Academic Library

    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.