Cloud computing and Information Network both are emerging facets in the field of Information Science (IS). Cloud computing has potential to bring another wave of changes to organizations. Overall, planning and implementation of cloud computing will be beneficial in the terms of library level as well as institutional level to manage by cloud. In this chapter the authors present RECs/NITs resources to move on for managing cloud computing. Making the decision to use cloud-based services means balancing the elements of cost, risk, and benefit to decide whether those services advance the mission of the library as well as institute. RECs/NITs Libraries can take advantage of the cloud in numerous ways, such as data sharing including discovery tools, current status of research, and software as service which depends on the cloud, e-mail systems and social networking, and so forth. This chapter recommends a road for globalizing Regional Engineering Colleges/National Institutes Technology libraries.
TopIntroduction
We can’t bind Sun rays,
We can’t block the way of Water,
We can’t bind knowledge in Libraries,
We can’t stop the Technical Revolution,
Similarly, we can’t stop progress in Cloud Computing.
Networking concept is extensively used in the libraries. They have developed robust frameworks for resource sharing and cooperative cataloging, leveraged publisher and aggregator platforms to deliver electronic collections, and created vibrant consortia and groups that share services across regions and countries. Cloud computing is a new paradigm in the delivery of e-resources on demand over the Internet. The technical foundation of cloud computing is based on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and virtualization of hardware and software, and Internet technologies. Cloud computing promises to change the way library computing is performed now, lift all technological barriers coming in the way of sharing distributed library resources and provide new tools to make access to global library resources easier and simpler and ensure that both libraries and all users can benefited from remote infrastructure and services.
The NITs (National Institute of Technology in India) have been in existence for 6 decades. They have very good developed hardware and software to manage their resources at institute level. But the resources that have been developed by them have little recognition on global level (Wikipedia, 2013). Hence the institute in general and libraries in particular has tremendous resources that can be put on the cloud thus allowing those resources to go global and sharable. The resources that are to be possibly shared have been further identified in this chapter. Moving on the cloud for the resources need careful consideration about data security, network access speed, skilled manpower, and legal issues to mention a few. There are lot of pros and cons to be considered before moving on to the cloud with well studied advantages and disadvantages.
TopLibraries Moving On Cloud
The fast growth of technology needs for shifting traditional libraries to modern libraries. Libraries all over the world suffer from common problems like flexibility associated with the digital data, lower level of efficiency, and huge cost involved in managing the entire IT infrastructure themselves. Few options are available when it comes to collaborating with other libraries as well which is the prime reason for subordinate levels of efficiency. Cloud computing would help in bridging the gap between digital libraries and IT. Sharing of data among the libraries will in principle reduce the overall cost and increase the efficiency. Capital expenditure done on infrastructure will chiefly be converted into operational expenditure. It will also enhance the users experience and will help in making the libraries a lot more scalable.
Figure 1. Shift from traditional library to modern library
TopCloud Computing Essential Characteristics
On-Demand Self Service
A user can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as applications, server time, and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service’s provider (Chakraborty & Abhik, 2013).
Broad Network Access
Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phone, laptops and PDAs).
Resource Pooling
The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple users using a multitenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to user demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the user generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines.
Figure 2. Essential characteristics of cloud computing