The world could be just the better place if everyone only needs a single click on his or her computer to get any information. That's what was said by the Dr. Rein van Chaldorp in the guest lecture that was presented by the Library Science Program, Public Administration Department of FIA UB associated with the State University Library Cooperation Forum last Thursday (12/4). The event that was held in the fourth floor hall of A Building in FIA UB was attended by representatives of national and regional libraries from across the country, representatives of library science programs from several universities in Indonesia, and students.
In his speech, Vice Dean of FIA UB Dr. MR Khairul Muluk expressed that exploding information is a problem for librarians to sort and choose the correct information. In this case, it requires an exact solution that can answer that problem, one of which is developing the Library Science Program. “By the existence of the Library Science Program, we expected that we could produce qualified librarians, so that they could serve the visitors to get the accurate information as soon as possible,” stated this friendly man.
In this international guest lecture, van Charldorp was more telling about the changes of the appearance of libraries around the world for the development of technology. Once worked as the managing director of Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC) for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, he stated that libraries are no longer considered as a place full of boring books. Even in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, there is a library that has no books at all, but there are computers and iPads ready to be used to access the information. “That library becomes a comfortable place because it has a cozy canteen, the latest newspapers, even a piano for those who want to use them,” he stated.
Even more, van Chaldorp also introduced what is the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) to more than 400 people attending that event. He explained that OCLC is a non-profit organization that combines online catalogs from numerous libraries worldwide into a parent catalog called WorldCat. The existence of WorldCat from OCLC will simplify the access to information worldwide, and also reduce the cost of the library. The mission of OCLC itself is to connect people in the world so that people can access information through the linkage of libraries. Then the vision is to connect the libraries around the world. Enthusiastically van Chaldorp convinced the attendees to sign up and become a member of OCLC. “There are already 72,000 libraries around the world consisting of national libraries, university libraries, public libraries, distinctive libraries, and some school libraries joined the WorldCat OCLC,” as he explained. (ALA/MRH/FIA)
