Bangladesh is celebrating ‘The National Library Day’ today (February 5, 2024). This year the slogan for National Library Day is Granthegare Boi Pori, Smart Bangladesh Gori (Let’s Read Book in Library to Build Smart Bangladesh’. The Department of Public Libraries and Ministry of Cultural Affairs has been celebrating the day each year since 2018 to create public awareness about the role of the library and reading habits with the enthusiastic participation of all library professionals.
Here it needs to be mentioned that the Smart Bangladesh vision, outlined by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, stands on four key pillars – Smart Citizen, Smart Government, Smart Society and Smart Economy. As per vision 2041, it is expected that the citizen will become adept at reaping the benefits of digital technologies, and will show tolerance, and uphold ethics and values while using technologies.
No doubt that it is a bold decision, but the government will face lots of challenges while implementing it.
The first one is how to connect and engage the rural people. Rural people always prefer to get information quickly and easily. If we consider them a vital economic force, we are not giving them as much information services as they require. The time has come to assess the information needs of the rural people. It is, therefore, essential to explore the information needs of the rural people.
Recent research shows that people in seven occupations, such as farming, small businesses, poultry farming, animal husbandry and fisheries, mainly live in rural areas. They need information regarding livelihood, general education for their children, healthcare, job and employment, banking and cooperatives, climate, agriculture and recreation. The requirement for information, however, varies from person to person. For example, when some have a great demand for information about the cultivation of seasonal crops, coastal people need information regarding salt-tolerant rice varieties. In the southern part of Bangladesh i.e. Barishal, Barguna, Patuakhali, and Noakhakli districts, thousands of rural people live by catching fish in the sea and the river. So, they seek information about the weather forecast. They also need information regarding the fishing, breeding, and migration patterns of fish. Fishermen also demand information regarding the government’s embargo on catching fish and the withdrawal. Most of the fishermen are unaware of the use of illegal fishing nets to catch fish.
Rural libraries can play a crucial role in delivering the right information at the right time in the right way to the right person. It is the second challenge because there are no well-equipped rural libraries or information systems in Bangladesh that can fulfil all the information requirements.
The third challenge lies in rural people needing to be trained in using technology. As of today, the government couldn’t engage rural human resources fully in using ICT through their training centres and other local government instruments. There is still a severe gap between the urban elite and the rural people, which should be minimised as soon as possible.
The vision of smart Bangladesh is integrated with the village development plan, encompassing personal, human, social, and economic dimensions. Globally, there has been a pressing demand for new approaches with a view to rural development for improving the quality of life of the rural people where the fulfilment of information demand is the prerequisite, and a modern library can help the rural people by providing them with the correct information at the right time in a proper way.
Like in urban areas, smart infrastructure is also essential for rural areas. Besides, the transformation from manual to automation is mandatory, which requires changing the existing mindset of the rural people to adopt need-based ICT, different micro business models, IGAs and solutions, etc. These can quickly improve the lifestyle of the rural population. A well-equipped modern library can ensure these services. Therefore, installing a digital library is the pre-condition of the smart village by which users’ perceptions and expectations can be materialised.
Professor Dr Md Nasiruddin Mitul is the Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies & Professor of Library and Information Science, National University, Bangladesh.
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