| Abdul Hakiim Yakof |
LIBRARIES exist to support the access to information, knowledge and learning as well as to create a literate environment through different types of libraries such as public, academic, school and special libraries.
This was stated by Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, Minister of Education, during the opening of the ‘Libraries Transform: Unlocking Your Potential as Librarians’ conference yesterday at the Lecture Theatre of Universiti Teknologi Brunei.
“I also believe that libraries should be able to attract our own students, to encourage them to utilise the libraries for learning and exploring knowledge as vast information resources can be found in libraries,” the minister said.
Speaking about emerging trends that have taken place in libraries throughout the world, he said that libraries are facing a period of rapid technological growth that is changing societies. “Library users are developing higher expectations of library services and often end up using these services differently than the way they were used in the past.”
“Some new trends include open access and open educational resources publishing, scholarly communication, institutional repositories, discovery systems, e-books and research analytics. The transformation of libraries is not just about technology. It is about engagement with users, communities and stakeholders,” he added.
Moving onto the transformation of Bruneian libraries over the years, he said that libraries under the Ministry of Education (MoE) have gone through various developments, most notably the implementation of the Virtual Library and Information Services (VILIS) Brunei, which is a digital library project serving most school libraries.
Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, Minister of Education, delivering his speech during the opening of the ‘Libraries Transform: Unlocking Your Potential as Librarians’ conference yesterday at the Lecture Theatre of Universiti Teknologi Brunei while Nellie binti Dato Paduka Haji Sunny, President of Brunei Darussalam Library Association looks on.- BAHYIAH BAKIR
“The advancement in technology placed within libraries has given a great impact towards the capability of librarians in managing the organisation and the access of information to their library users especially in the academic environment,” he said.
He then urged libraries and librarians to redefine collections with the community in mind. “Make it service oriented, redesign spaces and build community partners and provide seamless learning. Walls of libraries will expand beyond their physical space to encompass online resources, social and mobile services, opening up collection and services previously hidden from view. Libraries lead the way to digital citizenship.”
“As librarians, there are various skills that they need to be competent at. Firstly, are personal competency, the ability to communicate effectively with broad range of customers is significant. Being knowledgeable and indispensable are two other essential factors for librarians. To be proactive and show initiative, collaborate well with others, taking responsibility and commitment to a higher level are other factors that will boost the standards of the library as a whole. Hence it is without doubt that the library’s most important asset is its people,” said the minister.
“Secondly are professional competency that includes among others, to possess expert knowledge and familiarity with information resources; administrative expertise to create and manage convenient, accessible and cost effective information services, aligned with the strategic direction of the organisation.”
“Thus upgrading the competency of librarians is crucial and this is where the Brunei Darussalam Library Association (BLA) can give support by conducting appropriate training in order to develop and improve the skills of the library workforce. The current professional library programmes provided by the Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) Sultan Saiful Rijal Campus in HNTec in Information and Library Studies as well as the Diploma programme in Library Informatics Computing at Politeknik Brunei should be continued and expanded. This is important for creating new breed of professional librarians with cutting edge skills and knowledge to prepare for the transformed world of libraries,” said the minister.
“As for the MoE, we need to realise that libraries are integral and should be the learning and knowledge hub in schools, colleges and universities. As such, a library standard and guidelines should be available to help libraries align and structure accordingly by developing, maintaining and adhering to the highest standards that support high quality library practices,” he added.
“The ministry needs to look into providing support towards the programmes and activities of BLA and the libraries under MoE, towards the development of quality services as well as the training of librarians where appropriate in order to achieve education excellence in support of the Brunei Vision 2035.”
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