1.
Digital libraries and sustainability
Digital transformation
of libraries in Brunei
Darussalam: addressing
the sustainability issues
of VILIS Brunei
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
The author
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim is Senior Librarian,
University Brunei Darussalam, Brunei.
Keywords
Digital libraries, Government, Economics, Brunei,
Economic sustainability
Abstract
In Brunei Darussalam the implementation of a technical
infrastructure to improve access to the digital world and various
e-government initiatives are empowering the country through an
informed community and an efficient government. A number of
ICT-related projects have been planned and implemented under
the Brunei Economic Development Council and e-government
initiatives. Digital libraries and the digital transformation of
heritage information have been identified as the most viable
areas to be developed in an effort to strengthen the information
basis of the community. This paper describes the plans for one
important project, the Virtual Library System of Brunei (VILIS
Brunei), and outlines the economic sustainability issues being
considered.
Electronic access
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Program: electronic library and information systems
Volume 38 · Number 3 · 2004 · pp. 184-193
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited · ISSN 0033-0337
DOI 10.1108/00330330410547232
184
1.1 Digital libraries: definitions
As we move towards constructing digital libraries,
we need to remember that libraries are not merely
collections of works. They have both services and
traditions that are a critical part of their functions.
Libraries interoperate with each other to serve the
information needs of a variety of different user
groups today, and expect to sustain themselves and
their collections so that they can serve users 100
years from now. They defend their users’ right to
access content, and to do so with some degree of
privacy or anonymity. The digital collections we
build will not truly be digital libraries until they
incorporate a significant number of these services
and traditions (Besser, 2002).
Libraries have experienced a strong shift in focus
over the past decades towards digital formats for
information resources. In a growing number of
libraries, there is now an attitude that user
demands will be made through digital media and
electronic dissemination as much as through
paper-based media. Universities are providing
improved teaching and learning resources via
digital media. National libraries such as the British
Library and the US Library of Congress are
developing large technical infrastructures.
The phrase “digital libraries” has been linked
with many other phrases, such as “electronic
library”, “hybrid library” and “virtual library”.
Numerous definitions exist, and they vary
considerably. According to Halliday and
Oppenheim (1999):
The term digital library is used less precisely and
may refer to anything from a limited list of hotlinks
to the entire content of the Internet.
Miller (2002), described a digital library as being
based on the following two components:
(1) The commercially produced databases,
electronic journals and books and other
electronic resources that are routinely
purchased or licensed by a library for delivery
via the library’s interface to users both inside
the libraries and remotely, and for which
library funds are expended for their purchase
or licence.
(2) Those digital materials that are produced
within the library or university and
subsequently made available to users
electronically.
Sun Microsystems (2002) define a digital library as:
The electronic extension of functions users
typically perform and the resources they access in a
traditional library.
Received: 9 January 2004
Revised: 13 March 2004
Accepted: 30 March 2004
All URLs in this paper were checked on 6 April 2004.
 Digital transformation of libraries in Brunei Darussalam
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
With digital libraries, an individual may be able to:
.
gain access to information about the holdings
of libraries worldwide through online public
access catalogues;
.
locate both physical and digitised versions of
scholarly articles and books;
.
optimise searches, simultaneously search the
Internet, commercial databases, and library
collections; and
.
save search results and conduct additional
processing to narrow or qualify results and
then click through to access the digitised
content or locate additional items of interest.
In the context of the Ministry of Education (MOE)
of Brunei Darussalam’s e-Education initiative, a
digital library is defined as:
. . . a portal that comprises components of electronic
resources, bibliographic databases of full-text
journals and other knowledge-based information
sources made available through the Internet and
required by various sectors in the teaching and
learning communities. It is a set of electronic
resources and associated technical capabilities for
creating, searching and using information. In this
sense, they are an extension and enhancement of
information storage and retrieval that manipulate
digital data in any medium (text, image, sound,
static or dynamic images) and exist in digital
networks. It offers various scholarly information
services that range from bibliographic to specialised
information services including full-text electronic
databases and digital publishing.
1.2 Sustainable development
Sustainability in the context of this paper refers to
two interdependent and related areas, namely:
(1) the internally or externally generated
resources needed to maintain the digital
material over time; and
(2) the preservation strategies needed to maintain
future access and authenticity.
Hence, issues of business models and sustaining
access through preservation are important in the
strategies adopted by the digital library projects in
Brunei Darussalam. The effective utilisation of
financial resources and the returns on investment
efforts are part of the ongoing debate between local
information professionals and the e-government
funding authority, as digital library investment will
cover the following expenses:
.
immediate start-up costs of either creating or
purchasing digital content and infrastructure,
including hardware and software;
.
further implementation costs for establishing
a digital library or even just basic access to
bought resources; and
.
costs implicit in preserving, managing and
maintaining digital resources in the longer
term.
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2. E-government and e-library initiatives
in Brunei Darussalam
Brunei Darussalam is a sultanate situated in the
Northwest of the island of Borneo, with a
population of some 330,000 (see www.brunei.
gov.bn/about_brunei/land.htm). Against the
background of the 8th Brunei Government Five
Year Development Plan, which began in the year
2000, the Government of Brunei Darussalam has
formulated a national IT strategic plan, called
“IT2000 and Beyond”. For this, the Brunei
Government National IT Council (BIT Council)
was formed, with the following aims:
.
to advise His Majesty’s Government in
matters pertaining to IT;
.
to assist Brunei to achieve the vision, mission
and goal of the National IT strategy plan for
the year 2000 and beyond; and
.
to advise, formulate and implement activities
with regard to the development and usage of
IT.
The formation of the BIT Council is in line with
the national IT mission, which states that it aims to
lead and facilitate the strategic development and
diffusion of state-of-the-art IT for the entire
nation. Since its inception the BIT Council has
been able to co-ordinate several efforts by relevant
government and private sector agencies in the
country to improve the utilisation of ICT in
various sectors of the community. The Brunei
e-Government initiative, which aims to establish
electronic governance and services to best serve
the nation, is a strong indication that Brunei has
the serious intention of achieving a knowledge-
based economy with state-of-the-art ICT
development. The e-government vision is to be an
e-smart government in line with a 21st century
civil service, and this vision is currently taking
shape in several ministries, including:
.
the Treasury Accounting Finance Information
System;
.
Human Resource Management Systems;
.
e-Education;
.
e-Procurement;
.
e-Health;
.
Mukim.Net;
.
the Government IT Network; and
.
the Multipurpose Smart Card.
The focus of the Brunei Darussalam e-government
initiative goes beyond the physical infrastructure,
with the overarching challenge of modernising and
increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the
public sector “machinery” in the country. The
project covers a wide area of the ICT needs of each
ministry, including hardware, data centre, PC
requirements, and content development and
 Digital transformation of libraries in Brunei Darussalam
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
training requirements. The digital transformation
of libraries and the provision of digital resources
for the teaching and learning communities in the
country are among the key areas that have been
considered as part of these initiatives. The most
significant are VILIS Brunei and e-library@ubd,
which are projects initiated under the e-Education
initiative of the MOE. In e-Education, digital
library developments have been placed under
the MOE’s five pillars of strategic ICT
components, in line with Edunet (Internet for
schools), e-Learning, Education Information
Systems and Human Capacity Building.
In addition, there are other Government IT
projects being undertaken using a special funding
arrangement outside the e-government initiatives.
For instance, the Baitulhikmah Digital Library of
State Mufti Department is a specially funded
government project under the Prime Minister’s
Office.
3. Scenarios of opportunities
The digital transformation of libraries in Brunei is
happening at a slow pace. Only one library so far,
that of the University Brunei Darussalam (UBD),
has embarked on transforming its collections into
digital format. Most libraries, except for UBD,
Institute Teknologi Brunei (ITB), State Mufti and
the Ministry of Defence are still using a traditional
library management approach. However, most
school libraries now have Internet access.
Currently only UBD Library offers access to
electronic resources, including online dictionaries,
electronic encyclopedias, e-journals, bibliographic
databases and some digitised resources. Figure 1
shows the homepage of the UBD Library Web site
(www.ubd.edu.bn/suppserv/library/index.htm).
The Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) and some
financial institutions are accessing the Bloomberg
and Datastream databases on a subscription basis.
E-journals are among the most sought-after
information resources in many academic libraries
and teaching institutions, as well as business
communities, in the country. Because of the high
cost and budget limitation factors, many have
resorted to a “wait and see” approach. It is widely
recognised that primary resources such as
scholarly journals, reports and statistical data are
vital for personal and institutional research,
teaching and for market or strategic purposes in
business organisations.
The VILIS initiative recognises the importance
of making e-journals and e-books available to all
colleges and higher education centres, including
the School of Nursing and the teaching hospitals in
Brunei Darussalam. Most of these institutions are
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currently at a disadvantage by not having these
resources. Also, UBD is in need of more electronic
resources to support expansion of its academic
programmes and research activities, as print-based
materials are not adequate to support and
complement the “dynamism” of these programmes.
Budgetary constraints are hampering the
development of information resources in academic
institutions and are affecting the quality of
teaching, learning and research. The budget for
libraries has not been very generous, and in higher
education institutions the money allocated is often
far below requirements, especially for subscribing
to electronic resources. It has to be recognised that
these electronic resources are not “a rich man’s
toy” any more, but a necessity and an advantage
for the future development of institutions of
learning in Brunei Darussalam.
The difficulties in acquiring locally published
materials and archival papers are also hampering
learning, teaching and research activities in Brunei
Darussalam. Publications about the country and
works by local writers are greatly in demand,
especially among university students, academics
and foreign institutions, and the book trade is still
in its infancy. Information is usually stored in
dispersed locations and access is mainly confined
to specific institutions. Rules and regulations in
these institutions vary: some are restrictive, while
some are flexible. Searching through the
collections is a very time-consuming, manually
based process. There is no central bibliographic
database for identifying the collections and
facilitating document delivery.
Local electronic publishing industries are
currently not well developed to meet the challenge
of a knowledge-based economy. Publishing houses
in Brunei such as Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka,
Pusat Sejarah, Jabatan Penerangan, UBD and
many others are still focusing on paper-based
publications and production is still below the
desired level. E-business related to publishing is
still not being explored. Most of the current
institutional information system infrastructures
are inadequate to accommodate ever-changing
requirements, but this is changing.
“Distance learning” is a new catchphrase for
many academic institutions in Brunei. Many
private institutions have already embarked on this
venture, and there is a tendency that academic
institutions are planning to embark on similar
projects based on the “calak Brunei concept” or
Bruneian character. Establishing information
resources to support distance learning course
content and information delivery mechanisms is
one of the applications to be developed by VILIS
in partnership with relevant parties. The MOE will
be embarking on e-learning initiatives very soon
after a careful evaluation of a pilot project with
UBD.
 Digital transformation of libraries in Brunei Darussalam
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
Figure 1 Homepage of the Web site of the Library at the University of Brunei Darussalam
4. Digital library projects
There are three projects already approved by the
authorities at the ministerial and governmental
level and these are briefly described in this section,
with the remainder of the paper being concerned
specifically with the VILIS project.
4.1 VILIS Brunei
VILIS Brunei is a national digital library initiative,
spearheaded by the MOE in conjunction with the
needs of other heritage and information
institutions, such as the Dewan Bahasa dan
Pustaka Library, Brunei Museum Library, the
Ministry of Religious Affairs and other ministries
in the country. The VILIS project will also take
into account the needs of institutions of higher
learning, colleges and secondary schools in Brunei
Darussalam. VILIS comprises several
components, such as the provision of hardware
and software, e-resources, information products
and services, library automation and digital
publishing, as described further in the next
section.
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4.2 e-library@ubd
The e-library@ubd project is being developed in
line with current technological advances and the
need for an efficient storage and retrieval
mechanism on the part of the UBD library, at the
same time initiating a robust digital library and
content digitisation initiative for the purpose of
enriching national digital resources and preserving
them in electronic form.
4.3 Baitulhikmah Digital Library
Baitulhikmah Digital Library is the development
of an Islamic digital library project initiated by the
State Mufti Library, Prime Minister’s office. It
involves building an Islamic Library Portal,
content development, including digitisation of key
Islamic reference sources, and the implementation
of an integrated library management system for the
library.
5. VILIS Brunei
5.1 General overview of VILIS
VILIS Brunei is meant to serve the information
needs of the teaching and learning communities in
 Digital transformation of libraries in Brunei Darussalam
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
Brunei Darussalam. It is a digital library offering
various services that are beyond library catalogues
and bibliographic information. It provides access
to specialised information services, including
electronic databases, online reference enquiries,
interlibrary loans, digitisation, and electronic
publishing. One of the vital components of VILIS
is the ability to create, search, use, store and
preserve local publications and information of
national and international interest accessible on a
subscription or pay-per-view basis. In this sense, it
is an extension and enhancement of information
storage and retrieval mechanisms that manipulate
digital information in any medium (i.e. text,
image, sound, static or dynamic images) and exist
in digital networks.
VILIS Brunei aims to make available relevant
and adequate electronic information resources to
all sectors of the learning and teaching community
in the country, in an equitable, co-operative and
cost-effective manner. VILIS also aims to support
the research and information needs of learning and
teaching, and meet the overall objectives of the
national education system of Brunei Darussalam.
To achieve the above aims, the following
objectives are stated:
.
to establish adequate and efficient electronic
information resource services (including
reference and information delivery) to support
the informational needs of academic
institutions, while at the same time supporting
members of the professional community in
Brunei Darussalam;
.
to provide adequate bibliographic, text-based
directories and other information sources
required by administrators, academics and
students of academic institutions and
members of the professional community in
Brunei Darussalam;
.
to establish “a one-stop shop” of information
resources and services of academic and
educational value to schools and higher
education institutions in Brunei Darussalam;
.
to enrich the national online resources with
locally produced digital content; and
.
to strengthen the existing rapport in terms of
information sharing among information and
heritage institutions, including academic and
school libraries.
5.2 Role of VILIS in the community
Among the roles identified for VILIS are to:
.
be the “national” Digital Library of Brunei
Darussalam – a digital repository of Bruneian
knowledge of academic and leisure;
.
provide scholarly information to the
community;
.
make available the Digital National Union
Catalogue of Libraries in Brunei;
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.
be active in electronic publishing and
digitisation to enrich the collection of locally
published material;
.
house all the digital publications of the MOE
(school textbooks, question banks,
curriculum);
.
provide relevant information services of
electronic nature to the Bruneian community;
.
take the leading role in library automation and
digital library developments in Brunei;
.
provide necessary assistance and consultancy
on institutional digital library projects;
.
co-ordinate the needs and requirements of
other government agencies pertaining to
digital library initiatives;
.
enhance the information and technological
literacy of the community;
.
assist in the exploration of knowledge
resources with relevant document delivery
services;
.
undertake e-business processes as part of its
business agenda;
.
undertake smart partnership and joint venture
projects;
.
promote lifelong learning among the
community; and
. promote reading for leisure.
5.3 Conceptual framework of VILIS
VILIS Brunei comprises the following conceptual
framework:
.
resources – reference resources, databases,
e-journals, knowledge and archival
repositories, union catalogue;
.
product and services – e-library service,
current awareness, document delivery,
membership, community information,
distance learners’ service, general information
service, online reference service;
.
e-business processes – online payment and
charges for the accessing/acquiring relevant
services, downloading of key resources,
in-house printing, etc.;
.
technological implementation – library
automation systems, hardware and software,
integration of institutional digitisation
initiatives; and
.
electronic publishing – co-ordinating and
publishing locally produced materials.
5.4 Technical components and features
VILIS requires an infrastructure at local, national
and international level that comprises a set of
functions, capabilities, and/or services that will
make it easier, quicker, and less expensive to
develop, provide and operate a broad range of
applications. This will include facilities, software,
tools, documentation, and associated human
support organisations covering the following:
 Digital transformation of libraries in Brunei Darussalam
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
.
Content. VILIS is a one-stop integrated digital
library that offers users a “personalised”
experience of having a digital library of their
own. It provides remote access to the content
and services of libraries and other information
resources, combining an onsite collection of
current and heavily used materials in
electronic form, with an electronic network
which provides access to, and delivery from,
external sources. In essence the user is
provided with the effect of a library created by
bringing together technologically the
resources of many libraries and information
services.
.
Info-structure. The info-structure of VILIS
comprises the library management system,
database management systems and a
middleware tool that manages, integrates and
supports the systems, content, services and
facilities offered by VILIS.
.
Hardware infrastructure. This component
comprises the servers that host the content of
VILIS and the communication tools that link
the components together, as shown in
Figure 2.
5.5 Expected benefits of VILIS
5.5.1 General benefits
The implementation of VILIS is expected to bring
about changes to the information-seeking activities
of the learning and teaching communities in
Brunei. The expected advantages are as follows:
Figure 2 Schematic of the hardware infrastructure of VILIS
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.
the availability of the resources will create a
Bruneian society with a strong information
base and information literacy, and hence
enhanced individual research skills;
.
the availability of electronic resources in
VILIS will provide an impetus for all sectors of
the teaching and learning communities in
Brunei in solving the information resources
vacuum, which will further enhance
institutional research;
.
improved search and retrieval tools will enable
users to perform literature searches more
efficiently and effectively;
.
users will have the convenience of
desktop access 24 hours a day, seven days
a week;
.
ability to navigate directly from an indexing
database to the full text of articles referenced,
and to follow further links from there;
.
cost savings for subscriptions to electronic
resources via a co-operative approach;
. cost savings for the storage of printed journals
and reference collections, even though printed
journals are still needed;
.
stimulation of institutional learning, teaching
and research;
.
wide coverage of various subject disciplines
will suit various professions;
.
wider choice of information sources; and
.
saving time in searching and retrieving
information.
 Digital transformation of libraries in Brunei Darussalam
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
5.5.2 Benefits to learners
The likely benefits of VILIS for learners in Brunei
include:
.
offering an alternative learning environment
with rich information sources that are related
to specific groups; and
.
supporting the formation of multiple
communities of practice, and co-ordinating
learners’ interests and their role in these
communities of practice.
5.5.3 Value to educators
It is hoped that VILIS will be of value to educators
in Brunei, as it is designed to:
.
support the information requirements of
multiple learning communities so that a
choice is given to the education professional to
choose learning and reference resources that
are filtered according to subject area;
.
integrate online and offline communications
within the communities;
. provide digital repositories inclusive of
learning objects, question paper databases,
and digital contents of academic value, so that
educators can benefit from the existing
knowledge and the best practices in their day-
to-day work; and
.
alert educators to information on and details
of events of specific personal interest.
5.5.4 Value to government ministries
In addition it is hoped that VILIS will be of value
to those in government ministries in Brunei by
providing:
.
a flexible platform that encourages learner-
focused education with the resources
available;
.
information support for various learning
models and lesson-dispensing techniques, so
that institutions, schools and parents have
ample choice of information resources; and
.
centralised repositories of course content,
projects, and question banks that enable work
to be shared amongst colleagues.
5.6 VILIS economics of sustainability
VILIS will need to have a well-planned business
strategy in order for it to be sustainable and meet
the challenges in the Internet business. There are
various business propositions that VILIS will take
advantage of and generate substantial income to
sustain the services offered, as described below.
5.6.1 Selling the e-library service to the community
Libraries are in the business of information, and
information is now an important commodity that
has high commercial value. The VILIS services
will take into account help from and partnership
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with various organisations in governments and
private sectors on a profit-sharing basis. Charges to
be imposed will be minimal and will enable
information to be selected and acquired as easily
and quickly as possible to facilitate learning,
teaching and research:
.
Bibliographic searching and compilations. These
may also include selective dissemination of
information (SDI) services. Clients may
request in-depth information or specialised
information involving lengthy searches of a
range of printed and electronic resources or
product packaging. These services will be
available to individuals or to institutions.
.
Book loan and document delivery. These will
also be offered to individuals or to institutions.
A document request may be for a journal
article, the chapter of a book, a newspaper
article, or a microform resource. Requests will
be made electronically through the VILIS
portal service, by telephone or by e-mail. The
outcome of each request will be delivered
within 24 hours and the services will be
offered in partnership with local public/
academic libraries (for the supply of printed
resources requested) and postal and courier
services (for the delivery of printed materials).
. Business information services. These will
provide, for a fee, online services such as
Reuters Business Briefings, ProQuest Direct,
Emerald Intelligence, Nexis.com, Infotrac
(which includes Investext), Wilson Web,
Global Access, and more. Clients may also
request business information packaging based
on individual and institutional requirements.
VILIS will provide an adequate physical
infrastructure to facilitate access to these
services as well as training.
.
Electronic reference service. A service which
allows users to manage their reference systems
locally on an individual level or within a
consortium or group of libraries is planned.
The components would include “chat”
functionality, local knowledge-based
comprehensive reporting and administrative
tools.
.
E-journal/e-book service. This service would
provide access, based on special arrangements
with the suppliers, to e-journals and e-books
within VILIS for private institutions. An issue
faced by many institutions is the increased
ability of individuals and groups within an
organisation to order information products
online and therefore bypass the centralised
services of the library. VILIS will act as
national information provider to these
resources, and will have marketing rights of
the resources in Brunei.
 Digital transformation of libraries in Brunei Darussalam
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
5.6.2 Digital publishing rights and licensing rights
Digital publication will be a key business venture
of VILIS. Digital publishing, marketing and selling
rights to the e-published and government-digitised
materials will be undertaken by VILIS. With the
sophisticated information system infrastructure in
VILIS it will be possible to incorporate all
government digitisation initiatives and provide a
platform for the development of e-business in
e-publishing and e-library services in Brunei
Darussalam. VILIS will be enriched by a collection
of digitised materials on Brunei and materials
published by Bruneians or other government
departments. All digital publications or digitised
archival materials will be deposited in VILIS and
will be made available on the Web for free or for a
fee.
VILIS will need to negotiate on the publishing,
licensing and selling rights to all digitised
government publications and also undertake the
rights to market and sell digital publications of new
works or publications by individuals, government
departments or private sector organisations. VILIS
will also offer digitisation services to individuals or
organisations that wish to transform original
scholarly or organisational works into digital
format. This venture will take into account the
need to conform to the current Brunei Darussalam
Copyright Law and also to international
Intellectual Property Rights legislation. Aspects of
royalties and access rights to the published works
in electronic format will also be addressed.
Clients will be able to acquire or print new
books published in Brunei by paying the cost for
access and downloading part or the whole of the
publication. Researchers will be able to search for
local publications from the VILIS portal. The
price for each access will be negotiated with the
institutions or individuals concerned. VILIS will
not only look at the local market for selling
information but also at foreign individuals and
institutions that require such information.
VILIS will take into account restrictions and
will control access to the electronic resources to be
published and archived.
5.6.3 Library consortium
The term “library consortium” refers to a
co-operative association of libraries that enables
systematic and effective co-ordination of resources
for improving services to users. This is one area
that has been considered in addressing the
economic sustainability of VILIS. Consortial
arrangements for e-journals can benefit libraries
financially in various ways. As the buying group
expands, prices are lowered. A consortium
purchase will take into account special
arrangements in terms of subscription costs for
access to the resources by members. Charges
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imposed are spread out among the consortium
members based on criteria such as the number of
full-time equivalent students, library holdings, and
so on. Other benefits that can be derived from a
consortial arrangement are as follows:
.
smaller libraries, such as school libraries, may
be able to improve access to e-resources for a
relatively small amount of money;
.
there will be more content available for the
money spent;
.
content may be more likely to be used; and
.
publishers gain revenue from smaller
institutions that could not otherwise afford to
subscribe to any of their products.
5.6.4 Fund raising and sponsorship
VILIS sees e-commerce opportunities in the
area of sponsorship and fundraising. This
could include corporate names appearing in
connection with sponsored VILIS online services
or banner advertisements. VILIS will also
negotiate funding from various private institutions
for the information services offered in conjunction
with their informational needs. VILIS will create
its own pool of management funds that will be
used to manage and maintain the services
offered.
5.6.5 Partnership and joint venture
It is envisaged that VILIS will in the end become a
corporate organisation in order for its business
agenda to be successful and its services to be
improved and upgraded. Smart partnership and
joint venture projects will be established. These
will investigate various profit-sharing activities or
activities that can benefit both parties. VILIS may
also provide opportunities for private sector
organisations to buy shares and make it a joint
venture company. Whatever the action taken, it
will not jeopardise its initial purpose.
Possible partnerships identified include:
.
a Postal Services Department and courier
service company for document delivery
services;
.
a local Internet Service Provider;
.
a finance company to facilitate e-payments;
.
private organisations for digital publishing
projects;
.
a mobile telecommunication company for
wider usage of VILIS services, possibly via
mobile phones;
.
government ministries (Curriculum
Department, Ministry of Religious Affairs,
Institut Perkhidmatan Awam, Management
Service Department, Jabatan Perkhidmatan
etc.); and
.
professionals and local experts on references
and information packaging.
 Digital transformation of libraries in Brunei Darussalam
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
5.6.6. Information Packaging Service
The Information Packaging Service will be offered
to parents, professionals and students through the
VILIS Web site or via a local Internet TV
company. With minimal monthly charges, VILIS
will provide parents with an information package
(InfoPack) including the full text of periodical
articles, encyclopedias, books and supporting
material to help with children’s school projects and
examinations. VILIS will also look at the
possibility of offering learning packages for
professional qualifications and personal
development such as the Government Service
Examinations.
5.6.7 Training programmes
ICT and information literacy courses will be
offered, and will be charged to those interested.
The training programme may include the effective
use of e-journals, online search strategies, Internet
searching, and utilising digital library facilities for
research and learning.
5.6.8 Selling the e-library solution
VILIS will negotiate the right to market digital
library solutions developed within Brunei
Darussalam to other organisations in Brunei or
overseas. Expertise and experience on e-libraries,
in particular with knowledge about e-commerce, is
rare.
5.6.9 Supporting distance learning
It is inevitable that distance learning will be
developed within higher education institutions in
Brunei such as UBD and ITB. Also, many private
education institutions now offer courses in the
distance-learning mode. Hence, this provides
business opportunities for VILIS to work with
these institutions in making course content
available and providing information resources for
distance learners.
5.6.10 Consultancy work
The experiences and technology acquired from
setting up the VILIS project will provide
opportunities for personnel to undertake
consultancy work in other digitisation and digital
library efforts in Brunei and overseas.
5.6.11 Institutional and ministerial funding
The MOE will be able to fund VILIS’s information
resources requirement of government academic
institutions. As the introduction of VILIS promises
future income and raises the status of the
institutions and the education system as a whole,
MOE will not abandon VILIS. Funding will be
sought through the annual MOE budget
expenditure in order for the key resources to be
maintained for the benefit of the institution under
the MOE.
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Digitised resources that will form the key
resources made available or sold through the
VILIS portal will be funded by the host institution
or by the copyright holders themselves.
5.6.12 E-commerce
VILIS will also work closely with book vendors/
publishers in and outside Brunei to facilitate
e-commerce for printed book sales. Clients will be
able to access vendors’ databases for titles
currently on the market, which will help facilitate
ordering items that are required by an institution
or individual. All books published in Brunei will be
marketed by VILIS and appropriate selling
arrangements (including discounts) will be
arranged. In addition, other products to be sold
through the VILIS portal will include software,
photographs, etc. For any e-business transactions,
VILIS will negotiate commission with the
originators.
5.6.13 Going global
Once VILIS reaches a level of maturity and a
strong financial base, the company will venture out
to seek “new pastures” overseas. Armed with
digital library experience, digital information
assets (about Brunei) and selling rights of the
information resources, VILIS will be able to sell
and market these resources to other institutions
overseas. The marketable services will include:
.
Information Resources Package Licensing
(e-journals, e-books, etc.);
.
Brunei-rich digitised information resources;
.
e-learning packages; and
.
e-library solutions that VILIS will be
constructing.
6. Sustaining access
Electronic information resources differ
substantially from the print environment in terms
of sustaining access and preservation. In a
traditional library environment, preservation is
based on the physical objects of the book,
newspaper, manuscript and so on. Volume
printing, physical persistence and multiple library
collections help ensure preservation of and
continuing access to such materials. In a digital
environment, sustaining access and preservation of
digital resources will require interdependent
strategies in the short to medium term based on
securing the computer system, storage media, data
and documentation, and strategies for long-term
preservation to address the issues of software and
hardware obsolescence. Hence, VILIS will have to
adopt preservation strategies incorporating the
following:
 Digital transformation of libraries in Brunei Darussalam
Haji Suhaimi Bin Haji Abdul Karim
.
Migration. Data will be stored in a software-
independent format and migrated through
changing technological regimes.
.
Technology preservation. There will be
preservation of data along with the hardware
and/or software on which it depends.
.
Emulation. The look, feel, and behaviour of a
resource is emulated on successive hardware
generations.
Any digitisation or content project will be created
and maintained for the lifetime of the project and
will have to make arrangements for longer-term
preservation and access within institutions or with
an appropriate repository.
7. Conclusion
The VILIS project, with the provision of services
and resources available for the majority of learning
and teaching communities in Brunei Darussalam,
will not only save in terms of cost but will also offer
opportunities for the knowledge and research
development of the nation. The value in services
and convenience offered should be consistently
maintained at the highest level. VILIS will provide
a new dimension in knowledge accessibility and
availability in Brunei Darussalam, because it will
bring about radical change in the way we seek
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knowledge or information and the way personal
development takes place.
References
Besser, H. (2002), “Moving from isolated digital collections to
interoperable digital libraries”, paper delivered at the
Victorian Association for Library Automation, Melbourne,
8th February, available at: www.gseis.ucla.edu/, howard/
Papers/vala01.html
Halliday, L. and Oppenheim, C. (1999), Economic Models of the
Digital Library, Loughborough University, Loughborough,
p. 3.
Miller, R.G. (2002), “Shaping digital content”, Journal of
Academic Librarianship, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 97-103.
Sun Microsystems (2002), “Digital library technology trends”,
available at: www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/edu/
whitepapers/pdf/digital_library_trends.pdf
Further reading
University Brunei Darussalam Library (2003), An Information
Requirements Survey, University of Brunei Darussalam,
Bandar Seri Begawan.
Yassin, Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Abd. Hamid bin Pengiran Haji
Mohd. (2003), “Spreading K-economy through
e-government in Brunei Darussalam”, paper presented at
the K-Economy: Competitiveness, Survival and Growth,
ASEAN-EC International Conference.