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This paper discusses the topic of Collection Development in a digital environment. Developing digital collections is a logical consequence of inserting information technologies in organizations. The usual route towards other models of libraries has allowed the development of the digital collections as a source of Digital Libraries.

This paper is based on the development of a user‐oriented concept of digital collections.

The current information society requires Collection Development to guarantee suitable resources in information organizations.

The authors provide a new way of looking at the development of digital collections. In this paper the authors propose a cycle to create a digital collection starting from the established precepts for traditional Collection Development. The creation process is supplemented with an analysis of the term Collection Development starting from the user's focus.

Stresses that the multimedia nature of the next generation of digital libraries requires the digital librarians (DL) to be essentially a type of specialist librarian who has to manage and organize the digital library, handle the specialized tasks of massive digitization, storage, access, digital knowledge mining, digital reference services, electronic information services, search co‐ordination, and manage the archive and its access. The digital librarian acts as guardian of the information superhighway/the universal digital library or the global digital library and acts as a symbiotic human‐machine guru. This article also highlights the roles and functions of a DL in information retrieval, content delivery, navigation, and browsing. It envisages the professional education and training for digital librarians in the management of digital information systems. It denotes the DL’s interface functions, roles, skills and competencies for the management of digital information systems in the important areas of imaging technologies, optical character recognition, markup languages, cataloguing, metadata, multimedia indexing and database technology, user interface design, programming, and Web technology. This paper finally advocates and targets the task of creating a new job title – digital librarian – to take care of digital libraries and to manage the digital information system.

The study aims to examine availability, coverage of digital preservation policy and the structures put in place by National Information Centres in Nigeria to preserve digital information.

A qualitative research methodology using a case study approach was adopted. Documentary sources, a semi‐structured questionnaire for the focus group, and interviews were the instruments used to collect data. While a homogeneous sampling of five staff in the digitisation/digital preservation unit was adopted for the focus group interview, only one top management staff member from the rank of Assistant Director of each of the selected three National Information Centres was interviewed.

The National Bureau of Statistics and the National Library of Nigeria have digital preservation policies. However, the area of coverage of the available policies is not adequate enough to ensure the long‐term preservation of digital information. Similarly, the study revealed that the lack of institutional support from the National Information Centres studied is one of the challenges in the implementation of the digital preservation policy.

For any National Information Centre to ensure the accessibility and reuse of its digital information, it must have a digital preservation policy, without which the active management of digital information will be very challenging and can result in the loss of vital digital information of significant importance.

There is currently no research work addressing issues on digital preservation policy with a particular focus on Nigeria. This paper therefore highlights shortcomings of the available digital preservation policy and proposes a national digital preservation policy that will chart a road map for effective digital preservation activities in any National Information Centre.

Funding issues is observed to be the major stumbling block for the development of digital libraries in Nigeria. Hence, this paper aims to explore issues in obtaining and allocating funds for digital library development.

The review is an explorative report of the state of affairs of digital library development in Nigeria with the associated fundraising issues.

Digital library initiatives are coincidental development with transformational change in the technology-driven world of global information distribution. The desire of the information users to have better-unrestricted access to information becomes the hallmark of digital content development and web-based information services. The goal of making information accessible globally to large and diverse information users was achievable with the development of a digital library that provides enhanced information services, improves access and usability of digital information resources.

The library of the future has already materialized in form of digital library services, but the cost of developing a digital library is not foreseeable cheap, and if Nigerian libraries are to achieve digital library service goal, alternative sources of finance need to be sought after through fundraising scheme from friends of the library, rental services, consultation fees and collaboration effort on library consortia as well as advocacy for open access initiatives.

To determine and compare approaches to the education and training of librarians for work in digital libraries. More precisely, to identify – in general terms, rather than specifically – the important competencies required by information professionals in creating and managing digital libraries, and in facilitating their use, and to assess how these competencies are treated in LIS education and training, and therefore how the capacities of the information professions are being developed.

Literature analysis of the skill sets required by librarians working with digital materials. Evaluation of formal education and of professional development programmes in the UK and in Slovenia, to assess how these needs are being met.

Both formal education and continuing development training are adapting to cover aspects of the digital library environment, both in the UK and in Slovenia. This is happening as part of the normal process of the redesign of degree programmes and of training courses. Digital library skills and knowledge – embodying conceptual, semantic, syntactic and technical aspects – are being included in existing courses, for the most part, rather than in entities labelled “digital library”. This approach has strengths and also weaknesses. While there is some agreement on core topics, there is much variation in how they are presented, and in the relative importance given to them.

Based on comparison of education and training programmes in two countries, the UK and Slovenia.

Recommendations for curricula are made.

Provides an insight into education and training needs in a developing and important area.

Aims to focus on the need for appropriately trained librarians of the next‐generation, the “Digital Librarians”, with particular emphasis on China.

The paper first analyzes the definition and features of the digital library, and is followed by an introduction to digital libraries developing in China. Work modes and quality composition of digital librarians are then analyzed and discussed.

Digital libraries emerging in the information age represent an inevitable trend for library development. A digital library contains a vast amount of digital information resources in multiple media. It may provide readers with diversified information services using digital and network technologies. In addition to certain hardware and software availabilities, the evolving digital library requires appropriately trained librarians of the next‐generation, the “Digital Librarians”, which forms the theme of this paper.

Provides recommendations and measures on how China can develop further its digital librarians.

This paper seeks to create a novel management model for digital libraries which can effectively respond to the challenges and culture posed by Google or other search engines.

The paper attempts to construct an advanced management model for a digital library which can have the advantages of Google, other search engines and libraries, yet avoid their inherent weakness. For that, the paper investigates and analyzes the advantages and weaknesses of Google and digital libraries at home and abroad, and makes reference to the theory of supply chain management (SCM) to construct a new management model for a digital library.

A supply chain for the digital library is constructed and a supply chain architecture for digital libraries, their components and the running situations of content services flow, information flow and funds flow in supply chain, is proposed. The components are described in detail. Then three kinds of service models are constructed and their service processes are analyzed.

The paper is one of the research findings of the National Key Technology R&D Program of China during the 11th Five‐Year Plan Period (No. 2006BAH02A12): Digital Content Supporting Technology Platform and will be applied to Chinese digital libraries construction.

The supply chain management model for a digital library which is blessed with the advantages of Google and libraries but without their weaknesses is studied and presented for the first time. The model can provide a well‐suited, highly efficient and one‐stop‐shop information and knowledge service for users.

Advances in information technology have enabled consumers to connect and communicate as they never have before. This chapter conceptualizes information and the digital machines that enable contemporary connection and communication as being part of a “Moveable Feast.” A brief historical review tracing the impact and evolution of information technology on consumers’ lives and the marketplace is first provided. Culminating the historical review is a metaphorical description of the current period as a “Moveable Feast” of information, whereby consumers and digital machines interact to create and share information “dishes” with other consumers worldwide. With this guiding metaphor in place, current marketing-relevant information phenomena are described within a framework of three important digital dyads proposed to exist between humans and machines. Deep discussion of machine–machine, human–machine, and human–human dyads points to the importance of information as a resource that consumers create and exchange in the contemporary marketplace. This chapter concludes by encouraging marketers and marketing researchers to consider the impact and importance of digital information and information technology on consumers’ ability to connect and communicate with digital machines and with one another.

This study aims to assess the digital literacy of African library and information science (LIS) professionals. Digital literacy skills are required in the digital library environment.

Relevant literature was reviewed on this topic; previous study questionnaires, various university LIS curriculum, content analysis and job advertising were used for preparing the survey questionnaire. This study used an ex post facto research design. Purposive sampling was adopted in this study, and data were collected from Google form by sharing the research questionnaire by hyperlink which was undertaken from March 15, 2022 to May 24, 2022. The data were collected by a structured questionnaire. A four-point Likert scale was used to measure how library professionals acquired digital literacy skills. Content analysis of more than 500 job vacancies over the past three years (2018–2022) of library job advertisements was taken randomly.

This study’s findings show that the majority of the good at basic level of digital literacy skills at the same time have less in advanced digital literacy skills. The finding of this study shows the majority of them have to upgrade and learn about advanced digital literacy skills.

This study recommends adopting a new syllabus and updating a LIS curriculum based on the library’s technological development. Furthermore, this study’s potential result suggests more practical classes instead of theoretical study and it is useful to the library schools, associations, MOOC providers and lifelong learners.

This study is conducted with 102 African library professionals from 13 countries. This study discusses futuristic digital literacy skills and basic literacy skills. This study is beneficial to those who are preparing a new curriculum in LIS fields.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types of roles that Twitter played in digital libraries (DLs) and their relationships in building DL online communities.

A mixed method analysis of DLs’ tweets was conducted to identify the usage, roles of Twitter in DL communities and relationships among the roles. Twitter data from 15 different DLs for one year were extracted, and an open coding analysis was performed to identify types of Twitter roles. Pearson correlation coefficient was applied to examine the relationships among the roles based on word similarities.

The results present 15 types of Twitter roles representing five main categories identified from DL tweets, including information, promotion, related resources, social identity and social connection. Moreover, word similarities analysis identifies more strong relationships among the roles in four main categories (promotion, related resources, social identity and social connection) but less with roles in information.

Characteristics of DL online communities are discussed and compared with physical library communities. Suggestions are proposed for how tweets can be improved to play more effective roles. To build a strong community, it is critical for digital librarians to engage with followers.

This study is a pioneering work that not only analyzes Twitter roles and their relationships in building DL online communities but also offers recommendations in terms of how to build a strong online community and improve Twitter use in DLs.