ACCESS AND COLLABORATION : Search and Discovery through

Innovative Technologies

Datin Paduka Hajah Adina binti Othman

Cultural Institutions responsible for the preservation of tangible and intangible heritage

Responsible for the preservation of historical monuments, landscapes, artifacts, works of art as well as documents, archives and records , which are not necessarily in paper form only

Libraries : generally refer to the place housing a large collection of books which may include digital sources, print, audio, and visual materials in numerous formats.

Cultural institutions/Libraries

Complement one another Relationship have always been and should

always be close Serve the same clientele - information and

knowledge seekers Core business interlinked Cultural institutions serve to preserve for

posterity and to facilitate research Libraries enrich the understanding of the

artefacts held in the cultural institutions.

Relationship between Libraries, Archives & Cultural Institutions

Archives are closer to cultural institutions Archives hold the records and written

documents of the Government Archives basically primary sources Libraries hold considerably more secondary

sources

Archives / Libraries

National Archives, Libraries, Museums and other cultural institutions are among the country’s core research resources

Libraries, Archives and Museums as the three pillars of cultural institutions

Need to collaborate more closely not only with each other but with other interested parties, such as education institutions, related government agencies as well as Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and the private sector.

Relationship between Libraries, Archives & Cultural Institutions

Relationship and collaboration more relevant and necessary in small populated countries

Brunei Darussalam - small population, limited manpower and financial resources

Cooperation saves money and time Reach users more efficiently e-Library – at least 20 libraries e-Archives B-Heritage

Good Relationship Vital

Knowledge the basis of a nation’s life Knowledge intrinsically linked with information Age of information technology explosion Dissemination of information easier, faster Multiple modes for information dissemination Search engines easier than the traditional manual

search Role of traditional information repositories

jeopardised if they remain stagnant New technologies need to be embraced and

utilised Traditional concept of libraries and other

information repositories need to be redefined

Innovative Technologies & Information Science

Efforts need to be taken to show that libraries, archives and other information repositories are still relevant and essential to the knowledge and information seeker

Adaptation to the information explosion era requires profound changes in the organizations – not just in skills but no less important, in attitude

21st century information specialists face more challenges but also exciting opportunities

Innovative Technologies & Information Science

Advantage of librarians and information managers

World wide web massive – difficult for some researchers unsure of the effective ways of navigating it

Advances in management information technology has brought about radical changes in organisational form and function

Impact on information storage, information management and searching tools

Innovative Technologies & Information Science

Need for information specialists to rethink strategies

The potential for change is here and information managers need to grab them

Can increase efficiency, effectiveness, creativity and innovativeness

Electronic information storage and retrieval should be the norm

Traditional archives and library should be retained in terms of storage

Information professionals should take on additional jobs of electronically storing and retrieving their holdings

Change is inevitable

Types of libraries :-◦ Public libraries◦ Special libraries◦ Reference libraries◦ Academic libraries ◦ School libraries

  The Language and Literature Bureau, Ministry of

Culture, Youth and Sports, runs the public libraries Act as the lead agency in Brunei on coordination of

library development programmes Other key players being the University Brunei

Darussalam Library Ministry of Education lead agency on provision of

formal training for librarians basically through the vocational schools.  

Library Development in Brunei

No National Library Preservation of Books Act 1967 Legal deposit entrusted to the Director of Museums - three

copies of nationally produced publications deposited in the Brunei Museum

Since the 1970s, the Public Library has also acted as depository for all Brunei publications

National bibliography published by the Museums Department - backlog

Cooperation needed from librarians to ensure annual publication of National Bibliography

Two main functions of the National Library i.e. the legal deposit and the national bibliographic control, have been addressed

Legal Deposit & National Bibliography

Brunei National Archives Act 1975 (revised 1983)

National Archives of Brunei is the lead agency for archives

Current Director of the National Archives is the Director of Museums

Brunei National Archives

National Library/University Library? National Library/National Archives? Absence of a National Library should not be

used as rationale for inertia and inactivity Demography and the small population of

Brunei - some other set up? Should not divert from core business to

serve the community Intrinsic right of all to access to information

and knowledge

National Library? – Possible Alternatives

Need to ‘license’ the librarians and information handlers to ensure they have the right qualifications from the lowest post

Regulatory body to implement this and keep a register on them

Need to review the schemes of service of librarians and archivists

Training should be made compulsory Need to establish a framework for library

qualifications to regulate standard of information handlers and providers

Information Specialists, handlers and Providers

Need to upgrade image of librarians Change in the role of librarians Libraries have transformed or should transform Society need to accept the new role of librarians

and information specialists Impact of social media and mobile technologies

on the use of information and libraries Librarians are the ‘people behind the scene’

gathering the information, organizing it, preserving it so it is accessible to all

Machines cannot do it

Image of Librarians and Information Specialists

Equally important, if not more important, for librarians and information specialists themselves to understand the need to change

Change of mindsets necessary to adapt to the new types of information seekers

Need to comprehend and accept the change in their roles

Libraries and information repositories which fail to adapt to the needs of society and stay relevant to the community they serve will find themselves marginalised in the long run.

Image of Librarians and Information Specialists

Libraries should exude aura of dynamism Libraries should continually upgrade

themselves Be alive Be a place that can promise exciting

discoveries to your readers Do not forget your core business - to serve the

community by providing access to information Clients should be central to all your strategies Restrategise Reach out to the younger generation

CONCLUSION

The feel of a book in one’s hands definitely beats reading from a monitor screen

Have pride in what you do Society will always require the services of

libraries and archives.

Believe in Yourselves

Thank you