| dc.description.abstract | Technological progress accompanies the modern man in practically every area of life. Over
the last several decades, it has entered libraries and revolutionized their activity on an
unprecedented scale. The new electronic media, using multimedia technology, have ”created”
new, improved possibilities of gathering knowledge and spreading information. They are
distinguished by the variety of forms and tools. Used adequately, they foster intellectual
growth. They facilitate the perception of phenomena, objects, and processes truthfully, taking
into account the characteristics of the perceived reality, and without limiting the perceiver
to the reality of nowadays. Animation and virtual techniques can zoom in on objects and
phenomena distant in time and space. This attractiveness of the forms of eternalizing and
distributing knowledge, used by modern libraries, affects also the evaluation of their previous
– fossilized – image.
Opening new possibilities to libraries, new technologies also create new challenges and
demands, mainly for the librarians and the librarian training institutions. Using modern
multimedia technologies, unfortunately, still entails significant expenditure and requires
adequate aptitude, which allows the librarian to use skilfully the modern hardware and
software. Thus modern librarian training should also include the subject of new technologies
and prepare the students to use and adequately employ the newest achievements of
multimedia technology. Essential knowledge on the subject is included in this article, which
presents the elementary notions, tools, and techniques connected with the new multimedia
technology, useful not only for a librarian, but also for a teacher.
In the article, special attention is paid to the video technique; it is a multimedia form of
presenting information which in the most effective and spectacular manner uses nearly all the
advantages of multimediality. Attention is drawn to e.g. the value of film as an information,
propaganda and education tool. Emphasis is put on the intellectual, cognitive-educational
and motivational aspects of a video presentation, and on the advantages and possibilities of
employment of the technique, also in a library. The presented reflections and remarks are
to a large extent rooted in the scientific and didactic experience of the author and in classes
conducted with the students of Scientific Information and Library Science at the Pedagogical
University of Krakow. | en |
