LIBRARY NETWORKING AND RESOURCE
SHARING ACTIVITIES IN BANGLADESH
 

Dr. S. M. Mannan
Professor,
Dept. of Information Science & Library Management
University Of Dhaka

   Suraiya Begum
Associate Professor,
Dept. of Information Science & Library Management
University Of Dhaka
 

Introduction

The history of library cooperation in Bangladesh is not very old and up to 1996 library cooperation among libraries in the country had been rather informal and tenuous. However, some paper work have been done in this regard in the last few decades. In 1955, L. C. Key was appointed as a library consultant to make an assessment of the library scenario of Pakistan. Observing the library system, Key had pointed out that there was no cooperation among the libraries in the country. Subsequently, librarians of the country have tried to come up with some proposals on library cooperation to the government through seminars and symposia. UNESCO and IFLA have also done some valuable work to support these efforts.

The East Pakistan Library Association and the British Council organized a seminar on Inter-Library Cooperation in March 1967. F.G.B. Hutchings, a Senior Librarian and President of the British Library Association attended the seminar and gave a lecture on library cooperation. The seminar papers covered topics such as (a) inter-library cooperation in public libraries, (b) inter-library cooperation in academic and research libraries, and (c) a national plan for inter-library cooperation. Understanding the necessity of library cooperation, M. S. Khan, Librarian of Dhaka University at that time, had aptly suggested that a system of cooperative acquisition in Pakistan on the basis of subject specialization and inter-library loans should be built up among university libraries. He suggested that through such cooperation unnecessary and costly duplication could be avoided and the range of titles increased to provide wider subject coverage in the area. However, no steps were taken by the government then to establish inter-library cooperation according to these suggestions.

After liberation in 1971, it was found that there was still no cooperation among libraries. There was only semi-inter-library cooperation among the university libraries, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Library, and some agricultural libraries since there was no official agreement among these organizations on inter-library cooperation. For example, the users of Dhaka University Library could use the library of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the library of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC). In turn, the users of BUET and BAEC library could use the library of Dhaka University. This sharing and cooperation was indeed due to personal initiatives of the librarians of those institutions. At that time, the situation in the medical and agricultural libraries were almost the same.

Such personal and inter-organizational cooperation was found in every higher educational and research institute in the country. According to Akhter (1993:5), an informal inter-library loan system was operational in the country even before 1971. The system was finally formalized through the initiatives of the Library of the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR'B) and the National Health Library and Documentation Center (NHLDC). In 1976, these two organizations signed an agreement to promote library cooperation through an inter-library loan system. Thereafter, BIDS (1977), BIRDEM (1978), and USA1D Dhaka (1992), joined this program by signing inter-library loan arrangements. In addition to these initiatives, NHLDC and ICDDR'B informally agreed to cooperate with each other to avoid duplication in journal subscriptions. BIDS also joined the process. This arrangement has been operating for the last one decade without any legal base.

Regarding inter-library cooperation, the role of the National Library was found to be frustrating. According to Karim (1987:57) " the National Library of Bangladesh has an exchange program with the different institutions. At present, it is in receipt of publications from ILO, the World Bank, UNESCO Regional Offices, the Library of Congress, the British Library and some of the other countries of the world and except these there is no other inter-library cooperation in Bangladesh." However, in 1990, the University Grants Commission (UGC) took an initiative to prepare the union catalogue for the universities of Bangladesh in collaboration with the Asia Foundation. Unfortunately, the project was abandoned (Dewan, 1993:5). Therefore, it can be said that although inter-library cooperation in Bangladesh started a few decades back it still exists more in theory than in practice.

The government of Bangladesh recognizes the importance of proper utilization of scientific and technological knowledge for the socio- economic development of the country. To eradicate poverty and to expedite socio-economic progress, technological development is a must. For the success of scientific research and development, technological information is an essential prerequisite. To achieve their objectives, scientists and researchers always require up-to-date scientific and technological information.

To provide necessary information to scientists in the field of Science and Technology (S&T), more than 50 specialized libraries and documentation centers exist in the country. These are attached to different universities, research and development (R&D) organizations, industrial corporations, institute of technologies, and various agricultural and medical colleges (Rahman, 1993:180). The S&T information network is closely related to the national S&T policy and National Science and Technology Information Policy (NASTIP). So an attempt has been made to briefly describe the status of National Science and Technology Policy (NSTP) and NASTIP in the paragraphs that follow.

National Science and Technology Policy (NSTP): In 1986, the Government of Bangladesh announced the national science and technology policy, taking into account the fact that scientific and technological information is a prerequisite for strengthening the scientific and technological ability of the country. "The policy proposed a three-tier national S&T information system with the Bangladesh National Scientific and Technical Documentation Center (BANSDOC)
as the apex body (1st tier), four sectoral libraries and documentation centers as the 2nd tier (the sectors being physical sciences, agricultural sciences, medical and biological sciences, and engineering & technology), and all the scientific institutional libraries and documentation centers as the 3rd tier. Having independent modem facilities for storage, documentation, copying, microfilm, microfiche, etc., the four sectoral and all the institutional libraries and documentation centers would be linked to the BANSDOC (1st tier)" (Rahman. 1993:180-81).  The BANSDOC is to have centralized storage and processing facilities, physical facilities for on-line computer connections and documentation, and networks with various national, regional, and international documentation centers. But progress towards the implementation of this provision of the National Science and Technology Policy was slow though there is an increasing demand for such a policy under which different organizations can work together effectively to serve users involved in acquiring, processing, analyzing, storing and disseminating scientific and technological information (Rahman, 1993:180-1).

National Science and Technology Information Policy (NASTIP):

In 1987, BANSDOC took the initiative in formulating a National Science and Technology Information Policy in cooperation with a number of similar organizations and the Library Association of Bangladesh. With this end in view, the Government of Bangladesh constituted a fourteen member National Committee of Science and Technology Information (NCSTI). The terms of reference of the Committee included preparing a draft National Science and Technology Information Policy (NASTIP). The policy was drafted with the following aims:

to ensure a suitable and appropriate environment for the
collection, processing, storage and dissemination of information;
 

to ensure coordination, inter-changeability and appropriate
linkages between different libraries and information centers and
free flow or exchange of literature and information among them.

to ensure availability of sufficient funds for the development and
promotion of libraries and information centers; and

to ensure creation of a crop of highly skilled manpower
(Rahman. 1993:181).
 

The National Committee for Science and Technology Information (NCSTI). will supervise the implementation of the objectives and programs of the NASTIP and will enjoy administrative authority and financial support from the government while BANSDOC will serve as the secretariat of the committee. In 1989, the draft policy was submitted to the government, but due to various reasons, the policy till now has failed to receive its approval. But though the policy has not been formally approved. BANSDOC is serving as the national focal point in Bangladesh for all regional and international information centers and is publishing a number or databases, as provided in the draft S&T policy (Rahman, 1993:183). The policy is still under the consideration of the government.

As the focal point of the national S&T information system, BANSDOC, along with its regular services, has also been publishing a number of national documents. These are: (a) Science and Technology Information News Letter, (b) Bangladesh Science and Technology Abstracts, (c) Report on Survey of R & D activities in Bangladesh, (d) Current R & D projects of Bangladesh, (e) Directory of Scientists and Technologists of Bangladesh, and (f) National Catalogue of Scientific and Technological Periodicals of Bangladesh.

Cooperation Programs of BANSDOC : BANSDOC has cooperative programs with a number of international organizations, viz., Indian National Scientific Documentation Center (INSDOC), Pakistan Scientific and Technical Information Center (PASTIC), British Library Document Supply Center (BLDSC), National Library of Australia, Russian Academy of Sciences, SAARC Documentation Center (SDC) India, European Patent Office, International Federation of Library Association (IFLA), Federation of International Documentation (FID), European    Community    (EC),    and    UNESCO/ASTINFO, APCTT/ESCAP/UNDP etc. also (Rahman,1993:183).

Automation and Networking of S & T Libraries in Bangladesh
(1994-97): In the age of information explosion, there has been a growing problem with the collection, processing, storage and dissemination of information. Due to duplication of investments in  library holdings, the cost of providing service to the users becomes higher. Resource sharing and networking is the ultimate solution to the problem. Exchanging and sharing of widespread information resources between the countries of the world has been made easy by computer and telecommunication technology. For this purpose, it is essential to take immediate steps for automation and networking of the S & T libraries in the country for effective and expeditious service to the researchers. Therefore, BANSDOC, the central organization of the S & T information system in the country, undertook a project entitled "Automation and Networking of Science and Technology Libraries in Bangladesh (1994-97)" at a cost of Tk.186.00 lacs. The project is being implemented in three phases.

In the first phase (1994-95) the following libraries and documentation centers at Dhaka were to have been automated:

BANSDOC ( as the central host ); D. U. Library; BUET Library; BCSIR Library; BAEC Library; Agricultural Information Center (AIC); Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Library; National Health Library and Documentation Center (NHLDC).

In the second phase (1995-96) the following libraries outside Dhaka city were to have been automated: Rajshahi University Library; Chittagong University Library; Jahangimagar University Library; Bangladesh Agriculture University Library; Khulna University Library; Shahjalal University of Science & Technology Library.

In the third phase (1996-97) all the above participating automated libraries and documentation centers were to have been brought under an on-line computer networking system with BANSDOC so that it could act as the Network Service Center (NSC) and so that they could all be connected to Internet (Rahman, 1995: 8-12). It is to be mentioned here that the first and second phase of the project (automation of the above mentioned libraries) have already been implemented. The third phase is still under way. In this phase all the participating libraries and documentation centers were connected to the central host, i.e., BANSDOC and the network was named as Bangladesh National Scientific and Library Information Network (BANSLINK). The BANSLINK was inaugurated on the 29 June, 1998, initially with fifteen nodes all over the country. Except for the nodes at BUET Library and BSMMU Library, all others have been actively participating in the network. The participating libraries have already started to create their respective on-line databases. Under this network, the participating libraries have direct access to each other and on-line data bases. Certainly. BANSLLNK is the first on-line information network in the country.
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