From Digitization to Digital Scholarship: Digital Library Development in India: A Systematic Review of Literature, Trends, Challenges and Future Directions
| Vol-4 | Issue-02 | February 2019 | Published Online: 20 February 2019 PDF | ||
| Author(s) | ||
| Dr. Debkumar Mal 1 | ||
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1Senior Librarian, Dept. of Central Library, Seva Bharati Mahavidyalaya |
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| Abstract | ||
| Purpose: The rapid advancement in information and communication technology has turned academic libraries from being primarily print-based into networked and digital information systems. There has been considerable development in the case of digital libraries, digitization activities, institutional repositories, open access, electronic resources and the like in India. The current study systematically analyses the scholarly and documentary literature on development of digital libraries in India up to 31 December 2018. It brings together evidences related to the development of digital libraries, national and institutional initiatives, technological trends, institutional repositories, open access, electronic resources, barriers and recommendations for future research. Methodology: A systematic literature review methodology that includes narrative and thematic synthesis was used. Relevant articles in academic journals, conference papers, books/ book chapters, institutional records, government papers, and programme documentation were analysed. The literature review was based on studies on digital libraries, digitization, digital collections, institutional repositories, open access, DSpace, EPrints, Greenstone, INFLIBNET, N-LIST, Shodhganga, Digital Library of India, and the National Digital Library of India. Only material published or made public before 31 December 2018 was considered for review. There is no primary survey of institutions or analysis of questionnaires in this study. Findings: Literature has shown the change from experimentally-based digitisation and digital collections to institutional repositories, open-access scholarly publishing, electronic theses and dissertations, electronic resource consortia and national digital libraries infrastructure. Mahesh and Mittal conducted an early survey that reviewed 63 articles and discovered that the Indian research was mostly focused on digital-library development, digitisation and collections building, whereas digital rights management, security and policy received relatively little coverage. Further research has shown the increased use of open-source repository software including DSpace and EPrints. The emergence of N-LIST, Shodhganga and the National Digital Library of India enhanced India's information environment for scholarly research. The National Digital Library project was started in 2015 and the NDLI was launched nationwide on 19 June 2018. Conclusion: The history of digital library initiatives in India till 2018 could be seen as a progression from digitization-oriented projects towards a developing national digital scholarship ecosystem. Despite that, there is a long list of problems in the literature that continue to arise related to issues of infrastructure, funding, human resources, copyright, metadata, interoperability, institutional policies, preservation and sustainability as well as user awareness. Further research on this topic therefore needs to progress beyond merely counting how many digital objects have been digitized or digital collections created. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Women, Public Administration, Gender Digital Library; Digital Libraries in India; Digitization; Digital Library Initiatives; Institutional Repository; Open Access; INFLIBNET; N-LIST; Shodhganga; National Digital Library of India; Digital Scholarship; Systematic Review | ||
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