Digitization of Library Resources in University Libraries: A Practical Approach, Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Digitization is an important aspect for academic libraries especially university libraries in 21st century. It is an essential task in modern day libraries. Digitization (which deals with the conversion of non-digital material to digital form) has opened up new audiences and services for libraries, and it needs to be integrated into the plans and policies of any institution to maximize its effectiveness. Setting up a digital library requires a complex digitization project. Digitization is a complex process with many crucial dependencies between different stages over time. This study reviews the concept of digitization, reasons for digitization, things to be considered before digitization, process of digitization, different stages in digitizing documents, and challenges of digitization of library resources. It concluded that digitization will enable university library to preserve endangered library resources, improve the efficiency of information search mechanisms and enhance access to library resources. Adopting the approach of the issues outlined and the references to more detailed source and past project will contribute to the future success of initiating digitization of library resources.