Introduction
Harrod’s (2000), outlined faculty library as an organized assortment of books positioned in a college for using academics and pupils, however often for pupils. It might comprise books of reference and or books for house studying and within the care of knowledgeable librarian, or teacher-librarian. It’s variously name “Educational Supplies Centre”, “Studying Centre or Media centre.”
The Faculty library serves as a service company which helps the faculties’ aims and supplies supplies for all topics and all curiosity of pupils and academics. The varsity library is a supportive useful resource of the college curriculum, its provisions, companies, and growth is directed at aiding faculty programmes (Kinnel, 1994).
Libraries usually have as their essential goal buying, processing, storing and disseminating info to which faculty library shouldn’t be an exception. The varsity library has an important function to play within the info service. They supply supplies related to the curricular wants of all people with the college group. The significance of offering such sources can’t be overemphasized if the college library is to be an instigator of and assist for useful resource primarily based studying within the faculty.
Additionally, in relation to info abilities, the library and its librarian, make accessible supplies and companies in numerous varieties to permit each pupils and the college group to make use of these abilities find the knowledge they want.
The aim and philosophy of faculty library service are quickly being understood and accepted by faculty directors and academics. The actual fact necessitates that the college librarian be totally acquainted with these functions corresponding to steerage, the studying programme and the enrichment programme for pupils and academics. Nevertheless, Albert Academy library has no educated and certified librarian, who understands and performs these functions so as to be sure that the service provision is absolutely attained.
Albert Academy Faculty Library
The Albert Academy was inaugurated on the 4th October 1904. It was till 1975 when the Albert Academy Alumni Affiliation of their assembly thought it sensible that such a good establishment should not go with no library as the event of faculty libraries was at its highest peak at the moment. An thought to erect a library constructing was born with the collaboration of the alumni affiliation and the house owners of the college that’s the United Methodist Church. The library was established with the purpose of getting a spot the place pupils might go and discover new concepts to additional strengthen their faculty curriculum actions and leisure as effectively.
The library was formally opened to your entire faculty group by His Excellency the late Dr. Siaka P. Stevens on 4th October 1976, then President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and likewise a member of the Albert Academy Alumni Affiliation class of 1922. The library was named after him following the immense contribution he made in direction of establishing the library for the college group. The Albert Academy Library has a mission to “Help faculty curriculum actions by offering supplies of relevance within the faculty course of and to introduce new and improved info sources to assist make the college to be in keeping with trendy requirements of training.”
The aims of the Albert Academy faculty library are as follows:
I. To supply pupils with library supplies and companies most acceptable and most significant of their growth and growth;
ii. To take part absolutely in class programmes because it strikes to satisfy the wants of pupils, academics, mother and father and others group members;
iii. to stimulate and information pupils in all phases of their studying that they might discover rising enjoyment and satisfaction and should develop in vital judgment and appreciation;
iv. To make accessible new growth and preserve pupils abreast of recent tendencies in training acknowledge reader’s wants and maintaining them effectively knowledgeable so as to create a effectively dynamic instructional setting;
v. To work with the instructor within the choice and production of instructional supplies that meet the goals of the curriculum, provide steerage in using assortment, analysis of training programmes and supplies, facilitates the placement, organisation and upkeep of supplies effectively; and
vi. To assist pupils to turn out to be expert customers of libraries and of printed and audio-visual supplies.
Library Provision at Albert Academy Faculty Library
A serious function within the info service offered by trendy faculty library is within the provision of supplies related to the curricular wants of pupils and academics. In recent times, the curriculum actions have moved to a different degree, the place the college being supportive useful resource of this motion, should endeavor to deal with a wide range of print and non-print supplies and have entry the place doable to digital sources of knowledge that are additionally a part of the knowledge sources within the library.
Given the calls for of the trendy faculty curriculum, the college library should now home all kinds of print and non-print supplies and have entry, the place doable, to digital sources of knowledge. The Albert Academy Faculty supplies printed supplies, e book, fiction and non-fiction in addition to pamphlets, newspapers, chart, photos, monographs, manuals, handbooks, textbooks and different reference books the library additionally supplies non-books supplies which embrace audio and audio-visual supplies, slides, tape-slides, video cassettes, and CD ROM’s. Though these aren’t supplies within the conventional sense, they nonetheless represent sources to be used by pupils and academics. Use of digital sources assist faculty libraries to current pupils and academics with an idea of a Faculty Data Centre which isn’t continued to the college however is a hyperlink to an never-ending supply of knowledge (Herring, 1988).
Albert Academy Faculty Library Providers
The aim of building Albert Academy Faculty Library is to offer companies for each pupils and academics in a bid to satisfy certainly one of its main functions, which is to help curriculum objectives by offering companies which might be indispensably linked to the achievement of this goal.
One of many principal companies of the Albert Academy Faculty library is to behave as back-up to the below resourced faculty programme. Even superior international locations can’t simply inventory supplies starting from 5 thousand (5,000) to twenty thousand (20,000) in a small room to offer assist to high school programmes. Due to this fact, they see the necessity for central inventory of supplies which may be borrowed for differing lengths of time (lending service) and likewise for studying and session companies. That is completed so as to increase the college curriculum on the Albert Academy which is inclusive of the Fundamental Sciences and Expertise, Social Sciences, Humanities and the Tremendous Arts.
Albert Academy Faculty library additionally supplies inter-library mortgage companies requests. That is significantly invaluable to senior pupils finding out matters throughout topics supplied in depth. Pupils who can’t afford to buy or entry such costly supplies profit from the sort of library service. Via inter-library mortgage companies, supplies are sourced from different colleges libraries for the advantage of each pupils and academics.
A reference service can be offered at Albert Academy Faculty library. The Faculty Librarians spend a sizeable proportion of their time offering what in different libraries time period can be termed as reference service. In offering a reference service, faculty Librarians carry out an identical function to that of different librarians. In a reference interview in class, every pupil is handled as necessary as the opposite and given the Librarian’s full consideration. That is achieved by private help given to the pupils and academics find particular info whether or not direct or oblique. Among the reference supplies on the Albert Academy Faculty Library are dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, yearbooks, biographies newspapers, maps and charts, and the educational and administrative calendar of occasions or the operation of the college.
One of the invaluable companies offered by Albert Academy Faculty library is that of knowledge provision. The Albert Academy Faculty library retains the academics and pupils knowledgeable about new instructional sources and growth within the fields of curiosity to them by displaying the jackets of books that simply arrived. The Albert Academy Faculty library makes use of Present Consciousness Providers (CAS) to attain this objective. That is completed by figuring out the knowledge wants of each academics and pupils and assembly these wants. Linked to the CAS is the Selective Dissemination of Data (SDI) and that is extra specific with academics. This ranges from maintaining particular person academics knowledgeable about new sources within the library or about newly revealed supplies, to alerting academics to conferences and course calls for or occasion linked to their curricular curiosity.
Challenges of Library Provision and Providers on the Albert Academy Faculty Library
It doesn’t matter what an organisation has to depend as success, is sure to face sure difficulties that stand earlier than it as challenges to its success. Faculty Libraries in Sierra Leone, particularly Albert Academy Faculty Library aren’t with out challenges.
To start out with the library and its sources have been ignored by the pupils and academics. Regardless of their all-important nature of service provision in assist to them they don’t see it as a invaluable a part of their actions. It is because most academics and pupils don’t get sufficient supply of textbooks and different supplies straight linked to the curriculum programme and most academics put together pamphlets on the market to pupils from which there educating is predicated. This has prompted a lot of the pupils to closely rely on these sources as an alternative of the library sources.
The Faculty Library has a staffing problem. For instance the Albert Academy Faculty Library has no skilled library workers to deal with an info service for over two thousand pupils and academics.
Moreover, the library has a problem with area. The area offered for the library from inception is not sufficient for the college. The varsity inhabitants by way of academics and pupils has grown comparatively excessive to over two thousand (2000) pupils and workers as in comparison with the area offered for just a little over 5 hundred (500) pupils and workers about 40 years in the past. It has turn out to be tough to entry the library and its sources Austin managed services.
As well as, there’s a funding downside. The Albert Academy Faculty Library is confronted with the difficultly of securing funds from the faculties authorities for an efficient assortment growth. The library relies upon closely on donations and items to inventory its assortment and most of those supplies given on this guise aren’t reflective of the programs supplied within the faculty curriculum. Usually, the college administration has to unfold meager monetary sources throughout a large spectrum of faculty wants.
The institution of the pc laboratory with slight web services impartial of the college library has additionally created an issue for the Albert Academy Faculty Library. The academics and pupils would like to go to the Pc centre for Web companies far more that visiting the library. The separation of the Web services from the library companies has posed a critical menace to the library provision and companies.
Additionally, it’s fairly confirmed that the Albert Academy Faculty Library lacks the capability to offer for the visually impaired or handicapped. The absence of faculty library supplies within the Braille format prevents blind and the partially sighted pupils to make the most of the accessible library sources of their colleges libraries.
Closing, the problem of preservation of library supplies shouldn’t be a standard apply for the Albert Academy Faculty. This preservation is meant to make sure that the supplies final lengthy due to their frequent use. It has turn out to be tough to entry funds to protect supplies which might be below menace of carrying out by way of steady use.
Regardless of some gloomy predictions on the longer term funding of training and doable restrictions on the provision of sources on the Albert Academy Faculty Library, the way forward for the college library appears assured. It may be argued that due to present instructional and technological tendencies, there has by no means been a higher want for well-resourced and professionally staffed faculty library than it’s now. The emphasis on the person’s-the kid’s and the adult’s-ability to seek out and use info successfully is prone to proceed in colleges, at work and for spare time activities. A future society depending on digital info for its prosperity will want an info curriculum in its colleges. Therefore the provision of excellent faculty library provision and companies within the faculty curriculum can’t be overemphasised (Kargbo, 2000).