Three Dimensional Library

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[1] 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.

References

1. Allen, L.A. and Conroy, Barbara. (1971) Social Interaction Skills. [Online]. Retrieved from: www.ideals.illinois.edu/ bitstream/.../librarytrendsv20i1h_opt.pdf? [Accessed on 21.11.2012]
2. Johnson, Catherine A. (2012) ‘How do public libraries create social capital? an analysis of interactions between library staff and patrons’. Library & Information Science Research, Vol. 34 (1), pp. 52–62. Also at DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.031. [Accessed on 22.11.2012].

3.      Kagan, Al. (2005) ‘IFLA and Social Responsibility: A Core Value of Librarianship.’ In: Libraries, National Security, Freedom of Information Laws and Social Responsibilities: IFLA/FAIFE World Report. Ed. Susanne Seidelin and Stuart Hamilton. pp. 33-43. Copenhagen: IFLA/FAIFE. Available at: http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/african/IFLA.pdf [Accessed on 28.11.2012].

4. Kalseth, Karl. (2005) ‘The special library: Bridging the physical and digital arenas.’ In: Scandinavian  Public Library Quarterly, No. 04, pp. 8 – 11. Available at: 87.237.211.43/wp-content/uploads/vol38_4/vol38_4.pdf [Accessed on 26.11.2012].
5. Keenan, Andrew. and Shiri, Ali. (2009) ‘Sociability and social interaction on social networking websites’, Library Review, Vol. 58 (6), pp. 438 – 450. Also at DOI: 10.1108/00242530910969794 [Accessed on 21.11.2012].

6.      Santos, Vanda Ferreira dos. (2009) ‘Public Libraries and their Contribution towards Economic Development: a discussion’. LIBRES Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal.Vol.19 (2), pp.1 – 9. Also at: http://libres.curtin.edu.au/ [Accessed on 26.11.2012].

7. UNDP Sri Lanka (2012). ‘Bridging Human Development Gaps: Education’. In: Sri Lanka Human Development Report 2012. Colombo: United Nations Development Programme Sri Lanka, pp. 59 – 79.
8. Human Development Report, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press for the United Nations Development Programme, 1999, p. 38. 

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[1]  According to Sri Lankan School Education System, 1AB schools are offering science, mathematics, commerce subjects, and arts and culture in the Advanced Level (A/L), whereas 1C schools do not have science or mathematics in the A/L section. Schools that do not have classes beyond Ordinary Level (O/L), i.e. up to 9th Grade, will fall under Type II.