INTRODUCTION
In this Info Age, Information and facts Technologies has revolutionized every factor of human everyday living to an extent that the current era could be referred to as electronic natives. This Information Technological know-how has introduced the earth to a stage of becoming a international in terms of information and facts dissemination. It is against this track record that Sutton(2008) envisaged “Information and facts Technology has rapidly transformed the earth today.” This is evidenced in the alter of cultural, social, economic and educational factors of everyday living. In this regard, the affect of Facts Technology has been felt in the residence, schooling, wellbeing defense and protection, finance and commerce, the field and in the office. This technological development has also experienced an affect on common info institutions this sort of as libraries.
Info Technology’s effect on libraries in academia has been on pursuits concerned with in-residence trying to keep routines these kinds of as acquisition, cataloguing, serials handle, circulation of library materials, handling statistics and retrieval of info. Educational libraries are now supplying their clientele with a lot better and efficient info solutions as a result of the use of Data Technologies. The software of Details Technological know-how to info administration activities has resulted in the all round improvement in the performance of tutorial libraries.
An educational library is the nerve centre of its mum or dad establishment thus meeting the teaching and analysis desires of that establishment. It is proven with the main aim of giving helpful information provider supply for students, instructing team, administrative and technological team of an tutorial institution. In this regard, present and related textbooks and journals as effectively as reference elements represent the selection of an educational library to match with the information requirements of the curricula. In an academic library, an ample and conducive studying natural environment need to be offered for end users and it should really be appropriately staffed. In a nutshell, an educational library supports study function and complements the training/studying programme of the institution.
FOURAH BAY Faculty LIBRARY
Fourah Bay University Library is a three-storey setting up positioned in the centre of the campus housing a variety of sections/departments. The functions/functions of the distinct departments of the Library are all geared towards 1 objective, as a result the provision of successful provider shipping and delivery in conference the details demands of its clientele. Each section is headed by a properly trained and competent professional workers supported by para-specialist and non-specialist team who are all answerable to the Performing Librarian.
The lessen ground flooring of the Library houses the Sierra Leone Collection and Bindery. The Sierra Leone Collection homes elements written on Sierra Leone and the neighbouring countries elements penned by Sierra Leoneans handful of copies of dissertations and theses manuscripts, pamphlets and pamphlets-information selected titles of regional newspapers, Sierra Leone Gazette Fourah Bay College or university and University publications periodicals these types of as Sierra Leone Research, Africana Investigation Bulletin, Sierra Trade Journal, Sierra Leone Language Assessment, Historical Journal of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone Geographical Journal Sierra Leone Chambers of Commerce Yearly Studies Sierra Leone Acts/Bills CSM Studies, Parliamentary Debates and Proceedings Annual Stories of the a variety of Governing administration ministries and departments and Presidential Addresses. Attaching these types of worth to this section for research function, the Sierra Leone Collection is referred to as our national heritage. Situated on this ground also is the Bindery which is the Conservation and Preservation Device of the Library for the preservation of library materials to extend their lifestyle span. It also operates commercially as a way of making earnings for the University.
On the ground floor of the building on coming into the Library are the Circulation and Cataloguing departments, American Shelf, the Librarian’s Place of work, the Reference Part of few shares with a conducive studying location and a Photocopying Unit. The Circulation/Lending office of Fourah Bay Faculty Library like all tutorial libraries is accountable for lending resources in particular publications for use outdoors the building or property-looking through. The Circulations Desk which is adjacent to the Librarian’s Business and Reference Collection handles all lending procedures, therefore charging and discharging. The Circulations workers also sign-up new college students and all those needing to become associates by issuing them well prepared library playing cards for the use of the library and its amenities. Recalling overdue publications and reserving necessary textbooks returned type portion of the routines of the Concern Desk. The Problem Desk team also preserve documents of all materials issued for house-looking through.
The operations of the Cataloguing Section which is also located in the floor ground include the classification, cataloguing and accessioning of all recently obtained components specifically publications ahead of put on the cabinets for accessibility by users. Typing and filing of catalogue cards and stamping of catalogue publications with Library’s ownership stamp is also accomplished by the team of the Cataloguing Office. The American Shelf made by the American Embassy in collaboration with the Fourah Bay College Library is a collection of American literature, heritage and several titles of worldwide journals and delivers a little studying area. Photocopying, printing, laminating as nicely as comb binding jobs are finished on business foundation in a rented space. This Photocopying Segment located at the ground flooring of the building. The full to start with flooring of the library homes the Periodicals Section which residences current and back again concerns of periodicals in almost all disciplines. These contain journals, abstracts, indexes and magazines.
Lecturers, students and researchers uncover the Periodicals Section useful for getting ready lecture notes, executing assignments and endeavor study routines. This Section also properties journals for leisure studying as they include information these kinds of as news products, announcements, statistical details, and commercials about goods and services. The routines carried out in the Periodicals Office contain subscribing to journals, proclaiming again challenges paid out for but not but to be acquired as very well as missing concerns, coming into of obtained journals on kardex, getting ready resources to be certain.
The Textbook Selection is partly positioned in the second flooring of the Library and as the name indicates, this division shares suggested texts by the different college instructing employees in assembly the details requires of the curricula. Previous evaluation concern papers, dissertations and theses as very well as geared up lecture notes by some departments variety part of the Textbook Assortment. This division is really patronised by college students and lecturers in improving training/mastering programmes.
THE Need to have FOR DITIGISING FOURAH BAY Faculty LIBRARY
Academic libraries should really go together with the worldwide developments of information and facts technological progress. I is hence viewed with a great deal optimism that digitizing Fourah Bay School Library will significally improve its operations and improve its data services shipping and delivery. A digitized library assures an precise and fast data processing, storage, retrieval and accessibility. The use of computers in amassing, processing, analyzing, retrieving of information and information for dissertation to buyers could be found as a good privilege appreciated by tutorial libraries in this Information and facts Aged. According to Birdsall (2009) a digitised library operates within an electronic collaborative ecosystem to obtain data regardless its spot. This indicates that straightforward access to electronic publications of books and journal is feasible and attainable by a digitized library process. Digitised library makes it possible for information to be accessed by an endless audience at the identical 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 in particular tutorial libraries in 3rd Entire world countries in this Details Age must not continue to be static but be dynamic and move along with the global developments of technological enhancement in phrases of information processing, preservation, retrieval and dissemination. Justifiably, Fourah Bay University Library desires to undertake and adapt this craze as a way of increasing the companies it features in seeking to meet up with the wants of information seekers.
The dire want to digitize Fourah Bay University library stems from the reality a digital is a single that harnesses digital technologies and infrastructure to research, gather, organise and distribute cultural, historical and scientific information whether it is text, visible pictures or audio. Digital libraries make it attainable for digital publications of textbooks and journals to be accessed by an limitless audience at the exact time and everywhere. In this regard, digitising educational libraries these types of as Fourah Bay Higher education Library is a necessity. Justifiably, there is dire require to digitise Fourah Bay Higher education Library as the routines carried out manually are time-consuming as opposed to the digitised procedure which is incredibly a great deal more rapidly and it is therefore required to digitize Fourah Bay School Library as a way of effectively maximizing its operations. Without having controversy, a digitize Fourah Bay School Library program is extremely considerably in its operations and retrieval of details and lookup strategies include less labour, abilities and experience as well skilled competence in reference queries posed by information and facts seekers.
Digitising Fourah Bay College Library is justifiable as efficiency and performance in data support shipping is ensured more than the guide. A digitised library technique will increase pace in executing responsibilities and subsequently raises efficiency. Indisputably, this sort of a library areas the whole resources it incorporates at the immediate disposal of the consumer. Realistically, improvement in the services supplied by a digitised library will be on a scale unattainable to accomplish by manual techniques. A different place of justification in digitising Fourah Bay University Library is that the present handbook process is incapable of managing the work-load getting into account the latest condition of the selection in conditions of measurement and improve in the number of customers. It really should be pointed out with concern that components in particular books are additional to the assortment on a day by day basis and the student inhabitants of the higher education improves every yr.
Keeping rate with the recent traits in this Details Age, it is essential to digitise Fourah Bay Faculty Library so that it will get some prestige. It is a universally accepted phenomenon that libraries that have initiated a mechanised programme have captivated notice and increased their status appropriately. In this working day and age, there is definitely advancement in the forex of searchable documents, advancement in the forex and creation of Present-day Awareness Bulletin, and means to research and manipulate knowledge in a number of various techniques as a end result of digitisation. In this regard, there is a need to digitise Fourah Bay Faculty Library as the method boosts its Existing Awareness Expert services in trying to keep buyers abreast of most recent developments in their parts of fascination.
As no library is self-ample in information methods, facts sharing is facilitated as a result of digitisation. It is rather attainable with the use of the computer system to share the resources of Fourah Bay University Library with other libraries and data units with no the troubles and constraints represented by the catalogue. By digitising Fourah bay Faculty Library, staff can study new skills based on this new technological innovation laborous work opportunities can be delegated to devices simpler and a lot quicker entry to data easier indicates of remedying typing problems availability of shorter doing the job hours therefore giving further earnings for the staff members.
WHAT TO AND WHY DIGITISE
Digitised tutorial libraries stand to benefit amongst other matter amplified output and extra effective tasks in documentation and data processing, facts community enhancement and best management of information administration and retrieval.
Getting into account the sizing of the Fourah Bay Higher education Library assortment, its digitisation demands enough funding by the higher education administration. On the other hand, if not the Sierra Leone Collection which retains unusual and essential files of historical and study benefit, some of which are out of print want to be digitised. By digitising the Sierra Leone Assortment, the country’s cultural heritage will be properly preserved for posterity. Community newspapers and some vital files housed in the Collection are so flimsy that if they are not digitised, as decades go by, there is just about every tendency for them to dress in out and turn into unreadable.
The Cataloguing Department of the Library which procedures newly acquired elements before positioned on the shelves for accessibility wants a computerised cataloguing procedure that will show a apparent superiority around its manual counterpart. A digitised cataloguing method involves the manufacturing of catalogue playing cards as effectively as the availability of significant speed printers. Unlike handbook cataloguing, a digitised cataloguing method ensures improvement in get the job done stream extra productive work place and elevated efficiency is also envisaged. Relying on the availability of expected funds to embark on this all-critical undertaking, the Sierra Leone Collection and the Cataloguing Division must be prioritised in digitising Fourah Bay College or university Library.
Workers and people will remarkably value the huge advantages to be derived in digitising Fourah Bay College Library new competencies are learned based mostly on this new technology. As for the staff, cumbersome occupation can be delegated to equipment and typing faults can be very easily remedied. Consumers have easier and faster obtain to facts thus eliminating intermediary with a digitised library technique. Some added benefits of digitising academic libraries contain boosting improved output far more successful duties in documentation and details processing, facts network improvement and ideal handle of information administration and retrieval. According to Tedd (2009), tutorial librarians will get superior control and manipulation of their work environment by way of the use of digitised library process. In this regard, Library desires to be suitably and sufficiently stocked with suitable resources to meet the details needs of the curricula, a digitised procedure will guarantee effortless collection and acquisition of elements from publishers and their suppliers. The obtain of products primarily textbooks and journals can be finished on the net and a lot less paper is concerned in this exercise. And a main advantage of a digitised library system particularly the Acquisition Section is the capacity to observe up fantastic orders the identification of publications expected to produce the collection ordering publications from correct suppliers their recording on arrival the settlement of invoices and specific holding of acquisition accounts.
In conditions of accuracy and pace, the merits of a digitised cataloguing procedure significantly outweigh its manual counterpart. Effective work place and increased productivity in particular in the manufacturing of catalogue playing cards is ensured by a digitised cataloguing system. The digitisation of Fourah Bay Faculty Library improve its impression as a credible source of appropriate, timely and latest details in satisfactorily assembly the requirements of its clientele. In a nutshell, the digitisation of Fourah Bay Faculty Library boosts efficient information and facts support shipping and delivery thereby attracting higher patronage.
DIGITISING Worries
Notwithstanding the positive aspects derived in digitising Fourah Bay Faculty Library, there are issues equally linked with this new technological innovation. It should really be observed with great issue that as a consequence of monetary constraints faced by the University, there has been a drastic slice in the Library spending plan and this has adversely impacted the functions of the Library and its administration. Against this back-drop, digitising Fourah Bay College or university Library will not be an straightforward endeavor as the program requirements to be properly maintained and sustained.
Yet another challenge to be taken into thought in digitising Fourah Bay Higher education Library is that most users and workers absence primary training in the use of this new know-how and as these types of, they will need to be adequately proficient for the helpful operations of this method. And it should really thus be borne in mind that the teaching of end users and workers to develop into pc literate and proficient requires funds which the Library can’t very easily afford to pay for. This indicates that for the programme to triumph, it will have to be built-in into the working life of end users and team of the Library. Unquestionably, the Library will want help from method analysts to be certain the performance of the process. Contracting the products and services of personal computer technicians expenses income which must be regarded as financial burden on the Library. Moreover, the Library will also have to have to get and sustain all vital equipment for the process to be operational.
A hard process in managing digitised library units is that computer systems are intricate, quickly changing, fragile and normally incompatible. Other than, digital documents are tricky to maintain due to the fact of immediate variations in personal computer hardware and computer software. There will always be a new or improved procedure available that is even larger, greater or significantly less high priced than the a single just purchased. The time and work needed to transform manual data to equipment readable type is also a challenge in implementing the procedure. Repeated energy-cuts as very well as irregular electrical power offer pose a significant dilemma in digitising Fourah Bay Higher education Library as it does not have a stand by generator to operate the method.
It must be also taken into account that a authentic problem for the duration of the rainy year is the danger of high depth lightning strikes. The stability of the equipment towards destruction is also seen as a challenge if buyers and team do not obtain satisfactory skills in handling this technological innovation. One more problem affiliated with digitising Fourah Bay College or university Library is the drastic reduction of its workers thereby creating unemployment which inevitably turns into a social trouble.
Conclusion
Digitising Fourah Bay College Library is a amazing concept using into account the improved solutions which the system would deliver to it. The college or university administration for that reason, ought to totally assistance this initiative as customers and team of the library as well as the administration will immensely benefit from it. Precise and speedy data retrieval so as to get the right information to the correct human being is realised when the library is digitised. In essence, enterprise this kind of a enterprise is truly worth-even though notwithstanding the pending challenges that it will bring with it. The faculty librarian should really as a result advocate with justification so that the administration manifests higher fascination in funding this all-essential undertaking. In addition, the college or university librarian should solicit money from other organisations, ask for donor companies and be actively engaged in fund-elevating routines and earnings-building programmes for the realisation of this aspiration.
REFERENCES
Birdsall, Margaret O. (2009). Controlling digital information. New York: Prentice Hall.
Chinney, Victor M. (2007). Selecting an automated library technique: a scheduling guidebook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Findlay, George R. (2009). Running periodicals in faculty libraries. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Suttan, Milton S. (2008). A computerised library: effects and challenges. London: Routledge
Tedd, Lucy A. (2009). An introduction to laptop or computer-centered library system. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
