Int. Libr. Rev. (1976) 8,361-366

Libraries and Documentation Centers and the Communication Environment*

MILES M. JACKSON?

The extent of the sophistication of a nation’s communication system is considered an important index to its development. Many countries have expended huge sums of financial resources for acquiring the necessary technological developments for establishing communication media systems. Some developing countries are interested in or are in the pro- cess of inaugurating communication systems that include the latest in electronic media, satellite and computer based communication.

Because of the incredible technological revolution in communication, we find an abundance of information, both printed and oral, coming at us in all formats and from all over the world. The organization, pro- cessing and exchange of information in the industrialized nations has reached a peak of sophistication in some fields, especially in scientific research. The information explosion has forced the industrialized nations to find technical know-how for the efficient storage retrieval and dissemination of information for specialists.

Despite the progress in exchange programs the efficient sharing of information, especially current information, is still to be achieved among nations. A UNESCO report noted that “the task would already be formidable in the present situation which is characterized equally by the flood of information, choking of information channels, obscurity of the publication arrangements, language barriers, etc., as by our incapa- bility to remove what is factually out-of-date from the storage devices and thereby free them from superfluous contents. Nor have we been able to achieve a more balanced distribution of information among nati0nP.r

It is estimated that each year the scientific and technical community increases in size by 7% and its information output by 11%. Third

* This is an adaptation of a paper presented at a Conference on Communication Policy and Planning for Development at the East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 5-10, 1976.

t Graduate School of Library Studies, Sinclair Library, 2425 Campus Rd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, U.S.A.

1 Intergovernmental Conference on the Planning of National Documentation, Library and Archives Znfktnrctures. Final Report (1974), p. 10. Paris.

362 M. M. JACKSON

World countries it is estimated will have by 1990, 35 million scientists, economists, technicians, etc. who will produce information at a rate of 12 to 14 million documents annual1y.i The information needs of spec- ialists will continue to mount and become more varied. At present information is needed in the work of planning, decision-making and ad- ministration. In fact, information today in some societies has a signifi- cance similar to certain forms of material energy. This can be seen in the case of industrialized nations and those developing countries in the process of becoming industrialized. Further, some societies that recog- nize information as a national resource are establishing policies and plans to promote the delivery of information in an organized way. This can best be done through library/information and documentation centers.

In developing an information delivery system libraries and documen- tation services should be defined, given status and financial support by the nation’s government. Further, in any definition of the role of an information delivery system, recognition should be accorded the inter- relationship with the communication environment. The interrelationship would include both the print and broadcast media; where applicable telecommunications and computer science.

Unfortunately most library and documentation services today exist outside of the total information and communication media environ- ments. In brief, an information delivery system should be designed to function as part of a nation’s overall communication environment. The dynamics of information transfer within the communication environ- ment can be seen in Fig. 1.

An important consideration in planning an information infrastructure is recognizing that information needs of managers, policy makers, scientists and technical experts are only part of a nation’s information requirements. As we have found in the United States, fulfilling the scientific and technical information needs have persisted while the infor- mation needs of the general population are neglected. Information policy should seek to coordinate the processing, storage and dissemina- tion of information on all levels for the professional and scientific com- munities, but also for the general public.

Information is needed in the day-to-day affairs of survival, whether citizens are rural or urban dwellers. There are literacy problems still existing in many parts of the world and libraries especially can play a vital role in providing support services to literacy programs being con- ducted in the countryside or in the city. Literacy experts estimate it

1 Zntergovernmentul Conference on the Planning of National Documentation, Librav and Archives Infrastructures. Final Report ( 1974)) p. 10. Paris.

LIBRARIES AND DOCUMENTATION CENTERS 363

COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT

Telecommuni- cations Films

Phonodiscs

INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE

Libraries, Documentation centers, Archives,

information analysis

FIG. 1. Library/documentation center and communication nexus.

takes only a short time for a new literate to lapse into illiteracy again, which makes the need for reading materials for new literates acute. In co-operation with literacy bureaus, libraries can make available in- teresting and appropriate reading materials on a variety of subjects.

Libraries can serve as switching centers for information on such matters as health, employment, agriculture, public affairs, family plan- ning and education. An important consideration is the fact that citizens also have to make decisions in their lives and need pertinent information for their own decision-making processes. People make decisions daily regarding consumer matters, education, family life, community relation- ships and many other life situations.

Thus in the area of rural development, experts recognize that rural transformation is not possible today without a continuous flow of infor- mation to the population. Community development officers, teachers and others who are involved in rural development programs especially need information in order to carry out their work.

If libraries are accepted by librarians as information centers they need not be bound to centering their programs on the printed word alone. They can sponsor information and cultural programs that utilize verbal, written or audio-visual media. Libraries can provide leadership for film-

364 M. M. JACKSON

discussion groups on such topics as health or family planning and cul- tural programs which would include plays, poetry readings, and art exhibits. Libraries in developing countries more so than those in many western countries have a great opportunity to make the library the hub of community information dissemination. Its library program should be looked to by all government agencies as the key point for disseminating information. In this way the library becomes more than a cultural agency, it becomes a vital social and economic information resource center.

Over the last ten years UNESCO has convened a series of conferencesi on the planning of National Information Systems (NATIS). The con- ferences were held in Indonesia (1975); the United Arab Republic (1974); Uganda (1970); Sri Lanka (1967); and Ecuador (1966). The meetings were specifically organized to evolve principles and recom- mendations on national planning, policies and methodologies which will serve as a basis for the establishment of a model plan; to assess the library and documentation needs for social, economic and educational plans; and to plan the use of technology for libraries and documentation ser- vices.

In the United States the National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences (NCLIS) issued its report2 for a national infor- mation infrastructure. The report recognized that people need infor- mation at all levels and a national plan must be basically built upon strong local resources linked through a nationwide communication and information network. The commitment to make information readily accessible would be enhanced by communication technology such as telecommunications and computers. The following summarizes the responsibilities of the Federal Government which were identified by the Commission :

(1) To encourage andpromulgate standards A major responsibility of NCLIS is the encouraging and adoption of

standards and common practices, especially in the case of system design and networks. Standards will cover computer hardware and software, access protocols, data communications, data standards, data elements and codes, and bibliographic standards.

(2) To make unique and major resource collections available nationwide The Commission recognized both public and privately supported

1 Regional Meetings of Experts on the JVational Planning of Documentation and Library Services (1974) Paris.

2 Toward a National Program for Library and Information Services (1975), pp. 39-60. Washing- ton, D.C. NCLIS.

LIBRARIES AND DOCUMENTATION CENTERS 365

collections that should benefit the entire nation. Collections at such institutions and organizations as Harvard University, the New York Public Library, and the Newberry Library or less well known collections as the Glass Information Center in Corning, Ohio, New York, the Chemical Abstracts Service in Columbus, Ohio.

(3) To develop centralized services for networking The Federal Government should sponsor and support centralized

bibliographic and other services in the public and private sectors. Po- tential centralized services include a national audio-visual repository, a national system of inter-library communication, a national depository for the preservation of master microforms and a national periodicals bank.

(4) To explore computer use Already libraries are successfully using computers for such operations

as : recording, control, dissemination and retrieval of bibliographic information, book ordering, serial records and other routine biblio- graphic functions. Research is needed to utilize further the advance- ments in computer science for centralized processing to assist in transforming the machine-readable records, produced by the Library of Congress and other national libraries into book catalogs, bibliographies, etc. The Commission recognizes that the cooperative time-shared, multi- institutional approach to use of computers would be sensible, efficient and economic.

(5) ToaPPly f new orms of telecommunications A national information system must incorporate the latest in tele-

communications for rapid and effective communications. The national network will need to integrate teletype, audio, satellites, digital and video signals into a single system. There will be a need for close co- operation with the sector of the communication environment concerned with technology. Developments in this aspect of communication might very well be the biggest single contributor to sharing information world- wide.

(6) To support research and development The Commission recognizes the dangers in duplicating research

because of inefficient communication. There will be an increasing need to concentrate specialized skills in research and development to explore

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and strengthen services. The greatest need is for consortia development, more efficient use of information services for disadvantaged ethnic groups, senior citizens, women, etc.

(7) To foster co-operation with similar national and internationalprograms There will be support for articulating a national information plan

with developments in the communication environment. Co-operation should be fostered with UNESCO, Universal Copyright Convention, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Federation Internationale de Documentation.

(8) To ensure basic minimum of library and information services for all strata in communities

This takes into consideration that local libraries should be the very first places where people will go for information. Therefore components of a system should be strong in order to have a strong and efficient infor- mation delivery system.

(9) To Provide special services to special groups who are among the unserved There are special groups that require special attention because of

their unique information needs. Such groups are the poor, the illiterate, the blind, the visually and physically handicapped, the ethnic minori- ties, American Indians on reservations, older citizens, migrant workers and the institutionalized (prisons and hospitals).

In conclusion, national communication policy and planning for development should include library and documentation services for all segments of a society. They should be seen as organic parts of each individual sector of national planning. The development of the indivi- dual in a society hinges on how well he or she is informed and partici- pates in that society as an informed citizen.