ROLE OF THE LIBRARY AS AN INFORMATION RESOURCE IN GLOBALIZATION

CHAPTER ONE

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Information technology has transformed the whole world into a global village with a global economy, which is increasingly dependent on the creative management and distribution of information. Over the past decades the world has been experiencing significant changes in which the need to acquire, utilize and share knowledge has become increasingly essential. Now, in the 21st century, the age of knowledge and information is in its higher gear. This is an age when invisible knowledge and information take the role of prime movers leading all sector. The World Bank has used metaphor “knowledge is development”. Lack of knowledge is largely responsible for under development. In a knowledge and information-oriented society, creative brains become leaders of economy and knowledge workers are in great demand. if knowledge can be equated with development, then the wider the knowledge gap, the broader the development gap.