(1 September 2016) A simple exchange of information becomes dramatically more complicated when occurring between people who speak different languages. Even with today’s advanced technologies, establishing a clear understanding between two parties unfamiliar with the other’s language is tedious and requires extensive research and preparation.
One place in particular where information exchange should be as quick and easy as possible is within the library and between knowledge institutions. The study “International Cooperation in Developing a Digital Library Software and South Asia Network” describes the networking necessary in developing user-interfaces for various Indian languages for an open source software – the GSDL (Greenstone Digital Library) software – to create digital libraries with multilingual multimedia information resources, particularly for the South Asia region. The steps in the formation of the related GSDL South Asia Network, the tasks assigned to the institutions in the SAARC countries, and the plan of work are mentioned. The role and contributions of the participating institutions and the organizations at the international level and in different countries is also briefly described.
This insightful study, written by researchers A. Neelameghan (Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science, India) and K.S. Raghavan (PES Institute of Technology, India), is featured in the title Collaboration in International and Comparative Librarianship. This chapter is currently being offered for free download. Access “International Cooperation in Developing a Digital Library Software and South Asia Network” here.
