Social Responsibility and
Three-Dimensional Libraries: sustaining the information ‘life’ in Sri Lanka
(‘Special Libraries towards
Achieving Dynamic, Strategic and Responsible Working Environment’
3rd
International Conference on Association of Special Libraries. Manila. 10-12
April 2013)
Abstract
This
paper is based on the experiences from experiments on three-dimensional library
services and aims at the extent and outcomes of such services set up in the university
library, school libraries and public libraries in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka.
This was an innovative service conceived by the librarian of the University of
Jaffna, Sri Lanka (first author). Therefore, the paper looks into the
potentiality of the services across the country, especially in war-torn areas
and possibility of sustaining the reading habit of the user community. Further,
it elaborates as to how this unique service could be of great importance to the
entire society that was war-torn for the past three decades. In addition, the
authors recommend such beneficial practice to be spread across the nation to
enhance the reading habit and information seeking behavior of the people who
were struck by the war and Tsunami. Further it proposes that this venture could
be extended to the digital library services to bring all the library services
in the country under a cooperative arrangement.
Keywords:
Three-Dimensional Library, Social Responsibility, Information Services, Public
Relations, Digital Library Services
1.
INTRODUCTION
In the era of electronic
information explosion, not all the libraries in Sri Lanka are enjoying or
reaping the full benefits of virtual information resources and services. The
reasons envelope the following items: scarcity of library resources,
incompetency of the library staff, literacy rates of the potential library
users, reading habit of the users, availability of mobile devices, and social
norms. Hence, a library or an information resource center cannot restrict its
services within its walls. In this regard, libraries should outreach the
society with their resources and services. With the advancement of social media
on the Internet, many libraries could go beyond their walls to extend the
service tentacles to the grass-root level of the society, which enable the
libraries to function at 360 degree on vertical and horizontal planes. As
Keenan and Shiri (2009) state, society is now interacting through social
websites that have become a major medium to communicate, as for example, Face
book, Twitter, MySpace, Digg and so forth. These social media are exponentially
emerging in user number and unique visits every day.
However, there has
been a considerable fraction of the world that does not enjoy these networks or
sophisticated devices to get access to information. Library services cannot
ignore this potential user community that comprises of elders, kids,
special-need users, and students from destitute nature. On this account,
libraries with unique services that will exhibit a wide range of information resources
from print collection to electronic media to artifacts and archeological
specimens. When the resources are presented in three-dimensional nature, a
number of ardent learners and information seekers from different walks of life
will be attracted and intrigued, as the feedback from the experiments revealed.
2.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL
LIBRARY (3DL)
In this paper,
there are three user communities identified, namely school students, university
users, and general public. Therefore, conception of three-dimensional library
services is to embrace all these user groups.
2.1 What is
3DL?
A
three-dimensional library is nothing but a service that is consisting of three
important elements in a unique discipline arranged in pyramidal form to explore
information for self-learning process. In the bottom of the pyramid, objects
will occupy in more quantity. In the second stage of the pyramid, will be the
various forms of the information resources, such as books, periodicals, compact
discs, etc. Third element of the pyramid will be converging to result in
quality, by presenting specific information rather than displaying number of
materials.
2.2 Salient
Features of 3DL
This concept is an
outcome of the research done in the Jaffna District to promote the reading
habits at various levels of the society. The intended features of the 3DL are:
a guide to identify the limits of information search, an intellectual
motivation in the pursuit of information searching, being a step-stone for
sharing of cultural, information in the region and expedition into the
multimedia information access. In simple terms, a particular search topic in
3DL will be offered in three different forms which are objects, document and
information. In other words, it is a means to information literacy programme.
In this type of library service, objects of archeological importance,
sculptures, laboratory specimens, ancient coins, portraits, recorded
interviews, graphs, photographs, compact discs, movies, music, textbooks,
magazines, and many more information resources could be displayed.
3.
EXPERIMENTS
IN REAL LIFE
In the beginning,
this service was experimented in Jaffna Public Library to mark the
International Book Day in 2008. The exhibition was named “Records of Human Thoughts
from Stone Age to the Present”. It allured a vast range of information users
from schools to university to lay people across the peninsula. Having
succeeded, the same experiment was held again in the form of mobile exhibition,
with more information been added. It was taken to more than 35 schools of 1AB, 1C
and Type II
levels and a number of places where public would gather. As a result of this,
many school children and general people of various age groups in the Jaffna
District joined the public libraries in their zones. The same experiments were
carried out in the university library and public libraries.
In the series of
such experiments, the main concern was given to exhibit realia and artifacts
for disciplines concerned in the District. It was realized by participatory and
non-participatory observations that the information seeking behavior of the
students were enhanced through the evidence-based display of information. An
array of feedback from the students and teachers revealed the fact that realia
and artifacts could act as the most important information resources for supporting
teaching and learning activities. The direct observation of the service outcome
evinced that a substantial number of school students were inculcated by the
exhibits and resources. In this way, it could be expanded to other regions of
the country, with the incorporation of digital library setups.
4.
BENEFITS
OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL LIBRARY SERVICES
In a developing
country or third world nation, this type of services will reach out school
students, peasant community, and other potential user groups such as elders.
Meanwhile, a three-dimensional library service is more significant in resolving
emotional instability of a society that is isolated from the current world due
to war or natural disasters. In a report
by UNDP Sri Lanka (2012), public expenditure on education was declining from
2006 to 2010. It further depicts that in Jaffna District, schools with a
permanent library is very low in number, in comparison to other Districts in
the island. In conclusion, it states that education in Sri Lanka (secondary,
higher, vocational and technical) is falling. Therefore, the role of the
libraries in uplifting the country’s education is inevitable. To be existing,
libraries need to devise new strategies to thrive in the business. Being
ruptured by the war for the past three decades, the people living in Jaffna
District require alternatives to sprout out in economy and education. In this
way, a 3DL will help them to revive their emotional strength that was shattered
due to the consequences of decades of conflict in the region.
Reading habits among
the general public and students are declining due to the invasion of television
and other electronic entertainments; therefore it is intended to increase the
reading habits among the population of the country, by setting up 3D library
services in every library corner and by mobile library services. From the news
flashed in local newspapers for the past six months it could be noted that
considerable number of public libraries in Jaffna have commenced this service under the direct supervision of
local government and few school libraries too. Thus, it is possible to witness
other libraries across the nation to adopt this successful practice.
It is intended
that 3DL services could sustain peace process, whilst preserving regional
heritage. And, the existence of 3D libraries will help balancing ‘social
equilibrium’ as the society is encountering ‘polarization’. As Kagan (2005)
presents that the income range between richest and poorest countries is dramatically
widening ever since 1820. Furthermore, the gaps within countries are also
enlarging. The affluent elites live well and have access to libraries and
information, but the poor are lagging behind. This is called ‘digital divide’,
which is not new. Therefore, innovative and proactive library practices are
believed to narrow the gaps within the society to sustain the economic
development and enhance the education of the nation.
5.
SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITIES OF LIBRARIES
Libraries’ role as
social responsibility is emphasized in order to increase the utilization of
information resources and to justify their existence in the society. Allen
& Conroy (1971) suggest that public libraries may contribute to social
capital through the relationships and interactions that occur between staff and
patrons. These relationships and interactions include: building patrons' trust
in the library and its staff, connecting people to both community and library
resources, providing social support for patrons, reducing social isolation,
helping patrons gain skills to function in an increasingly online world, and
providing a positive place for neighborhood residents to gather.
Further, public libraries in
a region can contribute towards local economic development by satisfying the
information needs of people of the region, small businesses, and new
entrepreneurs. This new vision of the public library as an information centre
creates greater links and integration between the public library and its local
community (Santos, 2009). Lozano (2002) in Santos 2009 believes that the library’s role is to
provide information about its community. Thus, the libraries in Sri Lanka have
a vital role to re-build the community from the repercussions of the war that
prevailed for 26 years or so.
Moreover,
libraries can perform greater role in bridging the communities and religious
groups to remove social disparities. Kagan (2005) says that libraries can serve
as a resource for the whole community, a resource that can provide access to
information and cultural materials to all, regardless of class, gender, ethnic
group, country of origin, citizenship status, or sexual orientation. This will
promote literacy, equalizing access to materials in all formats, advocating for
human rights, preserving and promoting cultures, and by promoting intellectual
freedom. A physical library arena offering social communication opportunities
and capabilities for learning and knowledge sharing on individual as well as on
group levels, adds additional value to the knowledge-based organization. Both
the physical and the virtual library must provide inducement and excitement to
the user, thereby promoting knowledge sharing and knowledge growth (Kalseth,
2005). In this line, the three-dimensional library will present itself as an
essential service component in every library in the island, and play an
indispensable role in developing the economy, education, emotional strength,
and cultural heritage.
6.
CONCLUSION
In the line of
moving on the electronic services, libraries cannot exclude the lower strata of
the society and potential users who are unable to own novel devices to get
access to new information. This is more severely true in the countries and
regions that were/ have been affected by both man-made destruction or war, and
natural disasters. With respect to that, libraries in Sri Lanka have to devise
new strategies to encompass the whole society to re-build their emotional stability
and the war-affected region’s economy. Along with new information media,
inclusion of realia, artifacts, and replicas will also help the society to be
informed and literate. In time of financial crisis, except for a few special
libraries, other libraries cannot afford expensive electronic resources, thus
they cannot be dragged to the height where they lose their existence.
Therefore, 3D library services will enhance the literacy and sustain the
livelihood of the society even at grass root levels, especially in the
developing countries. As an advancement in digital library services, 3DL services
could be networked to bring libraries in the country to share information that
value national development and heritage.
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