Abstract:

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that digital technologies have significant potential to accelerate progress, bridge the digital divide and support the development of inclusive knowledge-based societies based on human rights, the achievement of gender equality and empowerment. From this point of view, technologies are of great importance for the achievement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Fourth Goal: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” is no exception – education and new technologies have been closely intertwined over the last few decades. The potential of this collaboration is highly appreciated by a number of scientists, experts, educators and practitioners in the field, as well as by managers, politicians, representatives of technology companies, business, and others.

The scientific interest in the problems of using information technologies in support of education intensifies with each passing day. New forms and methods of education, assessment, and teaching are emerging, using actively new technologies, including virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

But at the moment there is no single point of information to collect, systematize and provide information on mobile digital libraries, projects and initiatives in the field of mobile education, institutions – leaders in the field of mobile libraries and education, scientific forums related to mobile digital libraries and mobile education, regulatory documents in this field.

This paper presents new research project entitled “Information portal for mobile learning and mobile access to library services and resources“, won in 2019 Competition for Financial Support for Projects of Junior Basic Researchers and Postdocs, organized by the Bulgarian National Science Fund, part of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria, Contract №KP-06-M35/2 from 18.12.2019, led by Chief Assist. Elisaveta Dimitrova Tsvetkova, PhD. The scientific methods, expected results and goals of the project are presented.

The main goal of the project is to systematically explore the issues, related to mobile learning and mobile access to library services and resources, in order to reach new scientific knowledge, united and presented in a common information web portal, to identify and summarize the positive changes that information technologies are inducing in today's society with respect to new opportunities for access to education and information through the active role of mobile digital libraries. As a result, the aim is to increase the interest and dissemination of these forms of information in the educational, scientific and cultural fields as well as to increase social awareness on the subject.

In summary, this paper and the project aim to highlight the important role of both new technologies in education and the information providing, and the essential role of a single united information internet platform to bring together information on these issues.

Keywords:

Mobile libraries, digital libraries, ICT, mobile technologies, research project.