UJ hosts conference on research, library modernisation

AMMAN — Titled “Towards Digital Libraries: More Quality and Reliability”, the University of Jordan (UJ) Library on Tuesday organised the third annual conference aimed at improving academic research and library services 

Library Director Saher Manaseer said the university administration aims to join the world of digital and modern libraries, which is among the main motivations to improve the quality and method of providing information to students, researchers and visitors.

The library, Manaseer said, is working to become a platform for local, regional and international researchers, which provides a base for providing better quality and more reliability information. 

The university makes sure to keep online sources updated, he said, ensuring better quality of information for the portal’s users, which encourages scientific research and access to information worldwide.

Deputising for the university’s president, vice president for the faculty of humanities at UJ, Ahmad Majdoubeh, said the university set a strategy for the next five years with the goals of achieving further progress in the online library database.

The library, with its sources and human resources, is one of the main strategies set by the university, alongside: including high-ranking and professional faculty members and professors, providing modern and efficient education, encouraging scientific research of impact to the community, and a well-developed university environment.

The environment provided at the university’s library, he said, would reflect on society outside the campus.

Some of the sources on the online portal are derived from medical books, used mostly by students and researchers for academic studies on topics in the field, while other sources discuss topics in the faculty of humanities, such as literature, philosophy, law and other fields, organisers said.

“Medicine, pharmacy, nursing, agriculture, business or literature are all available in the online libraries. Instead of having a hard copy of the book, students can use the online copy and access it all the time,” participant Ghada Khayyat added.

The online system has not only helped students, she said, it has also helped universities to provide information directly and quicker to students and researchers.