Information Democracy and South Asia: Promises and Perils of the Web

Citation

Wijetunge, P. (2005), "Information Democracy and South Asia: Promises and Perils of the Web", Online Information Review, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 328-329. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520510607678

The author is the Head of the Department of Library and Information Science, Punjabi University, Patiala, India. Information Democracy and South Asia, which is his maiden book, can be considered as a timely publication in the digitally divided world. According to the author, the purpose of this book is to raise the awareness of library and information professionals of issues in the networked environment, and to build confidence among them to play a proactive role in the service of stakeholders and information seekers.

The book contains four sections – “The Digital Context”, “By‐products of ICTs”, “Managing Information”, and LIS “Education” – each section containing four chapters. Under “Digital Context”, Singh discusses the “watershed mark” and comments that re‐engineering of our resources and services will be the golden key for survival of future library and information professionals. In “The Growing Digital Divide”, after illustrating the digital library initiatives of the South Asian region, he emphasises that all those who are committed to the democratisation of knowledge and information must strive to bridge the gap of a growing digital divide among developed and developing nations. In the third chapter, Singh provides a detailed definition of information democracy and stresses the global spirit and mission of library services. In “South Asia in the Global Electronic Village”, the author offers a comprehensive analysis of the issues and implications of the global electronic village for the region.

In the second section, the author provides a comprehensive analysis of the library and information networks of the South Asian region, a theoretical introduction to digital libraries, and a general introduction to web‐based resources and services, with an emphasis on the changing role of the library and information professional in the digital environment. In the last chapter of this section Singh provides a broad introduction to the concept of electronic journals and a useful annex of URLs of free electronic journals.

In the third section, which covers topics related to information management, the author provides detailed introductions to information management, information literacy, end‐user training and resource sharing via networking in four chapters. While providing theoretical insights to these themes, the author does not forget to accentuate the shifting responsibilities of the information professionals of South Asia.

In the final section, on LIS education, Singh discusses the LIS curricula for the post‐modern era, LIS education in South Asia in general, distance education for LIS with special reference to India, and globalization of South Asian LIS education with an investigative approach.

As a whole, this publication is a valuable contribution to South Asian librarianship because of its comprehensive coverage of regional information otherwise not available to the professional community. The author himself comments that awareness of professional affairs within the countries of the region is lacking, so it is a pleasure to confirm that this work is making a significant contribution to fill this void. The author has demonstrated his professional expertise not only in the digital environment but also in a multiplicity of supplementary themes for the post‐modern information profession.