The rapid development of information technology is ushering in a new era across every sector, fundamentally transforming the way we live our daily lives. Today, the concept of a library can no longer be confined to a room surrounded by four walls, where people sit turning the yellowed pages of books. Around the world, libraries are evolving into integrated digital information hubs, online research networks and smart systems designed to save users both time and effort.

But are Mongolia’s libraries keeping pace with this rapid transformation? Unfortunately, the answer appears to be no. Public and university libraries operating across Ulaanbaatar have made some progress toward digitalisation, but in practice, many still provide services that consume users’ time and create unnecessary inconvenience. While some libraries have renovated their buildings and modernised their facilities, the services available to users often fail to match the speed and expectations of the digital age.

For too long, digital transformation has been understood simply as purchasing computers or upgrading servers. Yet genuine digitalisation goes far beyond hardware. Being able to search for a book from home, check which branch holds it, reserve it in advance and, where available, access an audio version should be considered basic services in a modern library.

However, even these seemingly simple services remain limited in many libraries in Mongolia. The unwritten rule of the past, “Come in person, search through the catalogue, and if the book is not there, go home”, continues to linger.

Libraries are meant to make knowledge more accessible, not make accessing it another time-consuming task. As technology continues to reshape how people search for, access and consume information, libraries must move beyond merely modernising their buildings and equipment. True digital transformation should be measured by how easily and efficiently users can access knowledge.

NEW BUILDING WITH OLD SYSTEM

The National Library of Mongolia is one of the country’s most important repositories of knowledge and a cornerstone of its intellectual development. With a history spanning 75 years, the library opened its new extension building in 2024. The 11-storey facility has 16 specialised reading rooms and can accommodate more than 530 users at a time. It includes dedicated spaces for children, families and people with disabilities, as well as research rooms, digital reading areas, creative spaces, a recording studio and a mini theatre. The new facilities have undoubtedly been an important step toward improving the quality and accessibility of library services.

Around 534,000 books and periodicals have been moved to the new building, while more than three million books, pamphlets and manuscripts remain in the old building. Around 1.5 million of these are rare and valuable historical manuscripts.

The collection includes priceless national treasures such as the Altan Tovch, Erdeniin Erkh, The Genealogy of Chinggis Khaan, the 108-volume Ganjuur and 225-volume Danjuur, as well as works written in Soyombo script and in gold lettering. Digitising information about such an enormous intellectual heritage and making it accessible to the public is no longer simply an option; it is an urgent requirement of the digital age.

Yet today, researchers, students and foreign scholars seeking to study sources preserved in Mongolia often have little choice but to visit the library in person. This single example illustrates how far our libraries still have to go to meet the demands of the digital era.

No matter how rich a library’s collection is, its value and accessibility remain limited if users cannot search online to find out what works are available and where they are located. A library’s online catalogue should be more than a simple list of book titles and authors. It should function as an integrated system that allows users to search by title, author, publication year and subject, while clearly showing the exact branch or location where a particular book can be found.

The National University of Mongolia’s library, for instance, operates from a modern, glass-fronted building, yet students have raised concerns about limited access to major academic databases such as ScienceDirect and JSTOR. They also complain that opportunities to access digital textbooks and academic articles from home remain limited and that the library’s search system frequently encounters technical problems.

The situation is even more concerning when it comes to the Children’s Central Library of Mongolia. There is little evidence of a comprehensive digital transformation designed around the needs of today’s younger generation. Interactive environments and technology-based solutions for accessing digital and audio books remain largely absent.

Yet in an age when children are increasingly accustomed to screens and digital media, libraries should be making full use of digital content and multimedia environments to help young people develop a lasting relationship with books. Technology should not necessarily be treated as a competitor to reading; it can also be used as a tool to bring children closer to books. Perhaps the most serious consequence of Ulaanbaatar’s libraries lagging behind in digitalisation is the lack of comprehensive digital archives.

Experts in the sector have warned that rare historical manuscripts, old newspapers and magazines, and important research materials preserved in national and municipal libraries face the risk of deterioration and eventual loss over time. Efforts to digitise culturally and scientifically significant materials, preserve them securely and eventually make them publicly accessible have remained insufficient.

Despite the enormous volume of archival materials, the process of scanning them at high resolution and building comprehensive digital repositories has been slowed by financial and technical limitations. As a result, young researchers and members of the public are often left with no alternative but to visit archive rooms in person and work with the original materials when seeking access to historically significant sources.

The value of digital archives, however, extends far beyond convenience. Once a work has been digitised at an appropriate quality and catalogued with the necessary information, multiple researchers can access it simultaneously. Greater digital access can also reduce the need to repeatedly handle fragile original materials, helping to improve their preservation and protection.

Moreover, making Mongolia’s historical, linguistic and cultural sources available online would open them not only to Mongolian users but also to researchers around the world. In other words, digitisation is not merely a way to modernise the internal operations of libraries. It is also an important gateway for bringing Mongolia’s intellectual heritage to a global audience.

In reality, one of the simplest measures of an effective digital library service is how much time it saves its users. If a person can search for a book from home, find out which branch holds it and reserve it with a single click, the system is genuinely working. But if users still have to fight through Ulaanbaatar’s traffic and physically visit a library simply to obtain basic information, then the promised digital service has yet to translate into a practical solution.

There are several reasons for this situation. First, library budgets are often insufficient to build and maintain the information technology infrastructure required for modern digital services, including servers and software. Low salaries also make it difficult to attract and retain highly skilled IT professionals. Public institutions may struggle to offer competitive compensation to engineers and programmers capable of developing, maintaining and continuously improving complex digital systems.

The problem is compounded by gaps in the digital skills of some library employees and, according to sector professionals, insufficient efforts to learn and adapt to new technologies. There is also a broader management issue. If digital transformation continues to be understood simply as purchasing a few computers or installing a new system, meaningful change will remain difficult to achieve.

Digital transformation is not a one-time investment. It is a continuous process that requires systems to be maintained, information to be regularly updated, services to be improved based on user feedback and cybersecurity to be constantly strengthened. Without this understanding, even a newly introduced digital system can become outdated within a few years, eventually creating the same inconvenience it was originally designed to eliminate. A new building can provide a modern space for books and readers. But without a modern system behind it, a library risks becoming a new building operating on an old idea.

TIME TO CREATE, NOT JUST TALK

Every year, the library sector holds discussions and forums such as Libraries: Today and Tomorrow. Yet it is unfortunate that many of the ideas and initiatives raised at these events fail to translate into concrete action. When there is insufficient funding and no effective mechanism for monitoring implementation, the same problems are bound to be discussed year after year without meaningful progress.

International experience shows that public libraries in developed cities have already moved far beyond traditional library services. Through mobile applications, users can search for and reserve books, access digital and audio materials, and search academic databases without having to visit a library in person.

For example, the New York Public Library provides free access to more than 300,000 e-books through its SimplyE app and enables users to access academic resources remotely. In Helsinki, Finland, the Oodi Library connects the city’s library branches through an integrated logistics system, allowing residents to order books from any branch and collect them at a convenient nearby location.

For Mongolia’s libraries to move toward a similar level of service, the first priority should be the creation of a unified online catalogue connecting libraries across every district. Digital archiving should also be accelerated, while digital and audio collections should be expanded and access to international academic databases increased.

Ultimately, digitising libraries is not simply a matter for one sector. It is a key indicator of how accessible education and knowledge are within a society. A library’s true transformation should not be measured by how modern its building looks or how many computers it contains. It should be measured by how easily a student can find a book, how quickly a researcher can access a source, and how effectively an ordinary citizen can reach knowledge without unnecessary barriers. We have spent enough time discussing what libraries should become. It is time to start building them.