Why Library is So Important for Knowledge Enhancements? Find Out Types, Resources Tracking, and Management of Library!

Abstract:

“A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.”

Libraries provide the crucial role in promoting education, research, personality development, ethics and other important values. A society cannot flourish without proper education and the primary requirement of the education system is the knowledge available in the books.

Libraries are community hubs. They connect people to information and connect people to people. They are safe havens for kids, providing after-school homework help, games, and book clubs. They offer computer classes, allowing older adults to stay engaged in a digital world.

The vast reservoir of knowledge at Library is a source of constant value addition for the knowledge seekers. This quiet and well-furnished space is the preferred destination for the faculty and students alike. The library contains rich collection of books and journals that serve as the mental stimuli and offers the latest study material on technological upgradations.

Keywords:

Library, Resources, Books, Journals, References, Materials, Preservance, Knowledge, Periodicals,

Learning Outcomes :

After undergoing this article you will be able to understand the following

1. What's a library?

2. What's the Aims and Objectives of Library?

3. Why Library is So Important?

4. What's the types of library?

5. Which coding methods of resources identification in library is better?

6. How various library operating systems are used?

7. How a library can be managed effectively?

8. Why Library rules are necessary?

9. What strategies should be adopted to make a library more meaningful?

10. How proper layout of library improves usage?

11. What are the best library management information systems available in the world?

12. Conclusions

13. FAQs

References

1. What's a library?

A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location, a virtual space, or both. A library's collection normally includes printed materials which may be borrowed, and usually also includes a reference section of publications which may only be utilized inside the premises. Resources such as commercial releases of films, television programmes, other video recordings, radio, music and audio recordings may be available in many formats. These include DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, cassettes, or other applicable formats such as microform. They may also provide access to information, music or other content held on bibliographic databases.

Libraries offer free education and entertainment to the masses which can be a student, a work professional or a common person of a community. It doesn't matter what your economic status is, you can come in and have free access to books that can inform and transform you. Though the use of school/college and research libraries is limited only to the students of that particular school/college but state and community libraries are open for all and anyone can avail the benefits of these during working hours. It would not be wrong to say that a library is the store-house for books of all kinds and on all subjects under the one roof. A good modern library usually subscribes to practically all the important newspapers and periodicals so that these are made available to all those interested in these information sources.

Books, newspapers and periodicals are the main features of a library and they represent the endeavours, achievements and glory of writers, statesmen, scientists, philosophers and saints and one can learn a lot from these. A library can act as a local museum of sorts, displaying the type of information which simply can't be experienced on an online library through a computer or an I-pad. A library is not just a source for reading books and newspapers, in fact, it means a lot more than that. It should be a repository for local history, currently collected in a haphazard and voluntary manner by local groups who often lack the facilities to do so adequately. A library is a soul-nourishing place for people of any age, and a natural focal point for the meeting of minds.

2. What's the Aims and Objectives of Library?

The main objective of the Library Services is to offer free book reading facilities to all to grow healthy readership to all levels, to disseminate knowledge on all subjects and topics to collect and preserve all documents having research value and local importance.

The top Objectives of the Library are

To support the interested community in imparting quality knowledge and support educational attainment in the field of STEM, Arts, Commerce, engineering & technology, Humanities & Social Science, Management and other allied subjects.
To provide latest research information, electronically to various users community.
To provide quality service to users, disseminate technical knowledge and offer modern tools for access of information.
Bring about cooperative working among the libraries & information centre in North West India through sharing of resources.
To develop inter-institute links within the country to facilitate effective exchange of information resources.
To form a library consortia for libraries & information centre appropriately.
To develop a digital library that collects information across the globe through internet for effective dissemination of the same in the Region.
To integrate with other digital libraries that are set up in various parts of India and abroad world to minimize the recurring cost of journals and other conventional print media.
Organize conference, lectures, workshops and seminars in the field of interest.

3. Why Library is So Important?

Importance of Library

A Library is a communal place so adds to the importance of community in our lives. A library offers us education, relaxation and access to all sorts of books, magazines, music and movies that we could never afford to buy. It is a safe place to meet friends, use the internet or get help with school assignments. It is a place where all walks of life may be present, including children, youth, and the aged. In an era where sustainability is becoming a necessity, a library is a provider. A library has a great importance of its own. For a person of average means, it is difficult to purchase more than one or two daily newspapers or monthly magazines, but it is the keen desire of educated people to know all possible shades of opinion as expressed in different newspapers. Also, it is not possible to buy every book that you are interested to read. Hence library provides an effective alternate where you need to pay in a small number of membership fees and you can get to access to a variety of books, newspapers and magazines etc.

Library at home is a great way to keep your favourite reads organized in one place, without them lying around the apartment in messy heaps but it is not possible to have a library at home and also not affordable. Technology has taken over our lives and everything seems to be attainable digitally and so is the information sources. The sad part about online books is that the realness of holding one in your hands is lost. Also, these may cause a great amount of strain on our eyes, though it may be of convenience to constant travellers, there's nothing like a great book that you can leaf through, as opposed to clicking through. It's a relief how libraries are still going strong among those who love good old books. Love for reading doesn't die so easily, even if you are a follower of technology.

Libraries play a very healthy role throughout our life. Libraries provide the students very healthy environment for learning as well as making notes or completing an assignment. Library provides a very calm and disciplined atmosphere which helps students to maintain a good concentration on their studies. Also, students can take reference books which can help them to make some quality notes. Libraries are the only place where we are free from all conventions because reading is absolutely a matter of personal choice. Readers are allowed to read what they like and also read the book according to their own manner. Nobody would check them or disturb them. Since everything is systematic and the atmosphere is calm so students can gain more in less time. One can save time and energy studying in libraries.

4. What's the types of library?

While the digital revolution has forced an intensifying debate about the future of libraries, much, nevertheless, remains the same. For example, for several centuries the principal types of libraries have remained unchanged. What differentiates these library types is the nature of their clienteles; and thus governmental, public, academic, school, and special libraries are found, serving information-seeking patrons throughout the world.

The library is classified according to reach, resources and utility .

As such, there are four major types of libraries are

Academic libraries serve colleges and universities. Public libraries serve cities and towns of all types.

School libraries serve students from Kindergarten to grade 12.

The Types of library according to purpose are

Academic libraries.
Children's libraries.
National libraries.
Public lending libraries.
Reference libraries.
Research libraries.
Digital libraries.
Special libraries.

5. Which classification scheme and identification method is suitable for library ?

Classification schemes are one vital tools for the organization of library materials. There are of different types namely, the Library of Congress Classification Scheme (LC), Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme (DDC), Colon Scheme, Bliss Classification Scheme and Universal Decimal Classification scheme.

Specifically, organization of library materials refers to the. cataloguing and classification of library materials. Cataloguing is the process of describing a. book or non-book material on a 3”by 5” card or its equivalent. Classification, on the other.

The preference of use the coding systems

Libraries in the United States generally use either the Library of Congress Classification System (LC) or the Dewey Decimal Classification System to organize their books. Most academic libraries use LC, and most public libraries and K-12 school libraries use Dewey.

6. How various functions and library operations are carried out?

While the information revolution has placed enormous pressure on libraries as they try to find their way across this dramatic technological divide, librarians continue to carry out a series of basic functions in the service of their overarching goal of making information readily available to their clienteles.

A common academic library consists of five major units or departments: Acquisitions, tasked with acquiring the library's additions to their established collections and subscriptions; Cataloging, responsible for taking the raw and just acquired materials and making them "shelf-ready" by adding them to the library.

1. Library dashboard

The Library dashboard is the place where you can see a wide range of information about your library’s operations at a glance. In other words, you need to take advantage of the data visualization capability to gain insights and make data-driven decisions to make your library better. Smart School manages library stocks, inventories, conduct book queue requests, monitor issuing & returning of books etc to name just a few.

We suggest you add the below reports to show on your dashboard.

Top books by author, type, and category
Daily/weekly/monthly library usage
Percentage of New users
E-books usage
Due and fines
Books not returned on time
Books never borrowed

2. Book Shelving

Shelving books is one of the most common routines in any library. Applying the right procedures for the shelving is very important for the long-term retention of library resources. Certainly, the Dewey Decimal System is a good practice used by many schools and colleges to organize books in their libraries. Let it be old or fragile books, no matter. Keep it upright!

The most basic thing you need is to have call numbers on all book spines so that you can identify the book category and location easily. Shelving however ensures easy identification of books, and is a one-stop storage solution.

Issuing Library cards

Issuing a library card is really simple if your library management system is integrated with your student database. If a new student requires a library card, we just have to map the student details to the Library card module which includes name, address and contact information. Automatically, the unique library card of the ward is generated in the library module without human intervention. With the library card number, the librarian can track

Issue date of the card
Quickly identify the owner of the card whether staff or student
Number of books borrowed
Data of books returned
Track books that are not yet returned
Monitor any fines or fees on due

The system ensures that the school library is managed efficiently and effectively.

4. Clearing dues

Is it possible for a librarian to track when a student or staff borrows a book? This is the salient feature of a proper library management system where you can have instant access to availability of books. However, what happens if another student too is also holding them too long? This is the area where you need to have a proper fine management system in place. Fines are necessary to ensure that books are accessible to library users when they need them.

Whenever a student borrows books from the library, the system can track the due date and send reminders to the borrowers if not returned. In addition, library staff get to know the student details who have outstanding dues. This helps library admin to follow and collect payments accordingly so that you can avoid piling up fines.

5. Budget allocation

Last but not the least, it is important to allocate funding for resources that the library needs to function effectively. However, there are several areas where libraries allocate their budget. This includes purchase & maintenance of hardwares, preserving existing collections of books, purchasing new journals/ books, staff salaries, staff training & development, funds for building maintenance & security, and other miscellaneous expenses.

7. How a library can be managed effectively?

involves a lot of items like planning, making decisions concerning the goals of the library, organizing, assembling, and more. Libraries need to also monitor the various performances of the library and even leading by way of putting efforts to encourage high performance.

Maintenance of library material involves kinds of stacking, shelf arrangement, cleaning, shelving, stock verification and weeding of unwanted material.

How to Make Your Library Great

Great Libraries Offer a Broad Mix of Community Services. ...
Great Libraries Foster Communication. ...
Great Libraries Showcase History and Information. ...
Great Libraries Build Capacity for Local Businesses. ...
Great Libraries Become Public Gathering Places

8. Why Library rules are necessary?

Libraries have a responsibility to meet the information needs of everyone in their communities. To do so, they must promote and protect users' intellectual freedom and ensure that the delivery of library services to the community is fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory.

To ensure that the library remains an effective space for everyone, students must adhere to a set of essential guidelines – library etiquette.

This set of unwritten rules and manners plays a pivotal role in creating a conducive environment for studying and research.

SAMPLE LIBRARY GUIDES, RULES AND REGULATIONS

Library regulations are designed to create a conducive and comfortable learning environment for all library users and ignorance of these will not be accepted as an excuse for their non-observance.

Borrowing

Books can only be borrowed using a current student card and library materials should not be taken out of the library unless properly issued.
Books are issued to student and administrative staff for a period of two weeks and to members of the academic staff for four weeks.
All borrowers shall be required to present their identity cards at the issue desk every time they visit the library.
Library materials borrowed must be returned on or before the due date.
One book will be issued against one Reader’s Ticket for specific number of days only.
Student cards should not be loaned to other readers.
Lost cards should be reported immediately to the library.

Overdue books

Books must be returned by the due date or earlier if recalled by the Librarian. Failure to return a book by the date specified will be treated as a serious offence. The Librarian will endeavour to send overdue notices but will not be held responsible for no delivery under whatever circumstances.
Any borrower, including a member of the academic staff, who fails to return/renew a book on due date shall be liable to a fine of 500/- per book per day until the book has been returned.

Renewal

At the end of the loan period books borrowed must be either returned or renewed. A book may only be renewed once and provided that another reader has not requested it.

Loss and Damage of library materials

Damaged books will be charged as a lost book or the re-binding costs whichever is appropriate.
Lost books will incur a cost. The cost will be calculated by the replacement value of the book, which may exceed the original cost of the item, plus an administrative charge. If the title is not in print, it will be replaced by something similar in content and price. Added to this charge will be accumulated fines up to the maximum.
Readers must not damage or deface library property. The cost of replacement will be charged if an item on loan is found to be badly damaged on return.

Fines

Any staff member who refuses to pay the fines or replacement cost of lost books will be liable to have these costs recovered from her/his salary through the Bursar’s office. In case of students costs will be recovered from their caution money.

General rules

Outside user members may use the library for study purposes if space is available. They must show a valid readers card when entering the library.
Library clearance involves all students before leaving the University. Students will be required to present all their borrowing cards before the clearance form can be signed by the Librarians. Students whose certificates are not signed will not be awarded their certificates. In the case of members of staff clearance maintains when her/his employment with the University terminates or when she/he leaves the University for more than one academic year for any reasons such as studies, secondment, leave without pay, medical treatment etc.
Books may not be transferred from one reader to another without being returned to the Library for re-issue. If any such unofficial transfer takes place, the original borrower will be held responsible for the books in question.
Library staff may examine personal property being brought into the library and bags on leaving.
Readers must not write in, mark, or otherwise deface or damage library material or equipment in any way.
The library is a quiet area of study; even quiet conversation can disrupt the work of other readers. All conversation should take place outside the library.
An accident in the library should be reported immediately to library staff.
The Library staff on duty has the right to request a user to leave the premises if he/she is found to be violating any of the Library rules.

In order to prevent misplacement of books on shelves, books should not be re-shelved by readers. They should leave them on the reading tables or trolleys for re-shelving by library staff.

Behaviours in the Library

One should not enter the library with any kind of bags, coats, cases, umbrellas, raincoats and similar personal belongings.
Placing of feet on furniture and sitting on tables are not allowed.
Seats may not be reserved by placing personal effects on seats or reading tables.
Mobile phones must be switched onto silent before entering the library. Readers found talking on a mobile will be asked to leave the library.
Library books shall not be taken out of the country, except with the special permission from the Director of Library Services.
Food and drink may not be brought into the library.
Keeping books on the floor is not allowed.
Readers must not engage in the harassment of any other reader or member of library
Readers must not smoke in any part of a library.
The use of portable computer or stereo is permitted in the Library provided there are no complaints from other users.
All users must follow the dress code of the University while visiting the library.
Sitting on the stairs/ corridors/ lobby areas is strictly prohibited

9. What strategies should be adopted to make a library more meaningful?

Tips for Positive Library User Experiences

1. Think about the first impression your library makes.

First impressions make lasting impressions, so ask the following questions:

What’s the experience like at your library when patrons first walk in the entryway? Is it welcoming? Is it aesthetically appealing? Does it guide them where they want to go?
Are there open sight lines throughout your spaces? Is there visibility into your collection and other areas of your library?
How quickly can patrons get oriented to your space to know which direction they should head to reach their initial destination?

Quick improvements that can dramatically improve people’s first impressions of your library include adding a welcoming directory sign and decluttering your spaces. Find inspiration for these endeavors in your collection’s organizing and clutter management titles.

2. Think about enhancements you can make to your service model.

Self-check equipment is mainstream, as is the practice of self-service holds. But service models are continuing to evolve; for some libraries, the creation of genius bars and information commons are gaining momentum as one-stop shops for service. Equally popular are smaller service points throughout the library. Regardless of your model, make it easy for patrons to complete simple transactions and know where to go for help. To do this, clearly identify help desk locations and services throughout your library.

3. Create flow in your library space design.

We can’t deny that patrons make strong associations between books and libraries. However, providing the community with gathering spaces and offering access to technology are also in high demand. These are natural opportunities for you to show patrons that your library is much more than books alone!

Libraries are constantly adapting and flexing their spaces to accommodate new user groups and services, and zoning by interest and noise level is on the rise.

4. Rethink your signage.

Expanding your signage toolbox to include color and graphics can radically improve users’ experiences.

Use common language. It’s been said before, but I like how the presenters expressed it the best: Don’t make people be in the know, reach normal human beings. Use words that most people are familiar with instead of library terminology. For example, use “Questions?” or “Ask Us” instead of “Circulation Desk.”
People respond better to positive messages that are welcoming and inspiring. For example, “Please enjoy your food and drinks on our patio (or another designated area)” instead of “No food allowed in the library,” or “Please enjoy our garden and help our flowers grow by leaving them on their stems” instead of “Don’t pick the flowers.”
Develop a signage hierarchy and use a complementary style throughout your entire library.
Less is more — signs that contribute to visual clutter are not well-received (see tip #1).
Simple plexi or acrylic sign holders are always a better option than tape. Not only do they look cleaner and more professional, but they also appear intentional rather than an afterthought.
Choose sign fixtures that are simple, flexible and easy to change so you can adapt them as your space changes.

5. Create opportunities for discovery.

Discovery is about helping patrons find more of the riches that are in your library. As part of this process you expand people’s perceptions of your library.

Because people mainly associate books with libraries, it’s imperative that your collection is well organized and strategically weeded and features signage that helps patrons find what they are looking for. Attractive displays and presentations lead users to discover new books and be inspired to explore other genres and topics.
Put your collection to work by placing marketing messages in the stacks when and where it makes the most sense. This is prime real estate to promote programs, services and other complementary areas of your collection.
Create a bridge between your physical library space and your digital services by cross-promoting eResources and formats in your stacks.

6. Develop a plan to tie it all together.

Having a branding and marketing strategy offers a roadmap that defines how you want users to experience your library and how you will engage your community in new ways to alter outdated perceptions.

10. How proper layout of library improves usage?

Libraries should have a clear layout with a logical organization of space so that the user can find his or her way around easily. The most used services – reference and issue desks – and resources should be centrally placed. Help points should also be abundant.

Offer a choice of where and how to sit or study.
Minimise barriers and control signs.
Use colour and imagery to create ambience and stimulus.
Use curves to open up spaces.
Avoid traditional straight rows of desks and shelves which create a factory/warehouse feel.

11. What are the best library management information systems available in the world?

Best Library Management Systems include:

Polaris ILS, Follett Destiny Library Manager, Sierra ILS, Springshare, Apollo ILS (Integrated Library System), Ex Libris Alma, SirsiDynix Symphony, Liberty Library Management Software, EBSCO Stacks and EBSCONET Subscription Management.

Some top Library management systems are by name are as follows:

Koha

LibraryWorld

CodeAchi

NewGenLib

SirsiDynix Symphony

Library

Evergreen

BiblioteQ

PMB

WorldShare Management Services

All My Books

Alma

Invenio

Opals

OpenBiblio

Accessit library

Ampletrails library management system

Atriuum

Eloquent library

Evolve library

Follett Corporation

KnowAll Matrix

Alexandria

LIBSYS 10

12. Conclusions

Libraries are one of the few places in the world that give even the worst-off people a chance to improve themselves. There are a lot of activities that you can do there. People can learn about depression, alcoholism, personal finances, how to find a job, fix their house. It isn't easy, and you still have to work hard. You have to know English, and you have to spend many hours at it. You can make use of different newspapers and employment news to find a job for you, different books to study and a lot more is there in the library for everyone. Library offers a door for one and all, of every age group. Libraries offer free education and entertainment to the masses. It doesn't matter what your economic status is, you can come in and have free access to books that can inform and transform you. I hope libraries will always be around in some form or other.

13. FAQs

What are the most popular library classification systems?

The most common classification systems, LCC and DDC, are essentially enumerative, though with some hierarchical and faceted elements (more so for DDC), especially at the broadest and most general level. The first true faceted system was the colon classification of S. R.

References

The Library at Night

The Library Book

The Invisible Library

Jack the library cat

Pride and Prejudice

The Library of Lost and Found

The Library at Mount Char

The Midnight Library

The Paris Library

The Personal Librarian

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks

The Book of Speculation

The Giver of Stars

The Last Chance Library

The Lions of Fifth Avenue

Ulysses

The Portrait of a Lady

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