Impact of information and communication technology on college library services towards smart librarianship

Rapid developments of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have changed the traditional concept of libraries. Modern academic libraries are more powerful, dynamic and can reach their users without the restrictions of geographical boundaries. In this Internet era libraries fast moving to digital mode and can be accessed universally. With the advent of new communication technologies libraries redesigned their services to borderless world and become lifeblood of the community. Libraries use ICT to manage communication facilities, housekeeping operations, user's services, standardization and extension of library activities. The shift from print to digital information has a high impact on all components of the academic library system in India especially the users, services and the staff. Though information is considered as an important resource, Use of ICTs in libraries has become great advantage for its users as they open up opportunities for interoperability and information exchange. Users can access wide variety of information resources such as text, sound, images etc according to their needs under one umbrella. Therefore, application of ICTs provides considerable impact on the way in which libraries relate to their user communities and become an essential part of evolving information society