University libraries as incubators of support the distance learning in the context of the digital transformation of Algerian universities

Abstract

This study addresses the position of university libraries in activating the distance education system in higher education institutions. This is by reviewing the most important educational services that our university libraries initiated during and after the Corona pandemic, as the majority of universities were forced to adopt the distance education system. This factor put those in charge of it before the challenge of innovating ways and methods to perform its tasks and ensure its continuity within the developments of the Corona virus crisis and the developments of the digital environment and modern education systems. The study used the descriptive approach in order to describe the studied phenomenon by returning to a number of reliable traditional and digital sources, surveying a group of pioneering experiences in adapting educational services, and analyzing the content of some Algerian university library websites. The results of the study indicated that university libraries played the role of business incubators to activate and support the distance learning system environment, through the innovation of developed services to support scientific, educational and research activities at the university. This is done by harnessing all available technological means in order to provide mechanisms to provide students, professors, and researchers with teaching and learning resources, in line with educational curricula and distance learning programs.