Cloud Computing and Its Applications in e-Library Services: Nigeria in Focus / الحوسبة السحابية وتطبيقاتها في خدمات المكتبة الإلكترونية: نيجيريا تحت المجهر

Cloud Computing and Its Applications  in e-Library Services: Nigeria in Focus

Abstract:

Cloud computing is an evolving technological paradigm that facilitates conveniently, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources like network, servers, storage, applications and services etc that can be presented as a service and released with minimal management effort.

The model promotes availability of resources and creates powerful distributed computing system with global reach and super computing capabilities.

Cloud computing is enriching and will widen the horizon of human knowledge, empower human capital for sustainable scientific development as well as educational development of nations.

This paper tries to explore the vast and immense benefits of cloud computing and its applications in e-library services in Nigeria today. 

Index Terms:

Cloud computing, e-library services, internet computing.

INTRODUCTION

Cloud computing can transform the way systems are built and services delivered, providing libraries with an opportunity to extend their impacts.

Cloud computing offers a new dimension in computing, it changes how we invent, develop, scale, update, maintain and pay for applications and the infrastructure on which they are run.

In cloud computing data and services reside in massively scalable data centers in the cloud and can be accessed from a web browser.

Cloud computing is away of providing various services on virtual machines allocated on top of a large physical pool which reside in the cloud, in other words cloud computers is capable of collecting large quantity of information and resources stored in personal computers, mobile phones and other equipment and integrate them and put them on the cloud for serving users.

E-library allows users an improved access to library services at the comfort of their homes and offices.

That is, users of library can read library books, conduct research at home and offices.