The Librarians ‘role in Setting up Digital Libraries projects: A case study of Librarians at the University of Constantine 1

Abstract

 The need for librarians to shift to the digital environment in terms of work to face the present changes necessitates some thinking about the requirements of this conversion. University libraries make efforts to cope with the challenges that face the institutions of higher education either from the side of the change occurring in the teaching methods and supports or in the activation of the field of scientific research. This makes the new techniques a solution for the university library which becomes the heart of the teaching process. Among these developments, we find the digital library which aims at facilitating the access to the collections of the users via the use of these new techniques. Thinking about this kind of solutions requires a pre-study about the librarians’ readiness in working in this new environment which includes many aspects such as the material and financial matters and others. We will attempt, through this paper, to study the librarians’ readiness of the University of Constantine 1 in working in the digital environment by measuring their skills and reflecting the impact of their level on the practices of the library which projects to integrate the digital space. We will also insist on the importance of introducing training programs that enable university librarians to cope with the needs of the new working situation under the shade of these technological projects.