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FUNDAMENTALS OF

LIBRARY AND
INFORMATION SCIENCE

FUNDAMENTALS OF
LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

ABDULWAHAB OLANREWAJU ISSA, Ph
...

PRINCIPAL LECTURER,
DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE,
THE FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, OFFA,
KWARA STATE

First published in 2009 by

(C) 2009 Abdulwahab O
...


ISBN:

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
ISSA, Abdulwahab O
...
Issa
...

iv, 101p
...

ISBN

DEDICATION

To the Almighty God
For His love, guidance and abundant blessings
And
To the memories of my late father and late uncle
For what they both meant to me
...

Foreword……………………………………………………………………
...

CHAPTER ONE: THE MEANING, NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE LIBRARY
Introduction…………………………………………………………………
...

Towards a Definition…………………………………………………………
Now a Definition Attempted…………………………………………………
CHAPTER TWO: LIBRARY HISTORY
Briefs on Library History……………………………………………………
...

Famous Libraries in History…………………………………………………
...

CHAPTER FIVE: THE LIBRARY AND THE BOOK: A RELATIONSHIP
ESTABLISHED
Introduction……………………………………………………………………
The Issues………………………………………………………………………
Purposes of the Book…………………………………………………………
...


CHAPTER SIX: THE BOOK AND ITS IMPORTANCE
Earliest Forms of Writing………………………………………………………
Definition of a Book Attempted………………………………………………
...

The Library System……………………………………………………………
...

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE DIFFERENT FEATURES OF THE LIBRARIAN
Introduction………………………………………………………………………
The Librarian as a Generalist……………………………………………………
...

CHAPTER NINE: CATEGORIES OF LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
Introduction………………………………………………………………………
...

CHAPTER TEN: THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIBRARIES
Introduction………………………………………………………………………
...

The Public Libraries………………………………………………………………
The School Libraries………………………………………………………………
The Academic Libraries…………………………………………………………
...

CHAPTER ELEVEN: NEW TRENDS IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION
SCIENCE PRACTICE
Introduction………………………………………………………………………
...

CHAPTER TWELVE: IMPLICATIONS OF THE TRENDS FOR LIBRARY
SERVICES DELIVERY
Introduction………………………………………………………………………
...

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE PLACE OF THE LIBRARY IN THE
INTERNET AGE: THE MYTH AND REALITY
Introduction………………………………………………………………………
The Myth and Reality……………………………………………………………
...
To some, it is a bookstore; a
building where books are kept for safe custody over-seen by a stern-looking
watchman in the name of a librarian, essentially ensuring that the books are not
tampered with unduly
...
This explains why many libraries have
seasonal uses as their patrons have a well-known pattern of visits and usage, which
are at the designated examination periods
...

The Issues
The above perceptions underpin the justification for a variety of definitions
of the library by different people
...
Even though these conceptions of a
library are not completely wrong in themselves, they however provide the
foundations upon which the highly misrepresented and misconceived idea of what
a library truly is was laid
...
1

Incidentally, there is an historical antecedent to this line of conception of
what a library is
...
By the 19th Century, the understanding metamorphosed into “a
building, room, or set of rooms containing a collection of books for the use of the
public or some portion of it, or the members of society; … a public institution or
establishment charged with the care of a collection of books
...

No doubt therefore that the concept ‘library’ has long been established in our
language, and the more reason for the age-long misconceptions about the true
nature of the library, which is essentially dynamic (thus, ever-changing); and for
which those definitions, though correct to some extent, are no longer sacrosanct in
the face of an avalanche of new additions to the world of the library and the
librarianship profession today
...
Hence, the need for a re-examination of the concept towards a redefinition that will reflect the emerging trends
...
e
...
Superficially taken, there can be equivalence;
especially if such a purpose was to establish an historical perspective to the issue
...
But the need for
advancement from an historical perspective was long over-due; as we needed to
rise above our inability to conceive of the book in its most widely generic sense
...
It extends back to the
scrolls, papyri, and clay tablets that appear near the dawn
of writing-back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egyptian
civilization
...
As much as this assertion remains incontrovertible, it is certainly not
in the rather cheap sense of taking the book to mean the printed pages as they are
known to us today alone
...

There is yet another angle to the issue which needed to be addressed for a
good starting-point to be established, which is the perception of a library as a
bookstore or a place where books are kept for their safety mainly
...

Probably in anticipation of the occurrence of this rather distorted perception,
Ranganathan, in his Five Laws of Library Science, posited “books are for use” as
his very first
...
e
...


Emerging from the above background, one can therefore not but agree with
the well-informed declaration made by Shera to the effect that “an assembly of
books is not a library, nor is a library only a place where books are kept”
...
This is the point
driven home by Sharr in the opening remarks to his famous report when he
unequivocally declared that “a library is not a building as such, any more than a
hospital is a building
...
6
These proclamations have profound significance in more than just one
regard
...
This is important because they are good ways of taking our minds
away from what the library is not; having, in the process, enriched our
understanding
...

Now a Re-Definition Attempted
Deriving from our enriched knowledge of what the library is not, as
postulated in the foregoing, one ought to have been thoroughly prepared for a good
understanding of what a library actually is
...
Olanipekun and Ifabiyi once described the
library as “a collection of information materials such as films, magazines, maps,
manuscripts and phonograph records) made available for use”7
...
This is
to emphasize the need for underscoring “use” as of a high premium to the
collection of information materials to be found in the library contrary to other such
collections as could be found elsewhere
...

Furthermore, Shera’s definition of a library as “an organization”, a system
designed to preserve and facilitate the use of graphic records”8 is also very
instructive
...
The ends to which the “organization”
or “system” would be targeted are “preservation and facilitation of the use of
graphic records”
...
The term “graphic
records” used-this definition should be understood from an all-inclusive
perspective covering all kinds of formats of communication media from the past to
the present and even the future
...
Also in line with the first definition, this also
emphasizes “use” as a critical component of what constitutes a library
...
”9

A careful look at this definition reveals that not only did it also underscores
the ‘’use’’ component but went further to touch on library professional personnel,
duties and responsibilities, among others
...
Then is the variety of information materials to be found in the library
ranging from “books, periodicals and other familiar materials” (i
...
unlimited and
unrestricted in coverage)
...

Similarly, Aguolu, in yet a functional approach to the subject, defined a
library as “collection of records of human culture in diverse formats and languages,
preserved organized and interpreted to meet broad and varying needs of individuals
for information, knowledge, recreation and aesthetic enjoyment”
...

From the foregoing therefore, it is apparent the term “library” is in almost
everybody’s vocabulary and an institution, which is a part of almost everybody’s
experience
...
Thus, the library has been
frequently referred to, albeit variously, as the “heart of the institution”, “the mind
of society” … “the only effective repository of
...
12

Evidently, the library is the only agency devoted solely to the purpose of
collecting, preserving, making available, transmitting and securing the widest and
most effective use of the records of civilization by the society of which it is a part
...
This is because, the library is essentially a human enterprise and
like all such enterprises, it must depend “ultimately upon the skilled minds and
talents of librarians for it to perform its proper role in our ever-changing society”
...
That a library is a social instrument created to form a link in the
communication system that is to any society or culture
...

2
...

3
...


REFERENCES

CHAPTER TWO
LIBRARY HISTORY
Briefs on Library History
The first libraries were only partly libraries, being composed for the most
part of unpublished records, which are usually viewed as archives, not libraries
...
These archives were made up
almost completely of the records of commercial transactions or inventories, with
only a few documents touching theological matters, historical records or legends
...

The earliest discovered private archives were kept at Ugarit; besides
correspondence and inventories, texts of myths may have been standardized
practice-texts for teaching new scribes
...
The first ones appeared some time
near the 5th century BC
...
[4] All these
libraries were Greek; the cultivated Hellenized diners in Deipnosophistae pass over
the libraries of Rome in silence
...

Libraries were filled with parchment scrolls as at Pergamum and on papyrus
scrolls as at Alexandria: export of prepared writing materials was a staple of
commerce
...
In those rare cases where it was possible for a scholar to consult
library books there seems to have been no direct access to the stacks
...

Little is known about early Chinese libraries, save what is written about the
imperial library which began with the Qin Dynasty
...
At this time the
library catalog was written on scrolls of fine silk and stored in silk bags
...
C
...
C
...
[5]
In Persia, many libraries were established by the Zoroastrian elite and the
Persian Kings
...
One of the most
important public libraries established around 667 AD in south-western Iran was the
Library of Gundishapur
...
In the West, the first public libraries were established
under the Roman Empire as each succeeding emperor strove to open one or many
which outshone that of his predecessor
...
Reading or copying was
normally done in the room itself
...
As a rule Roman public libraries were bilingual: they had a
Latin room and a Greek room
...

In the sixth century, at the very close of the Classical period, the great
libraries of the Mediterranean world remained those of Constantinople and
Alexandria
...
As its unofficial librarian, Cassiodorus not only collected as many
manuscripts as he could, he also wrote treatises aimed at instructing his monks in
the proper uses of reading and methods for copying texts accurately
...

Elsewhere in the Early Middle Ages, after the fall of the Western Roman
Empire and before the rise of the large Western Christian monastery libraries
beginning at Montecassino, libraries were found in scattered places in the Christian
Middle East
...
Like the
Christian libraries, they mostly contained books which were made of paper, and
took a codex or modern form instead of scrolls; they could be found in mosques,
private homes, and universities
...
Ibn al-Nadim's bibliography
Fihrist demonstrates the devotion of medieval Muslim scholars to books and
reliable sources; it contains a description of thousands of books circulating in the

Islamic world circa 1000, including an entire section for books about the doctrines
of other religions
...
[6]
By the 8th century first Iranians and then Arabs had imported the craft of
paper making from China, with a mill already at work in Baghdad in 794
...

They were called "halls of Science" or dar al-'ilm
...
The libraries often employed translators and
copyists in large numbers, in order to render into Arabic the bulk of the available
Persian, Greek and Roman non-fiction and the classics of literature
...
After a few centuries
many of these libraries were destroyed by Mongolian invasion
...
However, a few examples of these
medieval libraries, such as the libraries of Chinguetti in West Africa, remain intact
and relatively unchanged even today
...

The contents of these Islamic libraries were copied by Christian monks in
Muslim/Christian border areas, particularly Spain and Sicily
...
These copies
joined works that had been preserved directly by Christian monks from Greek and
Roman originals, as well as copies Western Christian monks made of Byzantine

works
...

Medieval library design reflected the fact that these manuscripts--created via
the labor-intensive process of hand copying--were valuable possessions
...
Librarians often
chained books to lecterns, armaria (wooden chests), or shelves, in well-lit rooms
...

Monastic libraries lent and borrowed books from each other frequently and lending
policy was often theologically grounded
...
In 1212 the council of Paris condemned those monasteries that
still forbade loaning books, reminding them that lending is "one of the chief works
of mercy
...
The library still exists and can justifiably claim to be the forerunner of later
public library systems
...

Shelves built above and between back-to-back lecterns were the beginning of
book-presses
...

Book presses came to be arranged in carrels (perpendicular to the walls and
therefore to the windows) in order to maximize lighting, with low bookcases in
front of the windows
...
In Continental libraries, bookcases were arranged parallel to
and against the walls
...

As books became more common, the need for chaining them lessened
...
Book stacks quickly evolved into
a fairly standard form in which the cast iron and steel frameworks supporting the
bookshelves also supported the floors, which often were built of translucent blocks
to permit the passage of light (but were not transparent, for reasons of modesty)
...

Also, the use of glass floors was largely discontinued, though floors were
still often composed of metal grating to allow air to circulate in multi-story stacks
...
Also, the governments of most major countries support national libraries
...
S
...
A typically broad sample of libraries
in one state in the U
...
can be explored at Every Library in Illinois
...
Libraries have materials arranged in a specified order according to a
library classification system, so that items may be located quickly and collections
may be browsed efficiently
...
These reference stacks may be

open to selected members of the public
...


REFERENCES

CHAPTER THREE
BOOKMAKING HISTORY

Briefs on Bookmaking History
Mankind has made books in some form for almost as long as there has been
the written word
...
One of the earliest known books is the clay tablets of the
Babylonian sand Assyrians
...
They were often stored in clay “envelopes” that protected
the tablets much as a modern library book cover does today
...
The Royal Library of Nineveh-capital of the ancient
empire of the Assyrians-contained thousands of clay books on every subject from
astronomy to recipes to love poems to legends
...
The stems
were cut into thin strips and laid next to each other, one slightly overlapping the
next
...
These were
lightly pounded to bind them together
...
The scroll was then wound around a
wooden stick
...
One of the oldest papyrus scrolls dates from 2500 BC
...
The
use of animal skins as a writing surface has been noted as far back as 500 BC until
the appearance of good parchment in the 1st or 2nd century AD
...

The Romans used wax tablets
...
They wrote
by making indentations with an iron stylus (similar to our pencil) and erased by
rubbing out the words with the flattened end o the stylus or their finger
...
Children also used them for their
school lessons
...
Palm leaves were
trimmed to size and the letters were cut into the leaf
...

Between the 5th and 11th centuries, the decoration of books was mostly
done with precious jewels, carved ivory and gold
...
In
the 12th century, leather tooling became very popular in England
...
In the 15th century, gold tooling was
introduced by Italian and French craftsmen working under the influences of the
Arabs of Morocco
...
In the 16th century, embroidered fabric
became popular and Queen Elizabeth I was said to have embroidered cloth for
book covers
...

With the invention of the printing press, movable type and the introduction
of paper to the West, the nature of bookbinding changed
...
In 1861, David Smyth invented a book sewing machine
...
18
Some Famous Libraries in History
Some of the greatest libraries in the world are research libraries
...
C
...


Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh, founded between 669-631 BC
...


Egypt's Library of Alexandria (founded in 3rd century BC) and modern
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
...


Baghdad's House of Wisdom, founded in 8th century AD
...


Islamic Spain's library of Cordoba, founded in 9th century
...


Egypt's library of Cairo, founded in 10th century
...


Tripoli's Dar il-'ilm, destroyed in 1109
...


Ambrosian Library in Milan opened to the public, December 8, 1609
...


Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) in Paris, 1720
...


Boston Public Library in Boston, 1826
...
Bodleian Library at University of Oxford 1602, books collection begin around
1252
...
British Library in London created in 1973 by the British Library Act of 1972
...
British Library of Political and Economic Science in London, 1896
...
Butler Library at Columbia University, 1934
14
...

15
...


16
...
Dutch Royal Library in The Hague, 1798
18
...
Firestone Library at Princeton University, 1948
20
...
Franklin Public Library in Franklin, Massachusetts (the first public library in
the U
...
; original books donated by Benjamin Franklin in 1731)
22
...

23
...

24
...
Lee Library at Brigham Young University, 1924, probably the
largest single-building university library in the world
...
House of Commons Library, Westminster, London
...

26
...

27
...

28
...

29
...
Officially open in October 31, 1587
...
Library of Congress in Washington, D
...
1800
...
Library of Sir Thomas Browne, 1711
32
...
National Library of Belarus in Minsk, 2006
...
National Library of Australia in Canberra, Australia
35
...
New York Public Library in New York
37
...
Sassanid's ancient Library of Gondishapur around 489
...
National Library of Iran, 1937
...
Powell Library at UCLA, part of the UCLA Library
...
Russian State Library in Moscow, 1862
...
Royal Library in Copenhagen, 1793
...
Seattle Central Library
44
...
State Library of Victoria in Melbourne
46
...

47
...

48
...
)
49
...
Phillips Church Parsonage Provincial Library, established in 1698 in
Charleston, South Carolina, was the first public lending library in the
American Colonies
...
Boston Public Library, an early public lending library in America, was
established in 1848
...
Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which straddles the Canada-US
border
...
St
...
Opened 14 March 1701
...
S
...
To many however, his name is still synonymous with creating libraries
...
S
...

Carnegie Corporation of New York, as it was later known, inherited its
interest in libraries from its founder and president from its establishment in 1911
until 1919, the year of his death, and who initiated a library program at the
foundation
...
Although the
Corporation continued to make some grants for library development, its efforts
were primarily devoted to appraisal and evaluation of its library program until
then
...
For these programs, the Corporation
spent an average of about $830,000 a year until 1941
...
As to academic libraries, between 1930 and 1943, the Corporation
appropriated nearly $2
...

Although the Corporation’s charter permitted it to make grants in the
countries that are now known as the former British Commonwealth, it did not
extend its library interests, except for public library buildings, beyond the Western
Hemisphere until 1928, when, coinciding with the Corporation’s initiation of
grants to countries in Africa, it began promoting the concept of free library
services in sub-Saharan Africa
...
Substantial grants also went for the development of libraries and the
purchase of books and training in Gambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda
and other Commonwealth countries
...
More emphasis was placed on grants
for central services provided by the American Library Association, the Association
of Research Libraries, the Library of Congress and other organizations and for new
technologies and equipment aimed at facilitating library use
...
With the reassessment of
Corporation strategies under its current president, Vartan Gregorian, who was
previously president of the New York Public Library in the 1990s, the Corporation
decided to reform its International Development Program and support the
revitalization of universities and libraries in Africa
...
“The public library revitalization program supports the development
of selected public libraries in order to create ‘model centers of excellence’ that help
their system lobby for greater resources and public support of library services”
...

In addition to its library program in Africa, the Corporation-while not
maintaining a program of support for U
...
libraries-has continued to make specialinitiative grants to domestic public libraries in recent years
...
The grants
commemorated the centennial period of Andrew Carnegie’s gifts to establish
public libraries in New York City and more than 1,350 other communities across
America
...
All were chosen according to the size and
diversity of population served, geographic spread and/or historical relationship to
Andrew Carnegie, according to Corporation president Vartan Gregorian
...
5 million grant to support the book
collection at The New York Public Library and at the Brooklyn and Queens
libraries in memory of those who lost their lives on September 11th
...
C
...
Each book purchased through this challenge fund will have a
bookplate commemorating those who died in the World Trade Center and the

Pentagon on September 11th, so that years from now, new readers will not forget
the sacrifice made by so many in the name of America’s freedom, values and way
of life
...

In June 2003, along with the John D
...
MacArthur
Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Corporation made a onetime contribution to the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries for its
administration costs
...


REFERENCES

CHAPTER FIVE
THE LIBRARY AND THE BOOK: A RELATIONSHIP ESTABLISHED
Introduction
It goes almost without saying that the primary concern of the library, right
from the very beginning, has been the communication of knowledge, ideas and
thoughts from one person, group of persons or generation to the other
...
That was the time when the only key instrument for
information storing and transmitting was the human memory with its attendant
shortcomings
...

But then, the knowledge, ideas, information and thoughts, which the library
seeks to store and transmit are essentially intangibles which could not be handled
unless they are encoded and embodied
...
Our inability to rise above the challenge of distinguishing between the
physical object and the intellectual content, which is the reality, probably
accounted for the equation of libraries with books
...
Considering its three cardinal functions throughout history namely:
to collect, preserve and make-available, it becomes abundantly clear that the

library had served as an essential instrument for the maximum realization of the
great benefits of the book as all other materials that have been used before it
...

The argument simply, is that to realize its full benefits, such a medium must
be a part of a well-selected aggregate of books
...
This way, a user possibly gets translated into “whatever time and place of
his wish as he ceases to be a servant of a given view or the prisoner of a single
dogma, but master over an empire of knowledge”
...
1
Purposes of the Book
Incidentally, books have been found to endure the way most other works of
man could not
...
Provide the union of understanding that links the generations
...
Enable us share human experience down through time
...
Allow us cast our vision of life
...
Enable us forge out a future we shall not see
...
By this, we mean that the library, more than
any instrument of society, opens to public use, the treasury embedded in books
...
Even at that, it is significant to note that the most that any man of great
wealth will be able to command can only amount to just a fraction of the
intellectual riches open to any user of a reasonably good library”
...
Preserve and make widely accessible the records of human experience
...
Stimulate thoughtful people everywhere to come up with positive insights
and values from the past and to assimilate them into the new order
...
Identify relationships in this fast-changing world
...
Maintain the records of new ideas, technologies and values, so that
individuals and institutions can perceive and then control the direction of
change as it relates to each person’s particular life experience
...
A library serves all who use it and
reaches out to all who do not or cannot
...
It is common for a public library to have story
hours for children, including preschoolers
...
Children can
see an exhibit of dolls or mobiles, watch a puppet show, or take part in an art
contest
...
Tables, chairs, and shelves in a children's department are built to smaller

and more convenient scale
...
Sometimes
storytellers are sent out into a community, and children in some places can call on
the telephone to have a story read to them
...

Books and-where these are available-records, even cassettes and cassette players,
can be taken home
...
Screening rooms in some libraries are for viewing of films, filmstrips, and
videotapes
...

Both school and public librarians teach students how to use a library
...
Public libraries may have young adult sections with books and other
materials of interest to young people
...
In a few school and academic libraries, a student can
dial to get a foreign language lesson or hear a lecture that has been stored in an
information retrieval bank
...
But all types of materials can be checked out of many other libraries
...
There may also be machines called microfilm, micro-card, and microfiche
readers
...

Adults, too, are served by many kinds of libraries
...
In many places, women's groups, business

management groups, labour groups, and others can request materials and
conference rooms for meetings
...
Adults who do not speak the
language of the country well or who have little schooling can attend special
programmes at public libraries
...
In special libraries, librarians not only find
information for company workers but often summarize it for them
...
There are also reference books such as
encyclopedias to use in finding information without help
...
Library interiors are designed to be inviting and comfortable for reading,
listening, viewing, and studying
...
Many public libraries are community
centres, with local artists showing their work, or community leaders giving talks
...

For people in the country, there are books by mail, bookmobiles, book sleds,
book boats, book trains, and even book planes
...
So are magazines and books in Braille, as
well as books with large type for people with poor eyesight
...
A library in ancient Egypt was called
“The Healing Place of the Soul
...

The following is a vivid summary of the significance of the library:
1
...


2
...

3
...

4
...

5
...
It is like
a giant brain that remembers all that scientists, historians, poets,
philosophers and others have thought and learned
...
It is a meeting place for the ideas and words of persons who have influenced
the human race and his world
...
It also serves as a place where the experience of the past can meet the needs
of the present
...
Libraries served us in our school work, as aid in our daily undertaking and
for pleasure in our leisure time just as young people learn to use the library
as part of their everyday school activities
...
Libraries are one of the most conducive atmospheres for reading, studying
and researches
...
The library is one element in the total communication system by which a
society is held together and a culture is created and maintained
...
M
...
3rd rev
...
London:
Andre Deutsch Limited
...
(1988) “Library”
...
International Edition
...

17
...

The World Book Encyclopedia (1964) Large Type Edition
...
5
...


CHAPTER SIX
THE BOOK AND ITS IMPORTANCE
Introduction
Right from the time when man started to live in a state of society as a
member of a group, the necessity for communication has arisen
...
It was in an effort to fulfill this fundamental obligation that
the spoken language evolved as one of the earliest systems of communication
known to man
...
At this stage in history, the human memory was the only key
instrument for such storage and transmission necessities
...

For instance, at a point whereby oral tradition became too voluminous for
continuous and effective retention by human memory, there arose the serious
problem of loss of vital information
...
e the book) came as a form of insurance
...
17 The realization that the spoken words could be represented by visual
symbols actually heralded the coming of the written language
...
The three main antecedents of the earliest writings were the
“pictographic,” (representing an object); the “ideographic”, (representing the idea
suggested by the object) and finally the “phonographic” (indicating the sound of
the object or idea)
...
In any case, their significance lies in the fact that they served as the
antecedents to the modern-day books as well as the other systems of writing
...
A significant factor in the history of
Western culture was the phenomenal rate of increase in the ability to multiply a
text
...
Given the same
amount of time still, several thousand copies were produced using the early printer;
while in the Machine age, books were conveniently printed in millions of copies
...
This was in contrast to the earlier periods when only a very
few learned persons even saw or read books
...
19
Definition of a Book Attempted
Efforts at providing a definition of books may turn out to be an interesting
exercise even though it might not be as simple and straight forward as it may seem
at first
...
Taken
from the physical point of view, “any object that is an assembly of leaves held
together along one of four edges and protected on front and back with a cover of
more durable materials”,20 qualifies as a book
...

From the functional perspective, however, a book can be defined as “a more
or less coherent body of graphic communication assembled into one or several
units for the purpose of systematic presentation and preservation of lastingly
valuable materials”
...

Technically, “a set of blank sheets of paper bound along one edge and
enclosed within protective covers to form a volume, especially a written or printed
literary composition presented in this way”22 has been referred to as a book
...
23 Thus, a book
is a division of a literary work, separately published with an independent physical
existence, whose pagination sometimes continued with other volumes
...
The term is thus used for a variety of printed products
...
This makes for the efforts to preserve
and to further the dignity and the beauty of the book in the modern world
...
Book serves as a vital and indispensible form of communication
...
It serves primarily as the storehouse of facts and figures
...
It represents beauty as a work of art in itself
...
It is a means of transmitting spiritual values and ideas
...
Reading it or random browsing through brings about some form of physical
joy
...
It brings about a kind of informal, spontaneous and entirely voluntary
communication between author and reader
...
Quite simply put, a system is a number of individual components of a
whole; all of which are expected to function together in order to achieve a
common, set goal(s)
...
This is to the extent that the lack of, or inadequate
functioning of one automatically affects the others; as all the components must be
in good and functioning conditions for a system to exist
...
However slight
the discomfort in one translates into same for the rest to the extent that these others
are as discomforted as the one that was directly affected
...
This is the typical conception of a
system
...
As a system, library is a complex
of relations between people and information processes, within larger social,
economic and political systems
...
In the systems
approach, information is essential; it is communicated by libraries, which "as the
medium for organization and transfer of information are society's work of art
...
" It is defined as "an organized collection of the carriers of
knowledge
...
" Collection is
the basic concept in library work and its professionalism
...
Knowledge is the information
packaged into higher level of organization
...
" "Libraries represent basic knowledge availability systems
that are far more than mere repositories for storing books
...
The
proliferation of new activities have led to the emergence of new professions and
disciplines whose main intellectual and practical responsibility is for management,
storage, and retrieval of bodies of knowledge in a formal, rather than a substantive
way
...

The ALA Glossary defines library science as "the knowledge, demands and
skills by which recorded information is selected, acquired, organized and utilized
in meeting the information needs of a community of users
...
Major responsibility is for
dissemination of all forms of information to appropriate audiences
...
The library is defined as "an
organized collection of the carriers of knowledge
...
Historically, library science has also included
archival science
...
This includes how information resources are organized to serve the needs
of select user groups, how people interact with classification systems and
technology, how information is acquired, evaluated and applied by people in and
outside of libraries as well as cross-culturally, how people are trained and educated
for careers in libraries, the ethics that guide library service and organization, the
legal status of libraries and information resources, and the applied science of
computer technology used in documentation and records management
...
Library science is constantly
evolving, incorporating new topics like Database Management, Information
Architecture and Knowledge Management
...
To a certain extent they can be considered equivalent terms, perhaps
adopted to increase the "science" aspect, or improve the popular image of
librarians
...
LIS should not be confused with information theory, the
mathematical study of the concept of information, or information science, a field
related to computer science and cognitive science
...

The ALA Glossary defines librarianship as "the profession concerned with the
application of knowledge of media and those principles, theories, techniques and
technologies which contribute to the establishment, preservation, organization, and
utilization of collections of library materials and to the dissemination of
information through media
...
The proportion of each of these in
any given institution depends on the type of library, its budget, and the types of

users it serves
...
Most professional librarians have earned at least a master’s
degree in library science or information science, the study of information and the
manner in which it is generated, recorded, stored, retrieved, transmitted, and used
...

Professional librarians require a wide range of skills and talents
...
Advances in library technologies have
also led to a high demand for professional skills such as database searching and
competence in using the Internet and other computer networks and systems
...
Other professional librarians typically administer the
library’s various departments
...
In addition to their
managerial work, professional librarians assume primary responsibility for
providing reference assistance, developing and managing the collections, and
overseeing cataloging
...
Their activities include essential functions such
as inputting, coding, and verifying bibliographic and other data; ordering library
materials; assisting with catalog development; performing circulation duties such
as checking out books to users; and performing other services vital to the library’s
daily operation
...
Part-time staff members typically shelve books,
perform low-level clerical duties, and carry out other relatively simple but essential

tasks
...
Public libraries also hire
so-called library pages to help perform tasks that require no professional training,
such as shelving books and periodicals
...
Many
professional librarians were first attracted to the profession while they were
working as library assistants, pages, or volunteers
...
Because
of the small size of the staff, a single librarian might combine clerical and
professional tasks
...
Much of this transfer of responsibility
has been made possible by the introduction of relatively simple and efficient
computer technology, which has permitted support staff to accomplish large
portions of cataloging that were once done by professionals
...
The patterns of library
staffing vary from country to country
...
In less developed countries, the smaller size of staffs and a
lack of new, efficient computer technology have made this separation more
difficult
...
Librarians might do any of the following professional

tasks: book selection, original cataloguing, making library policy, evaluating
performance of others, answering more complex reference questions, or dealing
with the complaints and concerns of patrons
...
Library technicians and assistants
may do professional tasks in the absence of professional staff
...
Basically a library is a
gathering of ideas, of information-put in order and shared
...
If it were not for other
library workers, in many places a person could not get a library card, find a
clipping in the vertical file, use a microfilm reader, or take out a book
...
Multiply that by several hundred or several thousand
and the result is a mountain of materials that must be sorted and put back in the
right place
...
Sorting and shelving are also
done by temporary student employees, or student assistants
...

Library clerks work out in front or behind the scenes
...
A copying machine or charge-out machine can
be mastered in a matter of minutes
...
Such an attitude is
a must for all library people dealing with the public
...
Both out-front and behindthe- scenes clerks need a high school diploma usually, or the ability to pass a civil
service exam
...

Library aides assist with many of the librarian's jobs
...
Behind-the-scenes aides may operate
audiovisual equipment, arrange displays, keep up the vertical file, look up prices
and other information the librarian needs to order materials, supervise pages and
clerks
...
A job as
library aide requires at least a high school diploma, and many who do such work
are library technicians, with two years of college
...
Often they and library technicians do the
more skilled types of library work
...

People with advanced training in related fields such as computer science and
accounting also work in libraries
...
Above all it is people using a library who
make it come alive, but people are also needed to make a library work
...
Thus, in

conclusion, librarians are said to have many different faces such that a librarian in
a modern school may be called a media specialist
...

There are children's librarians and young adult librarians in public libraries,
institutional librarians in hospital and prison libraries, university librarians in
university libraries
...

Librarians also share knowledge and skills learned in college, in library school
after college, and on the job
...
To select materials, a librarian finds
out what the library's users and potential users need
...
So the librarian must be an expert not only on
what materials are available but on which are more dependable, more useful to the
library than others
...
A good
collection offers many points of view on any given subject
...


The Librarian as a Generalist
If it were not arranged, if it did not have a catalog, a library would be a
trackless jungle of information
...

This librarian examines every new book, record, film, or other item to determine
what it is about
...
Most
libraries use card catalogues, but some modern libraries use a book catalog made
and printed by computer
...
The librarian in charge of circulation supervises the use of all
materials
...
Clerks usually issue library cards, lend and receive materials, keep
records of materials borrowed, collect fines for materials that are overdue, and
even help people find materials they want
...
Much circulation work is automated in
libraries today-there are computerized systems to keep a record of materials lent
and returned, for instance
...
The librarian in reference pursues a deeper
wisdom-to understand all the questions
...
The whole
point of reference work is personal assistance, either finding the answer or guiding
a person to it
...
Much reference work can be done by
phone
...

But, as in other professions, many librarians become specialists
...
In many school
and public libraries, there are media specialists and readers' advisers
...
A
readers' adviser helps choose materials or prepares a special reading list for a
particular person
...

Public librarians may specialize by age group of user
...
Guiding children in their reading is an important part of the
work
...

A young adult librarian works with roughly the teenage group
...
It is especially important for a
librarian working with this age group to be outgoing, unflappable, imaginative, and
socially aware
...
An important part of work with
young adults is planning programmes for them
...
These include school dropouts, the elderly, the uneducated, ghetto
dwellers, the rural poor, and minorities
...
If there is one ingredient
a librarian in such work needs above all, it is heart
...
Also
needed are initiative and imagination to draw such people to the library as well as
to take the library to the people
...
So
is a strong background in non-print materials because they draw many people in

such groups
...

Many academic and research librarians are subject or language specialists
...
Subject specialists are
found also in government libraries-archivists specializing in historical papers,
librarians specializing in law
...
The special librarian
makes searches for information-helping an engineer gather materials for a report,
preparing a reading list on water pollution for a steel company executive
...
Such summaries, or abstracts, keep busy people up to date and
help them decide what to read for more information
...
Information searches are made more and more with the help of
computers
...
Because special librarians often make much use of other
libraries, they must know not only their own but other library collections in their
subjects
...
They should also have a background in library
technology, automation being common in special libraries
...
They are generalists, working with a
variety of groups and subjects
...
School librarians work closely with teachers in helping students get the
reading habit, learn study skills, and understand how to use a library
...
In many places also, a school librarian must be
qualified as a teacher
...


The Librarian as an Information Scientist
A librarian is a mover of ideas, of information from one mind to another
...
A librarian must understand the bigger
picture called information science, of which library science is only a part
...
That is part of information science
...
That, too, is part of information
science
...
In addition, he or she may need some mathematics to use computer
language
...
To run a library, the librarian must learn techniques for analyzing and
improving a system
...
Many
librarians who work in automated libraries are called information scientists
...
Basically, every librarian must be an
information scientist
...
There are reference jobs for the I-want-to-work-with-people type;
jobs with the underprivileged for the I-want-to-improve-the-world type; jobs as

cataloguers and bibliographers for the I-want-to-do-research type
...
While librarians do not run to one type, though, they do have
some things in common; some of which include:
1
...

2
...

3
...
Not everyone who needs help asks
for it so a librarian must be able to take the initiative
...
A librarian is a voracious reader
...

5
...
He or she has not only an appetite for knowledge but
an open mind that does not fear new ideas
...
A librarian has a sense of order
...


CHAPTER NINE
CATEGORIES OF LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
Introduction
There are different types of library materials especially the reference books,
differently arranged
...


Library Collections
A Dictionary answers questions about words
...
At the tops of
pages, guide words show first and last words on a page
...
In the back may be special sections-facts about famous people, facts about
places
...

A General Encyclopedia, usually a set of books, covers just about every
subject
...
Like a dictionary, an
encyclopedia is alphabetically arranged
...
To help find information, an
encyclopedia has outside guides (letters printed on the spine of each book, showing
what part of the alphabet it covers), inside guides (guide words on top of each
page), headings and subheadings to break up larger subjects, and an index
...
These are called subject encyclopedias
...
It also contains charts, tables, and other
geographical facts
...
To read a map, a person needs to know the
map symbols
...
The index in back
helps locate places on a map
...
Names of places, rivers,
mountains, and so on are listed in alphabetical order
...
‘Webster's Geographical Dictionary' is an example
of a popular gazetteer
...
A
yearbook mostly reviews the important happenings or facts of a particular year
...
An almanac, too, comes out every year
...
One of the best known is ‘The World Almanac and Book of Facts'
...

A handbook is a guide to a particular subject
...

A Biographical Dictionary is a book of important people's names, with
facts about their lives
...
Some biographical
dictionaries list only living people (‘Who's Who'), others only dead people (‘Who
Was Who')
...
Before using a biographical dictionary, it's important to
know whether a person is still alive and what country that person comes from
...

A Book of Quotations is used to find out who said something worth quoting
and exactly what the words were
...
But some such collections are from one author
(Walt Whitman) or work (the Bible)
...
Each such book has a large index that includes not only the subjects of
quotations but also the key words
...
It tells where to find information and
items in other books or materials
...
To read an index, a person
has to understand the many abbreviations explained in front of the book
...
Generally not all of them are in the library
...
Some bibliographies not only
list books and other materials but tell something about them
...

A Directory gives information about people, organizations, or institutions
...
A telephone book is a directory
...
They are also the first works to consult, as a rule
...
Those are the problems a Dictionary can help solve
...
In trying to find out about a subject, the
person who checks the Encyclopedia first-even before the catalog-can get a fast
focus on the big picture
...
In each subject, there are
hundreds of special reference works such as Handbooks, Indexes, and
Bibliographies
...
It's also important to check more than
one reference work to compare different ways of looking at the same facts
...
Because it takes time to put out a
book, even a brand-new one is yesterday's facts
...
Such
things aren't likely to change or change much for a long time
...
These include magazines
and newspapers
...
So
magazines are sometimes called periodicals
...

This is called a volume
...
But if someone wants articles on a certain subject, the card
won't help
...
Of these,
probably the best known is the ‘Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature', which
indexes articles of about 150 magazines
...
So it comes in volumes, each volume covering one or two
years, with the dates printed on the spine
...
Every library has a place for clippings
...
This is also true of special articles and pictures from magazines
...
The
Folders are kept in a Deep-drawer Cabinet called a Vertical File
...


The Vertical File has Pamphlets, too
...
Like newspapers and magazines, many pamphlets
give fast, up-to-date facts-on jobs, for instance-too new to be in books
...
Some libraries have
special shelves or boxes for pamphlets, where they are arranged by subject
...
The Vertical File Index is
widely known
...
Some such items may be kept in a separate place-in
a picture file or map file, for example
...
The what of a library is books,
including paperbacks; magazines and newspapers; clippings and pamphlets and
other vertical file materials; and more, much more
...
There are records and sound tapes of
music, poetry, language lessons; videotapes of neighborhood people and places, of
amateur plays
...

Films and filmstrips show the growth of a plant, the pollution of a stream,
the agony of a violin lesson
...
Specimens are
sometimes arranged to show how a piece of tree becomes a pencil, or how crude
oil is taken from the ground and shipped to refineries to be changed into
gasoline
...

Then, there are Mini-non-books: Microfilm, Micro-card, Microfiche
...
The way records, films, and other non-book materials are

arranged varies from one library to another
...


CHAPTER TEN
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIBRARIES

Introduction
The Library as an institution is a collection of books and other informational
materials made available to people for reading, study, or reference
...
” However, library collections
have almost always contained a variety of materials
...
In addition to maintaining collections within
library buildings, modern libraries often feature telecommunications links that
provide users with access to information at remote sites
...
In fulfilling this mission, libraries preserve a
valuable record of culture that can be passed down to succeeding generations
...
Whether the cultural record is contained in books or in electronic formats,
libraries ensure that the record is preserved and made available for later use
...

People in many professions use library resources to assist them in their
work
...
Students use libraries
to supplement and enhance their classroom experiences, to learn skills in locating
sources of information, and to develop good reading and study habits
...
One of the
most valued of all cultural institutions, the library provides information and
services that are essential to learning and progress
...
Libraries
fall into six basic categories: (1) public libraries, which serve all members of the
general public; (2) school libraries, which serve students and faculty through the
high school level; (3) college and university libraries, which serve students and
faculty in higher education; (4) research libraries, which serve the needs of
advanced scholars; (5) special libraries, which serve various organizations,
industries, and governmental agencies; and (6) government libraries, which serve
governmental departments and agencies, and often the general public as well
...

Note, however, that these categories are fluid and can often overlap (for
example, a law school's library may be considered both special and academic; a
local historical society might also be both public in that members of the local
community may be able to borrow books, and may even receive public funds, but
might also be considered "special" due to a concentration of holdings on a specific

topic)
...
Each type
of library develops its mission statement, collections, services, and facilities to
satisfy the needs of its particular clientele
...
The
library came into existence due to the felt needs of the society for an information
service mechanism
...
Public library, by preserving and transmitting from generation to
generation the recorded human experience on which all future activities are to be
based, plays a very important role in development
...

Public libraries exist in most nations of the world and are often considered
an essential part of having an educated and literate population
...
Many public libraries also provide access to
digital books and music that can be downloaded directly to Mp3 players
...


In person and on-line programmes for homework help, language learning
and other community service programs are common offerings
...
In rural areas, the local public library may have, in
addition to its main branch, a mobile library service, consisting of one or more
buses furnished as a small public library, serving the countryside according to a
regular schedule
...

Public libraries typically are lending libraries, circulating books and other materials
to the users
...
In the larger cities, they are,
to some extent, reference libraries as well and offer free access to on-line databases
with resources for business, healthcare, parenting, consumer education, career
counseling, and education
...
Child oriented websites with on-line educational games and
programmes, specifically designed for younger library users, are becoming
increasingly common
...
Public libraries do
not work on their own but (ideally) in cooperation with other educational and
cultural institutions
...
Often it is not possible for a public library
any more to fulfill its mission without partners
...

As online discussion and social networking allow for remote access, reference is
becoming available virtually through the use of the Internet and e-mail
...
Often, the children's section in a public library has its own reference
desk
...
The main function of a school library is to support
various educational programmes and to develop students’ skills in locating and
using information
...
Students use the materials in
school libraries to perform their class work
...
In
addition to books, magazines, and newspapers, they may contain photographs,
films, sound and video recordings, computers, CD-ROMs, games, and maps
...
An increasing number of school libraries have computer labs
with computer workstations, software, and Internet connections
...
Most school libraries further
enhance their collections by becoming members of school library networks; this
allows them to share resources with libraries in other schools
...
g
...
They might also offer classes in
searching online catalogues for research materials
...

School librarians typically should have credentials in teaching as well as in
library science
...
Students at
each educational level have unique needs and interests
...

Today’s school library media specialist (i
...
librarian) works with both
students and teachers to facilitate access to information in a wide variety of
formats, instruct students and teachers how to acquire, evaluate and use
information and the technology needed in this process, and introduces children and
young adults to literature and other resources to broaden their horizons
...


The Academic Library
Research plays a central role in the academic work of students and faculty at
colleges and universities
...
Because students and faculty at these institutions
may wish to conduct research within any conceivable academic discipline, the
collections of academic libraries usually reflect a vast range of interests and
formats
...

Research universities maintain some of the largest libraries in the world
...
Many academic libraries open their collections to the public, although
borrowing privileges are often limited for users not affiliated with the college or
university
...
g
...
Universities may also divide their
libraries into undergraduate and graduate divisions
...
Graduate libraries contain materials for more
specialized study toward an advanced, graduate degree
...

Academic libraries generally attempt to expand their holdings on an ongoing
basis
...
Because of the complexity, range, and diversity of formats and
information in academic libraries, colleges and universities offer programmes to
introduce incoming students and faculty to the institution’s library services
...


The Research Libraries
Research libraries contain collections of unique materials to support the
needs of advanced and highly specialized scholarship
...
Because these collections may contain many rare
and valuable materials, their use is typically confined to the library buildings
...

Most colleges and universities have rare books or special collections
departments in their libraries, and many maintain research libraries devoted
entirely to such collections
...
Also notable is the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the
University of Toronto
...


Many important research libraries are unaffiliated with a college or
university
...
C
...
The Newberry
Library in Chicago houses notable collections in history, literature, and the fine
arts
...

The library of the American Philosophical Society, also in Philadelphia, is a
center for research in the histories of science, medicine, and technology
...
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical
Gardens in San Marino, California, has an extensive collection of rare books and
manuscripts of British and American history and literature
...
It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
...

Although some research libraries permit only selected scholars to access
their collections, many notable research libraries in the United States open their
collections to the general public
...
Its research centers consist of the Center for
the Humanities, housed in the Central Research Building of the library; the New
York Public Library for the Performing Arts, located in the Lincoln Center
complex; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, in Harlem; and the

Science, Industry and Business Library, located in the Manhattan business district
on Madison Avenue
...

Notable rarities include the only known copy of the 1493 Barcelona, Spain
printing of the letter by Italian Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus announcing
his arrival in the New World; the Bay Psalm Book, printed in 1640, which was the
first book printed in what would become the United States; and a copy of the first
printing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776
...
The library’s manuscript holdings include
British and American historical documents and excellent examples of medieval
illuminated manuscripts
...
In the more traditional sense, it means a collection of books
...
However, with the collection of media other than books for storing
information, many libraries are now also repositories and access points for maps,
prints or other documents and artworks on various storage media such as
microfilm, microfiche, audio tapes, CDs, LPs, cassettes, video tapes and DVDs,
and provide public facilities to access CD-ROM and subscription databases and the
Internet
...
In
addition to providing materials, they also provide the services of specialists who
are experts in matters related to finding and organizing information and
interpreting information needs, called librarians
...
The term "library" has itself
acquired a secondary meaning: "a collection of useful material for common use,"
and in this sense is used in fields such as computer science, mathematics and
statistics, electronics and biology
...
Fortunately, the availability of sophisticated computer technology and
the willingness of librarians to adopt it have helped libraries to meet the needs of
users
...
Computers, especially personal computers (PCs), are now used in nearly
all library functions, from ordering and cataloging library materials to providing
on-line information
...

Libraries want to make their collections available not only to those who
come into the library but also to remote users who need to have access to library
resources from their homes or offices
...
For example, some public libraries’ on-line catalogues,
especially in the advanced countries, offer access not only to their catalogues but
also to various periodical indexes, catalogues of other cooperating libraries,
bulletin boards, and other information data bases
...
For example, one microfiche card can hold up to 1,000 pages of a book and
an ultra-fiche can hold up to 3,000 pages
...


A CD-ROM has a large storage capacity and can hold an entire encyclopedia
and other reference sources
...
Multimedia CD-ROMs provide access to
standard text and also allow manipulation of visuals, sound, and animation
...
Although CD-ROMs were
originally designed to be handled by just one person at a time, networking and
multi-drive players now provide multiuser access
...
This has resulted in
coordinated collection development, resource sharing, and a more efficient
reference service
...
The availability and affordability of PCs and
telecommunication technology have played major roles in library automation and
networking
...

Regional and state networks have been formed to provide their members
such services as shared cataloging and access to materials located in other libraries
...
A statewide system for material delivery, ILLINET Online,
and ILLINET/OCLC are some of the services available to ILLINET members
...
Anyone with a personal computer
or a terminal with a modem may dial into ILLINET Online
...
The CARL (Colorado Alliance of
Research Libraries) system, for example, has projects that include the cooperative
purchase of expensive materials and support for the loading of non-bibliographic
and nontraditional data bases on its network
...
The installation of facsimile, or fax, machines in
libraries has played a major role in speeding delivery of documents
...
Copyright law regulates the
photocopying of published material
...
The emergence of
photocopying has become useful to research and scholarship; for example, research
that involves rare books could not be accomplished as easily without
photocopying
...
On-line bookmobiles feature automated
circulation systems, CD-ROM workstations, copiers, or fax machines
...
The more advanced technologies are often too expensive
for smaller libraries
...


CHAPTER TWELVE
IMPLICATIONS OF THE TRENDS FOR LIBRARY SERVICES
DELIVERY
Introduction
Libraries throughout the world provide citizens with public access to
networked information
...

Libraries need to establish a service profile across the community
...
They need
to increase the visibility and accessibility of their services
...


The Implications
In the past, learning institutions were designed to disperse information and
knowledge
...
Rote
learning simply had to be poured into them
...
The vessel is, in fact, already full
...
Information management is critical to this task
...
This reflects the true meaning
of the information age: information access is power
...
They offer a range of learning
resources, rather than formal courses
...
This is also a revenue
opportunity for libraries
...
Libraries need to tap into this
market, particularly among

knowledge

workers

and

information

based

corporations
...
Universities were at the top of this pecking order, with a monopoly on
research functions and funding
...
In the future, all learning
institutions will need to develop research capabilities
...
Higher education has lost its 900
year monopoly on the development and distribution of knowledge
...
The
Internet and digital TV are making the tools of research widely available
...
They can provide a venue
and resources for self starting researchers, offering a range of information
management services
...
Libraries should no longer restrict their role to the dispersal of
information
...

In the past, learning institutions were organized around a single use
...
Libraries are a logical
focal point for the delivery of relevant services, especially in regional and remote
areas
...
For lifelong learning to achieve universality, libraries, with
their impressive resources and information management skills, can usefully add to

the delivery of adult and community education services
...

In the past, learning institutions were designed as standalone organizations
...
In the future,
learning institutions will need to be heavily networked
...
Advanced IT allows the centre of an organization to communicate
directly with its component parts
...

Libraries need to join the network revolution by forming a series of alliances
with community groups committed to lifelong learning
...
Two examples of what this might mean in practice are as provided here
...
As new learners join the program, they can then be introduced to the
advantages of library use
...
It is a good example of a
partnership model
...
Libraries need to be part of this experience
...

In the past, learning institutions were quite insular, working on the premise that
students and clients would come to them
...
Libraries need to become agents of this socially inclusive
approach
...
They
need to become more user friendly, again harnessing the potential of the net
...
Obviously in the future, the supply of online
services will increase
...
In the past learning institutions had to scramble and compete for scarce
public resources
...

Right wing politics has argued for funding deregulation and greater reliance on the
private sector
...
This is the logic of lifelong learning
...
All sections of a learning society; such as
governments, corporations, households and communities, need to do more
...

This is why the partnerships model is so important
...

For libraries, this is the critical agenda
...
They can no
longer rely solely on public sector budgets
...
In the past, public libraries had to rely
on varying amounts of local and state funding
...

Libraries are a victim of Australia's complex and overlapping federal system of
government
...
This reflects
wide variations in the level of state and local funding support
...


of all times,

2
...


and all cultures,

4
...


with contributions from all individuals who wanted to share their ideas,
insights, memories, experience, and opinions
...
Much work on making it
easier began a long time ago, and it will continue for a long time to come
...
But the Internet is only one component
...
Technology's baffling prowess
and progress even has one librarian predicting the institution's demise
...
But if he is, then the loss will be irreplaceable
...
Despite their perceived obsoleteness in the digital age both libraries-and
librarians-are irreplaceable for many reasons
...


The Myth and Reality
1
...
It is simply not
true
...
But
even if Google does successfully digitize the sum of human knowledge, it is
unlikely that the sum of contemporary authors and publishers will not allow their
works to be freely accessible over the Internet
...
And it will be a long time before that
must-read New York Times bestseller gets put up for free on the Internet: current
copyright law protects works for 70 years beyond the death of the author
...
If an out-of-copyright copy includes
prefaces, introductions, or appendices that are still in copyright, the whole work
falls under copyrighted status
...
Digital Libraries are not the Internet
A fundamental understanding of what the Internet is-and what it is not-can
help more clearly define what a library is, and why libraries are still extremely
important
...
Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska at
Fairbanks clearly spells out the difference between "Online Collections"

and the

"Internet or Web Sources"
...
"Online Collections",
however, are different; in that they are typically provided by libraries and include
materials that have been published via rigorous editorial processes
...
Types of materials include books, journals, documents, newspapers,
magazines and reports which are digitized, stored and indexed through a limitedaccess database
...
You are still online, but you
are no longer on the Internet
...


3
...
And books are just the tip of the iceberg
...
Rather,
access is restricted to expensive subscription accounts, which are typically paid for
by libraries
...


4
...
These include news, journals, books and other resources
...
But it is not a replacement
...
It does cite the
benefits of the Internet, including "sampling public opinion", gathering "quick
facts"

and "a wide range of ideas"
...
In this light, to talk about one
replacing the other begins to seem absurd
...
School Libraries and Librarians Improve Student Test Scores
A 2005 study of the Illinois School Libraries shows that students who
frequently visit well-stocked and well-staffed school libraries end up with higher
ACT scores and perform better on reading and writing exams
...
2% improvement on ACT scores"
...
Digitization does not mean Destruction
The eagerness with which libraries have jumped into partnership with
Google Book Search is not the work of a lemming mentality
...
In return for opening up their stacks, these libraries will have all their
books electronically available for their own members
...

The reason for this is in part because Google Book Search's indemnity
clauses do not reach that far; Google Book Search would not shield libraries from
any liability that they might incur for overstepping the bounds of copyright
...


7
...
He even cites the libraries destroyed
by Hurricane Katrina as an important reminder of the vulnerability of "cultural
memory"
...
Digitization is going to take a while; A long while
While book search has developed the air of an unstoppable movement
rapidly breaking down library walls and exposing untouched treasure troves, it is
breathtakingly far from reaching its goal
...

Digitizing is expensive and complicated, and so far Google's million books
digitized is just a drop in the bucket
...
But
how long will it take to index the world's knowledge? In 2002, Larry Page boasted
that Google could digitize approximately seven million books in six years
...
By 2007, they have managed to index a million books
...
Assuming Google could shake off the legal and
logistical challenges and crank out 7 million books every 6 years, the earliest
possible completion date would still be 2092
...

Dumping physical libraries before digitization is complete would leave library
patrons in the lurch
...
Libraries are not just Books
Technology is integrating itself into the library system, not bulldozing it
...
So where does that leave librarians? Are they being
overtaken by technology, the timeless enemy of labor? Not this time
...
Rather, their work involves guiding and educating visitors on how to
find information, regardless of whether it is in book or digital form
...
This is a librarian's specialty, as they dedicate themselves
to learning the most advanced techniques to help visitors access information
effectively
...


10
...
One of the latest dark
threats to paper (and society) seems to be Google's plan to make e-books
downloadable to mobile devices
...
Google has
already scanned a million books
...
The end is near
...
Radio lives on despite TV, film is still in high demand
despite video, people still talk on the telephone despite email
...
After all, an immense backlog of printed books will still be accessible to
readers
...


11
...
In fact, by contrasting the merits of the e-book to those of the paper book,
one could argue that paper books are actually a better product
...
Society could lose valuable access to a trusted
medium-even if e-books do take off
...
Library Attendance is not Falling-It is just more Virtual now
With approximately 50,000 visitors a year, attendance at the American
History Archives at Wisconsin Historical Society has dropped 40% since 1987
...
But it is only half the story
...
Every year the library receives 85,000 unique
online visitors
...
Many of these schools are improving their virtual libraries by
the day
...
Like Businesses, Digital Libraries still need Human Staffing
Even online businesses rely on quality support for better sales and customer
satisfaction
...
The same goes for people

seeking information
...
Librarians are indeed very important in servicing their
visitors
...


14
...
Even as Google Book Search
picks up the pace and libraries finance their own digitization projects, the future of
physical library space continues to be necessary
...
There is a good reason: it is
expensive
...
And for many library users, they still depend on this traditional,
effective approach to pinpointing information with onsite computers or librarians
available to assist them
...
Google Book Search "don't work"
If a Google-style indexing of all the world's books were to mirror the
company's well-known search service, one might have that much more fodder for
the argument against keeping libraries around
...
The lofty ideals of
information-for-everybody are hindered not only by copyright lawsuits, but by the

Google's own desire to be top dog
...

The user loses out by not being able to access everything through his or her
preferred book search service
...
In the meantime, libraries should remain intact and available to the general
public
...
Physical Libraries can adapt to Cultural Change
The U
...
National Commission on Libraries and Information Science
(NCLIS) is just one among countless groups that study and debate the evolving
role of the physical library in the digital age
...
Less like
"warehouses" was one of the conclusions, and more like "intellectual crossroads
for working, learning, teaching, and new types of programs
...
Physical Libraries are adapting to Cultural Change
Anyone subscribing to the theories of 20th century thinker Marshal
McLuhan might say that along with changed life patterns brought on by electronic
technology, knowledge that was once encased in books and compartmentalized by
subject area is now being liberally disseminated in an explosion of democracy,
rendering obsolete the austerity of the lonely, echoing corridors of the library
...
Indeed, this cultural change predates widespread use of the Internet,

as well as Google Book Search
...

The search for new methods of organizing educational structures (including
libraries) has long been active
...
Washington State
University Director of Libraries, Virginia Steel, for example, is a proponent of
maximizing the social and interactive nature of physical library space
...

It is not obsolete, it is just changing
...
Eliminating Libraries would cut short an important Process of Cultural
Evolution
The library that we are most familiar with today-a public or academic
institution that lends out books for free-is a product of the democratization of
knowledge
...
This started changing during
the 1800's, with more public libraries popping up and the invention of the Dewey
Decimal Classification system to standardize the catalogues and indexes
...
This increased
interest in building a more perfect, liberal society culminated in 1956 with the
Library Services Act, which introduced federal funding for the first time
...


19
...
Access to all the world's information-and free search engines to

browse it with-calls into question the need for librarians, moderators or other such
middlemen; the web, it might seem, is a do-it-yourself medium
...
The Internet is
intensely social and interactive, and has created communities of users that are often
remarkably as tight-knit as they are large
...
The online economy is driven in large part by the web 2
...

Search engines rank web pages based on their popularity, social networking
platforms pull in millions of visitors daily and the Internet's most popular
encyclopedia is written by the same people who read it
...
Since riff-raff and
spammers are an inevitable part of any society (whether physical or virtual),
quality control helps contribute to the best online experiences
...
In order to be fostered, this type of environment must be moderated
...
The notion that libraries are a thing of the past and that
humankind has sprouted wings and flown into a new era of self-guided Truth is
nothing short of farcical
...
In reality, the quality of the
web depends on guidance from the academic library model
...


20
...
Google's algorithm also hinges on this
collective principle: rather than an in-house "expert"

arbitrarily deciding what

resource is the most authoritative, let the web decide
...
The algorithm is based on the
principle that group consensus reveals a better, more accurate analysis of reality
than a single expert ever could
...
"
In a vacuum, crowds probably are very wise
...
The highly
social nature of the web therefore makes it highly susceptible to, for example,
sensationalized, low-quality information with the sole merit of being popular
...
Only
information that is carefully vetted is allowed in
...
Therefore, it is
extremely important that libraries remain alive and well, as a counterpoint to the
fragile populism of the web
...
Librarians are the Irreplaceable Counterparts to Web Moderators
Individuals who voluntarily devote their time to moderating online forums
and wikis are playing a similar role to librarians who oversee the stacks–and those
who visit the stacks
...
While the roles are distinct, each is evolving along with the fast paced
growth of the Internet and the evolving nature of libraries
...


22
...
The Internet is effectively pulling students away from the
stacks and revealing a wealth of information, especially to one who is equipped
with the tools to find it
...
But at what price? Media literacy, although an extremely important asset
for scholars and researchers, is far from universal
...

After all, web moderators are concerned primarily with the environment
which they oversee and less so with teaching web skills to strangers
...
Librarians, therefore,
must be the ones who cross over into the Internet to make information more easily
accessible
...


23
...
A library provides a clear, standardized set of easily

retrievable resources"
...
Despite improvements in search technology and the
creation of amazingly comprehensive sites like Wikipedia, the Internet is still, in
many ways, a free-for-all
...
Many have confronted this chaos with grassroots social networking sites or large, complex and highly successful efforts to
organized information (Google, Wikipedia, et al)
...
Not that that is a bad thing
...
But if you need to limit your search to logically indexed
resources that have been published and then vetted by a professional staff, then the
library is still your best bet
...
The Internet is Subject to Manipulation
As long as the bright minds behind Google are coming up with a better
search algorithm, the bright minds of search engine optimizers will continue to
crack it
...
It is important for the user to keep in mind the
limitations of Google
...
But in many cases it still falls short
...
Books, journals and other resources must be nothing
less than high caliber, published materials
...


Furthermore, the economic incentive to manipulate library collections is
much less fierce than on the internet
...
Meanwhile, Google alone is experiencing incredible earnings
through online advertising, not to mention everyone else positioning for a piece of
the Internet pie
...
Their way
of providing information, therefore, will inherently be less influenced by corporate
interests
...
Libraries' Collections employ a well-formulated System of Citation
Books and journals found in libraries will have been published under
rigorous guidelines of citation and accuracy and are thereby allowed into libraries'
collections
...
They can show
up in search results whether or not they provide citation
...
But it's very time consuming
...


26
...
Quality sites for more marginal subject areas, however,
are less easy to find through web search
...
Wikipedia, which ranks well for a wide variety of specialized subject areas, is
improving web concision
...
Libraries retain a much more comprehensive and
concisely indexed collection off research materials
...
Libraries can Preserve the Book Experience
Consuming 900 pages on the intellectual history of Russia is an experience
unique to the book
...
Through Google Book Search,
the internet can be a tool to find where to buy a book
...
But
even when the internet does provide actual content (as in a search for the history of
Russia) the information is often snack-sized or the overall experience cursory-a
sort of quick-reference browsing
...
The
preservation of stacks, therefore, will help preserve access to this approach to
learning and the more traditional form of scholarship can continue alongside the
new
...
Libraries are Stable while the Web is Transient
In an effort to improve their service and shake out the spammers, search
engines are constantly updating their algorithms
...
In
addition, websites commonly go offline or their addresses change
...
These sites can remain unedited for years
...


29
...
Online TV, radio and newspaper sources-not to mention
an abundance of blogs referencing and commenting on daily events around the
world-can often satiate anyone from the casual headline browser to the news
junkie
...
This effort may seem humble alongside
the lengthy lists of online news aggregators and instantaneous access to articles
published within the minute
...
For starters, many publications continue to exist offline
...

Libraries often provide freely accessible issues of major periodicals that would
otherwise require online subscription, like many sections of the New York Times
...
(Try Google's news archive search)
...


30
...

There are at least two major reasons that the Internet may not provide even an
illusory alternative to libraries
...
A public library may have but one computer console,
while other internet access points may charge someone who simply doesn't have
the means to pay
...


31
...
Compounding the problem is an incredibly low
minimum wage making the real cost of books astronomical
...
Since the United States tends to be a trend leader, especially
technologically, it must underscore the importance of libraries even as technology
moves forward
...


32
...
But
for some, the alluring immediacy of the internet can lead to the false impression
that only immediate, interactive and on-the-spot online discussion is of value
...
Books and reading easily gets regarded as
elitist and inactive, while blogging becomes the here-and-now
...
Access to books and theories from
hundreds of years of cultural history is essential to progress
...
Preserving libraries to store knowledge and teach the limitations of
technology can help prevent the hubris and narcissism of technological novelty
...
Old Books are Valuable
The idea of a library becoming a "book museum" in the age of digitization
is sometimes tossed about as an apocalyptic figure of speech
...
The term insinuates that, rather than become contemporary and useful,
libraries could turn into historical fetishes like vinyl records or typewriters
...
But
if the evolution of libraries grows to become an interactive meeting place for
cultural events and the exchange of ideas, the preservation and exhibition of
archival literary relics could be yet another facet to their importance (and, yes,
intrigue)
...


Conclusion
Society is not ready to abandon the library, and it probably won't ever be
...

While libraries are distinct from the internet, librarians are the most suited
professionals to guide scholars and citizens toward a better understanding of how
to find valuable information online
...
But a lot
is still on paper
...
Rather
than lope blindly through the digital age, guided only by the corporate interests of
web economics, society should foster a culture of guides and guideposts
...


"Library (institution)," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008
http://encarta
...
com © 1997-2008 Microsoft Corporation
...

Library science From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Retrieved from
"http://en
...
org/wiki/Library_science"
List of libraries From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Retrieved from
"http://en
...
org/wiki/List_of_libraries"
Public library From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Retrieved from
"http://en
...
org/wiki/Public_library"

Benge, Ronald
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Craver, K
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School Library Media Centers in the 21st Century: Changes and
Challenges (Greenwood, 1994)
...
The Library in America (Facts on File, 1988)
...
, ed
...
(ALA, 1995)
...
H
...
(Scarecrow, 1995)
...
N
...

Mount, Ellis
...
(Special Libraries,
1995)
...
F
...

Weigand, W
...
, and Davis, D
...
, Jr
...
Encyclopedia of Library History (Garland,
1994)
...
Guide to Information Access: A Complete Research
Handbook and Directory (ALA, 1994)
...
D
...
Libraries and Research: A Practical Approach, 3rd ed
...

Gates, J
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Guide to the Use of Libraries and Information Sources, 7th ed
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McInerney, Claire
...

Parkinson, Kathryn
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S
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of Education,
1992)
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Basic Library Skills, 3rd ed
...

Bucher, K
...
Computers and Technology in School Library Media Centers (Linworth,
1994)
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A Micro Handbook for Small Libraries and Media
Centers, 3rd ed
...

Dickinson, G
...
Selection and Evaluation of Electronic Resources (Libraries Unlimited,
1994)
...
C
...
1989)
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Automation for School Libraries: How to Do It from
Those Who Have Done It (ALA, 1994)
...
Careers for Bookworms and Other Literary Types
(NTC, 1994)
...
Opportunities in Library and Information Science
Careers (NTC, 1992)
...
My Hometown Library (Houghton, 1994)
...
Internet for Kids (SYBEX, 1995)
...
Kids, Computers & Homework (Random, 1995)
...
Every Student's Guide to the Internet (McGraw, 1995)
...
Kids On-Line (Avon/Camelot, 1995)
...
Let's Go to the Library (Holiday, 1990)
...
They serve various branches of the government and function as
a link between their countries and others in the interchange of information
...
Some African national libraries are
responsible for public library development in their countries
...
As a result,
many university libraries performed the functions of national libraries
...
The same is true of the libraries at the University
of Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia; the University of Khartoum, in Sudan; University College of
Swaziland; and Makerere University, in Uganda
...
Among the English-speaking countries of Africa, some of the most notable
national libraries are the National Library of Nigeria in Lagos, the National Library of Kenya
in Nairobi, the National Library of Swaziland in Mbabane, the National Library of Lesotho in
Maseru, and the National Library of Gambia in Banjul
...
The national libraries of the
Portuguese-speaking countries of Mozambique and Angola are located in Maputo and
Luanda, respectively
...




---