Impact of Internet on Library and Information Services

Information is a vital element for any type of development. But, nowadays, information is increasingly growing up by leaps and bounds. In the perspective of knowledge proliferation, person who need to collect information is not possible easily for him. For removing this problems, Internet contributes a lots way in library and information center. The impacts of internet on library and information services are as follows: 

3. Technical Processing: Internet provides access to publisher’s catalogues and OPACs of large libraries. OPACs have become a popular source of bibliography and cataloguing information through Internet. Libraries can scan these catalogues and download bibliographic data. The catalogue for new books can be prepared on the day of acquisition itself. Internet also offers access to Dewey summaries for classification.
4. Collection Development: Librarian can have easy and quick access to the suppliers of books, journals and electronic publications through Internet. Large number of selection tools like Book in Print, Booksellers Catalogues etc. are now available on the Internet. These sources help in the selection of right and latest books for libraries. Internet has made the whole acquisition process much faster, cheaper and easier for libraries. Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, IBS Bookshop Co., UK, D.K. Agencies are the most popular and largest online bookshop.
5. Inter-Library Loan: Internet is a helpful media in inter-library loan transactions. Internet contains bibliographic databases and online catalogues of a number of libraries. These sources enable libraries to find out the availability of a document in other libraries. E-mail has become fast and cheap communication tool for libraries to send or receive ILL requests. Libraries can make use of e-mail to provide effective inter-library loan and document delivery services to users.
6. Reference Service: Now a large number of reference sources like, encyclopedias, dictionaries, manuals, handbooks, directories, yearbooks, atlases, maps etc. are available on the Internet. These sources enable libraries to provide prompt and efficient reference services to the users. Online sources ensure current facts and faster delivery for information products and services to users.
7. Information Services Libraries can provide specialized information services, such as CAS, SDI to specific user groups. For this purpose, library will maintain a user profile. Libraries regularly scan relevant databases, websites, and latest journals and retrieves relevant information suiting to the interests of the users, and communicate through e-mail.
8. Information Retrieval: Online information retrieval is one of the speediest to get the required information. The main advantages of using online information retrieval are;

• Specific requires can be great speed.
• A large volume of information can be searched rapidly and accurately.
• Many searches easily done on online would be extremely difficult to do manually.
• One can search and get the required information online in a matter of minutes.

9. Table of Contents Services: Most of the publishers of electronic journals on the Internet provide table of contents services to users.

10. Marketing of Library Services With the availability of Internet, libraries can design their websites. Libraries can use their homepages to advertise their services such as library catalogue, manual, list of periodicals, CD-ROM, new information products and services, sale of library publications etc.

11. User Education: Because of huge Internet resources, librarians have to provide intensive training in searching methods. Now libraries can setup website and provide a wide range of information pertaining to library sections, functions, collections as well as non-local users. Online user education program can be provided to users through libraries homepage.