Many people around us are saying—and have been saying for some time—that libraries are dying. We don’t think that’s true. We don’t think libraries are dying—they’re just changing.
Funding and budgets for libraries are being slashed across the board. However, libraries—or at least centers of information storage—have endured. They just look different from the magnificent monument that is the Library of Congress.
They’re digital.
What is a Library?
For most people, libraries are storage spaces for books. Of course, the main job of a library is to collect, store, and preserve books and other informational material—but that tradition is gradually dying out.
Today, millions of scholars can easily access any of the material stored in your library—but the information needs to be stored in an accessible and convenient format. This is where digitization comes in.
Why Digitization Works for Your Library
With digitization, you’re taking hardcopy material and turning it into cloud readable material—making it accessible from anywhere, and at any time. You don’t need a librarian. You don’t need to reserve days to catalog materials. The software will do the cataloging, categorizing, and classifying. People who’re looking for certain items will also have an easier time finding what they’re seeking—which will make them come back to your resource time and time again.
Better Access
One of the things the pandemic has taught us about physical access is that it’s not often easy. Several universities, especially in the United States, saw many of their students going back (or sent back) to their home countries due to the outbreak. Distanced from the facility of a library, many of these students now had no resources at their disposal through which they could access research papers, archives, books, and other educational material.
Universities that have digital library services had no difficulty providing students with these educational materials, since they could reach out from any corner of the world and pull their papers of choice out—all they needed was a stable internet connection.
Go Digital Today
Here are a few reasons you should consider converting all your print material, archives, artifacts, and other material into digital copies:
- Long-term endurance
- An additional safety net—should anything happen to your print material, such as a fire, you’ll still have copies
- More widespread accessibility
- Remote work is more of a possibility when your workers/students are at home and require additional informational material
You’re doing more than just turning information into bits and bytes. You’re preserving information and modernizing it for your audience—thereby ensuring durability and endurance in the modern world.
Digitize Your Resources Today
If you’re looking for a technical service provider to help digitize your library and resources, get in touch with us, at 3Alpha LLC.