Digital Library

Digital Library: Objectives, Advantages, & Disadvantage

A digital library is a collection of documents and files in organized electronic form, available on the Internet. A user may be able to access magazine articles, books, papers, images, sound files, and videos in the digital library.  It can differ in size and scope and can be managed by individuals, organizations, or affiliated with an established physical library or with academic institutions.

A digital library also called as electronic library or digital repository. This digital library collection content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks. 

Objectives of Digital Library 

1. A digital library provides facilities and services to support research, teaching, learning, and scholarly communication across disciplines. 
2. It helps to collect, organize and collate prints and digital information and disseminate at the point of care and for future use.
3. It gives absolute access to information.
4. It acts as a gateway to digital and electronic information.
5. It provides a global perspective and integrates material from many sources in one place. 

Advantages of Digital Library 

1. No Physical Boundary :

The user needs not to go to the library physically. People from all over the world can access the same information. 

2. 24/7 access

A major advantage of digital libraries is that people can gain access 24/7 to its information. 

3. Multiple Access

The same resource of digital libraries can be used simultaneously by a number of institutions and users. 

4. Information Retrieval

The user is able to use any search term to search the entire collection. It provides very user-friendly interfaces, giving clickable access to its resources.

5. Preservation and Conservation

For physical collections, digitization not a long term preservation solution, but succeeds in providing access copies for materials that would otherwise fall to modification from repeated use. 

6. Space

Traditional libraries are limited by storage space but digital libraries have the potential to store much more information. Digital information requires very little physical space to contain them. Also, media storage technologies are more affordable than ever before. 

7. Easily Accessible

Anyone can access the digital library from any place at any time. 

Digital Library Disadvantages

1. Copyright

One author can be freely transferred by others without his acknowledgment, here digitization violates the copyright law as the through content. 

2. Speed of Access

As many computers are connected to the internet its speed of access reasonably decreasing. 

3. Initial cost is High

The infrastructure cost of a digital library that is the cost of hardware, software, leasing communication circuits is commonly very high.

4. Bandwidth 

Digital libraries need high bandwidth for the transfer of multimedia resources. 

5. Environment 

It cannot reproduce the environment of a traditional library. Because many people find reading printed material to be easier than reading material on a computer screen. 

6. Preservation 

A digital library can rapidly become out-of-date and its data may become inaccessible due to technological developments. 

As the use of technology is increasing in the new generation, they can connect with history, tradition, nature, and many other things with the technology. 

source: https://www.hrishiblogbuddhi.com/digital-library-objectives-advantages-disadvantage/