The Need to have For Digitising Fourah Bay School Library
INTRODUCTION
In this Information and facts Age, Info Technological innovation has revolutionized each aspect of human lifetime to an extent that the existing generation could be referred to as digital natives. This Details Technologies has introduced the environment to a issue of being a worldwide in conditions of information and facts dissemination. It is against this track record that Sutton(2008) envisaged “Info Technological innovation has speedily changed the world right now.” This is evidenced in the transform of cultural, social, financial and educational features of existence. In this regard, the effect of Details Technology has been felt in the residence, education and learning, wellbeing defense and protection, finance and commerce, the business and in the business. This technological improvement has also experienced an impression on classic details institutions such as libraries.
Facts Technology’s impression on libraries in academia has been on pursuits concerned with in-house maintaining routines this sort of as acquisition, cataloguing, serials control, circulation of library elements, taking care of figures and retrieval of information and facts. Academic libraries are now offering their clientele with a lot superior and efficient facts expert services via the use of Data Know-how. The application of Information and facts Engineering to facts management routines has resulted in the general improvement in the general performance of educational libraries.
An academic library is the nerve centre of its mum or dad institution thereby conference the instructing and analysis desires of that institution. It is proven with the primary concentrate of providing powerful info provider shipping and delivery for college students, instructing staff members, administrative and technological workers of an academic institution. In this regard, latest and relevant textbooks and journals as nicely as reference supplies represent the collection of an academic library to match with the facts desires of the curricula. In an educational library, an enough and conducive looking through surroundings should really be furnished for buyers and it really should be effectively staffed. In a nutshell, an tutorial library supports study perform and enhances the educating/learning programme of the establishment.
FOURAH BAY College LIBRARY
Fourah Bay College Library is a three-storey setting up located in the centre of the campus housing numerous sections/departments. The capabilities/functions of the various departments of the Library are all geared to one intention, consequently the provision of efficient provider shipping and delivery in assembly the data needs of its clientele. Just about every division is headed by a experienced and capable experienced staff supported by para-qualified and non-expert workers who are all answerable to the Performing Librarian.
The reduce floor flooring of the Library properties the Sierra Leone Assortment and Bindery. The Sierra Leone Collection residences components created on Sierra Leone and the neighbouring nations materials published by Sierra Leoneans couple of copies of dissertations and theses manuscripts, pamphlets and pamphlets-files picked titles of regional newspapers, Sierra Leone Gazette Fourah Bay College and University publications periodicals this sort of as Sierra Leone Experiments, Africana Analysis Bulletin, Sierra Trade Journal, Sierra Leone Language Evaluate, Historic Journal of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone Geographical Journal Sierra Leone Chambers of Commerce Once-a-year Reports Sierra Leone Functions/Costs CSM Stories, Parliamentary Debates and Proceedings Yearly Experiences of the many Govt ministries and departments and Presidential Addresses. Attaching these types of significance to this division for investigate get the job done, the Sierra Leone Selection is referred to as our national heritage. Situated on this flooring also is the Bindery which is the Conservation and Preservation Device of the Library for the preservation of library supplies to lengthen their existence span. It also operates commercially as a way of generating profits for the Faculty.
On the ground floor of the making on moving into the Library are the Circulation and Cataloguing departments, American Shelf, the Librarian’s Business, the Reference Section of number of shares with a conducive examining space and a Photocopying Device. The Circulation/Lending division of Fourah Bay Higher education Library like all tutorial libraries is liable for lending elements in particular guides for use outdoors the developing or house-examining. The Circulations Desk which is adjacent to the Librarian’s Place of work and Reference Assortment handles all lending techniques, consequently charging and discharging. The Circulations employees also sign-up new learners and individuals needing to turn into members by issuing them prepared library playing cards for the use of the library and its services. Recalling overdue publications and reserving demanded textbooks returned type section of the routines of the Issue Desk. The Difficulty Desk personnel also keep information of all components issued for residence-reading through.
The functions of the Cataloguing Office which is also found in the ground floor include the classification, cataloguing and accessioning of all freshly obtained resources specifically publications before placed on the shelves for accessibility by consumers. Typing and filing of catalogue playing cards and stamping of catalogue publications with Library’s ownership stamp is also finished by the employees of the Cataloguing Division. The American Shelf established by the American Embassy in collaboration with the Fourah Bay University Library is a selection of American literature, background and few titles of global publications and offers a little looking through house. Photocopying, printing, laminating as well as comb binding work are finished on professional foundation in a rented place. This Photocopying Segment found at the ground ground of the setting up. The total 1st ground of the library homes the Periodicals Office which houses latest and back concerns of periodicals in nearly all disciplines. These include journals, abstracts, indexes and publications.
Lecturers, college students and researchers uncover the Periodicals Department beneficial for planning lecture notes, doing assignments and endeavor investigate activities. This Office also houses publications for leisure reading as they contain information and facts these as information objects, announcements, statistical details, and advertisements about products and solutions and providers. The routines carried out in the Periodicals Office involve subscribing to journals, saying back again troubles paid for but not nevertheless to be received as well as missing troubles, moving into of been given journals on kardex, getting ready components to be sure.
The Textbook Assortment is partly positioned in the next floor of the Library and as the identify implies, this office shares advised texts by the several college teaching workers in conference the details needs of the curricula. Earlier examination problem papers, dissertations and theses as effectively as prepared lecture notes by some departments form element of the Textbook Collection. This division is very patronised by learners and lecturers in improving training/mastering programmes.
THE Need to have FOR DITIGISING FOURAH BAY Faculty LIBRARY
Tutorial libraries ought to transfer together with the global tendencies of information and facts technological advancement. I is for that reason viewed with considerably optimism that digitizing Fourah Bay College Library will significally greatly enhance its operations and increase its information services shipping. A digitized library makes sure an accurate and speedy information processing, storage, retrieval and accessibility. The use of personal computers in collecting, processing, analyzing, retrieving of info and knowledge for dissertation to consumers could be viewed as a wonderful privilege appreciated by tutorial libraries in this Details Aged. In accordance to Birdsall (2009) a digitised library operates inside of an electronic collaborative atmosphere to access data irrespective its location. This indicates that easy obtain to electronic publications of books and journal is possible and possible by way of a digitized library procedure. Digitised library makes it possible for information to be accessed by an unrestricted audience at the exact time and anyplace.
According to the fifth maxim of Library Science asserted by S. R. Ranganathan (1931) “The library is a escalating organism”. Which means that libraries especially educational libraries in Third Planet international locations in this Details Age really should not remain static but be dynamic and shift alongside with the global tendencies of technological development in phrases of information and facts processing, preservation, retrieval and dissemination. Justifiably, Fourah Bay Faculty Library demands to undertake and adapt this development as a way of improving the providers it features in making an attempt to meet the needs of information seekers.
The dire need to have to digitize Fourah Bay College library stems from the simple fact a electronic is 1 that harnesses electronic technologies and infrastructure to lookup, obtain, organise and distribute cultural, historical and scientific facts whether it is textual content, visual pictures or seem. Digital libraries make it feasible for digital publications of guides and journals to be accessed by an unlimited audience at the exact time and any where. In this regard, digitising academic libraries these types of as Fourah Bay College or university Library is a requirement. Justifiably, there is dire require to digitise Fourah Bay University Library as the routines carried out manually are time-consuming as opposed to the digitised procedure which is pretty considerably quicker and it is as a result important to digitize Fourah Bay Faculty Library as a way of successfully boosting its functions. Devoid of controversy, a digitize Fourah Bay College Library technique is pretty considerably in its operations and retrieval of info and search approaches contain considerably less labour, skills and expertise as nicely expert competence in reference queries posed by information and facts seekers.
Digitising Fourah Bay University Library is justifiable as efficiency and success in facts service supply is ensured about the manual. A digitised library process boosts speed in performing obligations and subsequently raises efficiency. Indisputably, this sort of a library areas the total sources it incorporates at the instant disposal of the person. Realistically, enhancement in the companies provided by a digitised library will be on a scale unattainable to realize by guide methods. Another position of justification in digitising Fourah Bay College Library is that the existing manual process is incapable of handling the perform-load getting into account the recent state of the assortment in conditions of size and increase in the variety of buyers. It need to be famous with problem that supplies particularly textbooks are extra to the collection on a each day basis and the pupil population of the faculty improves each individual calendar year.
Maintaining rate with the existing trends in this Information Age, it is needed to digitise Fourah Bay Faculty Library so that it will get some status. It is a universally recognized phenomenon that libraries that have initiated a mechanised programme have attracted notice and improved their status appropriately. In this working day and age, there is certainly enhancement in the forex of searchable documents, advancement in the currency and output of Current Consciousness Bulletin, and means to search and manipulate information in a range of distinctive methods as a result of digitisation. In this regard, there is a will need to digitise Fourah Bay University Library as the procedure boosts its Present Consciousness Solutions in trying to keep consumers abreast of newest developments in their areas of interest.
As no library is self-adequate in facts means, facts sharing is facilitated as a end result of digitisation. It is rather probable with the use of the computer to share the resources of Fourah Bay Higher education Library with other libraries and data units with out the problems and constraints represented by the catalogue. By digitising Fourah bay Higher education Library, team can study new expertise based mostly on this new technological know-how cumbersome positions can be delegated to machines much easier and quicker access to information a lot easier signifies of remedying typing faults availability of shorter doing work several hours therefore providing additional earnings for the personnel.
WHAT TO AND WHY DIGITISE
Digitised educational libraries stand to reward amid other issue improved output and extra successful responsibilities in documentation and information and facts processing, information community improvement and great handle of records management and retrieval.
Having into account the size of the Fourah Bay School Library collection, its digitisation wants satisfactory funding by the higher education administration. Having said that, if not the Sierra Leone Selection which retains rare and significant paperwork of historical and exploration worth, some of which are out of print want to be digitised. By digitising the Sierra Leone Assortment, the country’s cultural heritage will be well preserved for posterity. Regional newspapers and some essential files housed in the Selection are so flimsy that if they are not digitised, as a long time go by, there is each and every inclination for them to use out and come to be unreadable.
The Cataloguing Division of the Library which procedures freshly obtained products just before put on the shelves for accessibility needs a computerised cataloguing program that will exhibit a clear superiority over its handbook counterpart. A digitised cataloguing method includes the production of catalogue playing cards as perfectly as the availability of large pace printers. As opposed to manual cataloguing, a digitised cataloguing method assures advancement in operate flow additional successful operate area and enhanced productivity is also envisaged. Depending on the availability of expected funds to embark on this all-critical venture, the Sierra Leone Selection and the Cataloguing Division ought to be prioritised in digitising Fourah Bay Higher education Library.
Personnel and buyers will highly take pleasure in the huge rewards to be derived in digitising Fourah Bay College Library new capabilities are realized based on this new technological know-how. As for the personnel, wearisome career can be delegated to equipment and typing mistakes can be quickly remedied. People have less difficult and more quickly accessibility to data therefore eradicating intermediary with a digitised library method. Some added benefits of digitising tutorial libraries include things like boosting elevated output much more effective jobs in documentation and information and facts processing, information network enhancement and excellent command of data administration and retrieval. According to Tedd (2009), academic librarians will receive improved manage and manipulation of their function ecosystem through the use of digitised library program. In this regard, Library needs to be suitably and sufficiently stocked with relevant products to satisfy the information requires of the curricula, a digitised procedure will make sure straightforward variety and acquisition of components from publishers and their distributors. The acquire of materials especially publications and journals can be completed on the net and much less paper is concerned in this work out. And a significant advantage of a digitised library procedure especially the Acquisition Section is the skill to follow up fantastic orders the identification of publications demanded to create the assortment ordering publications from proper suppliers their recording on arrival the settlement of invoices and in depth keeping of acquisition accounts.
In terms of accuracy and velocity, the merits of a digitised cataloguing method much outweigh its manual counterpart. Efficient get the job done house and improved productivity primarily in the generation of catalogue cards is ensured via a digitised cataloguing procedure. The digitisation of Fourah Bay Faculty Library boost its impression as a credible resource of applicable, well timed and latest information and facts in satisfactorily meeting the desires of its clientele. In a nutshell, the digitisation of Fourah Bay Faculty Library boosts efficient info provider shipping and delivery therefore attracting superior patronage.
DIGITISING Problems
Notwithstanding the benefits derived in digitising Fourah Bay Higher education Library, there are difficulties equally linked with this new technological innovation. It really should be observed with wonderful concern that as a result of financial constraints faced by the Higher education, there has been a drastic lower in the Library finances and this has adversely impacted the functions of the Library and its management. Against this again-drop, digitising Fourah Bay Higher education Library will not be an effortless endeavor as the procedure needs to be thoroughly preserved and sustained.
One more problem to be taken into consideration in digitising Fourah Bay Higher education Library is that most buyers and team lack standard coaching in the use of this new technological innovation and as this sort of, they have to have to be sufficiently skilled for the successful operations of this technique. And it must consequently be borne in head that the education of buyers and staff to come to be pc literate and proficient consists of income which the Library cannot effortlessly afford. This indicates that for the programme to do well, it must be integrated into the performing lives of people and staff of the Library. Unquestionably, the Library will will need support from system analysts to guarantee the operation of the method. Contracting the companies of computer system specialists costs money which really should be regarded as fiscal load on the Library. Aside from, the Library will also will need to receive and keep all required tools for the program to be operational.
A difficult task in controlling digitised library methods is that desktops are sophisticated, quickly shifting, fragile and typically incompatible. Moreover, digital documents are hard to preserve simply because of rapid improvements in computer system hardware and application. There will generally be a new or improved process accessible that is even larger, greater or less costly than the 1 just bought. The time and effort essential to convert manual info to equipment readable type is also a dilemma in employing the method. Repeated electric power-cuts as very well as irregular electric power provide pose a significant difficulty in digitising Fourah Bay School Library as it does not have a stand by generator to work the system.
It must be also taken into account that a serious trouble through the wet period is the risk of superior depth lightning strikes. The security of the products against destruction is also seen as a problem if end users and staff members do not obtain sufficient techniques in managing this technological know-how. A different problem linked with digitising Fourah Bay University Library is the drastic reduction of its team thus making unemployment which inevitably becomes a social trouble.
Conclusion
Digitising Fourah Bay School Library is a good thought getting into account the enhanced expert services which the process would carry to it. The university administration consequently, must entirely support this initiative as end users and staff members of the library as perfectly as the administration will immensely advantage from it. Precise and speedy data retrieval so as to get the suitable information and facts to the appropriate individual is realised when the library is digitised. In essence, enterprise this kind of a enterprise is worthy of-even though notwithstanding the pending problems that it will convey with it. The college or university librarian must consequently advocate with justification so that the administration manifests large fascination in funding this all-critical task. In addition, the college or university librarian should solicit cash from other organisations, request donor organizations and be actively engaged in fund-raising pursuits and earnings-creating programmes for the realisation of this desire.
REFERENCES
Birdsall, Margaret O. (2009). Running electronic data. New York: Prentice Corridor.
Chinney, Victor M. (2007). Choosing an automated library system: a arranging guidebook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Findlay, George R. (2009). Running periodicals in college or university libraries. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Suttan, Milton S. (2008). A computerised library: effects and troubles. London: Routledge
Tedd, Lucy A. (2009). An introduction to personal computer-dependent library technique. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.