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The data show that stakeholders in general: (1) believe that DLs are the next stage of library development in Vietnam; (2) consider appropriately educated staff to be vital for DL development; (3) agree that DLs require new management strategies; and (4) have different understandings of the concept of a DL in Vietnam.

Digital libraries are the future of the LIM profession

The term ‘digital library’ has been used widely within the LIM community. One of the significant points to emerge from the data analysis is that stakeholders were prepared to talk freely about DLs because they believed, rightly or wrongly, they understood the term. I did not try to explain the concept of a DL because nearly all the various stakeholders in this research perceived that the next phase or trend in library development in Vietnam will be DLs. In the data, it can be seen that the likely reason for their assumption is because during the last decade many libraries in Vietnam have changed dramatically from traditional libraries to modern libraries in which advanced technologies are being applied. As the Chairperson of the Delta Association said, “we have had a decade for applying IT in libraries setting up network systems, computers and library software. I think digital materials are the next stage of library development.” Almost all of the stakeholders in this research identified a “digital library” as a type of modern library.

Some stakeholders contended that it was time for developing DLs, in whatever form they understood that would be, but there was wide agreement that this could only occur if the ground was prepared by the education of staff. The Manager of Tay Ho Information Centre made this viewpoint clear:

97 I think this is the right time to develop and implement digital libraries in Vietnam. In fact, in some cases, we have already started. After doing automation for libraries, now we are focussing on digital resources and online services. Digital resources and online services are trends in libraries and information centres in Vietnam. (TH-Manager)

Most stakeholders emphasised the movement of Vietnamese society to the digital age in which the sharing of information is important for the development of the technological, educational and economic sectors. As the Dean of Hoan Kiem School stated:

We are living in a flat world [she used the term from the book “The world is flat” by Thomas L. Friedman] in which the Internet can deliver digital information anywhere and anytime. It is a good opportunity for developing countries including our country. (HK-Dean)

Data from documentary evidence and the interviews give an example of this shift to the digital age. The Vietnamese government is implementing its E-government project which aims to make a connection between citizens and the government based on ICT and the Internet. ICT is being applied to many fields such as education and government management (MOET, 2010a; MIC, 2007a). According to the Dean of Hoan Kiem School, in this environment the LIM field has good opportunities for development. The rise of distance education along with growing expectations to be able to access information via the Internet appear to have created a strong demand for digital information. In response to this, managers perceive that libraries and information centres must move to the digital environment to meet the demand (TH-Manager, KM-Manager, HK-Manager). The Chairperson of the Delta Library Association pointed out that the development of digital resources and online services are becoming increasingly common in libraries and information centres in Vietnam. He said that now is the time for the LIM field to research and develop educational programmes for LIM practitioners. The Manager of Hoa Binh Library emphasised the momentum of DLs:

The digital library is an inevitable trend in library development in Vietnam because society is going forward to the digital environment, and the development of technology. The society recognises values and roles of libraries for the development of our education and economy. (BH-Manager)

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Some stakeholders, including managers, deans and professionals, had quite a clear understanding of the DL concept. They remarked that we should clarify the difference between ‘digital libraries’ and ‘digitised libraries’. The Manager of Tay Ho Library emphasised that a digital library is not simply a library in which the resources are digitised. The Manager of Kim Ma Library stated the Vietnamese LIM field is taking the first step towards DLs. He said “we are standing at the beginning stage of the digital library development, it means we are at the stage of digitising information resources” (KM- Manager). Most interviewees called a library at this stage of the development an ‘electronic library’.

In general, it can be seen that most stakeholders thought that DLs were the future of the Vietnamese LIM field. They stated that in the near future LIM practitioners would work in the digital environment. However, there was confusion about the meaning of DLs. The phrase “digital library” is now a common term in Vietnam, but it appears to be spreading widely without a clear meaning and therefore there is a need for developing a deeper understanding of the DL concept. As a lecturer at Long Bien School pointed out, “we need to understand deeply the concept of DLs; this helps the development of DLs. Otherwise we cannot connect with other DLs in the world” (LB-Lecturer1).

Educated staff are vital for DL development

Almost all managers, deans and senior LIM practitioners seemed concerned about the competencies of current LIM practitioners because most do not have a background in IT. These research participants mentioned that for DL development, staff needed to have skills and knowledge in ICT.

A senior librarian with responsibility for the IT system in Kim Ma library mentioned that developing DLs would be a complex task affected by many issues such as human resources, technology solutions, the IT infrastructure, networks, standards, and digitising. He added that it would be a long term project (KM-Staff2).

The human factor was identified as another significant aspect when stakeholders talked about DL development. The Dean of Hoan Kiem School pointed out that when developing DLs the focus should not only be on technology and digital resources, but there is also a need to emphasise the information users, who are the reason for the movement from the traditional libraries to DLs, and the people who manage these libraries (HK-Dean).

99 Significantly, both Dean and Manager stated that the roles of LIM professionals in DL development were crucial. They warned that without skilled staff, libraries could not implement digital library projects (KM-Dean, TH-Manager).

The data analysis shows that the LIM field in Vietnam lacks skilled staff. Confirming the lack of trained staff, the official of the Alpha Ministry who has organised many training programmes for LIM practitioners, said:

The fact is that we lack human resources for digital library development. At this time digital libraries and digital collections are only being implemented in some big libraries. I think developing digital libraries is for the whole of society, thus we should not focus only on some libraries. However looking broader, we do not have enough staff for developing DLs in terms of the national level. (AM-Official)

This viewpoint from key stakeholders indicates that the leadership of the LIM field recognises the importance of appropriately skilled staff for the development of the LIM field. The Managers of Tay Ho, Ba Dinh libraries, the officials of Beta Ministry, Delta Associations and all the deans stated that they need new staff who are competent to work in the digital environment.

In general, leaders recognised that LIM practitioners play an important role in the development of the LIM field, as well as the development of DLs in Vietnam. However, key stakeholders believed that there are insufficient staff qualified for the development of DLs.

No consistent understanding of the concept of a digital library

In the data, as noted earlier, there was a general agreement among participants that DLs will be the next stage of LIM development in Vietnam. However, the data also showed that individual stakeholders (LIM managers, LIM practitioners, deans, lecturers and officials) had various definitions of DLs.

While some were confident they understood the concept (see the comment of Tay Ho Manager above), there was however another viewpoint from the Manager of Hoa Binh Library, which was that some people used digital library as a “fashion term.” This comment suggests that people may not be clear about what a DL is, but they are still using

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this term frequently and widely because they hear others using it. The Manager of Hoa Binh Library said he has been in many committees which evaluated DL projects, and talked with other LIM managers, and he recognised that some managers do not have any basic knowledge about DLs, even though their libraries have been conducting DL projects. He continued:

Leaders in the army library system are not active. They understand DLs in simple ways. Sometimes they do DL projects as they want to improve their image. They implemented DL projects because other libraries have done so, not because of and based upon their actual needs. (HB-Manager)

Although stakeholders agreed that the future lies with DLs, they clearly have different levels of understanding of the DL concept. The most common understanding is that a DL is similar to a digital collection, and it is the future of traditional libraries. As a manager stated, libraries have started doing digitisation (DD-Manager). Another manager said "The library has established a digital collection and developed some online services. Now we are running a digital collection project” (GL-Manager). Stakeholders mentioned digital resources when they talked about the concept of a DL because, as a manager said, these resources are one of the most important aspects of a library (KM-Manager). Four LIM managers who participated in interviews said that traditional libraries which apply ICTs are ‘electronic libraries’, but a library is called a ‘digital library’ when its information resources are stored on computer servers so readers can access and use the information resources online via the Internet. Sharing a similar viewpoint, a senior lecturer at Long Bien School gave her definition of a DL:

A digital library is a group of digital collections; it archives digitised materials. The digital material is published online and can be accessed from outside the library. Readers can read full texts of materials via the Internet. A digital library is sometimes known as an online library service. (LB-Lecturer3)

All libraries participating in this research have done projects in digitising materials. Developing digital collections was recognised by respondents as the second stage in the development of DLs in Vietnam as indicated by a manager “after a decade of automating management operations such as cataloguing and circulation processes, libraries are now starting to develop digital collections” (TH-Manager).

101 While many libraries have started doing digital collection development, there is a problem which has been mentioned previously, that LIM practitioners do not have a clear understanding of developing digital collections in terms of the purpose and usage of these resources. The Manager of the Information Service Department of Kim Ma Library shared her experience that when her colleagues started the first digital collection project, they did not know much about digital resources. They just scanned materials and stored them in the computer, and did not have any idea about preservation and usage of digital information. The reason was that the current LIM practitioners were not educated about this in their formal education at LIM schools. “We did not learn about creating digital collections when we studied at the university" (KM-Staff1). In addition to illustrating the lack of agreement on a definition of DLs, it also shows an unwillingness to take responsibility for professional development, a point that arises later in this chapter. The problem was also indicated in a comment by a senior LIM professional who is well- known in the LIM community in terms of his knowledge of DLs and information technology. His comment reinforces the point that some stakeholders understand the term ‘digital library’ poorly. He stated:

Many libraries have started their digital collection projects. However, their methods are not correct. They create digital collections because the others are doing that, then they follow. They learn from others although they are not sure whether the methods are right or wrong. They do not have a detailed plan and a strategy for digital resource development such as what resources should be digitised, the technologies being used, the usage of digital collections and so on. The reason is they do not have staff who have clearly understood digital libraries, digital collections and the digital environment. (GL-Staff2)

There was an idea that a DL is an intelligent system which does not simply answer the questions of enquiring information, but also gives advice for information users. In other words, it gives knowledge rather than just information. The Chairperson of Gamma Association described a DL:

DLs are knowledge. A digital library is an information professional. It is not a book or a movie, and it is not a traditional library which is digitised. A digital library must have information and knowledge. For example, if I were a farmer who wants to know about pests which are destroying my farm plants, I want the

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digital library to take the role of an expert and give to me methods to prevent the pests. It does not only give a book or information about the pests, rather it has to give me the answer how to prevent the effect of pests. That is an intelligent system. (GA-official)

In this case, he mentioned a digital library that provides technological information for farmers in order to help them to enhance the productivity of producers. This digital library works as an information adviser who can give the right answers for farmers’ problems rather than just giving a book.

Another viewpoint was that DLs are organisations which apply information technology in their management. In this view, expressed by four library managers, DLs are closely tied to information technology. They implied that a DL, in some ways, is a server, computers, network, and the IT management system. Almost all of the stakeholders emphasised the role of technology, especially IT and computer science, in the development of DLs. Deans and LIM managers thought that emerging ICTs are leading change in the LIM field. Four LIM managers believed that libraries and information centres have been significantly developing their services and management because of IT. This point was also reinforced by a dean when she said “the development of technology and science opens opportunities for the development of the LIM field” (HK-Dean).

The data clearly show that there are different levels of understanding of the DL concept among managers. Managers who work in big libraries which have implemented automation projects have a good understanding about digital libraries in terms of technologies, functions, requirements and human resources. On the other hand, managers in small libraries do not have an overview of DLs. They think of DLs as a group of digital collections or libraries applying new technologies.

Call for a clear concept and framework for digital libraries for Vietnam

Another key point that came out of the data was that there is a call to develop a general definition of DLs and a DL framework for Vietnam. The reason for this call was that there was an unclear understanding of the DL concept, and stakeholders thought that a national definition and framework would help the development of DLs and DLE.

Some key stakeholders (e.g., BM-Official, HB-Manager) emphasised that one of the most important tasks for LIM professionals in the development of the LIM field is to clarify

103 the concept of DLs as well as the roles within them so that they are understood by leaders (policy makers and leaders of functional ministries) and people in society. A national framework of DLs will help people, outside and inside the LIM community, to understand what DLs are as well as their functions, structures and requirements. The Manager of Hoa Binh Library said:

The leaders and the society do not fully understand about digital libraries. That is because the LIM field has not made good efforts in ... delivering the DL concept as well as outlining the importance of DLs for educational development and other fields to society. (HB-Manager)

The diffuse understanding of LIM professionals of the DL concept and the fact that society is unaware of the value of DLs has made LIM managers and other stakeholders recognise that they need to develop a conceptual framework for DLs in Vietnam. However, the Manager of Gia Lam Library warned that developing a definition of DLs is not an easy task. “It will require cooperation among researchers, educators, LIM practitioners and government officials”, he said. The Dean of Cau Giay School suggested that Alpha Ministry which governs the LIM field should take the role in developing the framework of DLs for Vietnam. She said “the ministry can gather key people in the LIM field and create opportunities for them to work together to develop a framework”. She agreed that it is difficult but possible. She confirmed “the Alpha Ministry has developed and implemented library standards by this means”.

An official at the Beta Ministry argued that the term ‘digital libraries’ has to be defined in the library legislation currently being developed. He said that the legislation will control every aspect of society which relates to the LIM field, and therefore law makers need to define what a DL is (AM-Official). As a result, the Ministry must be involved with any attempt to create a nationally agreed definition of DLs. Continuing with this point, the official added:

First of all, we have to develop a DL definition for Vietnam. Then we have to reach an agreement on the definition among the LIM community. Based on that, we have to define the framework of digital libraries, identify the functions, aspects, and requirements of DLs. Above all, we have to educate people who can manage the system. Based on the definition and framework we will identify who is needed

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for DLs, what the knowledge and skills are for DLs that should be offered for LIM professionals. (BM-Official)

This viewpoint is very important for DL development as well as DLE development because, as I have found, practitioners and educators are not clear about what a DL is and what the requirements are for this type of library as well as requirements for people who work in it. The official of Beta Ministry emphasised that a framework for DLs is vital for Vietnam at this time (BM-Official).