The Internet in Syria
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520010330337 |
| Date | 01 April 2000 |
| Pages | 144-149 |
| Published date | 01 April 2000 |
| Author | Hasna Askhita |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
The Internet in Syria
Hasna Askhita
Introduction
In the past few decades, information
technology in general, and the Internet in
particular, have revolutionised all aspects of
life and introduced radical changes to the
economy, sciences and the pace of
technological development. Information
technology also introduced great changes in
libraries. A copy of the Quran, which required
eight camels to carry from one library to
another in the old days of Islamic civilisation,
can now be stored together with all the major
interpretations on a single CD; it may also be
browsed over the Internet.
Libraries are established to maintain
human knowledge and heritage and to
present this knowledge to the public. To
comply with these principles, modern
libraries are making their collections of books,
encyclopaedias and even scrolls available
online to readers free of charge or for a
relatively low subscription fee. So in addition
to their usual services, libraries are becoming
entities that publish their holdings on CD-
ROM and other electronic media on the
Internet to virtual visitors from around the
globe. Moreover, libraries can now provide
their actual visitors with the opportunity to
browse the catalogues and holdings of other
libraries through the Internet. Public libraries
can also acquire copies of books,
encyclopaedias, musical recordings, and
photos via the Internet to increase their
collections. President Clinton has recently
directed the Library of Congress, as well as
public libraries in the USA, to publish their
collections online and they are to be allocated
Web sites for this purpose. In line with these
developments, libraries in Syria have started
to use the Internet to provide services to
students, researchers, and the general public.
Unfortunately, there is very little
information available on the Internet about
the Internet in Syria, and much of that is
inaccurate. This paper reviews the history
of Internet services in Syria. The role of
the Syrian Computer Society in adopting
and supporting the Internet is highlighted,
along with its significant efforts to promote
IT culture. Some of the major current
and future Internet projects are listed
and discussed. The Appendix lists some
The author
Hasna Askhita is the Librarian of the Information
Services Department of Assad National Library,
Damascus, Syria.
Keywords
Internet, Library services, Middle East
Abstract
The Internet has become a cornerstone of modern
libraries. This paper presents a comprehensive overview
of the Internet in Syria from the lobbying efforts that took
place beforehand, to the implementation phase and its
problems. The paper describes the most important
Internet projects. Future projects are discussed as well as
the plans of selected organisations. Some Syrian Web
sites are listed.
Electronic access
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emerald-library.com
Received March 2000
Accepted April 2000
144
Online Information Review
Volume 24 .Number 2 .2000 .pp. 144±149
#MCB University Press .ISSN 1468-4527
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