PROCESOS, MÉTODOS Y ACTITUDES EN MATEMÁTICAS

The interview data show that most participants accepted that there were unmet needs for DLE in the LIM profession. However, some stakeholders thought that the needs come just from big libraries; in contrast they said that small libraries did not have DLE needs. Additionally, although DL courses were being introduced, a full professional DLE programme was needed.

Perception of educational needs

There was agreement among participants that human resources play a fundamental role in the development of the LIM field, especially for DL development. Libraries need qualified staff for their new roles in the digital age. One interviewee said the following:

In my opinion, human resources, that is, educators, and LIM practitioners, are the most important factors for DL development. The success of digital libraries, especially education for digital libraries will depend on the quality of the human resource. If you improve the infrastructure of libraries, but you do not have good staff, your [DL] projects will not be successful. (LB-Lecturer3)

Most interviewees (in LIM education and the LIM profession) believed that either LIM practitioners need new educational programmes or we have to update the current LIM educational programmes. The Manager of Tay Ho Library said “now is also the time for us to seriously research and develop educational programmes for LIM practitioners. We need staff to manage digital libraries.” Although most participants did not directly mention the term ‘digital library education’ or ‘education for digital libraries’, they mentioned DLs and education for staff in terms of preparation for their new roles in

105 libraries. The term ‘digital librarian’ which indicates a new kind of librarian was used by some respondents.

Managers and deans believed that developing DLs and DLE is a good strategy at this time. The Dean of Hoan Kiem School and the Chairperson of the Delta Association shared the same viewpoint that more and more libraries are moving to the digital environment, and applying new technologies to their work. More computers are being used in libraries. The development of libraries requires LIM practitioners to acquire more knowledge and skills in IT. The Dean of Hoang Mai School and the Chairperson of Delta Association stated this is a good opportunity for DLE. Again, they mentioned developing a concept for DLs in Vietnam. The official of Beta Ministry added:

For developing DLs and DLE, we need to ask the question - what is the difference between electronic libraries and digital libraries? This is because the understanding of the concepts will affect the work [of LIM professionals], and their teaching [LIM lecturers]. (BM-Official)

Some stakeholders believed that the need for DLE is greatest for large libraries, especially academic libraries. They argued that university libraries invested more heavily in DL development because of their roles in education. A librarian of Gia Lam Library stated “the needs come mainly from the big libraries [public and academic libraries] in the big cities” (GL- Staff3). The Vice-Dean of Cau Giay School said that thousands of small libraries were working in the traditional environment.

Agreeing with this viewpoint and adding more information, a dean and an official both pointed out that thousands of school and public and small academic libraries are still running their operations using manual methods. According to these two participants, staff in these libraries do not need continuing education in digital library management (HM- Manager, AM-Official). The Dean of Hoang Mai School concluded “we still have to teach traditional library skills such as how to present a catalogue card. If we teach technology or digital libraries, students will not be able to work in libraries that do not have the technological and digital environment” (HM-Dean). On the other hand, there is an optimistic outlook on the future of DLE. The Dean of Long Bien School said that the requirements for library standards at school libraries which were introduced by MOET in 2004 have forced libraries to enhance the quality of their services. He argued that “sooner

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or later the libraries will be developed because of the [government] strategy to apply IT in all aspects of the society. School librarians and other librarians will need DLE” (LB- Dean).

Demands for a full DLE programme

Although there are existing DLE courses, some stakeholders still stated that they needed a full DLE programme for their personal professional development. A manager noted “we do not have a full DLE programme, thus there is no chance for practitioners to study”, and she continued:

I know that there are some subjects which relate to DLs being taught in the universities. For example, the introduction of digital libraries, database management, developing digital collections and so on. However, these subjects do not describe the whole the picture of digital libraries. In each subject, lecturers discuss digital libraries, but they only give general ideas or concepts. (GL- Manager)

There were two opposing views about who should offer DLE. The Manager of Ha Dong Library, who is also an educator and quite an influential man in Vietnam, stated that the Vietnamese community needs a revolution in the whole concept of libraries in terms of the ways these libraries carry out their roles. He argued that ICT is affecting all aspects of the LIM profession and that libraries are going forward and becoming DLs. In addition, the official of the Alpha Ministry emphasised that LIM professionals had to acquire knowledge and skills of new technologies, that they need to be capable of advanced technological thinking. He suggested LIM education should be undertaken by schools of computer sciences or others which relate to technology (AM-Official). In contrast, some stakeholders did not agree with these viewpoints. The Manager of Ba Dinh Library and the Dean of Hoang Mai School argued that library and information science is a separate field from IT and computer science, and IT is a tool for the development of libraries. They thought the current LIM schools should update their curricula to meet the demands from the LIM profession rather than giving DLE to computer science schools.

The comment of a lecturer in Thanh Xuan School summarised many interviewees’ viewpoints on the development of DLs.

107 The concept of DLs in Vietnam is being debated. At this time we have not talked about a specific model of DLs, and what the components of DLs are. Ideas about DLs are vague. People just think DLs are something for the future. Building a real DL seems like an impracticable plan at this time. However, the future is DLs, and the development of DLs needs to be divided into many stages. A possible thing that libraries can do at this time is to build digital collections. Remember that creating digital resources is part of developing a DL. Therefore, with the current situation, libraries should focus on developing digital collections rather than building DLs. (TX-Lecturer5)

In summary, it can be seen from the data that there were different understandings among stakeholders about the concepts of DLs. Key stakeholders suggested that before there can be much progress made on DLs and DLE, it will be useful to reach greater agreement on a conceptual framework of DLs in Vietnam, and the government should play an important role in developing the framework. In addition, almost all participating managers said that it appears to them that there is a big need for skilled staff for the development of the LIM field. The need will lead to the demand for individuals and organisations to have access to professional DLE programmes.