LAHORE (Pakistan): Pakistan is all set to launch in January 2004 its first digital library that will give universities and research institutes in the country access to about 5,000 international journals.
The digital library will make it possible for all teachers to interact with each other, face to face through web conferences and share resources and even lesson plans, using this technology.
Under the plan executed by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) the abstracts of another 30,000 international journals would be available through this digital library.
The online availability of the journals will provide equal opportunities to scientists working in different parts of the country to learn about the advancements on the world scientific horizon, said Dr Ata-ur-Rehman, chairman of the Higher Education Commission and advisor to the prime minister on Science and Technology.
He regretted that all the nine engineering universities, colleges and institutes in the country had been able to produce only four doctorates during the last 50 years as against 2,300 PhD scholars from only one engineering university in the Indian capital.
Dr Rehman said there are only 7,000 university teachers in the country and only 1,500 of them were PhDs. He said the focus now was on developing and improving staff faculties in the universities and teachers were the basis of that strategy. If they are good quality-wise, then their students would obviously be good also, he added.
The research journals will also be provided to universities and researchers on CDs and then, suggestions Muhammad Shakoor, a visiting lecturer at the University of the Punjab in Pakistans eastern city of Lahore, said information and communication technologies (ICTs) have changed the concept and mode of dissemination of information tremendously. Libraries that house only books and journals, even in the most celebrated universities and research institutions, are getting outdated in the present situation.
If professionals are going to progress into the 21st century then a clear and effective digital library model for library services and development will be necessary, Mr. Shakoor said.
In this context, he welcomed the initiative of the Higher Education Commission to establish the digital library. However, he added that the selection of the international journals should be made in consultation with the researchers themselves before these are produced as CDs.
Muhammad Iqbal, a research fellow at the Mass Communication Department of the University of Punjab, said it was getting difficult for students to meet the international research standards, as they didnt have access to latest developments in their subjects, from around the globe.
Mr. Iqbal said that to cope with the changing mood in the cyber age, it was necessary to use modern technologies for research and training. The establishment of digital library and computer-based library services would be a valuable addition to the research resources in the country.
Now under the scheme, students at the universities would be able to access thousands of research journals instead of using hard copies of books and other publications, that are outdated by more than two to three years, Mr. Iqbal said.
Dr Rehman said the teachers should also ask their students to study these research journals, particularly review journals and articles that are rich research-wise. They should also be encouraged to hone their writing and analytical skills and be asked to write reviews of these journals.
The database of subject specialists from the whole Islamic world is being prepared in which specialization and sub-specialization is also being mentioned, Dr Rehman said.
Dr Sohail H Naqvi, an official of the Higher Education Commission, said the commission is looking at the entire spectrum of education and training in the country.
He said skill and confidence among teachers in facing the class should be improved and that was possible only if latest information and training is provided to them. Establishment of digital libraries was one of such steps, he asserted.
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