Libraries have been part of the human civilization for centuries by playing an important role in the development of people and societies and being instrumental in storing and retrieving information for scholars and other users. Many changes have been introduced in libraries from time to time in order to meet the needs of the changing world. During ancient times, information was written and stored on clay tablets and handwritten materials, which then changed to the printing materials employed during the medieval period. Then came microforms, CD-ROMS, and the online storage method, including databases on the World Wide Web. Technology is still very new to the libraries and their user; the western world having been just introduced to it during the second half of the twentieth century. Editor R.N. Sharma's travels to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East on library assignments have shown him that libraries in those regions are still far behind technologically as compared to the United States and other developed countries. In the Impact of Technology on Asian, African and Middle Eastern Library Collections, sixteen well-known scholars, library educators, and librarians from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East write about the impact of technology on library collections and services in their countries. Three authors from the United States contribute articles about Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Collections in the United States and the impact of technology on these collections and services. This collection of well written essays gives a clear picture of these countries' libraries as compared to the United States and the ways to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries of these regions.

About the Author
R.N. Sharma, Ph.D. is Dean of Library, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey. He has won many awards and honors, including the Academic Research Librarian of the Year Award in 2005 from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his significant achievements and contributions to International Librarianship. He has been the editor of Library Times International since 1984.

Reviews
The expert observations presented in these essays would be of most benefit to the governments and libraries in the economically underdeveloped nations that are the focus of the essays... * College & Research Libraries *
a useful addition to the literature on comparative librarianship...a very important information source... * American Reference Books Annual *
...Sharma and his contributors have crafted a work that I highly recommend to students of international librarianship, information technology, and librarianship in the developing world. This text can serve as a useful introduction to the history, challenges, and opportunities created by the introduction of IT to library collections in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. * The Library Quarterly *
...this is a fascinating volume....Recommended for library science collections and larger academic libraries. * Library Journal *
Introduced to libraries and users in the Western world during the second half of the 20th century, information technology is slowly making its way to less-developed countries. This volume contains 13 contributions from scholars, library educators, and librarians in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, each describing the impact of technology on library collections and services in their countries. It concludes with an essay by Sharma (Monmouth U. Library) that identifies major barriers to introducing information technology in these regions and suggests some possible solutions. * Reference and Research Book News *



Book Information
ISBN 9780810854482
Author R. N. Sharma
Format Paperback
Page Count 292
Imprint Scarecrow Press
Publisher Scarecrow Press
Weight(grams) 472g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 153mm * 18mm