This move is considered as a significant step to promote information technology application especially digital technology with the aim to ensure library continuity as Covid-19 puts brake to academic activity.
In fact, library digitalization is not a new concept, but the concept has been mentioned a few years before. Some libraries including the National Library of Vietnam and the General Science Library in Ho Chi Minh City have applied digital library ; however, digitalization results seemed not to meet their goals. Limited spending and small human resources are two of culprits of failure in digitalization of the two libraries. Asynchronous implementation of digitalization amongst libraries is the main culprit of the failure in IT application.
Pham Quoc Hung, Deputy Director of the Library Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that library digitalization, a process in which materials are converted from hard copies to electronic copies, is a lengthy and costly endeavor; worse, it has not generated good result as just some libraries in several localities implement digitalization like in the past time.
People can access the giant digital database only when all libraries are connected together; therefore, the government-approved program is expected to contribute to formation of a giant database.
The program goal is to complete and develop infrastructure of digital and digital data in all public libraries nationwide by 2025. Moreover, 70 percent of valuable materials, documents and collections on history, culture, science will be digitalized in the first phase of the program.
