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INTRODUCTION
In this Facts Age, Facts Engineering has revolutionized every single factor of human existence to an extent that the present generation could be referred to as digital natives. This Information and facts Know-how has brought the earth to a point of becoming a world-wide in conditions of information dissemination. It is from this history that Sutton(2008) envisaged “Facts Technological know-how has swiftly changed the entire world now.” This is evidenced in the adjust of cultural, social, economic and academic facets of lifestyle. In this regard, the impact of Information and facts Technologies has been felt in the household, training, overall health defense and protection, finance and commerce, the industry and in the place of work. This technological development has also had an impression on standard facts establishments these types of as libraries.
Info Technology’s effects on libraries in academia has been on pursuits anxious with in-home holding routines this sort of as acquisition, cataloguing, serials control, circulation of library elements, taking care of stats and retrieval of details. Tutorial libraries are now delivering their clientele with significantly greater and helpful details companies by way of the use of Facts Engineering. The application of Facts Technological innovation to info management things to do has resulted in the all round advancement in the performance of tutorial libraries.
An educational library is the nerve centre of its father or mother institution thus conference the educating and analysis needs of that establishment. It is set up with the key concentrate of furnishing powerful facts services delivery for pupils, teaching employees, administrative and complex personnel of an academic establishment. In this regard, latest and applicable textbooks and journals as very well as reference elements represent the selection of an educational library to match with the facts demands of the curricula. In an educational library, an satisfactory and conducive examining natural environment should really be provided for users and it really should be properly staffed. In a nutshell, an academic library supports study operate and enhances the instructing/studying programme of the institution.
FOURAH BAY School LIBRARY
Fourah Bay University Library is a three-storey developing situated in the centre of the campus housing various sections/departments. The capabilities/functions of the diverse departments of the Library are all geared toward one target, therefore the provision of successful provider supply in meeting the data needs of its clientele. Each division is headed by a skilled and competent qualified staff members supported by para-professional and non-expert team who are all answerable to the Acting Librarian.
The decreased ground floor of the Library properties the Sierra Leone Selection and Bindery. The Sierra Leone Collection residences elements created on Sierra Leone and the neighbouring countries elements composed by Sierra Leoneans number of copies of dissertations and theses manuscripts, pamphlets and pamphlets-data files picked titles of local newspapers, Sierra Leone Gazette Fourah Bay University and University publications periodicals these kinds of as Sierra Leone Scientific studies, Africana Study Bulletin, Sierra Trade Journal, Sierra Leone Language Evaluation, Historical Journal of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone Geographical Journal Sierra Leone Chambers of Commerce Annual Studies Sierra Leone Acts/Expenditures CSM Studies, Parliamentary Debates and Proceedings Once-a-year Experiences of the numerous Government ministries and departments and Presidential Addresses. Attaching these great importance to this office for study function, the Sierra Leone Selection is referred to as our countrywide heritage. Positioned on this ground also is the Bindery which is the Conservation and Preservation Device of the Library for the preservation of library supplies to lengthen their daily life span. It also operates commercially as a way of making revenue for the Higher education.
On the floor ground of the developing on entering the Library are the Circulation and Cataloguing departments, American Shelf, the Librarian’s Business office, the Reference Area of couple stocks with a conducive reading location and a Photocopying Device. The Circulation/Lending office of Fourah Bay Higher education Library like all academic libraries is liable for lending materials especially publications for use exterior the setting up or property-reading through. The Circulations Desk which is adjacent to the Librarian’s Office and Reference Collection handles all lending treatments, consequently charging and discharging. The Circulations personnel also sign up new college students and these desiring to become users by issuing them geared up library cards for the use of the library and its services. Recalling overdue guides and reserving needed guides returned type component of the routines of the Challenge Desk. The Challenge Desk team also keep data of all products issued for residence-examining.
The functions of the Cataloguing Section which is also positioned in the ground floor involve the classification, cataloguing and accessioning of all newly obtained materials in particular publications before positioned on the cabinets for accessibility by consumers. Typing and filing of catalogue cards and stamping of catalogue textbooks with Library’s ownership stamp is also accomplished by the personnel of the Cataloguing Section. The American Shelf developed by the American Embassy in collaboration with the Fourah Bay College or university Library is a assortment of American literature, heritage and couple titles of worldwide journals and provides a small reading through space. Photocopying, printing, laminating as very well as comb binding positions are finished on professional foundation in a rented place. This Photocopying Portion situated at the floor flooring of the building. The entire initial flooring of the library residences the Periodicals Division which residences recent and again difficulties of periodicals in almost all disciplines. These incorporate journals, abstracts, indexes and publications.
Lecturers, students and researchers locate the Periodicals Office valuable for preparing lecture notes, performing assignments and enterprise exploration functions. This Office also houses magazines for leisure looking at as they consist of information these kinds of as information items, announcements, statistical data, and ads about goods and expert services. The routines carried out in the Periodicals Office incorporate subscribing to journals, declaring back difficulties paid for but not still to be obtained as properly as missing problems, getting into of acquired journals on kardex, preparing supplies to be certain.
The Textbook Selection is partly situated in the next floor of the Library and as the title implies, this section shares advisable texts by the different college training team in assembly the information and facts requires of the curricula. Past evaluation issue papers, dissertations and theses as properly as ready lecture notes by some departments sort section of the Textbook Assortment. This division is extremely patronised by college students and lecturers in enhancing educating/studying programmes.
THE Want FOR DITIGISING FOURAH BAY University LIBRARY
Tutorial libraries should really go alongside with the world-wide trends of information technological improvement. I is hence considered with a lot optimism that digitizing Fourah Bay School Library will significally boost its functions and boost its data services shipping and delivery. A digitized library assures an accurate and swift information processing, storage, retrieval and accessibility. The use of computers in collecting, processing, analyzing, retrieving of data and info for dissertation to consumers could be viewed as a terrific privilege relished by academic libraries in this Info Aged. In accordance to Birdsall (2009) a digitised library operates in just an electronic collaborative environment to obtain information and facts irrespective its spot. This implies that straightforward entry to digital publications of guides and journal is feasible and doable by means of a digitized library system. Digitised library enables facts to be accessed by an unrestricted viewers at the similar time and anywhere.
According to the fifth maxim of Library Science asserted by S. R. Ranganathan (1931) “The library is a growing organism”. Which means that libraries in particular academic libraries in 3rd Planet international locations in this Information and facts Age must not remain static but be dynamic and go alongside with the global trends of technological growth in conditions of information processing, preservation, retrieval and dissemination. Justifiably, Fourah Bay School Library desires to undertake and adapt this pattern as a way of improving the companies it offers in making an attempt to meet the desires of facts seekers.
The dire need to have to digitize Fourah Bay Higher education library stems from the fact a digital is one that harnesses digital systems and infrastructure to look for, collect, organise and distribute cultural, historic and scientific details whether it is textual content, visual illustrations or photos or audio. Electronic libraries make it attainable for digital publications of books and journals to be accessed by an unlimited viewers at the identical time and anyplace. In this regard, digitising tutorial libraries this sort of as Fourah Bay University Library is a requirement. Justifiably, there is dire need to digitise Fourah Bay College Library as the routines carried out manually are time-consuming as opposed to the digitised technique which is quite substantially quicker and it is consequently necessary to digitize Fourah Bay University Library as a way of correctly enhancing its functions. With no controversy, a digitize Fourah Bay University Library system is extremely significantly in its functions and retrieval of data and research approaches require much less labour, competencies and encounter as effectively experienced competence in reference queries posed by information and facts seekers.
Digitising Fourah Bay School Library is justifiable as efficiency and efficiency in facts company delivery is ensured about the handbook. A digitised library procedure will increase pace in carrying out responsibilities and subsequently will increase efficiency. Indisputably, such a library places the total means it consists of at the speedy disposal of the consumer. Realistically, improvement in the companies presented by a digitised library will be on a scale not possible to attain by handbook treatments. Another place of justification in digitising Fourah Bay Faculty Library is that the existing guide program is incapable of handling the perform-load having into account the latest condition of the collection in conditions of size and enhance in the selection of consumers. It should be observed with problem that materials specially books are added to the assortment on a every day basis and the university student inhabitants of the school will increase each individual 12 months.
Maintaining pace with the existing traits in this Details Age, it is essential to digitise Fourah Bay School Library so that it will get some prestige. It is a universally acknowledged phenomenon that libraries that have initiated a mechanised programme have captivated focus and increased their reputation accordingly. In this working day and age, there is certainly improvement in the currency of searchable documents, advancement in the forex and creation of Present Consciousness Bulletin, and means to research and manipulate info in a amount of different ways as a final result of digitisation. In this regard, there is a want to digitise Fourah Bay Higher education Library as the method boosts its Present Awareness Expert services in holding consumers abreast of latest developments in their parts of desire.
As no library is self-adequate in details methods, details sharing is facilitated as a final result of digitisation. It is pretty doable with the use of the computer to share the means of Fourah Bay College or university Library with other libraries and info models with no the complications and constraints represented by the catalogue. By digitising Fourah bay College Library, staff can learn new capabilities primarily based on this new engineering tiresome careers can be delegated to machines simpler and quicker access to information and facts easier signifies of remedying typing errors availability of shorter performing hours thereby supplying added earnings for the personnel.
WHAT TO AND WHY DIGITISE
Digitised educational libraries stand to reward among the other detail increased output and more productive duties in documentation and data processing, info network enhancement and ideal manage of information administration and retrieval.
Having into account the measurement of the Fourah Bay College or university Library assortment, its digitisation requires suitable financing by the college or university administration. On the other hand, if not the Sierra Leone Assortment which holds exceptional and vital files of historical and investigate value, some of which are out of print need to have to be digitised. By digitising the Sierra Leone Collection, the country’s cultural heritage will be nicely preserved for posterity. Community newspapers and some critical paperwork housed in the Assortment are so flimsy that if they are not digitised, as several years go by, there is every inclination for them to don out and grow to be unreadable.
The Cataloguing Office of the Library which procedures freshly acquired components prior to placed on the cabinets for accessibility demands a computerised cataloguing technique that will show a crystal clear superiority over its manual counterpart. A digitised cataloguing technique will involve the creation of catalogue playing cards as well as the availability of substantial velocity printers. Unlike guide cataloguing, a digitised cataloguing process makes sure enhancement in function circulation extra economical function place and greater productiveness is also envisaged. Depending on the availability of required cash to embark on this all-important challenge, the Sierra Leone Selection and the Cataloguing Division ought to be prioritised in digitising Fourah Bay College or university Library.
Personnel and customers will extremely take pleasure in the huge advantages to be derived in digitising Fourah Bay School Library new expertise are figured out based mostly on this new technological know-how. As for the personnel, monotonous occupation can be delegated to machines and typing mistakes can be very easily remedied. Consumers have less difficult and faster obtain to details therefore reducing intermediary with a digitised library process. Some advantages of digitising educational libraries involve enhancing increased output extra effective responsibilities in documentation and info processing, information community enhancement and ideal command of data administration and retrieval. In accordance to Tedd (2009), tutorial librarians will obtain far better handle and manipulation of their work ecosystem as a result of the use of digitised library process. In this regard, Library desires to be suitably and sufficiently stocked with relevant products to fulfill the details demands of the curricula, a digitised technique will assure quick choice and acquisition of supplies from publishers and their sellers. The purchase of products specifically textbooks and journals can be done on-line and less paper is involved in this physical exercise. And a major profit of a digitised library method in particular the Acquisition Section is the capacity to abide by up outstanding orders the identification of publications needed to produce the selection purchasing publications from correct suppliers their recording on arrival the settlement of invoices and comprehensive holding of acquisition accounts.
In conditions of accuracy and speed, the deserves of a digitised cataloguing program much outweigh its manual counterpart. Economical do the job space and elevated productiveness specially in the production of catalogue cards is ensured by a digitised cataloguing system. The digitisation of Fourah Bay Higher education Library enhance its image as a credible resource of applicable, timely and recent information and facts in satisfactorily assembly the wants of its clientele. In a nutshell, the digitisation of Fourah Bay College Library enhances powerful info support shipping thus attracting large patronage.
DIGITISING Problems
Notwithstanding the rewards derived in digitising Fourah Bay College or university Library, there are difficulties equally associated with this new technological know-how. It need to be famous with good concern that as a consequence of monetary constraints confronted by the Higher education, there has been a drastic lower in the Library spending plan and this has adversely impacted the functions of the Library and its administration. Versus this back again-drop, digitising Fourah Bay Faculty Library will not be an easy enterprise as the system requirements to be thoroughly managed and sustained.
A different problem to be taken into consideration in digitising Fourah Bay Faculty Library is that most end users and workers absence essential teaching in the use of this new technological know-how and as this sort of, they need to have to be adequately expert for the productive functions of this program. And it should really consequently be borne in head that the schooling of users and team to turn into computer system literate and proficient requires income which the Library are unable to easily afford to pay for. This implies that for the programme to do well, it have to be integrated into the doing work life of customers and personnel of the Library. Unquestionably, the Library will require support from system analysts to guarantee the functionality of the process. Contracting the companies of computer system technicians expenditures income which really should be regarded as financial stress on the Library. In addition to, the Library will also want to obtain and retain all needed products for the method to be operational.
A complicated job in controlling digitised library programs is that computers are elaborate, swiftly transforming, fragile and normally incompatible. In addition to, digital information are complicated to protect for the reason that of swift alterations in personal computer hardware and application. There will constantly be a new or enhanced system readily available that is even larger, better or a lot less high-priced than the just one just ordered. The time and energy needed to transform manual knowledge to device readable sort is also a trouble in utilizing the program. Frequent energy-cuts as well as irregular electricity supply pose a significant difficulty in digitising Fourah Bay University Library as it does not have a stand by generator to run the procedure.
It should be also taken into account that a authentic trouble throughout the wet time is the threat of substantial depth lightning strikes. The stability of the equipment against hurt is also observed as a challenge if customers and staff members do not obtain suitable techniques in handling this technological know-how. An additional challenge affiliated with digitising Fourah Bay Higher education Library is the drastic reduction of its employees therefore developing unemployment which inevitably will become a social problem.
Summary
Digitising Fourah Bay College Library is a excellent strategy having into account the enhanced providers which the technique would carry to it. The university administration thus, must absolutely assist this initiative as customers and employees of the library as properly as the administration will immensely reward from it. Exact and speedy information and facts retrieval so as to get the appropriate info to the ideal man or woman is realised when the library is digitised. In essence, enterprise these a venture is worth-even though notwithstanding the pending difficulties that it will provide with it. The university librarian should really for that reason advocate with justification so that the administration manifests superior desire in funding this all-vital task. In addition, the college librarian ought to solicit money from other organisations, request donor agencies and be actively engaged in fund-boosting activities and profits-generating programmes for the realisation of this dream.
REFERENCES
Birdsall, Margaret O. (2009). Taking care of digital info. New York: Prentice Corridor.
Chinney, Victor M. (2007). Picking out an automated library technique: a scheduling information. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Findlay, George R. (2009). Controlling periodicals in college or university libraries. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Suttan, Milton S. (2008). A computerised library: effects and issues. London: Routledge
Tedd, Lucy A. (2009). An introduction to pc-primarily based library program. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
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Resource by Frederick Lavai