IM244 BACHELOR OF INFORMATION SCIENCE (HONS.) LIBRARY MANAGEMENT
IML651: DIGITAL LIBRARY
WRITTEN ESSAY:
DATA SCIENCE IN LIBRARY
PREPARED BY:
NURSHAHIRAH BINTI MOHAMED ARSHAD
(2019688938)
GROUP:
N5IM2446A
PREPARED FOR:
MADAM SITI KHAIRIYAH NORDIN
SUBMISSION DATE:
29th MAY 2021
TABLE OF CONTENT
No.
Page
1)
Abstract
1
2)
Introduction
2
3)
Data Science
4)

What is Data Science
3

Data Scientist Roles
3

Importance of Data Science
4
Data Science in Libraries

Digital Library
5

Librarian Roles in Digital Library
6
5)
Conclusion
7
6)
Bibliography
8
1) ABSTRACT
The definition of data science were stated clearly. The difference between traditional
library and digital library were briefly discussed. The roles of data scientist were discussed.
The importance of data science in various industries were provided. The correlation of data
science in libraries were emphasized. The skills needed by a librarian for digital collection
were also stated.
Keywords: data science, big data, digital library
1
2) INTRODUCTION
Library is an organization that provides reading and research materials for users. The
collection includes books, periodicals, microfilms, cartographic materials and sometimes audio
visual materials. It is organized by information professionals who provide access and services
with the mission of educating their target audiences. Information is mainly stored in physical
format. The users may be borrowed the resources and make use of it. The primary purpose
of library is to provide resources and services of various media formats to meet their users’
needs. Most libraries provide services such as:
User services (connecting information needs for users)
Computer services (library databases and websites)
Technical services (acquisition, cataloging and circulation of materials)
The vast changing of information has open new opportunities for library nowadays to
upgrade their digital skills, especially on services and collection. With the rapid development
of IT, libraries have been evolved accordingly. Library in the 21st century can consist of
electronic collection and can only be accessed electronically via library databases or web
OPAC. The term ‘digital library’ was first introduced in 1990s to enable users’ access to
electronic information that can be accessed through the Internet. From library’s perspective,
the rapid changes of information retrieval enabled them to adapt to changes to these
developments. There are a few differences between traditional library and digital library, such
as:
Traditional Library
Digital Library
Library staff handles acquisition, cataloging, Provide easy access to information for users
circulation and maintenance of physical and it is also available in various formats.
materials.
Acquire books and other materials through Subscribe to many online publications such
proper vendors as recommended by the as e-journals and also provide good Internet
management authorities.
coverage within the library areas.
To prepare the budget for the purchase of Provide OPAC services for users and help in
different resources and types of equipment resource sharing.
in libraries.
2
3) DATA SCIENCE
What is Data Science?
Data science can be defined as a field of study that combine three elements, which is
domain expertise, programming skills and also mathematics and statistics to extract
meaningful data. Data science is also known as the process of gathering, analyzing and
storing vast amount of data. According to Wainer (2015), the term ‘data science’ was first
used in 1960 by Peter Naur as a substitute of the word ‘computer science.’ About 15 years
later, the term was used to define the survey of data processing methods that being used in
different applications. Later on in 1996, the International Federation of Classification Societies
declare the data science as a topic. It is started to be used widely in the 2000s and the person
who handles it is called data scientist. To become a data scientist, a person needs to have a
degree either in mathematics, statistics, computer science or software engineering.
With the rise of data, global organizations are already implementing data science in
their systems to improve their overall process among other things. Data science helps
professionals take data-driven intelligent decisions.
Data Scientist Roles
The responsibilities of data scientist are interpreting and managing huge amount of
data for their organizations. Normally, data scientist have skills of computer science,
mathematics, statistics and also programming skills. Other roles of data scientist are:
To identify data analytics problems
Analyze large amounts of information to discover trends and patterns
Determining correct data sets and variables
Presenting information using data visualization techniques
Nowadays, data scientist has become an important role as they manage data and
other IT components. They also need a specific software to manage all those data of the
organization. There are several skills needed in order to become a data scientist, such as
quantitative skills, programming skills, statistics skills and also computer science.
3
Importance of Data Science
Data science is widely used in various industries, especially in business, healthcare,
finance, information science and so forth. It enables organization to understand huge amounts
of data and also teach them on how to properly organize those data. According to International
Data Corporation (IDC), the global data will eventually grow till 175 zettabytes by 2025. Hence,
it is important to use data science in organization.
The data science is a process of analyzing, extracting, managing and storing data to
create insights. It helps to improve the operation of the organization, especially for online
software. Other than that, data science helps to reduce budget allocation and time constraints
for searching materials. It also provides information about users, gain users feedbacks and
satisfaction hence it enables the organization to create more effective services for their users.
Moreover, it prevents any cyber-attacks and other cyber security threats such as virus attacks
and malware attacks in the systems. To simplify matters, it provides greater efficiency with low
cost.
4
4) DATA SCIENCE IN LIBRARIES
Digital Library
Information professionals are kept busy with the rapid changes in information retrieval.
Other than that, the demands from users also affected services in the library. Nowadays, users
prefer to have electronic resources where they can retrieve it anytime they want without having
to come to the library. It is time saving and also saves the cost at the same time. This leads to
library having to find new methods in order to meet users’ demands. One of them is improving
their library services, such as subscribing to online databases and upgrading their library
system. It is irrelevant for the library to use traditional method only, especially in this era of
technology.
Library should consider migrating to digital method, or at least using hybrid method of
digital and traditional. Users, especially academic students and researchers prefer to use
digital collection that they can retrieve via online databases such as Emerald Insight, Science
Direct and Scopus to look for their preferred materials. Library can subscribe to these online
databases and at the same time make the library collection available online.
Data science help library to become a powerful source of information, by providing
more online services, instead of depending only to physical materials. It is crucial for library in
this era to provide users with online resources. This is because, it is much easier and timesaving. Users do not have to go to the library in order to cater information. They only need to
login to the library websites or library integrated systems to retrieve materials.
As mentioned earlier, library can improve their digital services by subscribing to online
databases and also migrate their physical collection to digital collection. It is more relevant to
use digital collection than physical collection. With digital collection, users can even borrow it
online and librarian does not need to worry about maintenance of the materials. This is one of
the example of saving the library budgets on maintenance. Besides, the online databases fees
might be pricy but it will provide hundreds or maybe thousands of materials and users use it
as much as they needed.
Another service that library can provide regarding on digital collection is workshop for
digital collection. In this workshop, librarian can teach users on how to search from materials
from scratch. For example, tutorials on how to use web OPAC. Many users wanted to use
library web OPAC but they do not know how to use it, hence organizing a workshop might be
helpful to them.
5
Librarian Roles in Digital Library
These are roles that librarian needed in managing digital library. Normally, the librarian
in digital library are needed to:
Organize digital information
Provide digital reference services and electronic information services
Provide information retrieval for digital collection
Handle tasks of digitization for library physical collection, digital storage process and
preservation
Cataloging and classifying of digital collection
Traditionally, librarians have organized and managed information resources through
classification schemes. The retrieval of information relevant to a user's enquiry has been
facilitated by standardized methods of describing resources, such as MARC. In order for
librarians to effectively organize and structure information available on the Internet, they
require more than basic IT skills. For instance, a librarian need an advanced technical skills to
handle Koha software. The installation process is a bit complicated and need a lot of practices
and knowledge to handle it. Once the librarian know how to use it, it will be easier to catalog
materials. They do not need the traditional way of cataloging materials.
6
5) CONCLUSION
In essence, data science is a crucial technique and should be used globally, especially
in the library. This is because, library nowadays need to take measures in order to improve
their services provided for users so that they can meet users’ needs. Information professionals
are also need to be conscious to the concept and application of implementing data science in
the library as it is consider as a new need in this era. Interaction between users and library is
important in order to provide more resources for users on an ongoing basis. By utilizing user
resources, digital library can gain more comprehensive understanding of the construction of
data resources. The whole new changes in the characteristics of library services can raise the
bar for big data utilization and guide the direction of library services towards digital changes.
7
6) BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ahmad, K., JianMing, Z., & Rafi, M. (2019). Librarian’s perspective for the implementation
of big data analytics in libraries on the bases of lean-startup model. Digital Library
Perspectives, 36(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlp-04-2019-0016
Chu, H. (2015). Research methods in library and information science: A content analysis.
Library & Information Science Research, 37(1), 36–41.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2014.09.003
Li, S., Jiao, F., Zhang, Y., & Xu, X. (2019). Problems and Changes in Digital Libraries in the
Age of Big Data From the Perspective of User Services. The Journal of Academic
Librarianship, 45(1), 22–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2018.11.012
Li, Y., & Liu, C. (2019). Information Resource, Interface, and Tasks as User Interaction
Components for Digital Library Evaluation. Information Processing & Management,
56(3), 704–720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2018.10.012
Virkus, S., & Garoufallou, E. (2020). Data science and its relationship to library and
information science: a content analysis. Data Technologies and Applications, 54(5),
643–663. https://doi.org/10.1108/dta-07-2020-0167
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