Library Networking of the Universidad de Oriente: A Case Study of Introduction of Information Technology

Abstract

The Universidad de Oriente was founded in 1958 and structured in five campuses, located in five different states in the south northeastern region of Venezuela, with a current total enrollment of 43,000 students and 200 teachers. A total of 20 libraries of different kinds manually served these students and professors until 1999. To introduce new information technologies to the libraries and all laboratories of the university, the intranet of the university — with 32 networking systems — was introduced for all campuses with the technology of Main Frame Relay. Automation services of libraries were introduced with Alejandria, a locally produced software in effect since 2001. The challenging job is to create consciousness about information literacy. Creation of university digital databases and digitalization of valuable documents are in progress.