The ‘Open’ Resource Phenomenon: Re-Inventing Library Operations in the Era of Openness

EasyChair Preprint 10316

Abstract

The shifting of power from centralized authorities and the need to democratize knowledge has been on the front burner. This, coupled with internet and it openness to providing free resources for people to solve problems means that libraries stand a good chance of benefiting from the abundance of open resources on the internet to provide and improve information services. The article takes a cursory look at openness, open era indicators and its significance in the digital age. The impact of openness on social norms, on power and governance was espoused particularly as it is sweeping away business practices and proprietary methods, highlighting the potential of openness in the realization of sustainable development goals. The interface between libraries and openness in promoting research by making publications and information available was examined; it also brought to the fore the impact openness has exerted on libraries in terms of fostering innovation/competitiveness, greater interoperability, increased autonomy of libraries, cost reduction, widened access to diverse population and so on.  The paper highlights vividly the positive influences of open content, open data and open access initiatives on libraries and concludes by advocating for the re-invention of libraries by promoting open science, building a culture of assessment, leveraging on online communities, transforming the human element for innovation and enabling mobile strategies for access to collections among other recommendations.

Keyphrases: Library Operation, Open resource, Openness, open access, open software

@booklet{EasyChair:10316,
  author    = {Niran Adetoro},
  title     = {The ‘Open’ Resource Phenomenon: Re-Inventing Library Operations in the Era of Openness},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 10316},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2023}}