Cloud Computing in Conjunction with Libraries: Descriptive Literature Review

Mayank Yuvaraj Junior Research Fellow Dept. of LIS, Banaras Hindu University Varanasi, India mayank.yuvaraj@gmail.com Ajay Pratap Singh Head & Associate Professor Dept. of LIS, Banaras Hindu University Varanasi, India apsingh_73@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
Cloud computing is the essence of future computing needs that has emerged to be a savior for library professionals. It is an emerging technology characterized by an element of novelty where the research community has recently embarked. Since, 2008 explosively increasing amount of research has been conducted. This paper presents a descriptive literature review of cloud computing paradigm from vivid perspectives. There has been drastic shift in the trinity of libraries: books which have become electronic, user which prefers web resources than print and the staff which has become cybrarian. In this changed library landscape there is need to shift our competencies for the challenges offered by IT. Availability of independent computing components on demand like cloud as CPU, Storage in cloud has removed the web of IT and librarians can focus on their mission and services. In this paper we analyze the normative literature to extract a functional methodology or working model of cloud computing to be implied in libraries. KEYWORDS: Cloud computing, Literature review, Libraries, Cloud computing in libraries

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INTRODUCTION With the encroachment of IT in library services the commitment of library and information professionals to provide people with information has come to stake. Library and information professionals are involved in the business of buying, configuring, installing, and maintaining servers which has nothing to do with the day-to-day library mission and services. One must engage in such affairs unless we absolutely must do so. In such circumstances Cloud computing has emerged as blessings in disguise that has brought decentralization to the computing world. It is concerned with the abstraction of software, services and storage facilities provided the access to network. The concept of cloud computing has sprung from the intergalactic computer network developed by J.C.R Licklider in 1960s where he wanted that everyone could use computer and anyone could get data irrespective of location and time in world. In 1961 John McCarthy, a computer scientist predicted that someday the computational power will be offered as a public service, such as water and electricity. This concept however, declined in early 1970`s due to the lack of physical infrastructure that could satisfy the needs of implementation of cloud

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technology. The relative novelty and exploding growth of cloud computing makes it an exciting area for research. The present paper aims to assess the state of cloud computing research. METHODOLOGY Defining any term seeks to study the qualitative and quantitative behavior. Henceforth, the four methods of literature review viz. narrative review, descriptive review, vote counting and meta analysis has to be given the same treatment. King and He32 have placed the four methods in a qualitative-quantitative continuum. Figure 1. Qualitative-quantitative continuum

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Narrative review is the traditional method of reassessment of literature slanted towards qualitative behavior of the literature. According to King and He32 this method is conducted by verbally describing the past studies, focusing on theories and frameworks, elementary factors and their research outcomes, regarding a hypothesized relationship. However, Yang and Tate (2009) argues that there is no consensus towards a standardized procedure of narrative review. How to conduct a narrative review largely depends on the reviewers personal preference, thus this approach is easily vulnerable to subjectivity. (p. 808). It is not rare for two reviewers to arrive at rather different conclusion from the same general body of literature (Guzzo et al., 1987, p. 408). Descriptive review focuses on revealing an interpretable pattern from the existing literature (Guzzo et al., 1987). King and He (2005) surmises that descriptive review studies produces some quantification, often in the form of frequency analysis, such as publication time, research methodology, research outcomes etc. Such a review method often has a systematic procedure including searching, filtering and classifying processes. First a reviewer needs to

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conduct a comprehensive literature search to collect as many relevant papers as possible in an investigated area. Then the reviewer treats an individual study as one data record and identifies trends and patterns among the papers surveyed .The outcome of such a review is often claimed to be representative of the state of art of a research domain. (p. 808) Vote counting is generally used to draw qualitative inferences upon focal relationships by combining individual research findings. (King and He , 2005, p. 667). Here a tally is made of the frequency with which existing research findings support a particular proposition. Most likely it is applied to generate insights from a series of experiments. (Yang and Tate, 2009, p. 809). The premise underlying this approach is that repeated results in the same direction across multiple studies, even some of them are non-significant, may be more powerful evidence than a single significant result (King and He, 2005, p. 668). Meta-analysis aims at statistically providing supports to a research topic by combining and analyzing the quantitative results of many empirical studies (King and He, 2005, p. 668). In most cases, it may specifically examine the relationships between certain Independent Variables (IVs) and Dependent Variables (DVs) derived from existing research findings. Qualitative studies have to be excluded by a meta-analysis due to its extremely quantitative nature. Only similar quantitative studies are collected for a meta-analysis. The incentive of this approach is to generate a much less judgmental and subjective literature review upon a specific research context. (Yang and Tate, 2009, p. 809). Since, cloud computing arena is one of the sprouting sectors of computing world. Hence due to an element of novelty it was difficult to find plethora of information on this topic. The facets of cloud computing is a dawning research area, which makes it next to impossible to examine any variables, correlations, or theories. Under such circumstances descriptive review is the most appropriate one. LITERATURE SEARCH Literature search is a pre-requisite for reviewing literature on any subject. It attempts to explore pertinent literature through computer or manual searches. Traditionally this is done by scanning some prominent journals and conferences exclusively dedicated to the subject. However, according to Yang and Tate (2009) focusing on limited outlets cannot be justified for a literature review on cloud computing as this is a recent phenomenon which just emerged two years ago, therefore the publication channels are still largely scattered (p. 809). For most of the concurrent phenomena Information Science researchers and scholars are using online databases as their first literature collecting strategy. As the concept is still in its infancy which has not fully ripened so it was difficult to fetch information from the library collections. Efforts were laid to get information from online databases, journals, search engines and repositories. All the Web based references mentioned in

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this work were retrieved during research period of September 2011 to March 2012. However due to the dynamicity of web they may not be functional now. Efforts have been laid to mention only those web addresses which are likely to work during this work but there are possibility that some links may not work. Moreover, it is almost impossible to review all the literature available on a concerned subject. Impediments like language, accessibility, time and proficiency keeps a check on it. In spite of these, attempts have been undertaken to review literature relevant to present study. Table 1. Keyword and abstract searching was done on following web-resources TOOLS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o SOURCES ACM Digital library IEEE Xplore Proquest (ABI/INFORM) ScienceDirect (Elsevier) Eprints.rclis.org NOPR DJLIT Pdfgeni.com Pdfqueen.com Scribd.com Freefullpdf.com Slideshare.net Authorstream.com Mamma.com Google.com Scirus.com Dogpile.com Google books Google scholar Google analytics BASE JURN Total papers or documents 132 Relevant papers or documents 54

Online databases

Institutional repositories or archives PDF documents search PPT search

20

80

48
89

60 75

38 55

Search engines

Specialized searching Academic search engines

54

31

118

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INFORMATION FILTERING PROCESS Out of the total information retrieved from the web-sources two methods were employed to get the desired information on cloud computing. Firstly, the title and abstract of the document was scanned properly and those found to be relevant were take out. Secondly, the full text of the documents were reviewed and the

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documents rich in information content having no sketchy ideas dealing fundamentally with the research problem were finally taken into consideration for the research work. LITERATURE REVIEW Most challenging task of a research study is to review the past related literature to extract a functional methodology or working model for a research problem. Literature review is an essential approach to conceptualize research areas and survey and synthesize prior research (Webster and Watson, 2002, p. xiii). According to Lyons (2010) Not to be confused with a book review, a literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The purpose of a literature review is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic. Substantial amount of literature relating to cloud computing was collected, scanned and reviewed. For convenience the review study can be divided into various sections: Section I: Transition to cloud computing The roots of cloud computing can be traced to the days of mainframe computers (1960s) when the concept of utility computing came to light where the computing power could be split into metered service like power and telephone supply. The great idea remained in history pages until it was put in application by salesforce.com which used a simple website to deliver its enterprise application to users. The history of cloud computing faced huge competition only when Amazon started its cloud-based Amazon web services. Cyberpassionteam (2011). To keep pace with the technology, Microsoft in 2008 developed cloud based Azure services platform. Another feather in the cap was added by Google that developed Google Apps entirely based on architecture of cloud computing. Foster et al.(2008) compare and contrasted cloud computing with grid computing and inferred that cloud computing is an evolved version of grid computing. The first public usage of the term cloud as a metaphor for the internet in a paper published by MIT in 1996. In May 1997, NetCentric tried to trademark cloud computing but was abandoned in April 1999. The term cloud computing was coined in 2007, typically referring to a joint hardware and software deployment concept. First research initiatives were started by Google and IBM in cooperation with six American universities: Carnegie Mellon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Maryland and the University of Washington. Lohr (2008). Cloud computing evolution can be split into three phases. Banerjee (2011): Idea Phase- (1960s-pre internet bubble era): During this period core ideas of utility and grid computing developed. Pre Cloud Phase- (1999-2006): Internet developed as a mechanism to provide application as a service. Asia Pacific Journal of Library and Information Science. Vol.2 No.2 (Jul Dec 2012)

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Cloud Phase- (2007- till date)

Cloud computing became popular and the sub classification IaaS, PaaS & SaaS got formalized. According to Mohamed (2009) Cloud computing has evolved through a number of phases which included grid and utility computing, application service position (ASP), and Software as a Service (SaaS). But the overarching concept of delivering computing resources through a global network is rooted in the sixties. On the other hand, Weinhardt et al. (2009) argues that combining elements of existing technologies such as virtualization, grid computing and distributed computing, cloud Computing delivers scalable IT services via the Internet on a payper-use basis (p. 392). Further, scholars like Wohl (2009) perceive Cloud Computing to be a vague term for a very vague and distant future in which computing would occur in a few remote locations without the need for very much human intervention. Infinite computing resources would be available for any need at costs approaching zero. Users would not need to know or care about how the computers, their software, or the network functioned. Commenting on the evolution of the cloud landscape Yang and Hsu (2011) concludes that Cloud computing services first emerged as an IT paradigm five years ago. It is first initiated by Amazon.com, several prominent technology companies, such as Google, SUN, IBM, Oracle, and Salesforce, soon followed. They are joined by Gardner (2012) who argues that cloud computing is often regarded as a revolution. But to IT, it`s just an evolution of infrastructure efficiency. For IT, it`s all about ways to improve delivery of the server-centric, applicationcentric environment. Section II: The concept of cloud computing Plethora of interpretations has been contested on the conceptualization of Cloud Computing. According to Farber (2008) The interesting thing about cloud computing is that we've redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do. I can't think of anything that isn't cloud computing with all of these announcements. The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women's fashion. Sultan (2010) argues that A study by McKinsey (the global management consulting firm) found that there are 22 possible separate definitions of cloud computing. Out of these in fact, no common standard or definition for cloud computing seems to exist Grossman (2009); Voas & Zhang (2009). (p. 109). Contrary to above arguments, Madhubala, R. (2012) put forth her view that Cloud computing is a paradigm that focuses on sharing data and computations over a scalable network of nodes. Basically cloud is a metaphor for internet and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals. (p. 286). It is a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided as a service allowing users to access technology enabled services from the internet without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. But, Plummer et al. (2008) find Cloud computing as a style of computing where massively scalable IT-enabled capabilities are delivered as a service to external customers using internet technologies. Asia Pacific Journal of Library and Information Science. Vol.2 No.2 (Jul Dec 2012)

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However, according to Weiss (2007), cloud computing is not a fundamentally new paradigm. It draws on existing technologies and approaches, such as utility computing, software-as-a-service, distributed computing, and centralized data centres. What is new is that cloud computing combines and integrates these approaches. (p. 17). Kossmann and Kraska (2010) have put forth three important principles that depend on each other and can only provide additional value if implemented in concert These are: automation, virtualization and pay-as-you-go pricing model. (p. 122). Hartig (2008) refers to Cloud Computing as the phenomenon of virtualization of resources that maintains and manages itself. He opined that cloud computing is a new model of computing used widely in today`s industry and society. The concept is derived from the imagery of the Internet cloud, in which the imagery of a cloud is traditionally used to represent the internet or some large networked environment. Boss et al. (2007) argues that Cloud is a pool of virtualized computer resources which allows: The dynamic scale-in and scale-out of applications by the provisioning and deprovisioning of resources, e.g by means of virtualization; The monitoring of resource utilization to support dynamic load-balancing and reallocations of applications and resources. ( p.4). Some of the scholars have attempted to trace the roots of Cloud Computing from business. Inspired by similar thoughts Low, Chen and Wu, (2011) opines that as we could expect, the term cloud is derived from the idea of businesses and users being able to access applications from anywhere in the world on demand. (p. 1007). According to Low, Chinyao, Chen, Yahsueh and Wu, Mingchang (2011) Cloud computing provides the opportunity of flexibility and adaptability to attract the market on demand. However, Geelan, (2009) argues that Cloud computing is the infrastructural paradigm shift that is sweeping across the Enterprise IT world that has as many definitions as there are squares on a chess-board. Under such circumstances there is a general agreement of scholars like Buyya et al. (2009); Pyke (2009) that cloud computing services can provide the user seamlessly, the convenience, and the quality-stable technological support that can develop the enormous potential demand. In nutshell, Cloud computing is also, dened as a collection of disembodied services accessible from anywhere using any mobile device with an internet-based connection. Erdogmus, (2009); Misra and Mondal, (2010); Sultan, (2010). Cloud computing has spread out through the main areas related to information systems and technologies, such as operating systems, application software, and technological solutions for firms Armbrust et al., (2010) (p. 55). His arguments are supplemented by Hand (2007) who argues that in cloud computing not just our data but even our software resides within the cloud, and we access everything not only through our PCs

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but also cloud friendly devices, such as smart phones, PDAs, the mega-computer enabled by virtualization and software as a service. (p. 963). Section III: Models of cloud computing Models are mental or pictorial representation of an event or phenomenon. Generally models are employed to study such phenomenon which cannot be seen or felt. Scholars have also used models to study cloud computing. The Cloud Computing model constitutes three service delivery and three deployment models. Mell, & Grance (2009): The service delivery models are: Private cloud: a cloud platform is dedicated for specific organization, Public cloud available to public users to register and use the available infrastructure, and Hybrid cloud: a private cloud that can extend to use resources in public clouds. The deployment models are: Software as a Service (SaaS) Consumers purchase the ability to access and use an application or service that is hosted in the cloud. For example email and few other services offered by Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, Sify, Skype etc. Platform as a Service (PaaS) Consumers purchase access to the platforms, enabling them to deploy their own software and applications in the cloud. The operating systems and network access are not managed by the consumer, and there might be constraints as to which applications can be deployed. To run required service a special platform or application infrastructure is also being provided to the clients where clients can build their web based applications. Client does not require to know programming language, database management systems, etc. to run applications. Windows Azure, Google App Engine and Force.com can be few of good examples of PaaS Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Consumers control and manage the systems in terms of the operating systems, applications, storage, and network connectivity, but do not themselves control the cloud infrastructure. In IaaS, clients are being offered with storage, networking and processing of data. Amazons Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) or Simple Storage Service (S3), VMWare vCloud are some of its examples Jericho Forum (2009) has put forth cloud cube model to differentiate cloud formations from each other and the manner of their provision. The cube represents four dimensions of cloud activities: Location of data: Internal/ External Asia Pacific Journal of Library and Information Science. Vol.2 No.2 (Jul Dec 2012)

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Ownership of cloud technology: Proprietary/ Open Operations: Perimeterised (Within traditional IT perimeter)/ De-perimeterised (Outiside IT perimeter) Availability of service: Insourced (By third party)/ Outsourced (By own)

Mikkilineni and Sarathy (2009) compared the evolution of cloud computing with intelligent network infrastructure in telecommunications and proposed a Virtual Resource Mediation Layer (VRML) to support interoperability between public and private clouds. VRML is an abstraction layer that sits on top of the IaaS layer and allows applications to access CPU, memory, bandwidth and storage depending on needs (p. 58). From the nancial point of view, Misra and Mondal (2010) built two types of business models that can be drawn for companies (cloud users) willing to adopt cloud computing services. These are business models for companies with an existing IT infrastructure and business models for startup companies. Section IV: Standardization of cloud computing There are three active bodies working towards standardizing cloud computing practices: Cloud computing Interoperability Forum Open cloud consortium DMTF Open Cloud Standards Incubator
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However, there is also a document called the open cloud manifesto in which various stake holders express why open standards will benefit cloud computing Sriram and Khajeh-Hosseini (2010). Grossman (2009) asserts that the current state of standards and interoperability in cloud computing is similar to the early Internet era where each organization had its own network and data transfer was difficult, which changed with the introduction of TCP and other Internet standards. These were resisted by the vendors just like the fate of cloud computing. (p.26 -27). Keahey et al. (2009) has enlisted the various difficulties of developing standards for effective cloud computing. According to Sriram and Khajeh-Hosseini (2010) cloud computing can benefit from standardized API interfaces as generic tools that manage cloud infrastructures can be developed for all offerings. However, achieving standardized API appears to be rather politically than technically challenging. Section V: Adoption of cloud computing The emergent phenomenon of cloud computing aims at transforming the traditional way of computing by providing both software applications and hardware resources as a service. Thus, government agencies, businesses and/or individuals can either provide or use services within a near limitless computing environment (storage, CPU power etc) Tsaravas and Themistocleous (2011) (p. 156).

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Various researches have been undertaken to imply cloud computing in various domains. Banerjee (2009) provides an overview of technological research studies that were performed in HP labs and that adopted cloud-scale smart environments, such as utility computing and the smart data centre. Buyya et al. (2009) have also dealt with market-oriented resource allocation of cloud computing by leveraging third-generation Aneka enterprise grid technology. Grossman et al. (2009) developed a cloud-based infrastructure that had been optimized for performance networks and supported necessary data mining applications. According to Kossmann and Kraska (2010) Cloud Computing promises to lower the bar for new services to become worthwhile by making things cheaper, faster, and automating the tasks that traditionally has also to be carried out by experts. This way, cloud computing helps optimizing the long tail of processes which are currently not supported by IT and helps to reduce the cost of those processes that indeed are already automated (p. 124). Sotomayor et al. ( 2009) presents two tools for managing cloud infrastructure: OpenNebula- virtual infrastructure manager and Haizea- resource lease manager. Governments that are looking for answers against bureaucracy and complication of procedures are almost obligated to implement new technological solutions to provide public services effectively. Lim et al. (2009) stresses on feedback control service for scaling in the cloud. Scaling choices must be under control of the users, in order to have control over spending and to be able to work towards maximizing return on investments. On the demand side, cloud computing is being rapidly adopted by organizations in both developed countries such as the U.S. and emerging economies such as China. On the supply side, cloud computing is becoming a key service offering of many IT firms, including both firms that specialize in cloud computing, such as Amazon, Google, and Salesforce.com, and traditional IT service firms, such as IBM, HP and Fujistu. Su (2011) In the field of education Thomas (2011) argues that Cloud Computing has a signicant place in the higher education landscape both as a ubiquitous computing tool and a powerful platform that can enhance engagement among educational researchers and educators to understand and improve practice, and thus, increase the quality of their students learning outcomes. Section VI: Adoption of cloud computing in libraries Library and information centres are constantly in search of low-cost solutions due to low funding. Ironically, with the involvement with IT the commitment as well as services has been miserably infested. Under such conditions, cloud computing is the savior of all the ebbs of the information technology. Buschman and Leckie (2009) posit that librarians need to be critical in their use of technology. Vaquero et al. (2009) opines that Cloud computing and web collaboration are two major concepts that underlie new and innovative developments in library
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automation. Cloud services allow for more optimal resource utilization, easier access, and more effective cost reduction. From the emergence of World Wide Web, library and information science scholarship has remodeled the future for libraries, recognizing that future libraries may not own their collection of resources Lancaster, (1997). Instead, scholastic predictions indicated that the library in serving future users may offer referral to potentially appropriate points in a vast network of resources accessible through the internet or its successors (Lancaster, 1997, p. 27). These predictions have to come true. The web has also expanded the scope of services provided by librarians. The growing internet usage among library users and potential users, plus the time these users spend on the internet, has made it imperative that libraries offer their services online. Today`s consumers of information have more alternative and attractive ways of finding information than using the traditional library Sadeh, (2007). Today, the library`s users are accessing the information needed in the comfort and security of their homes or in their own personal or customized spaces. To meet their needs, libraries need to adopt the communication and information tools and services that users are accustomed to Sadeh, (2007). Much of these tools and services will not be owned by the library but are necessary to carry out the enduring work of making library collections and services known and accessible to users. The introduction of the internet to libraries was part of a significant shift from print/in-house-focused services to online/ externally provided services. Mitchell, (2010). Historically libraries have turned to huge capital investment on IT infrastructure for various online as well as subscription based services. With these success libraries are motivated for using subscription based cloud IT infrastructure. Cloud computing is important in the context of LIS education for two reasons Tomer and Alman (2011). First, the embrace of cloud computing by many organizations, including OCLC, OhioLink, SirsiDynix, and the Library of congress suggests that this mode of computing will have a significant impact on the configuration, the economics, and perhaps the personnel requirements of library computing in years to come. (p. 59-60). The future of computing lies in cloud computing, whose major goal is reducing the cost of IT services while increasing processing throughput, reliability, availability and flexibility and decreasing processing time Hayes (2008). Cloud computing will bring an end to the ILS server. Wolf (2010). Recently, OCLC started Web-scale management services which can perform the in-house library operations through mutual co-operation. It will provide all its web-scale subscribers with a vendor database which will list their details avoiding data redundancy in libraries. Libraries can work cooperatively in a flexible environment where they can share solutions to problems instead of having to reinvent the wheel at each library. OCLC web scale management services, (2010). Migrating to a cloud-based application may turn out to be cost neutral but at the same time still have the benefit of allowing staff to concentrate on libraryspecific issues. Moulasion and Corrado, (2011) (p. 6).

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Other vendors can take advantage of the cloud. Vendors can provide a remotely hosted service which allows for the creation of modular content, which many libraries wouldn`t be able to create on their own. It also lowers the technical skills needed to create web pages. Like other cloud applications it is accessible from any internet connection, so you don`t need a client on your local PC. Wolf (2010). Moreover, through cloud computing instead of having own servers and employing personnel for its maintenance libraries can hire a vendor on a monthly charge and enjoy the benefit of same server function. There seems to be an utmost use of web based services in libraries and information centres since the evolution of internet. They have also emerged as an key players in the provision of internet services to the user communities Kinney (2010) During this time libraries have re-directed services both to support in-house internet use and to serve the needs of users via digital means. Blowers (2010). A study conducted by IMAI and IMRB reveals that there are 121 million internet users in India out of which 97 million access atleast once in a month Times of India, (2011). Further, In World India is the third and in Asia second largest country in internet adoption. Internet world stats (2011). Now the information formats have also changed. Smartphones are being used by the users these days for accessing information services for fast and easy communication. Moore (2010) asserts that use analysis now requires a cloud computing orientation. Libraries are in a unique position to experiment with cloud computing given their service oriented mission and need to find appropriate solutions using limited resources. Fox (2009) observes that the goals of the organization have an impact on their use of cloud solutions. There is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm around cloud-based solutions and services (filtering, sorting, categorization and analytics to help users manage the vast repositories of both structured and unstructured information) as well as the cost-savings and flexibility that they can provide. It is imperative that all senior technologists have a solid understanding of the ramifications of cloud computing since its impact is likely to permeate the entire IT landscape Rhoton, (2009). As such cloud computing has the seeds for reinvigoration of library and information science professions. While cloud computing has been discussed as a new technology develop that can provide several advantages, both strategic and operational, to its adopters, the cloud computing adoption rate is not growing as fast as expected Banerjee, (2009); Buyya et al., (2009); Goscinski and Brock, (2010) Section VII: Security concerns of cloud computing ENISA firstly addressed the security risks related to adopting cloud computing along with the affected assets, and impacts and, vulnerabilities in cloud computing that may lead to such risks.
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Similar efforts have been laid by CSA . Balchandra et al. (2009) discuss the security SLA`s specifications and objective relating to data locations, segregation and data recovery. The shift to Cloud computing moved much of a users normal activity to the Web browser. Web browsers generally store all of a users saved passwords, browsing history and other sensitive information in a single place. As such it is possible for malicious websites to exploit browser vulnerabilities in order to steal information associated with other existing or previous browsing sessions, such as a logged in email account or online banking session. Kresimir et al. (2010) discusses high level security concerns in the cloud computing model such as data integrity, payment and privacy of sensitive information. Meiko et al. (2009) discuss the technical security issues arising from adopting the cloud computing model such as XML-attacks, browser`s related attacks and flooding attacks. Bernd et al. (2010) raises issues concerning the security vulnerabilities existing in the cloud platform. (p. 50). Subashini (2010) discusses the security challenges of the cloud service delivery model. Trappler (2010) asserts that if it is in the cloud, get it on paper. Section VIII: Benefits of cloud computing Pyke (2009) has described the following benefits of cloud computing: scalability, ease of implementation, is using the skilled practitioners, freeing up of internal resources, and quality of service. Economic, simplification and convenience of the way computing-related services are delivered seem to be among the main drivers of cloud computing Erdogmus, (2009). Many see huge potential of the technology in reducing the cost of IT to organizations and freeing them from the expense and hassle of having to install and maintain applications locally Leavitt, (2009). Some scholars are of the opinion that Cloud computing service providers are incentivized by the profits to be made from charging consumers for access to these services. Firms are attracted by the opportunity for reducing or eliminating costs associated with in-house provision of these services Buyya et al., (2009). IT research firm Forrester published the first industry report that offered a sizing of the cloud computing market. According to this report, the market is expected to reach $241 billion in 2020, compared to $40.7 billion in 2010. Providing IT services in the cloud shifts much of this expense to a pay-as-you-go-model and consequently offers significant cost advantages according to one view. Lin, Fu, Zhu, Dasmalchi, (2009). The expected benets of embedded cloud computing services include the following: speed of business communications, efcient coordination among rms, better customer communications, and access to market information mobilization. Armbrust et al., (2010); Hayes, (2008). However, rms may not have condence in a cloud computing system because it is relatively new to them. Buyya et al., (2009). It may take users a long time to understand and implement the new system. Thus, complexity of an innovation can act as a barrier to implementation of new

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technology; complexity factor is usually negatively affected. Premkumar et al., (1994). .Moulasion and Corrado, (2011) If librarians can save on buying and maintaining servers, they can save their parent institution money. Depending on the service, they can also rely on the software provider to carry out all updates, thereby allowing their own employees to take care of other obligations in lieu of monitoring version changes and upgrades. Furthermore, quite a few of the cloud-based software platforms are available for free, meaning that librarians can make use of services without incurring any cost for their libraries. (p. 4-5). The elastic aspect of cloud computing allows applications to scale and grow without needing traditional fork lift upgrades. Madhubala, R., (2012) (p.287). With cloud computing we are getting closer to the reality of purchasing computer power. This will free libraries from the shackles of IT management and allow us to focus on services and resources, just like they did before the digital age. Wolf, (2010). Further cloud computing will given even the smallest organization the ability to use the power of network computing within a minimal infrastructure. Section IX: Downsides of cloud computing However, research has shown that there are some major obstacles which hinder the adoption and growth of Cloud computing. As every technological concept, cloud computing is not an exception in terms of trust and security issues. Once data are outsourced to a third-party cloud provider, several concerns arise about security, availability and reliability of data. Tsaravas and Marinos (2011) Despite the potential benefits and revenues that could be gained from the cloud computing model, the model still has a lot of open issues that impact the model creditability and pervasiveness. Vendor lock-in, multi-tenancy and isolation, data management, service portability,elasticity engines, SLA management, and cloud security are well known open research problems in the cloud computing model. Morsy, Grundy and Muller,(2010) As computer manufacturers, employers and universities deploy cloud based tools on desktops, many users may fail to realize that they are in fact using an Internet based service. This risk of confusion will likely increase when cloud based applications lack any recognizable browser branding, and continue to function when the user is not connected to the Internet. Ramgovind et al, (2010) Katz (2009) focuses on many areas where the cloud may impinge on education. He advocates that because companies might be storing documents which should not be made public, there are reasons for concern about what can happen to the information. Potential Cloud organisations and vendors need to be aware that it may become easier for attackers to threaten clouds by moving towards a single cloud interface. According to Moulasion and Corrado,(2011) the services that libraries can acquire through the use of cloud computing platforms may indeed be valuable, but

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the cost of internet access, even if bandwidth is not currently at a premium, can become a considerable hurdle to effective provision of services. (p. 5). Table 2. Overview of cloud computing research ISSUES Adoption CONTRIBUTORS Hazelhurst, 2009, Delic and Riley,2009; Mika and Tummar Chun and Maniatis 2009; elo, 2009; Saya et al, 2010; Matthew and Spraetz, 2009; Wilson 2009. Bhardwaj et al.,2010; Vaquero et al., 2009; Furht and Escalante, 2010; Ratogi, 2010; Velte et al., 2010; Briscoe and Marions, 2009. Weinhardt et al.,2009; Assuncao et al.,2009; Zeng etal.,2009; Leimeister et al.,2010; Koehler and Anandasivam,2010; Ried,Stefan, Kisker, Holger and Matzke, Pascal,2010. Armbrust et al.,2009; Dikaiakos et al., 2009. Lenk, 2009; Jericho forum (2009). Pueschel & Neumann, 2009; Yeo et al.,2009; Anandasivam & Weinhardt, 2010. Pearson, 2009 Bernstein, et al., 2009; Dodda et al., 2009; Grossman, 2009; Harmer, et al., 2009; Keahey 2009; Lim et al., 2009; Matthews, et al.,2009; Mikkilineni and Sarathy, 2009; Nurmi, et al., 2008; Ohlman, et al. 2009; Sun, et al. 2007. Ramireddy, et al.,2010; Joint et al.,2009; Wolf,2010. Askhoj, Jan, Sugimoto, Shigeo and Nagamori, Mitshuharu, 2011 Buyya et al., 2008; Youseff et al.,2008; Vaquero et al., 2009; Briscoe, et al., 2009; Baars & Kemper, 2010.
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Benefits

Business

Impediments Model Pricing

Privacy Standards

Security Storage Technology

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RESULTS Popularity of the terms and search To analyse the popularity of cloud computing searching was done on Google Trends. It revealed that the term gained momentum post-2009. During 2010 onwards it was at its peak. Figure 2. Searches for cloud computing on Google.com, taken from Google Trends

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Further, a comparative study of cloud computing, libraries and online services was done on Google Insights to determine the interest areas worldwide. It revealed that cloud computing has gained tremendous popularity in India. Also there is high scope of research on cloud computing in conjunction with libraries in near future.

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Figure 3. Searches for cloud computing taken from Google Insights

To analyse the average use of the term cloud computing in books searching was done on Google Books Ngram Viewer. It revealed that post 2006 there has been sudden increase in the usage of the term in books. Table 4. Searches for cloud computing from Google books Ngram Viewer

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It reveals that post 2006 there has been sharp increase in the usage of the term in books.

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Distribution of articles by year An analytical study of the references was done to find out the most productive year for cloud computing literature. We found that during 2010 maximum number of literature was written. Figure 5. Distribution of articles by year
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2 1 12 15 Distribution of articles by year 26 29

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007
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Distribution of articles by publication To analyse the most productive sources for cloud computing literature an analysis of the available literature was done. It revealed that conference proceedings were the best source of dissemination of the concept on cloud computing Figure 6. Distribution of articles by year
30 20 10 2 0 Distribution of articles by publication 19 15 18 20 22 10 12 14 12

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CONCLUSION Cloud computing is a novel concept where theory building is not at the centre of research rather most studies focus on praxis. The technology has been explored at its utmost from technical purview and its implication in library is yet to be explored due to its relative edge in libraries. It is of prime importance for the reinvigoration of the library profession. Although the present paper cannot claim as exhaustive one yet it attempts to draw insights into the present state-ofthe-art. REFERENCES
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