Education and library are the two faces
of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other. Hence, an academic
library is an integral part of any institution of formal education. It supports
the teaching-learning process of the institution it is associated with.
Academic library can be defined as "a library which is associated or
attached with any educational institution to support its educational
programmes".
The library collection is developed
depending upon the nature of the institution and its academic programmes. The
students, teachers, research scholars, administrative staff and other staff
members of the institution are the users of the academic library. The needs of
these users dominate the collection of an academic library. The number, qualities
and qualifications of the library staff of an academic library differ on the
basis of the type of academic library, its users and the services, it provides.
Objectives of Academic Library
The objectives of an, academic library
are to:
(i) serve the needs of the academic
community;
(ii) collect and store all kinds of
reading and reference material;
(iii) provide all kinds of
informational materials to support the curricular requirements of the
institution;
(iv) provide supporting materials for extra
curricular activities;
(v) provide reading rooms for users;
(vi) render lending service appropriate
to students, teachers and researchers
(vii) provide an active reference and
information service.
Types of Academic Library
Broadly, there are three types of
academic libraries. These are:
- School library
- College library
- University library
- School Library
The school library is a library
attached to or associated with a school to support the education system of the
school. It caters to all the informational needs of the students, teachers and
staff of the school. In India, there are four levels of school: primary,
middle, secondary and senior secondary. The government and the agencies
responsible for developing and supporting school education in India, have a
policy that the school of all levels should be supported by a school library.
Because of this, even primary schools are being supported by a library to serve
the needs of its students, teachers and other staff members.
Objectives of School Library
The objectives of a school library are
to:
(i) support the education programmes of
the school;
(ii) awaken and foster interest in
reading books and create reading habits among students;
(iii) nurture good moral values and
principles in students to create refined and responsible citizens;
(iv) develop self-learning skills and
interest in using library for solving problems;
(v) provide information on further
study and vocation;
(vi) help teachers to improve their
teaching skills;
(vii) inculcate communication skills
through extra curricular activities like story telling, viewing and discussions
on audio-visual programmes, workshops, etc.
The school libraries of all levels have
almost same set of objectives as mentioned above.
Functions of School Library
The school library of all levels should
develop the collection of information material to satisfy the objectives
mentioned above. Apart from developing suitable collection of inspiratory,
informatory and recreatory books and other materials, the academic library is
supposed to perform the following functions:
(i) Lending of books and other
materials;
(ii) Reading rooms with suitable
furniture and lighting;
(iii) Reference services;
(iv) Guidance, counselling and advisory
services.
College Library
The library associated with college
caters to the informational needs of the college community- students, teachers,
staff of the college and alumnus. The library help in the expansion of
knowledge and satisfies the quest for knowledge.
The modern society has different types
of colleges. These are:
(i) Junior college;
(ii) Degree college;
(iii) Postgraduate college;
(iv) Professional college and technical
college.
Objectives of College Library
The objectives of the college library,
of all categories of colleges, are to:
(i) give the students, a wider and
deeper understanding of the various disciplines;
(ii) help in all the educational
programmes of the college;
(iii) provide guidance to students for
higher studies and self-learning; (iv) prepare the students for shouldering
higher responsibilities in government departments, civic organizations,
commercial establishments, business and industries, etc;
(v) prepare them for varied professions
like law, medicine, engineering, technology, etc;
(vi) train them to become more
enlightened, knowledgeable and responsible citizens; and
(vii) keep informed the teachers with
latest updates in their respective subject area.
Functions of College Library
The functions of a college library can
be listed as:
(i) developing collection of textbooks,
related books, books of general knowledge, reference materials and audio-visual
materials to support educational and instructional programmes of the college;
(ii) procuring popular magazines,
newspapers and scholarly journals to support students and teachers in acquiring
deeper knowledge their subject area and general knowledge about their
surroundings;
(iii) making the library resources
accessible through proper classification, cataloguing and shelving;
(iv) providing physical facilities such
as functional building, furniture, equipment, reading rooms, etc. ;
(v) preserving previous years' question
papers to help the students in preparing for examinations and assessments;
(vi) developing collection of
inspiratory materials like fiction, poetry, biographies, travel-books, etc.
(vii) organizing orientation programmes
for new students to make them aware of the facilities and resources available
in the library.
University Library
The university library is an integral
part of a university. The academic programmes of a university covers a wide
range of disciplines and subjects. The modern universities are offering a
number of academic programmes which are multi-disciplinary in nature. Apart
from the academic programmes, scholars of the universities undertake research
projects for acquiring degrees such as PHd, DLit, etc., as well as for the
discovery and invention of new theories, principles and technology for the sake
of society or for solving the problems of the society. Hence, a library becomes
an essential component of the university to support its academic and research
activities.
Because of the responsibilities a
university library shoulders, it is considered the heart of a university,
around which teaching and research revolves. According to the Association of
University Teachers, "the prime function of the university library is to
provide facilities for study and research for the members of its own
institution".
Objectives of a University Library
The objectives of a university library
are to:
(i) provide facilities for all teaching, learning, educational, and research
programmes of the university;
(ii) satisfy informational needs of the students, teachers and researchers of
the university;
(iii) inspire the teachers and researchers of the university to undertake
research works for generating new knowledge to improve the quality of life of
the people;
(iv) provide latest knowledge to the teachers in their area of teaching and
research; and
(v) conserve knowledge and ideas for posterity.
Functions of a University Library
The major functions of the university library to fulfil its objectives are to:
(i) develop collections on a wide range of subjects for learning, teaching,
research, publication, etc.;
(ii) organize and store the library collection with proper classification,
cataloguing, shelving, etc to make the collection easily accessible to the
users;
(iii) acquire materials such as books, journals, periodicals, newspapers, and
others sources of information to provide latest information and knowledge on
the concerned subjects;
(iv) provide reference, information and documentation services to the
university community to keep them up-to-date in their area of study and
research;
(v) keep pace with the development in the library management system and
application of new technologies to provide better library services to the
users.