Digital Library is the Solution

By: Thoriq Tri Prabowo

Advancement of informatics and communications technology made a great change of society life style. Everything will be easy by technology, in other side people inclined to get anything  speedily, easily, and minimize. It caused by technology improve sketch of society life. In this case time is everything.

Information needing society also got a rise, they wish information were packed practically. Everyone need information even they have to move from their chair. Library as information provider have to see this fact. A library that could satisfy the user is a good library. It caused library is public service, so the principle purpose is to satisfied society information needing.

 Digital library concept answer of society desirability to access information. A part of society argued that digital library has a same meaning with virtual library, library automation, and electronic library. Many information specialist still disputing digital library definition. Digital library could be indicate by observe the characteristics.

Some characteristic of digital library according Tedd and Large are: A digital library must contain in a digital state (electronic source), Digital library exist in distributed network, The content of digital library comprises both data and metadata describing that data, A digital library is that its collection has been selected and organized for an identifiable user community, and A digital library can be extensions and enhancement of, or integrated into variety of institutional types including library but also other information-related organization such as museum and archives.

Digital library improved the society paradigm of the library. Library could grow up from traditional library into digital library, it was  a long process. Traditional library and digital library has a big differences. Traditional library looked library is physical building, that the availability of the book is a dominant collection. The quantity of the books is a measurement quality of the library.

In other side digital library has a contradiction with traditional library. Place of information storage didn’t definite by the formats or physical building. The quality measurement is a ability to give an effective information access. Information retrieval could be done by user their self. It support the user to search information by their self, and learn to stand alone to look for anything they need. That was one of the excess of digital library. User could classify and choose relevant information what they needed.

By look the characteristics and the excess of digital library, we all know that the digital library solved societies fidgetiness to access information. But anything good also has a constraint. One of them is a fund. As we know in the society library is a tertiary requirement, the organization didn’t to take care about the growing of it. This fact also blocked step to realize the digital library.

At the last digital library is the solution to complete society information needing. Users didn’t need to go from their place to access an information. The information accessed easily, speedily, and also practically. At that time the information will be distributed to all corner of the countries. Although the fund to realized wasn’t too cheap, but the writer thought that’s not too expensive as the aim.