Cloud Computing and Virtualization Technologies in Libraries

Information and communication technologies are developing very fast and providing us opportunities due to their benefits such as reduced cost, anytime, anywhere availability, as well as its elasticity and flexibility. Cloud computing is one of the newly emerged models for technology that provide us the facility of central remoting of servers to maintain data, software, and application through the use of the Internet. Nowadays it is widely applicable in many areas such as libraries, information centres, in-house, applications and digital library services. Our chapter will focus mainly on: Models of cloud computing, typesof cloud suitable for information centres, application of cloud computing with examples, opportunity and risk in developing cloud services, and impact of cloud computing to information centres.