Abstract:
The purpose of bringing this book together is to document the
progress the library and information sector has made over the last
few decades. It is also an effort to gather support from policy
makers, the public, and from prospective candidates to join this
important sector where people with the right aptitude for
emerging technologies can contribute to a large extent.
The book could be useful for information policy makers, for LIS
students and educators, and also as a historical timeline of LIS
development of the Maldives.
The idea about this book was generated over a year ago, and every
effort has been made to attract as many people in the information
sector to contribute to this edition in article submission. It is with
appreciation that we put together this volume with contributions
from almost everyone who has undergone an extended education
in this field of study and currently working in the Maldives library
sector.
The articles in this book can be divided into two main sections. The
first one mostly reporting on the progress of the Maldives Library
Association in terms of its management and administration and
milestones achieved during this short period, taking into
consideration the myriad challenges which can be mainly
attributed to shortage of funds and qualified human resources.
4
The second part of the book presents papers of scholarly nature,
focussing on the area of information provision in the Maldivian
context. The papers explore the areas of Library and Information
Services education and its progress, the complexity of the attempts
at creating a library consortia, the challenges in securing academic
journal databases, the need for adhering to a common publishing
standard, and the initiatives of creating and introducing local
digital libraries as well as embracing library automation.
I conclude these introductory words with gratitude to all the
contributors and well-wishers who helped in this process. The
compilation of this book has itself been a learning journey.
