We are in the epoch of a networked society where information technology in addition to its application in all spheres of human activity has been used extensively to record, store, and disseminate information in the digital form. Consequently, the world has almost been converted into a global village easily accessible in a click.

That aside, the dot com generation whose demand for information is insatiable calls for a developed and interconnected traditional library akin to the digital library. From the onset, I should make it clear that a digital library is not a replacement for the physical existence of documents; but no doubt, digitisation must be introduced to meet the present demand, to satisfy the non local user and to upgrade libraries to a hybrid nature.

The most cogent arguments against physical libraries are their limited buying power, information explosion, the search hitch in traditional libraries and the storage problem among other things. While these arguments are compelling, they obviously under look the drawbacks of digital libraries: the computer viruses, lack of standardisation for digitised information, quick degrading properties of digitised material, different display of digital products, and even the health hazard of the radiation from monitor, costs aside.

The fact here is that both physical and digital libraries have shortcomings. However, it is better to use both as complementary to each other. A digital library is good because it is not confined to a particular location or so called building. It is virtually distributed all over the world. The user can get his/ her information on his own computer screen by using the Internet. Actually it is a network of multimedia system, which provides fingertip access.

Similarly, it defines no physical boundary: The user of a digital library needs not to go to the library physically; people from all over the world could gain access to the same information, as long as an Internet connection is available. Closely tied to this is its round the clock availability: digital libraries can be accessed at any time, 24 hours a day and 365 days of the year.

Further still, the same resource can be used at the same time by a number of users. Better yet, an exact copy of the original can be made any number of times without any degradation in quality. It is also argued that the resources talked about here have much richer content in a more structured manner. For instance, one can easily move from the catalog to the particular book then to a particular chapter and so on. This means that a user is able to use any search term bellowing to the word or phrase of the entire collection. A digital library will provide every user friendly interfaces, giving clickable access to its resources.

Whereas traditional libraries are limited by storage space, digital libraries have the potential to store much more information, simply because digital information requires very little physical space. When the library has no space for extension digitisation is the only solution.

Most importantly, the cost of maintaining a digital library is much lower than that of a traditional library. A traditional library must spend large sums of money paying for staff, book maintenance, rent, and additional books. Digital libraries do away with these fees.

In conclusion, digital libraries should not be a replacement for the physical existence of document completely but with the present explosion of information and the insatiable thirst for knowledge among intellectuals it is a good complement to the physical library. With the increasing online publications and the shifting needs of users it is only paramount that we upgrade.

The writer is a lecturer at The Adventist University of Central Africa.