The library
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he library is a source of information. You will find out
about many subjects in the library. You will find books and other resources to
help you complete school assignments. The library is a place or room or
building which is used to preserve information, lending out books and other
materials, reading as well as refreshment.
When your first visit the library, introduce yourself to the
librarian. The librarian can teach you how to use the library and show you
where to find information you need.
A library uses a catalog to keep track of the entire book
and other materials that it owns. Some catalogs are on paper cards. They are
kept in boxes or drawers. Other catalogs are on computers. A computer catalog
is very easy to use. A catalog list books by subject, title and author. If you
are writing report on bears, look in
the catalog under the word bear. It
will list all the books in the library about bears.
You also can find information in many subjects in an
encyclopedia. You are using encyclopedia about some subject. You can use the
index like a library catalog. Look up a topic in the index. It will tell you
which page you read. There are large encyclopedias that have information about
all subjects. If you want information on topics other than science, look in
general encyclopedia.
These
multifarious activities at KIUMA inevitably precipitated the need for a library
to cater for the information needs of the KIUMA community (staff and students).
The director of the centre, conscious of this information vacuum, employed a
seasoned professional Librarian in June 2005. The Director consequently maintained
a steady acquisition of books for the library on various disciplines, which
have served as a nucleus to the envisaged larger library. A year has elapsed
since the librarian commenced work in the KIUMA library, virtually starting
from scratch. This period has witnessed the organization of the books
collection as behaves a library. Readers are now benefiting from the resources therein.
Now, KIUMA libraries employ two library staff one is librarian and library
staff.
Aims of the KIUMA library
The principle aims of KIUMA library is to satisfy the
educational, spiritual and recreational needs of teachers, students and other
staff as well as stakeholders at the KIUMA institution. It will accomplish this
task by providing appropriate learning materials and other information relevant
to the course of syllabi and other activities at the institution in the form of
books, journals, audio- visuals and computer services.
The KIUMA library is the centre of learning and knowledge
creation to students, teachers and other stakeholders who use the library for
learning, lending, recreational as well as packaging and repackaging
information sources and services.
KIUMA library aimed at preserving information resources to
carter user’s needs, these information resources are like books, journals,
periodical articles and alike. The library is the centre of knowledge creation
to its users. There are two libraries at KIUMA institution these are KIUMA main
library comprises information resources of vocational education training
authority(VETA), Teachers training college(TTC), bible learners, and secondary
school learning materials. And also there is nursing library which consist of
the information resources for nursing courses as well as clinical officers
courses.
In addition, there are about 10,000 collections in both
libraries (Main and Nursing) including books and journals. There is enough of
furniture which support users need in general.
Functions of KIUMA library
Below are
the functions foreseen to this information center, these includes;
Ø Selection
of learning materials
The library in coordination with
teachers/tutors from the each course discipline at KIUMA institution will
suggest relevant books or journals and through librarian forward them to
relevant authority for purchasing.
The librarian will liaise with other
libraries and institutions to solicit for books/journals donations to KIUMA
where possible.
Ø Organizing
Learning Materials
On receipt of books/journals through
purchase or donation the librarian will;
· Print
the properly stamp on the fly-leaf of the books and journals
· Record
the particulars of each book in the accession register, writing the accession
number of each book.
· Past
within the book the necessary loan stationary i.e. date due label, book pocket,
‘ reference only’ and a spine label on the book spine
· Classify
and catalogue the items
· Places
new copies on display before shelving them
· Shelve
books and new journals
· Place
guides to show the location of each book on the shelve
Ø Materials
lending systems
· The
librarian will initiate a book/journal lending system. In some library issuing
out books is done by using counter book where you register date/ name of
borrower and the date of return.
· This
system is feasible in small school library which is not likely to grow rapidly
in both relationship and book stock.
· For the
KIUMA institution it is recommended that the card system(Browse) of lending
books be adapted early so as to avoid heavy workload which will evolve from the
inevitable change from the counter book in use now, to the browse system(which
is universal)
-The
Browse system is the most ideal as it is anticipated that the library will grow
rapidly commensurate with the expansion of the institution’s activities.
Hence,
the need for stationary listed below;-
· Book
pocked and book card
· Borrower’s
card
· Date
due label
· Readers
membership card
· Spine
label.
Ø Library
statistics
· The
librarian will keep statistics of daily book issues. This will be done by
subject to show which subject area is consulted most and which is not used at
all. This serve as indicator in the stock weeding process
· Keep
statistics of daily users
This is
a record of staff and students who visit the library daily (each day).
Equipment
(Furniture)
The main library has 10 shelves which were used for shelving
books. However, these shelves were not purpose built. They were originally used
for storing pharmaceutical items at the KIUMA hospital. The library has seen
the construction of a medium size shelf for holding reference materials and
small card catalog cabinet. There are 4 tables, 4 benches and 4 chairs used
by the librarian and students who intermittently come to the library for
reading and/or leisure. And there are 4 tables for supporting duplicated and/or
weeded boxed books for storing library facilities as well. The library hasn’t
printer and computer for processing and storing bibliographic entries of cards
catalog, library lack processing materials such as manila sheet for card
catalog, maintaining book cards and alike.
At KIUMA nursing library there are one table for librarian
and other three long tables for library users, and there are 20 chairs for both
library staff and library users. Also nursing library has 6 shelves for placing
library books, serials and journal articles. In nursing library there are a lot
of library resources which carter user’s need and have a large collection, full
electricity supply as well as water for cleaning the library surrounding and
flowers irrigation. But there are many challenges as you know every institution
must face certain challenges and librarian with library staff support for top
department we combat these challenges for the sake of fulfilling users’ needs.
Main Library
stock
Ø Library
books
The main library has a total of 7,657 books on the shelves.
The books represent the following disciplines: Accountancy, Agriculture,
Algebra, Animal husbandry, Architecture, Biology, Botany, Business management,
Carpentry, Chemistry, Economics, Health sciences, History, Library sciences,
Mechanical and Electrical engineering, English language, civics, Psychology,
Religion, Sociology and Computer science.
The main library also has 2 complete sets each of
Encyclopedia Britannica and the World Book. There is also a variety of English
and Swahili Dictionaries. These have all
been processed and are on the shelves ready for reader consultation. This
wealth of literary information housed in the library, is a precious and dynamic
reservoir for motivating development and socio-economic change in southern
Tanzania.
Ø Text
books
The books are on the subjects taught at KIUMA Secondary
school, Vocational Education Training Centre, Teachers Training College, and
Bible learners. They are essentially meant for teachers and students. They are
kept separately from the library books mentioned above. They books borrowed by
the teachers and students who may in turn make them available to the users
concerned. The books stock has grown mainly through purchases and donations by
the Director of the institution. We anticipate more donation from WHO (Dar Es
salaam) and Tanzania Library Services Board (TLSB), who have agreed to include
KIUMA in their mailing lists in their donations programmes.
Ø Periodicals
The library has no magazine arrived daily but has a journal
articles in the shelves.
Main Library
services
Ø Opening
days/hours
For the whole of the last years the library opened
immediately after the morning devotions i.e 8:30am to 1:00pm; and 2:00pm to
5:00pm, Monday to Friday. But now the library opens at 7:30am to 10:00am and
11:00am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
Ø Readers
visiting the library
Both staff and students visit the library daily. And there
are too many numbers of books available in the library for users, but some
books borrowed daily are for Advanced level students and VTC students. The
challenge hinder the library is unusable some of the books due to oldness, most
of the books available are mathematics, accounting, agriculture and business
management so these books are unusable to students, other books are usable to
users but timetable constraint hinder them to visit library at time.
Ø Loans
for home reading
Books loans were given to both students and staff members as
well. A maximum of one book at a time for a period of two weeks (14 days) but
to teachers and hospital staff members are able to take two books whenever
possible for teaching and those pursuing the continuing education classes.
Ø Library
Information update
The library introduced a library Notice board for posting
any pertinent information to readers. It has become attraction to students and
staff alike. For instance library rules and regulations, lending procedures as
well as how to find or locate books on a shelves and alike.
Activities
conducted in the library
Ø Classification and cataloguing
Classification is the systematic process of classifying and
arranging library books and serial publications according to the order so that
the users can retrieve and/ or search and locate the books or serials easily
without wasting time to users. In the library the books must be arranged
correctly without interrupting entire arrangement, the library collection the
books and serials are arranged by using numerical notation with its first three
letters of author’s surname for easily finding and/or locating books in the
shelves. Whereas, cataloguing is the systematic process of making catalogue of
books and serials for arranging a collection according to subject, author and
title of the book concerned. Library collection must be arranged by numerical
notation (classification) followed by three letters of author’s names
(cataloguing) as well.
Books are
classified using the Dewey decimal classification (DDC) scheme, which is a hierarchical in nature.
Ø Lending services
This is the act of staff and students to take fiction (story
books) and non- fiction (subject books) books away from the library in other
word borrow them for a set time to read or study on their own. Library lending
system is guided by librarian and library staff, the users enter in the library
to borrow some books other come to either read of leisure or refreshment only
this because library is a room or building which have a collection of books and
other materials for study or refreshment or read and alike.
Ø Reference services
In the library there must have reference services section
for the sake of referencing books and other library materials. The reference
books are like encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas books, world books, and soon.
These books are for reference only not for lending out of the library, the
users borrow there reference books to read in the library only and do not
allowed taking out of the library without librarian’s permission.
Ø Accessioning
Every volume added to the library receives a serial number
in the order of acquisition to the library collection. This includes books
purchased or received in exchange or gift. This is number is called accession
number. Accumulated volumes of periodicals, which are to be bounded and preserved
in the library, are also accessioned.
Ø Stamping
This is the act of stamping books and other library
materials for the sake of reducing theft and losing of these library
collections. Every book and other serial publications received by the librarian
must be stamped and the stamp must be unique from other department.
Ø Book pocketing and maintaining books cards
This is the process and method of maintaining book cards and
every book must have its own card for the sake of uniqueness from other book
and preventing book lost as well as book theft at large. This act is conducted
by technical service division in the library but in the KIUMA library is
conducted by the librarian at the technical table.
Ø Packaging and Repackaging of information
sources and services
Information
can be packaged original written and if the information is copied and/or
paraphrased is called repackaging. These services are obtained in the library
as well. Just welcome to enjoy it.
By Adimu
Nihuka Jr – (Librarian and information analyst at KIUMA Library)
@December
8, 2017
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