Smart / Digital Library

A digital library is a paper set in a structured electronic form, which can be viewed on internet or on a CD-ROM. Links to magazine articles, books, journals, photographs, sound and video can be accessed according to the individual library. The online database of digital items is a virtual library, digital registry, or digital collection.

Capital Smart City Islamabad (the first ever Smart city in Pakistan) has planned to establish education city having Smart Libraries, Universities, Schools, Medical Colleges and Day Care Centers.

A library fitted with smart library technology can be accessible without staff to library users. The technology enables library buildings to be remotely controlled including automatic gates, lighting, self-service kiosks, and public computers. It helps us to expand library opening hours substantially so that more people can sometimes use the library.

Virtual libraries should draw on work in the field of data management and learning. Online libraries provide an effective way to provide students and other users with learning resources.

With advancements in computer technology and online communications, the idea of smart library began in 2000s. Smart Library is also referred to as a virtual, digital and intellectual library. The definition of intelligent library is apparent in various ways: the term "smart" stands for sophistication, versatility, beauty and appreciation. Smart library is a system of substance hardware and software which offers a wide range of opportunities for finding and supplying essential information to active users in compliance with their demands and specifications. Smart Library offers creative, engaging, insightful, imaginative, changeable products of every kind .The main purpose of the smart library is to encourage users of digital technology to receive information.

When the library is in smart mode, every library client can have his library card. A short training is necessary before the card is activated. This course gives all of the smart library card information.

For smart libraries, there are numerous ways to do the training: the user should check the card at the door and type the PIN to reach the smart library. When the card is activated, all user information can be received. The intelligent token is used when the user enters the library, and when the book is released.

You can store digital content on site or remotely through computer networks. Generally speaking, a business knowledge center or digital library system involves: collection of resources; arrangement of resources; processing of resources; distribution of resources.

Digital library means that all content is digitized by 0s and 1s and can only be accessed by computers while digital data is available through specific electronic devices. The electronic library comes first and then the digital library in the case of library automation

Benefits of electronic libraries, it includes better access and easier preservation of traditional resources, and expansion of library collections. The search capability gives digital materials a huge advantage when an Ascii version is available.

The digital library is different from the traditional library, with certain characteristics. It has an expansive and precise search system with large volumes of resources for text, images and sound. There is no need for physical space for collecting online libraries and you can do it from anywhere.

Digital libraries provide following services;

• Audio books, electronic media, broad printed materials and braille materials. Including printing books, a selection of audio and ebooks are probably stored by your local library for a different reading experience.
• Computer games, CDs and DVDs
• Access to the Internet
• Clubs in the neighborhood

What is a digital archive?A digital archive is similar to a physical archive where historical documents (often by scanning or photography, unless a document was first digitally created) and made available online have been digitized or items that prove past history.

Library categories include colleges, schools, hospitals, law firms, companies, museums and the government.

There are following main types of libraries:

• Academic libraries serve colleges and universities

• City and towns of all forms are served by public libraries

• Student kindergarten libraries serve grade 12 students

In a Smart Library;

• You can borrow, return and renew library items and pay for them using the self-service kiosks during smart library hours. Collect reserved things waiting at the booking collection and loan them via self-service kiosks
• Accessing and browse the public library collection on public computers
• Contacting a group free of charge on the library space
• Hiring a meeting room (pre-reservation is required)
• Printing from public computers, photocopying and scanning papers

Library service are include; Current Awareness Service, References Service, Online book reservation, Guidance and Information Sections, Selective Dissemination of Information, Audio Collection, Inter Library Loan Service, Photocopying and Printing Services.

Following are some more characteristics of intelligent libraries:

• smart libraries provide library community with skills and resources to handle cyber problems efficiently and to sustain their positive features online quality.
• Smart library has been built for all forms of libraries to be adapting and versatile, including national, agricultural, academic, public, residential, remote and wireless.
• The intelligent library is the extension for the current or new situation of a checked model.
• Intelligent technology can help reduce the digital divide in the online world by improving the knowledge and skills of consumers and workers.
• The best infrastructure and practical cyber security techniques are managed in one place.

Only with library technology is smart library training possible based on new information and communication innovations. In accordance with the following techniques:

Smart Library Card:When a user enters a library to scan the intelligent library's card and enters the PIN, each user is enabled and the card gives students and researchers all the details of it. Intelligent card used also for the book issue and return.

• Mobile Apps:Mobile applications are programs running on a mobile device that executes certain functions for its users. Handheld applications Profile information is provided by mobile applications.
• Smart Data Information Technology:Semantic framework is used to support the science digital information technology data. The smart technical library organization is the information resources that give their semanticized structure. Intelligent library material supported by semantine partnerships. The material is based on the opinions of experts.
• Intelligent Services: the smart library provides the intelligent library owners with intelligent services. Selective Information Dissemination (SDI), by means of permanent and one-off user requests, enables linguistic collecting information for new publications and records.
• Intelligent knowledge detection: generating new knowledge by using citation data. New ontological connections grow, new ontology build.
• Smart Interface: smart interface that allows user interaction, user evaluation and effective search methods to be registered.