IIBN (Indonesian Islamic Bibliographic Network): solution to minimize information access gap among Islamic universities in Indonesia (prospect and problem)

Abstract

There is no library that has completed information resources to their users’ needs. Therefore a cooperative network is not only necessary but also urgent. With a good cooperative network among Islamic Academic libraries in Indonesia, they can develop their academic potency as fast as possible. The common problems of libraries around Islamic University in Indonesia such as lack of collections, space and human resources can be solved by resource sharing and inter library loan. Libraries of Islamic Universities in Indonesia that were joined in cooperative network has an embryo of Islamic bibliographic, IIBN (Indonesian Islamic Bibliography Network) is inter library network between Islamic universities in Indonesia. Since December 1, 2006 the official web site of IIBN available on the net, it has internally tested offline at Sunan Ampel’s library. The team of IIBN portal suggested that this portal will give more easy way to exchange the information among IIBN members. IIBN can be access by www.iibn-id.org as union catalog and the digital collection in full text document can be access by www.hub.iibn.info . Although it’s a good idea to reach an achievement to forward together in resource sharing but it isn’t easy. In the fact, there are many problems to fulfill the program. Almost of Islamic university’s libraries have not connection to internet, and some have not automation service and IT staffs whose maintain the database. Beside those problems IIBN is not familiar event for members, so the strategy of socialization must be removed. As prospect, IIBN is a model of library services that allow to resource sharing among Islamic universities in Indonesia who have the gaps of information access one. According to the team of IIBN that it can be access by member although their institution have not connected by internet, by the dial up the member can access the resource from IIBN database.