Librarians’ challenge to creating an effective digital library

Abstract

The advent of ICT is revolutionalizing every facet of society including information provision and dissemination. Traditional libraries are therefore undergoing fundamental changes to cope with this new trend. It is in this vein that digital libraries come into play. Digital libraries offer such benefits as: equitable access; reduced barriers of distance; timeliness; shared resources; and enhanced content delivery. Even though digital information services appear easy to provide, it poses its own challenges which include cost, preservation, digital collection development, copyright, etc. The challenges, therefore for taking positive steps to promote modern information management in the new millennium is not only for African libraries but for the world at large. This paper provides a highlevel overview of digital libraries, potential benefits of digital libraries to society, the challenges encountered in creating an effective digital library and what information professionals could do in meeting these challenges.