Coordinating a National Information System: An Expanded Role for the National Library of Jamaica

Abstract

Following the formal dissolution of the National Council on Libraries, Archives and Information Systems (NACOLAIS) by the Government of Jamaica in 2000, responsibility for coordinating the National Information System and advising the Government on its continued development was transferred to the National Library of Jamaica at the request of the library community. This was a reflection of the valuable work NACOLAIS had played and the esteem in which it was held. Jamaica's National Information System is unique in the region in that it consists of a number of networks which cooperate on a voluntary basis to ensure the speedy access to information held by them and to provide for resource sharing. The National Library of Jamaica assumed the unenviable task of building on the achievements of NACOLAIS and its predecessor NACOLADS (National Council on Libraries, Archives and Documentation Services) without additional resources. To carry out these responsibilities, the Library appointed an Advisory Committee on the National Information System and accelerated the development of its computer-based information network comprising information units in the public and private sectors. Although these new functions were in keeping with the Library's Mission Statement to serve as a ‘gateway for access to the resources of the library and information units of the country through the coordination of network activities’, they represent a significant increase in the Library's responsibilities. They also demonstrate the continued value and relevance of the institution as it commemorates, in 2004, the 25th anniversary of its establishment.