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ACCULTURATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY THROUGH LIBRARY SERVICES:

THE MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE * Rr

SHAHAR BANUN JAAFAR**

ABSTRAK

Proses Akuflllrasi IT di Malaysia diban!u dengan ada illsialij' Kerajaa/l., inJrastruklur telekomuflikasi yang canggih, perkhidmaran pangkalall daw da/am. wlian yang khusus, siSlem pendidikon berasaskan Teknofogi Maklwnat dan insiatiJ

badall bllkall kerajaall. Perkhidmatan perpustakaan baleh membantu proses akulturasi Teknologi Maklumat mel/judikon perpustakaan sebagai PUJOl Sumber IImu Eleklmllik, perpuswkaaf! sebagai Pusal Kebudayaan Elektronik.

perpustakaol1 sebagcli PUS(l! '11!formedia dan Edulainmcfll', perpuslakculIl sebagai Pw;al Pembe1ajaran Komuniti, P(~ "puswkaal1 sebagai Pusa! Kecemerlangan Maklwll{1/ Khasus, perpustakaan sebagai Pusar Pemeliharaan

Warisan Budaya dan perpllslakaan sebagai Pusar Sekreraria/ dall /nkuhaIOl: Dengan menyediakan perkhidmatall IT hingga ke kawasall desa, perpuslakaan dapm memhanlu pemballgunan, kecekapan dan literasi

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INTRODUCTION

n'I alaysia comprises of Peninsular Malaysia , ..... Sabah and Sarawak. It is s ituated in the heart of Southeast Asia, flanked by Thailand in the north , Singapore island at the southern tip oflhe Peninsular of Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam in the Southwest, Indonesia in the south, and the Philippines in the north east across the South China Sea. Malaysia has a popu­lation of about 20 million. A recent survey on Read­ing Projile oj Malaysian Society indicates thai Malaysia' s literacy rate is about 93%. Malaysia is expected to achieve 100% literacy rate by the year 2010. The survey also indicated that about 21% of Malaysia's urban population have access to comput­ers. Malaysia is one of the maj or exporters of elec­tronic products especially the semi-conductor com­ponents such as integrated circuits, computer chips, s ilicon wafers, etc. Malaysia is now capable of pro­ducing its own com puler wafers with 100% loca l con­tents. The Government of Malaysia has introduced numerou s IT policies and projects which will transform Malaysia into a digital nation of Vision

2020 envisions Malaysia to achieve a status of a de­veloped nation by the year 2020. The major thrust of Vision 2020 is to develop an information-rich soci­ety, which nurtures science and technology culture. The education systems are changing with emphasis on IT in teaching and learning. The policies on pa­per-less administration and electronic government encourage public institutions to introduce IT in their daily operations. Government mega project such as the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) will become the nerve center for the development of Malaysia as a global digital economy. The MSC will be the nucleus of multimedia R&D centre and the seat of the future electronic government of Malaysia. Cyber cities will be spreading throughoutthe country as ev­ery state takes initiatives to develop its own IT cen­tre. With such developments taking place, libraries in Malaysia have important roles to play in accul­turation of IT among its users, as a means of nurtur­in g the science and technology culture amongst the Malaysian society.

'" Paper presenred at IFLA Pre Session Seminar-Bridging Informalion Gaps Through Technology, 25-29 Augus! /99 7. Aa/borg. Denmark. ... Deputy Direclor General. PerplIslakaan ,'v"egara Malaysia

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-Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

DEFINITION OF ACCULTURATION

The World Book Mullimedia Encyclopaedia ( 1995) g ives the definition of acculturation as "the process by which cultural traits of one group change through the people's contact with the culture of another group. The term is sometimes used to describe the process by which individua l lea rn another culture." Ency­clopedia Britannica ( 1995) defines acculturation as " ... the process of change in artifacts, customs, and

beliefs that result from the contact of soc ieties with different cultural trad itions ... ". Two major types of acculturation may be distinguished based on two classes of conditions under which changes take place. The first condition refers to when a soc iety borrow and modify its cultural elements where people ofdif~ ferent culture maintain an interchange of culture with­out imposing any military or politica l domin at ion of one group by another. The second type of accultura­tion takes place when one group establishes domi­nance over another through military or political con­trol where direct change such as ass imilation and cultural fusion occur. In most cases, acculturation is associated with soc io-economic variable such as edu­cation and income of the society.

In the context of thi s paper, acculturation ofi T refers to the process of change in the values, beliefs and way of life of Malays ian society toward the use of IT as a result of the government intervention with IT-based policies, programmes and projects as well as the results of globalization which had exposed Malaysia into the g lobal digital community. The change of IT values w ill include: (a) development of an information-rich and technol ogy I iterate society; (b) nurturing science and technology culture through continuous use of IT; (c) continuous pursuit of life­long learning through the inculcation of reading hab­its and the use of IT as a mean of acquiring latest knowledge and information of one's interest; (d) con­tinuous exposure of information resources in variety of formats - print, multimedia, and on-line services; (e) equal access to information for the "have" and the "have not" in the cities and rural areas as well as those who are handicapped; (I) easy access of inform a­tion from anywhere at any time through an integrated

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information network within the natioll. Libraries in Malays ia have an important role to playas a catalyst of acculturation IT culture through the prov is ion of IT facil ities, IT resources (data bases and access to webs ites) and condusive environm ent for library us­ers to learn and use IT. Librar ies can a lso extend IT facilities to th e rural communiti es through an inte­

grated network of digital libraries. Introduc in g [T facilities to the rural librari es w ill bridge the gap be­tween the urban and the rural communities in the use

of IT. th us bringing the rural communities il1to the mainstrea m of IT deve lopment.

IT SCENARIO IN MALAYSIA

Vision 2020 envis ioned Malaysia to achieve the sta­tus of a fully developed nation by the year 2020. Rec­ognizing that information has become the cutting edge of globa l competition, Malaysia has made I nforma­tion Technology (IT) as one of its main thrusts and has placed it at the forefront of national soc io-eco­nomi c deve lopment. The National Information Tech­nology Coun ci I (N ITC) was establi sh to adv ise the government on IT developments, to formulate a na­tional IT plan. and to identify key programs wh ich wi ll contribute to the transformation of the Malay­sian society into a knowledge-based society. During the Sixth Malaysia Plan (1991-1995), the government invested substantial resources which were directed towards laying the basic IT infrastructure as a first step towards establishing network facilities and ser­vices. Consequently, there was an increased usage of IT in both the public and private sectors. IT in­vestm ents grew rapidly at an average rate of24% per annum from RMIJ billion in 1994 to RM3.8 billion in 1995. During the Seventh Malaysia Plan ( 1995-2000), it is expected that IT will have an significant impact on the devel opment process and lifestyle of the popul ati on of Malaysia .

• Goverllmenllllitialives

Mega government project such as the Multimedia Su­per Corridor (M SC), located in an area of 15km by

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Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

50km, stretching from the Kuala Lumpur Interna­tional Airport (KLlA) and the new capital center at Putrajaya, is being developed. Megajaya, consisting of twin cities of Putrajaya and Cybeljaya, located at the heart of MSC, wi II be the seat of electronic gov­ernment and will be the future intelligent cities of Malaysia. MSC will be the nerve center for the de­velopment of Malaysia as a global digital economy anchored by an information-rich and knowledge-in­tensive soc iety. The MSC will be the headquarters for the dcsign and marketing of multimedia indus­tries. Private sector multimedia companies are be­ing encouraged to locate in the MSC to develop and market high value-added IT industr ies, particularly in the multimedia technologies, thereby developing Malaysia as a regional IT hub. The government is also encouraging domestic and foreign enterprises to establish joint ventures to conduct Research and De­velopment (R & D) in the MSC in order to enhance local technological capabilities and to provide state­of-the-art IT services. Some of the MSC flagsh ips are: (a) elec/ronic government, which will provide facilities such as multimedia conferencing, s ingle window to government through common databases, multimedia citizen kiosk. In line with this, the gov­ernment is also promoting a paper-less administra­tion among all ministries, government departments and its agcnc ies; (b) public jacili/ies such as the es­tablishment of smal1 schoo ls, multimedia univers ity and multimedia digital library; (c) business sec/or which wi ll provide telemarketing, remote manufac­turing multimedia contents and software develop­ments; (d) medicine jacilities which will provide Telemedicine serv ices for public to receive medical advice o n-line . The development of MSC has prompted other states in Malaysia to set up its own IT or Cybercity centers with multimedia information faci liti es as an avenue for providing useful informa­tion to the general public at state levels. Cyberlaws consist in g of 4 laws, namely the Copyright (Amend­ment) Bill, J 997, the Digital Signature Bill, Computer Crime Bill and the Telellledicine Bill are being de­bated at the Parliament. The MSC is a lso drafting provisions for the Multimedia Convergence Act, the Telemedicine Cyberlaw, and the Electronic Govern­ment Cyberlaw.

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• Telecommllllicfltiolllll/raslrilc/ure

Telecommunication in Malaysia has undergone trans­formation to cater the needs of multimedia require­ments. The National Telecommunications Policy which was passed in 1994 has, among others, the fol­lowing objectives: " ... to ensure that telecom munica­tion services are extended to the urban and rural popu­lation at affordable rates, and to ensure that the tele­commun ication infrastructure is adequate and effec­tive in supporting the development and industrializa­tion efforts of the country ... ". In order to provide the teleCOl11l11l1l1 ication infrastructure which is necessary to support multimedia applications through broad­band technology that forms the backbone of the Ma­laysian information superhighway, the Malaysian government has issued licenses to a number of tele­communication operators to provide network infra­structure and va lue-added services.

JARING (Joint Advanced Research Integrated Net­working) project was introduced in 1991 , to promote information exchange and database development through access to the Internet at affordable costs through a nation-wide network based on open stan­dards. As an extension to JARING project, a num­ber of networks (Jaringan) were established, namely: Jaringal1 Pendidikan (Education Network among school s), Jaringan IlmZl (Knowledge Network among libraries), Jaringan Penyelidikan (Research Networks among research institutions), Jaringan Pertanian (Agriculture Network among agriculture related in­sti tutions), Jaringan Awam (Public Networks) which provided information of general interest to the pub­lic. A number of commercial sectors are beginning to prov ide on-line services through electronic com­mercial scrv ices to promote their products and ser­vices.

In January 1996, Malaysian launched its own sate l­lite - the MEASAT I and in December 1996, MEASAT II. The satellite technologies enable vast resources of multimedia knowledge, information and entertainment to be transmitted even to homes in re­mote areas. The ASTRO, Malaysian's own satellite

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Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

televisio~ channel, provides home views access to 30 television channels 24- hours a day. Video-on­demand, movie-on-demand and mus ic-on-demand wil l soon be available to the Malaysian homes. It was recently announced that Internet Te lev ision will be made avai lab le in Malays ia by the year 1998.

• Specialized Oil-line Databases / Services

A number of spec ialized public databases have been developed , such as the fo llowing: (a) PALMOIL1S (Palm Oil Informat ion On-line Service) prov ides in­formation on the palm o il industries; (b) SfRIMLlNK (Standard Industria l and Research Info rmation Link) provides information on standards, patents, and in­dustrial resea rch activ ities; (c) CSL (C iv il Service Link) provides in fo rmation on vari ous aspects of public adm inistration, including government regula­tions, custom tariffs, incentives. government policies and economic data; (d) AGROLfNK which prov ides comprehensive data and information on the agricul­ture sector; (e) SfTTDEC (South Investment, Trade and Techno logy Data Exchange Center) prov ides in­formation that promote exchange of investment, trade and technology info rmation among deve lopi ng coun­tries through a global computer network linking mem­ber countries; (I) MASTICLfNK (Ma laysian Scien­tific and Technologica l Information Link) prov ides R&D information and information ana lys is on sc i­ence and techn o logy; (g) MEDICAL TNFOLfNE, medical information of interest to the genera l publ ic such as c hild health, cardiac health , women and mother's health ; (h) NSTP Online provides fu lltext da ily news of in the New Straits Times paper. Major libraries in Malaysia especially the Nati onal Library of Malaysia and university I ibraries have deve loped bibliographic databases and their On-line Public Ac­cess Cata logues (0 PAC) can be accessed through Internet.

• IT-based Education Systems

The education system s in Malays ia are changi ng in order to cope up w ith the technological era. Com­puter literacy and computer-assisted teaching learn­ing programmes have been extended to a ll schools

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and training institution s. Thc Ministry of Ed ucation has developed a five-pronged strategy in o rder to ensure that IT becomes an integral part of the educa­tion system . The fi ve IT components inc lude: (a) computer literacy; (b) computer studies; (c) use of IT in the technology- learning process; (d) develop­men t of IT-based resourccs; and (e) other IT-based services. Many programmes have already bee n car­ried out, e.g. a pilot proj ect on computer lite racy in­volving 60 rural secondary sc hoo ls has been carried out s ince 1992. Another project on computer-based­lea rning involv ing 15 primary schools was launched in 1994. Computer- in-educat ion labo ratory was set up to un dertake research and development espec ia ll y in developing so ftware for teaching. Through the .faringan Pendidikan project, 50 selected schoo ls will be linked to Internet . The Munshi Network project introduced at 14 schoo ls in each state will provide student access to Internet through its e lectron ic re­source centers. Sekolah Bistari (S mart School), which wi ll be implemented in phases is set to revolutionize the education system in Malaysia by introd uci ng IT components into the learning env ironment. In Janu­ary 1999, 85 Smart Schools wi ll have its first in take. Smart schoo ls will be extended to rural schoo ls and eventua ll y incorporate all schoo ls in stages. The emphasis of the smart schools will be an extensive use of multimedia inform at ion tech no logy applica­tions among students and teachers, thus emph as iz ing the development of creati ve and independent think­ing among students . The Smart School wi ll encour­age student-teacher interaction th rough IT. Smart Schoo ls were introduced in order to prepa re the fu ­ture Malays ian youth s for the competiti ve IT-inten­s ive chall enges of21 st century. By the year 2020, it is expected that everyone who goes through the schoo l system wi ll be computer literate and be prepared for th e techno logi ca lly inclined job marke t. A Multime­dia Un iversi ty, a high-tech and innovative private in­stitut ion of hi gher learning is be ing established at the new IT city of Putrajaya, at the heart of MSC. The Un iversity will have its first intake this year. The Univers ity will focus on th e stud y of computer sys­tem s and development of multimedia loca l co ntents. Two other private univers iti es, namely th e Un iversiti Te lekom (UN ITEL) and Un ivers iti Tenaga Nasional (UN ITEN) w ill also focus on IT learning and teach­ing. The expansion of distance learning programm e

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Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

and the im plementation ofllatioll-w ide electronic li­brarics wil l Further enhance the usage of computcrs among the students and the publ ic at large.

• N Oll GOilerlllllellf Illitiafilles

To popularizc IT among the general public, two ma­jor IT associati ons, namcly the Malays ian National Com puter Confederat ion (MNCC) and Malaysian Computcr Industry Association (PIKOM) are active in promoting the use of IT among the genera l public. They organ ize annual cO lllputer exhibitions and con­Ferences at national and state leve ls which attracted many Malaysians. Schoo ls are encouraged to form com puter clubs to promote the use of com puter among students and to encourage them to share their experi­ences in thc use of IT. Mass mcd ia a lso play their role in promoting IT. Major newspapers have come up with special ed itions on IT such as the Computill1es by thc New St raits Times, {"Tech by the Star, Megabail by Ut usan Malaysia, which g ive a review and up-to-date news on the development of IT avail­able in Malaysia and in the g loba l market. There is a lso a spec ial loca l TV programmc - Cyberwave -which nttempts to reach the general publi c by pro­viding latcst news on the state-of-the-art of IT tech­no logy and promote its use. The advent of multi me­dia techno logy has brought many younger players into IT busincss. IT com panies are a lso active in o rga­niz ing classes and scm inars on IT to encourage M a­lays ian youth to understand and learn IT and Internet. A number of cybercafes have been set up to a llow public to have access to Internet , thereby encourag­ing them to navigate g lobal websites of interest and to comlllunicate with their "v irtual" friends across the world .

LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES IN MALAYSIA

In sllch an environment, the lise of computers and info rmati on techn olog ies in libraries is becomin g mandato ry. Libraries that tradit ionally developed as passive scrvice organizat ions focu sing on print ma­terials. are beginning to introduce multimedia ser­vices equ ipped with IT Faci li ties and multimedia re-

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sources, I,Hernet and on-I ine databases. Introducing IT fa cilities in libraries, prov ides li brary users vari­ous opportunities to use informati on resources avail­able in various databases and webs ites, thereby pro­motin g the use of these resources and nurturing IT cu lture among library users.

• Libraries ill Malaysia

There are approximatc ly 8,500 librari es in Malaysia, wh ich inc lude one nationa l library, 10 university li ­brarics and 4 newly establ ished govern ment spon­so::red pri vate uni vers ities, 120 academic libraries, 300 specia l I ibraries of varyi ng sizes, 14 state librari es with its own state-wide nctworks of branch, regional , vi llage and mob ile libraries, and about 8,000 schoo l librarics. The Nationa l Library of Malaysia (NLM) and uni versi ty libraries have started using computers to build up bibliographic databases s ince 1978 under tbe MALMARC project. Today, tbe NLM, all uni­versity librari es and some maj or academic li braries and spec ia l libraries, have installed integrated library systems for their in-house operations and building up bibliographic and fu ll text databases. About ISO I ibrari es have access to Interne!.

• Changing Pattems of Ill/ormatioll Needs

As a result of new economic polic ies and new educa­tion systems, a new soc iety with different infonna­tion needs is emerging in Malays ia. An increas ing nu mber or Ma laysians now can afford to purchase so phi sti cated home video/movi e and multimedia computers. A computer literate society is emerging as a prod uct of the new education system which is techno log ica lly based. There are younger entrepre­neurs entering into mu lti med ia industries as players in promoting the use and development of multime­dia loca l co ntents. This is in line with the government's policy to encourage software houses to deve lop local contents, as there is shortage of lo­ca l contents for education and fo r genera l public. There are increasing number of Malays ian workers pursuing higher ed ucation while working. The gov­ernment is encouraging companies to retrain their workro rces by introducing the HRD Consolidated

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Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Fund for education of workforces, especially in the manufacturing and industrial sectors. Tax exemp­tion is given to companies that send their employees

for furth e r studies to upgrade the ir skills in th e ir re­lated areas of work. Local universities are beginning to offer di stance learning program s. Many pri vate educational in stituti ons are developing twinning pro­grams with foreign uni versities being set lip in capi­

tal c ities of major states. Computer studies and com­puter cl asses are sprawling in major to\VI15 and cit­

ies. Primary and secondary students are encouraged

to undertake school projects compiling local info r­matiollllsing computers to generate reports. Increas­

ing numbers of the Malays ian companies are intro­ducing IT in their work environment. Soon there wi II be more network cOllllllunities and v irtual offi ce workers emerging, when morc and more people will be working from home. Libraries mu st cater for these emerging soc iety with new information needs that

are oriented toward the use of IT.

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the benefit of global info rmation resources to the local communities. libraries in Malaysia) espec iall y the

state libraries are introducing IT in its services at State

Librari es and its branches . Most State Libraries are plannin g to set up hypermedia centres, a centre which integrates the use of multimedia and computer ser­

vices. Multim edia digital library serv ices will not be concentrated in the urban centers but will be extended to rural communities. Plans to introduce multimedia

such as CD-ROM workstations with ready educa­tional databases as well as Inte rnet services to reach the rural librari es through its vil lage libraries are un­

derway. Thi s will enabl e the rural com muniti es to leapfrog into IT culture and have equa l access to in­

formation . Introducing new technologies will bring

the rural comm unity into the mainstream of techno­logica l development. Through libra ry serv ices such as IT user education , IT camp, exhibition of IT prod­ucts and serv ices, librari es wil l be the cente r for ac­culturation of IT to the local com munities.

• Changing Library Environment Toward IT ACe U L T U RA T ION 0 F IT THR OUG T-I

With the fast pace changing environment towards a

digital soc iety, librarians in Malaysia have recognized that the use of computer and informatio n technol o­gies in libraries is becoming mandatory. Libraries

that traditionall y deve loped as pass ive serv ice orga­nization focusing on print materials and waiting for

their customers to come to use its resources, mllst

now serve their clienteles beyond their phys ical lo­cations. They will have to disseminate informati on through vari o us networks, thereby providing rapid and efficient info rmati on transfer. Specific informa­tion can be packed and repackaged and delivered in any form required by information seekers. Therefore, librari es' customers have multiple options in term of information access and utili zation. Faced with in­

creas ing cost of pri nt materia Is, I ibrarians cannot af­

ford to acquire and maintain all information resources

in print formats. L ibrarians must change their para­

digm to become knowledge workers and act as net­wo rk information managers to source alit and con­

solidate informati on from variolls v,rebsites in order

to fulfill specific information needs. Therefore, tech­nol og ical development w ill increase the demand for dynamic information services in libraries. Toextend

LIBRARY SERVICES

Libraries in Malaysia ca n play an important role as a

cata I yst of accu lturation I T cultures through the pro­vis ions of IT fac ilities, resources and conducive en­

viron ment for use and learning IT. Some o rthe ro les are li sted below.

• Lihra ries liS Electrollic Kllowledge Resource Centers

In the digital era, libraries wi II fast develop as "knowl­edge resource centre" where knm.v ledge and ideas of

mankind are recorded in variety of medium - print

and multim edia - and are systemati ca ll y stored and displayed for easy access by library users for research and learning. The exponential growth rate of know 1-edge resources in l11ulti variolls formats available in

the market place as we ll as in the global webs ites, has necessi tated a paradigm sh ift for I ibraries to inte­grate print and non print materials as their basic co l­

lecti ons. Libraries are considered a " reservoir" of

knowledge, where new knowledge in va ri eti es of forms are constantly acquired and processed for specific

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Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

users requirements. In the tradit ional print environ­

ment. I ibraries keep stacks of print materials on shelves. Libraries in the multimedia digital environ­ment willmaintaill servers and stack ofjllkeboxes of C D-ROM s which contain digital inrormation and have oil-line access to global information resources through internet. Scanning and digitizatiol1 of local information sources will become a daily operation for managing and delivering local information con ­tents. The rich resources in the national, academic

and spec ial libraries both nationally and internation­ally should be made eas ily access iblc to the commu­nity thro ugh an integrat cd digital library system. Browsing of electronic resources through Internet is becoming a way of providing innovative library ser­vices . Library uscrs havc various options to select informatio n sourccs ortheir choicc. Thlls, the knowl­cdge resource center is not confined to printed re­corded knowledge located at single iocation, is now able to source out information and knowledge re­sources rrom various webs itcs and databases. Through networks 0 r I ibrary and information services. any in­dividual will be able to tap the wealth of library re­sources located anywhere , from any library. \vork place and homes.

• Lihl'llries as IT Cllltllral Celltres

Over the years, libraries, especiall y public libraries in Malaysia, have introduced variou s cultura l activi­ties mainl y to promote readi ng. Such act iv iti es in­clude story telling, forums and talks, hand icraft ses­s ions, reading scssio n, poetry reading, ctc. With the availab il ity of modern technolog ies such as multi­media co mputers, such activities can be done through the use of multimedia computers. The NLM, ror ex­amp le, ha s set up a Children Hypermedia Cen/re, where chi Idren enj oy learning and acquire knowledge rrom CD-ROMs. The Centre is equ ipped with mul­timedia computer systems, where ch ildren can view, listen and interact ror story telling session, play com­puter educati ona l programs, produce creative writ­ings using co lorful graph ic design, understand and appreciate nature and animals, and enjoy viewing scient i lic di scoveries from various child ren CD-ROM co ll ections. Children are independently using com­puter facilitics at the Ccntre e ither on their own or

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with the ass istance of the library ' s staff. Peer group learning are encouraged. To cultivate IT culture among children, the Library has organ ized a series of "ComplIler Camps" and "" Writing Competitions Using Computer".

Plans to sel up hypermedia centres in all the 14 state libraries as well as in branches and village li braries are underway. As a first step, the NLM has installed compute r with Internet racil ities at a ll State Public Libraries . Under the Seventh Malaysian Plan, provi­sions were allocated for the State Libraries and its branches as we ll as village libraries to set up a Hypermedia Centre. State Library are encouraged to develop Comll1unity Information Services in their homepages by providing loca l community with news such as cullural and tourist centres, and business news, local politi cal and personalities, etc. Libraries can organi ze IT based programmes for families to enjoy such as fam ily counsell ing, fam i Iy hea Ith, dietary pro­grams, travels, etc. as a way of getting families to get involved with li brary extension and outreach pro­grams. For advance acculturation, libraries can en­courage thc general public to use the Medicallnjolille. For foreign information sources, librarians in the 10-cal li braries can act as a translator ror the local com­Illunity. Through the Rakall Muda Program (Youth Friendship Program), loca l youths can be enco uraged to gather. compi le and document local and cu ltural heritage, resources, record loca l history, local dia­lects, loca l legends, ethnobotany, fl ora and fauna, etc. Libraries can develop loca l databases by work ing with loca l commu nities. With such programs, the local com munity wi ll be proud of their local history and cu ltures . This will insti ll computer appreciation and increase computer literacy amongst them.

• Lihrarie.' as Illformedia alld Edulaillmellt Celltres

By prov idin g va riety o r multimedia serv ices, which include print, non print, such as film , v ideo, audio cassettes and laser discs, CD-ROM co llections and access to on- line se rvices through Inte rnet and to ASTRO TV services, libraries can create infonnedia and ed utainment centres. Such centres widen oppor­tunities ror access to knowledge whil st making learn-

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Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

ing most interesting and entertaining. Libraries can negotiate with TV station to have off air recordings

from local TV!radio program which have educational and research values, so that library users can access them at their Own leisure time. Direct telecast pro­grams on areas such as Parliamentary and State Leg­islative debates, speeches by the Honourable Prime Minister all important events such as the N ational

Day ce lebrations, the launching of MSC, Minister of Finance Budget speeches, etc can be taped and stored for future research. Malaysia will be the host for SUKOM(Commonwealth Games) next year, and such important event will be telecast live. They can be taped and made available at the local libraries. By collaborating with Broadcasting Stations to copy!tape! digiti ze some histori c events libraries can increase educationa l resources for future research and educa­

tion purpose. These can be distributed or made it available on-line to rural library services .

Libraries in the district and rural areas have the po­

tential to become catalyst of change by catering to the information needs of rural communities. From

the author first hand observation, visiting di strict and rural libraries as a member of Consultancy Team to the State ofSarawak, it is ev ident that most libraries are opened at night to allow users to make full use of the I ibrary services . In most remote district and rural areas, there are no facilities for entertainment such

as cinemas, theaters, shopping arcades, etc. Distri ct

or rural libraries can act as a one stop community

edutailllllent centre. These centres may by introduce services such as multimedia and C D-ROM worksta­tions equipped with ready educational software, and where possible access to ASTRa education ' s stations and Internet. Libraries used to provide bulk loans of books to rural libraries. This can be chan ged by pro­vidin g computer workstati ons, TV sets and se lected video education and entertainment programs. This

will make the work of library staff more challengin g and will create a new image for librari es to become edutainment and infonned ia centres. L ibraries can

provide a more condusive learning environment for

the rural com mUll ities. I ntroduc ing new technologies

to rural libraries will bring the rural communities to the mainstream of deve lopment and thereby making a quantulll leap into a new technological era.

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• Libraries as Learning Community Celltres

Libraries ca n act as an important learning commu­

nity centres. Libraries can be the best place where users can experience independent learning where they ca n explore knowledge o f their interest from var ious CD-ROMs and Internet websites. Teachers, parents and librarians can work together to develop comlllu ­nity information resources. L ibrarian can coach and

guides parents and students in the use of'var ious in­

formation resources.

The NLM has set up Library Technology Injorma­tion Centre and Multimedia Resource Centre for its

ll sers espec iall y researchers. Such facilities are equipped with computers wi th CD-ROM fac iliti es, and some can access I nternet. Researchers and gen­

eral publ ic will be ab le to access local databases such as SJRlMLlNK. MASTTCLTNK. SITTDEC. etc. as we ll as global webs ites information resources via Internet and in fo rm ation sources from CD-ROM co llect ions on their own. Regular Ll ser educat ion programmes

were conducted by staff ofthe N LM. Such use r edu­cati on program s incl ude search strategy for navigat­

ing different types of databases and websites as we ll

as CD- ROM co ll ections . The NLM in corporation wit h the Library Association of Malaysia, organi ze series of public ta lks re lated on IT. Sometimes com­puter vendors were invited to g ive talks on the state­of-the-art of IT in Malaysia. Book exhibiti ons and computer exhibitions were held at the Exhibition Hall of the Library in co njuncti on of the IT weeks or IT co nferences . Such programs will be simulated to all state libraries.

Local uni vers iti es are now beginning to introduce dis­tance learn in g Smart Schools and w ill soon introduce distance learn ing for the students to learn at their own

pace. Technological advances w ill make classroom more accessible and effective. With distance learn­ing, any student from anywhere could be telepresent in the class and participate in it. A remote student

ca n electron ically co py content of th e classroom ma­terial s inc luding board display. In telepresent mode, students can revisit the class from any viewpoint.

Therefo re, students can I isten and attend classes at their convenience and at their own pace. The student

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Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

ca n e-mail questions to their teachers or lecturers and teachers and lecturers can respo nd to the questions by repl y ing the e-mailing. Student can experience

high-qual ity learn ing environment independent o f a formal envi ro nm ent. Libraries can prov ide fac ilities for students to rev is it their classroom, to interact w ith the ir teachc rs espccia ll y after school hours.

Sa te llite services ca n be used for receiving distance learn ing programs conducted at major universities via distance learning programs or open university pro­

grams. Thi s w ill facilitate people living in the rura l areas to cont inuc their education. By installing sat­ellite di shes in libraries, maj or world resources and record s of majo r confere nces may be tapped and sto re for delayed o r future re fe ren ce and researches. Stu­dents who are on vacation s at their hometowns and want to interact w ith thcir lecturers at the universi­

ties can do so via Internet. These services can be in­troduced in librari es, with users being allowed to se­lect good educational an d entel1ainmcnt programs to

view for research and fo r le isurc info rmati on seek­lIlg. Major confercncing laking place in the cities

can a lso be tran smitted to di stant librari es. Libraries wi ll be the best place w here general publi c can par­ticipate in v ideo conferencing via sate llites.

• Libraries {H Celltres or Excellellce or Specialized III/orilla/ian

In the era of digital age, special libra ries and state public librari es sho uld be developing as centers of excel lence fo r spec iali zed informatio n on specific subject areas sllch as ' state information, etc. Each

special library should maintain the ir own specialized informati on according to their parent organi zation' s

core competencies. Each state in Malaysia has its own specialities. Kclantan and Terengganu in the north­

east of Peninsular Malays ia are famous for their lo­

ca l handi crafts such as songkel and balik designs in add ition to their beautiful beaches. Sarawak is fam ous for its unique text il e designs, wood carv ings, in addi­

tion to its b io-divers ity, eco-culture and to ur ism d i­versi ties, and so fo rth . Each state is promotin g its own business. trade and tourism industry. Specia l li­brar ies and state libraries can play important role by deve lopin g specia l ized databases pel1aining to its core

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competenc ies. Thi s can be done in collaboration with agencies, expelti se and researchers in relevant areas.

T he Sa bah State Library, for instance, has been se­lected by the Sabah State Government to devel op Sa bah State Ho mepage.

Spec ia l libraries should provide spec ialized info rma­tion services which should cater for specific user needs. This ca n be done by conso lidatin g informa­tion fi·om di rfe rent sources, global and loca l databases and webs ites, repackage them for specific user need s. Spcc ial libraries sho uld be able to scan and ana lyze informatio n sources for specific user needs. Librar­ies should develo p se lected users' profi les of key re­scarchers. businessmen, industriali st or entrepreneurs, wi th their information needs, and di sseminate " pack­

ages" of information according to subject interest.

S pec ialmetadata on information sources relating to re lated researchers areas sho uld be made available in the library ··bookmark." Hence, busy researchers, busi nessmen, entrepreneurs w ill be continously ex­poscd to up-to-date informati o n in th e ir own field s. Working with researcher in spec iali zed subject areas will provide libraries with "win win" situation, where

I ibrarics can tap their experti se for future reference services.

Libra ri es can a lso create an on-line reference enqui­ries/orm in their homepages for researchers to make

reference enquiries, to request for docum ent deliv­e ry and inter-library loan, and to request fo r exten­sio n o f loan. Researchers w ho want to register as mcmbers of spec ial group or for special services can al so do so o n-line.

• Libraries as a Celltre./ilr Promoting and Preserving Cultural Heritage

Malays ia has a ri ch cultural heritage wh ich are re­corded in various form s such as manuscript, arti facts,

sculptures, wood carv ings, textile, jewelleries, etc. There arc a lso traditional songs, poetry, mus ic, leg­en ds, med ic inal herb, foods and o ral traditions which are handed down from generation to generation. A

large pOl1ion of these in va luable heritage are fast de­teriorating due to poor maintenance and preservation

practi ces. The re are also problems of documentation

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Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

and bibliographical contro ls. Some of these cult ural heritage are kept in the libraries and state museum. With the availability of scanning devices and com­pressed storage technologies, cultural heritage that are captured in photos, videos and sound recordings, can be converted into digital formats. Library can play a vital role by undeltaking projects to document the rich local cultural heritage by collecting, document­ing converting them into digital formats in a system­

atic way. Th is can be done through an involvement

of local h istorical /cultural /heritage societies or local chieftains. A regular exhibition of such rich cultural heritage can be done as pmi of the library services. In future, libraries can develop "virtual exhibition" oflocal cu ltural heritage accessible v ia Internet, thus enabling the local communi ties to d isplay to the world their own rich cultural heritage.

• Libraries as II/cllbator ami Secretarial Cellfres

Having the necessary computer hardware and soft­ware as well as reprographic services, libraries can provide incubator services . Incubator serv ice will allow publishers and small business entrepreneurs who do not have computer facilities to develop their homepages using I ibraries ' computer servers, and thus be able to advertise their products and services via Internet. By providing condus ive I ibrary environment, sma ll busi ness entrepreneurs can also use I ibrary com­puter facilities to produce their business reports , as well as gett ing business informati on and market trends from the Internet and library reso urces . Another ser­v ice that libraries can introduce is secretarial service,

where smal l sca le entrepreneurs, researchers and stu­dents who are doing their academic, research , o r schoo l projects, will be able to do their project pa­pers at the library compute r services . Library can also provide fast binding serv ices for the users. Incubator and secretarial services will provide value-added ser­vices to library servi ces. Such services can be a means for generating income for libraries.

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THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MALAYSIA INITIA TJVES TN DEVELOPING MUL TIME­DTA LIBRARIES

Th e mission of the National Library of Malaysia is to "ellSure thar all Malaysians shall have equal ac­cess to lihrwy services andjc/Gililies as well as have the capability (0 ufihze Ihe Mah~ysial1 and universal intellectual heritage through the national infegrated knowledge inji-astrueture of digilal libr"ries". To ensure that all Malaysians have equal access to li­brary and information services, the NLM has taken

the following measures:

• Financial Assistance

The Federal Government provides budgetary provi­sions to nil 14 state libraries for its annllal operational

budget and tive-year development budget, through the NLM. The development budget is for the reno­vation or construction of ncw State Public Library building, branch libraries, setting lip village li brar­

ies, procurement of mobile I ibraries, co lIect ion bu i Id­ing and purchasing I ibrary equipment, which include computer systems. The state libraries arc responsible for developing its own state-wide library networks. III order to facilitate nation-w ide library network, in

1994. JARINGAN fLMU (Knowledge Network) project was launched, linking about 50 libraries with intel'l1et facilities. Under this project, the NLM in­stalled, free of charge, com puter systems with Internet facilities to 14 state libraries and 31 libraries in the Ministries and the Federa l Government libraries un­der the Common User Scheme. Most state libraries are planning to set lip state-wide network of multi­

media library services right to the rural areas.

New state public library buildings and branch librar­ies have provision of hypermedia facil iti es fo r the general publ ic to have access to computer. The NLM has published Standard Ruang Lantai bagi Perpuslakaan Awam (Standard for Floor Space Re­quirements for Public Libraries) which include in it provisions for In formati on Technology facilit ies fo r

new library buildings.

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Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

• Developing Databases and Lo c al Illforl1llllioll Sources

Si nce insta II i ng its own i nlegrated com puter systems in 1989, th e NLM has created 5 databases, namely: (a) BINAR dalabase - cons isti ng of about 230,000 bib li ographi c records of the NLM's co ll ect ion, with an anllual increase of approximately 5,000 records; (b) MENTA III dawbase - cons istin g of about 58,000 records of index to selected per iodica ls articles pub­li shed in Malaysia, with an annual update of 3,800 record s: (c) SURIA database - cons ist ing of about 130,000 records of index to se lected newspapcr ar­ticles, w ith annual increase of about 5,800 records. The NLM is reviewing the continuity of this data­base as local newspaper are beginning to have its fulltext on the net: (d) PANCA RA N database - con­sisting of about 10.000 records of index to worki ng papers presented at conferen ces and seminars held in Malays ia, wi th an ann ual increase of about 1,500 record s: (e) MATAHARI database - co ns isting of about 3,000 record s of index to arti c les on Malays ia published in foreign journals/publications, wi th an annua l update of about 400 records. These data bases ca n be accessed via Intern et from the N LM's homepage. In 1996, the NLM launched its first C D­ROM publications co nsis tin g o f the BINAR. MENTA Rl. SURf A alld PANCA RAN databases. Such databases can be used by researchers and students to search information on Malays ian resources.

The NLM is al so developing a number of databases slich as: Directo"y (~f Libraries in Malaysia; Direc­tory of Publishers in Malaysia; List of titles cmd pub­lishers with ISBN: Expert Croup on Manuscript; List of Mcmuscript ill 'he National Library of Malaysia and Ihose idel1lified in dijferelll countries; Unionlisl of CD-ROM ill Malaysian Libraries and Instillltions: Gnd List a/compllter .~yslem and databases in South­east Asian libraries. These databases are based on data co llected or survey undertaken by th e NLM .

The NLM' s homepage inc ludes info rmation sources as fol lows: its corporate information - history, orga­nization, services, stati st ic on libraries, publications, major eve nts of the LM, its pub I ications, access to its maj o r databases, Union list of CD-ROM in Ma-

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lays ion libraries ami institulions, Tilles afMalaysian publicalions with calaloguing-in-p ublicalion . It also incl udes hyperlink s to other librari es homepages, the Library Association of Malays ia homepage, and other in stitutions under the JARING projects.

• Libraries Facilitie.lfor the Gelleral Public

The LM has set up the Library Technology I nfor­mation Centre whi ch w ill be eq uipped with computer systems for the publ ic to access [nt ernet webs ites and oth er on-line databases available in the nati on such as SJRIMLlNK, CSL. A1ASTlCLlNK, PALMOILlS, etc. as well as co llection of databases in C D-ROM . Thi s Centre is a lso used for regular U,er Education programmes on IT cond ucted by refer~nce staff of the NLM, whi ch incl ude navigatin g the net, access­ing the NLM databases, and other databases. Peer group learn ing are encouraged once the library users have attcnd ed the User Education progra ms. The

LM also cond ucted spec ia l IT training programmes for special groups such as repOliers, parents, students who are goi ng for furth er stud ies, cu ltural grou p, etc.

The Children Hypermedia Celltre as me nti oned above. is another fa cility to nurture children to use and enjoy viewing and producing creati ve works us­ing IT. This Centre will be simulated in a ll state public libraries.

In line w ith the policy towa rds deve lopin g a caring soc icty, the NLM has installed special computer fa­ci li ties for disabled particularly for the VIPs (V isu­ally Impa ired Persons). Thi s include a reading de­vice - the Arkellstone: an Open Book Syslem whi ch ca n convert any text voice fo r the V I Ps to I isten . The system is linked to a Braille printer known as Everest­D Braille Printer which can print in Braille format any selected text of interest to th e VIP. These de­vises enable a VI P to take any book from the Library 's co llection, have it scanned and read out in a synthetic computeri zed voice and when necessary have it printed in I3raill e. To encourage the VIPs to use com­puters, the N LM in cooperation with the Japan Brai lie Library has organized a seri es of international Com­puterized Braille Workshops held at the Computer

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Training Laboratory of the NLM. To promote the use of computer among the VIPs, the N LM or­gani zed an annual affairs called " A day with VIPs", s pec ial prog rammes fo r VIPs whi c h in­c lude user educat ion on IT, s pecia l reg istrati on for members hip.

• Digitizatioll Project

The N LM ha s started a pi lot project to di g iti ze its rare illuminated manuscript. A proj ect to sca n co llect ion of Malay Champa manuscript s is be­ing done w ith th e cooperation of Ecole Francaise d ' Extreme Orient, Fran ce . The NLM is plan­nin g to ha ve a collection of it s rare co ll ecti ons of photog raph s o n va ri ous cultural heritage to be di g itized . This year, the NLM is planning to acquire a co mpu ter system w ith scanner w hi c h ca n co nvert text from mi c rofilm /mi c ro fi c he of newspapers and rare collections of it s intellectural heritage into di g ital format.

• Humall Res ource Develop/llen1

The NLM has set up an IT Tra ining Laboratory for it s staff as well as staff of other libraries to have hand s-o n training o n computer system s . A series of IT trainin g for a ll levels of library staff, including workshops 011 navigating information sources from the Internet as well as de s ig ning homepage we re do ne la st yea r. In 1996, the NLM organized a National Conference on Mul­timedia Digi/al Libraries: Fulfilling the National Information Needs of the 21st Century. In addi­tion, the Library Association of Malaysia Stand­ing Committe e o n Informati on Technol ogy is very active in organizing seminar and wo rk shop on IT to promote the use of computers among its members. Under the Malaysia n Technical Co­operation Program, the NLM prov ides training and accept attachment of library s taff from und e r developin g countries s po nso red by th e

Sekitar Perpustakaan

Malays ian government. This trainin g also in­c lude hand s-o n on IT. Tra ini ng of lib rar ians in new technologies is important as 1 ibrarian s are respons ibl e to in sti ll and nurture library users in the u se of IT. T he NLM a lso provides consu ltancy services in se lling lip or upgrad in g library se rvices, wh ich al so in clude provi sions for se ttin g up IT se rv ices.

• Stratexic Alliallce With Private Sec/or.l·

In a trul y Malays ian In co rp ora te d sp irit, t he NLM ha s deve loped st rategic a llia nces with number of pri va te sectors to set up comp ute r fa ­c ilit ies in librari es. Esso Malays ia has set up the Children Hypermedia Center at the NLM as we ll as a t th e Negeri Semb i Ia n Public Library. [sso Ma la ysia is also worki ng with the NLM to produce loca l c hildren poetries in CD-ROM.

Th e N LM with the cooperat io n of the MeDollald MalaYS ia (Golden Arches) a nd Dewan Bahasa dan Pu staka (La nguage and Literary Bureau) ha s produced talkillg book of 10 award wi nin g/best se lected titles of Malaysian ch ildren novels pub­I is hed by th e Dewa n Bah asa dan Pu staka. The N LM is working wit h th e Illtematiol7al Expert CO lilmillee on Daisyl Plextalk World Field Tes t­il7g of Japan to convert these talking books into digital talkin g books.

The NLM is p la nnin g to produce more multime­dia digital publications by wo rkin g with va ri o us agencies that have comm on objectives, i.e. to en­ri ch Malays ian inte ll ectua l heritage by produc­ing multimedia publications. The NLM g ives input and id eas for any g rou p that are interes ted to produce multim ed ia digital publications of local co ntent s a s R&D project. Enriching lo­ca l content to a certa in extend will encourage general masses to appreciate and enjoy lI S l11 g

compute rs as part o f th e ir dail y life.

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

• Policies Alltl Strategic Formulatioll

As a result orthe Nalional Conference of Mulli­media Digilal Libraries held la st year, the NLM has taken var iou s steps to ensure the develop­ment of an integrated network of multimedia digital library , to be implemented in phases. Some of thc initiatives are: (a) to develop a master plan for nationwide multimedia digital li brarie s which will include formulation of pol i­cies and guidel ines on minimulll sta ndard s for establi s hin g digital libraries in different sectors and locations, resource sharing, developing stan­dards on c rea tion of local contents and Malay­sian metadata , collaboration in digitization pro­grams, cooperative acqu isition programs of ex­pensive CD-ROM title s, standardi zing scheme of payment o n fee-based information products and se rvices. resol ving copyright issues, etc.; (b) develop a nation-wide network of multimedia libraries in order to promote greater efficiency and accessibility of resources within the nati on. This will include developing communities digi­tal libraries at rural areas, thu s bridging the gaps between the urban and rural cOllllllunities in th e

provision of informati on technologies; (c) pro­mote the development of public domain local contents databases and digitization programmes of local cu ltural and intellectual heritage, thereby enriching the Malaysian information resource s; (d) deve lopment of Centers of Excellent on Spe­cialized Information Resources that will become focal points for specialized information network in the nation; and (e) streamlining rules, regula­tions and procedures that will hinder the devel­opment of IT and sharing of re sources among librari es. This will include the use of smart cards a mong libraries.

Sekitllr Perpusfllkllan

CONCLUSION

Malays ia is set to move forward towards an 111-

formation-rich and digital nation. In the digital era, whe re there is an exponential growth rate of databases and information resourccs available through the Internet, libraries can act as a cata­lyst of cha nge by makin g this wealth of infor­mati on and knowledge easily available to its us­ers. By in stalling computer facilities in librar­ie s, and extended suc h IT se rvi ces to the rural areas, libraries will be able to bridge the gaps b.etween the urban and rural communities in IT literac ies and competencie s. Libraries ' services and activitie s s uch as User Education on IT, talks and forums on IT, promoting the use of library IT facilities , su pporting computer IT clubs or as­soc iati o n at local levels, exhibition of IT prod­ucts and serv ice s, invo lving the local communi­

tie s in documenting and creating databases on local cultural heritage are some of the means of acculturation IT among library users. Extend­ing IT facilities to the rural communities will pus h the rural communities into the mainstream of IT devel op ment.

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

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REFERENCES

BR IT ANN ICA CD. 2.02. [Electronic resource]. Home cd. Chi cago: Encyclopaedia Britan nica. cop. 1995.

Ch ing-C hih C hen. Global digitallibrO/y inilialive: protOlype development and need. IN Microcomputers for In formatio n Manager: G lobal internetwork ing for libraries. 13(2) 1996.

ESTABLI SH lNG, development and ma nagement of Pustaka Negeri Sarawak. A proposa l prepared for the government of Sarawak by Shahar Banun laafar, Norp ishah Mohd . Noor and Shellatay Dcvadason. Kuala Lumpur: Perpustakaanncgara Ma lays ia, 1997. [Rest ricted Document] .

INFORMATION Ma lays ia 1996 yearbook. Kuala Lumpur: Berita Publi shing, 1996.

MALAYS IA. Economi c Planning Unit, Prime Minister' s Depal1ment. Sevel1lh Malaysia Plan: 1996-2000. Kuala Lumpu r: 1996.

MALA YS IA . Min istry of Energy, Telecommunication and Post. 711e dawning oj a new telecom1l1unicOlion era in Malaysia. Kuala Lu mpur: 1994.

MALA YSIA'S Multimedia Super Corridor. Kua la Lumpur: Malays ian In stitute of M icroe lectronic System. 1996.

MOHAMED Ar if Ntlll . Pwrajaya - the intelligeut city: (/ slralegy towards the digiral econol1ly. Paper pre­sented at the In fotech Ma laysia '95, Kuala Lumpur 1-3 November 1995. Kuala Lumpur: 1995.

SHAHAR Banun laafar. Exploiting global injormation reSOl/rces through JARINGAN lLMU. Paper pre­sented at the In fotech Malaysia ' 95, Kuala Lumpur 1-3 November 1995. Kua la Lumpur: 1995.

SHAHAR Banun laafar. JAR1NGAN lLMU: Malaysian library 's iujorl1lation nellvork. PROGRAM 30(3) lul y 1996: 1'.269-277.

SI-IAI-IAR Ban lln laafar. Feeling the pulse ojthe nCllion: assessing injorl1lalio/l needsjornatio/lal develop­ment. Paper presented at the Tenth Congress o f Southeast Asian Librar ians (CONSAL X), Kua la Lumpur 21-25 May 1996. Kuala Lumpur: CONSAL X, 1996.

SHAI-IAR Banun laafar. JARINGAN ILMU: challenges beyond. Paper presented at the Internet Seminar w ith a theme " Internet: the way forward", organi zed by the Library Assoc iation of Malaysia, Sabah and Sabah State Library. Kota Kinabalu : 1996.

WAN Mo hd. Zahid Noordi n. Education and Acculturation. Papcr presented at the Infotech Malays ia '95, Kuala Lumpu r 1-3 November, 1995. Kuala Lumpur: 1995.

The WORLD book multimed ia encyc lopaedia. [E lectronic resources]. Chicago: World Book, In c. cop. 1995.

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Hakcipta Terpelihara © 1998 - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia