Preface
We live in a global world where we communicate, cooperate and do business with almost every country in the world. This presents us with a number of new challenges and possibilities. In Danish glo-balisation strategy it is being stressed that we can only meet these new challenges and exploit the possibilities if everybody is given “the best conditions for exploiting their capabilities and creating progress for themselves and for others”. This means that in the future we must invest in education, research and innovation.
This is where Denmark’s Electronic Research Library (DEFF) and the libraries are given a specific role. The libraries are an important part of the infrastructure that supports research, innovation and education. The traditional role as information supplier will to an increasing degree have to be supplemented by new functions that help scholars, educators, young people in education and companies to transform information into knowledge. Concepts such as electronic publishing, research registration, virtual learning spaces, virtual innovation spaces and information literacy are taken up ever more space in the library’s “job” description.
More and more library services are becoming digital, and the Internet is an important platform for the solution of the many new tasks. DEFF has in 2009 been extended to include all pupils and students in upper secondary education, business education programmes and higher education programmes. This means that the majority of our future work force can grow up with experiences and competences that enable them to take advantage of the great knowledge which the library cooperation offers.
The great demands levelled at research, education and innovation over the coming years entail that library service must be consolidated and developed so as to contribute to the Danes being able to work interactively and innovatively with knowledge both in local and global fora. As cooperation organisation for the research libraries DEFF has provided the framework for this development for more than ten years and looks forward to delivering the solutions which will place the libraries centrally as part of the infrastructure for research, education and innovation”.
Mai Buch
Managing Director Competencehouse A/SChairwoman, DEFF steering committee ”There needs to be a national policy agency that can communicate to the decision makers the importance of the basic information skills and about the integration of services”
Chris Batt, Chris Batt Consulting, from interview in connection with the project Fremtidens biblioteksbetjening af forskere
Publication may be found at the address http://www.bibliotekogmedier.dk/fileadmin/publikationer/publikationer_engelske/deff/profile/index.htm