being proactive with regard to upskilling staff this manager simply appeared to accept the situation. This type of resignation seemed to be common in many libraries.
This second issue leads on to the third issue which is that although there has been considerable investment in libraries, information users have not received much benefit from IT projects. The only significant service provided by most libraries so far is that readers can search for information online instead of having to use a manual bibliographic retrieval system. All participating practitioners who were working in reference
159 departments confirmed that they still offer most services in the same way as they did before IT was introduced. As a result, readers still must come to libraries to make requests for materials and use mostly printed materials.
In summary, the significant development of the Internet and the trend towards using digital content has created the need for libraries to provide digital content and has established the foundation for the development of the LIM field moving to the digital environment. There are, however, barriers to this development caused by government funding being limited only to the development of large libraries, the focus by libraries on infrastructure development rather than staff development which has resulted in minimal online access for users to digital resources.