The Contributions of the Saudi Digital Library in Providing Information and the Challenges It Encounters in Achieving Development That Is Sustainable and Achieves the Saudi Vision "2030"

Abstract

    The present study aimed to investigate the contributions of the Saudi Digital Library in making information available for sustainable development and achieving the Saudi Vision "2030" as well as investigating the financial, technical, and administrative barriers facing the Saudi Digital Library in making information available for sustainable development and achieving the Saudi Vision "2030". The population of the study consists of all faculty members at Saudi universities. The study sample included (80) faculty members. The study adopted the analytical descriptive, and questionnaires were used for data collection. Findings of the study include the following: "The contributions of the Saudi Digital Library to making information available for sustainable development and achieving the Saudi Vision "2030" was rated (high), from the perspectives of study sample members; "The barriers facing the Saudi Digital Library in providing information for a sustainable development and achieving the Saudi Vision "2030" was rated (high), from the perspectives of study sample members; and there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of (0.05) in the opinions of sample members on the questionnaire's total, as regards the variables (gender - academic rank - years of experience). Recommendations of the study include the following: the necessity of adding some services that the digital library is currently lacking, such as direct communication services and enabling researchers to convey their research results; working on inviting Saudi researchers from various fields of knowledge to provide the Saudi Digital Library with their research quickly and periodically; and working on developing the services provided by digital libraries using modern technologies, software, and the communication networks in order to attract more users of digital libraries.