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| Matheson Library, PNG University of Technology |
Librarianship is a dynamic and interesting career, which
focuses on information and the management thereof. It includes the collection,
organisation and distribution of information, according to international principles and standards, in
different formats for education, general use, research, and recreation. It is also the
facilitation of access to information so that people find and use information effectively for personal
and professional purposes. The latest information and communication
technology (ICT) developments, including social media such as Facebook and Twitter, e-books
and mobile technology offer wonderful new opportunities in the delivery of information
services and the way libraries are managed. Librarianship forms the basis of
specialization and diverse career opportunities including document management, knowledge management,
children’s librarianship, research
librarianship
and electronic resources management. However, for far too long there is a
common misconception in Papua New Guinea (PNG) that librarianship is a
dying profession. But, the facts remains and it will always be true that
even in these vast technology advances, we still need librarians who
are professionals in areas of information collection, organization,
distribution and content management and control to effectively manage
information content, information authenticity, information filtering, as
well as reference and bibliographic services. The biggest challenge now
for Librarians in PNG is to keep up with the rapid change in the ICT. A
new wave of interactive web technology called "Web2.0" has also
revolutionized library and information services delivery globally which
also presents a break-through for librarians in PNG.The knowledge of ICT
or "ICT Literature" is now a necessity for all professional librarians
to actively involve in the global network of information via web2.0
platforms. Librarians need to have the necessary skills and knowledge on
how to use Web2.0 technology applications to create, share and
communicate useful information with the vast number of information
seekers and contributors in real time. A tailored Web2.0 training
provided by PNG University of Technology's Matheson Library for library
professionals in PNG is an ideal learning pathway for those who wish to
keep up with the changing technology and ICT systems that affects
library service delivery. The trend now is that, there is a continuous
shift from the traditional library management practice to a modern
library management practice where ICT takes over much of the work done
to manage a library. Nevertheless, there is now a new term that is
called "Library Management System", which usually comes as software
packages and are operated as databases with different specific functions
all integrated to perform correlated activities. Modern librarians
today are the only experts in navigating online databases, doing online
searches, doing information filtering, providing online reference and
bibliographic services etc. Thus, it is fair to say that, librarianship
in PNG deserves proper recognition and respect as a technical profession
and hence librarians need all the necessary support they require in
keeping up with the latest developments and trends in their area of
expertise.
