Ms. Ngian Lek Choh, Director of the National Library of Singapore, who will be speaking about future developments that libraries could work towards of providing a seamless access to relevant content for their information needs.

Abstract

Abstract: Since the advent of internet and handheld devices, and its widespread use, the world of libraries and library users has changed dramatically, maybe in your part of the world, maybe not, certainly here in Singapore. The brave new world of mobile devices and ubiquitous availability of information through the web round the clock, wherever we are, has changed fundamentally the roles of libraries, our purpose in life, what we provide to serve our customers to meet their needs, how we deliver services, and the way we interact with our users. In Singapore, mobile penetration is 109%, with many younger people owning more than one mobile handheld device, and internet access is 69.2% via broadband, and 32.8% via dial-up.

With such a high pervasive use level of internet and handheld devices, what does it mean for a library, and what does it mean for ILDS? This paper presents some food for thought, and for service development.