Introduction
Without
any doubt, all the scholars in library and information science profession have agreed
and concluded that technical service department of any library can be regarded
as independent and dependent center which other department make their survival
i.e The technical department is usually called behind the scene due to its
important to all other departments, functions it perform in the library and the
technicality it involves.
Therefore,
Technical service department in academic library especially the University of
Ilorin, Library could be used to demonstrate how TSD is central to day to day
operation of a library in relation to the work or topic of investigation. According to Issa, (2003), He postulated that
the Library is a social instrument created to form a link in a communication
system that is essentials to any society or culture. So, it can be deduced from
this definition that technical service department creates a link and a
communication system that is very essential and central to the other departments
in the library, for it due functions to the university community.
Furthermore,
the technical service department of university of Ilorin library has four (4)
units which make all other departments rally round it for their operations. These units include cataloguing and
classification, Acquisition, serials, Binding units. All these units make a library especially
university of Ilorin, library due to the fact that the library cannot
effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily provide the needs of the community
it serve without being relying and take it to cognizance the importance of
these units.
Haven described the library
has been described as a subordinate to education enhancement and development
institution that is charged with the responsibility of collecting, preserving
and disseminating information to their users without an iota of doubt, the
technical Service Department of any Library can be said to be central to the
day to day operation of the library is a department upon which we can say other
departments depend. The Technical Service Department generally sees to the
processing and maintenance of a library’s physical collection which include the
identification, selection, ordering, acquisition, organization and preparation.
All these functions are explained thus:
Identification: This is
the locating potentially worldwide items to be added to the existing collection
of a library.
Selection:
Deciding which of the identified items to be added to the existing collection
of a library.
Order: Ordering
is the function of the technical service which is the request for the supply of
the selected Library materials by recognized publishers.
Organization:
Indexing and Cataloguing the items acquired in a manner that will assist the
end users to locate the materials in the recollection
Preparation:
Preparation has to do with the spine labeling of the information materials to
allow for easy retrieval.
Technical Service may Maintenance of online
catalogue and Creation and maintenance of MARC Record in the catalogue,
labeling, covering, securing processing and or destruction of material.
LITERATURE
REVIEW
Cataloguing
and Classification Unit
Cataloguing
and classification unit is a unit in technical department that see to the
cataloguing and classification of any information materials the library possess
this unit is usually headed by professionals at least with master degree in
library and information science and having many subordinates answerable to
him/her in an ideal situation. Therefore
cataloguing is a central operation in the day to day activity in university of Ilorin library base on the
fact that catalogue in library is a list of books and other reading Information
materials in the holding of a library or
a group of libraries. This list contains
entries of books, arranged according to some definite plan; it also a list
which records, describes and indexes the resources of a collection, a library
or group of library or group of libraries in a locality or country. However Olanipekun and Ifabiyi (2003) in
their article title the organization of library they opined that Technical unit
“is the heart of the library such that without the card catalogue, the book or
information materials in the library collection will not accessible to users’
i.e catalogue help the users to identify information materials which the
library has. Moreover, classification could be seen as a process of sorting library
materials in to groups according likeness or unlikeness. In other words it entails all the activities
involved in arranging library materials by dividing them into different groups
or class according to their similarities.
Wynar (1967) opined that classification is arrangement of library
materials according to some system. It’s
observed that books in library can be categories or classifies in many ways,
however, the most logical and widely used method of classifying books and other
library materials is by their subjects.
Subjects’ classification leads that all books on the same subject will
be placed together in one section of the library and books on related subject
will be on the same shelves by. Those
who use the library will find this type of arrangement the most convenient and
useful because they do not have to look for several places for their needed
materials.
More
importantly, Charles Ammi Cutter in 1876
described how classification and library catalogue regarded as central of day
today operation of university of Ilorin, library: He postulated that.
1. To
enable a person to find a book of which
(a) The
author
(b) The
title, or is known
(c) The
subject
2. To
show what library has
(a) By
a given author
(b) On
a given subject
(c) In
a given kind of literature or form of materials However, it serves as a finding
list for groups of documents.
3. To
assist in the choice of a book
(a) As
to its edition (bibliographically)
(b) As
to its character (library or topical)
This
simply explains the role of library catalogue in the choice of document by
providing enough information about its distinctive features.
In
addition, Salman A.A (2006) described (7) seven functions on how library
catalogue as a unit under technical service department is central to the day
today operation of university of Ilorin library.
i. To
record each work in a library by author, translator, editor, illustrator, and
commentator or by any other person, body or name under which a reader might
look and which must be desirable for a particular library.
ii. To
employ cross reference by which a reader may be guided from one entry in the
catalogue to another.
iii. To
provide a description of each book by giving title, imprint, and collation,
also notes when necessary.
iv. To
list the call numbers by which materials could be located or obtained
v. To
arranged subject entries that the like topics will fall together and related
topics will be correlated.
vi. To
arrange author entries in such a way that all the works of one writer will be
found together under the same name, a procedure that makes it possible for
readers to find a specific work or to survey the literary output of an author
as represented in the library.
vii. To
record each work in the library, and even parts of a work under the subject of
which it treats.
Thus,
It’s clear and obvious that cataloguing and classification unit under technical
department of university of Ilorin library is central to day today operation of
other departments because, it spelt out that no meaningful operations
and activities can be happened in the library without being taking into
consideration or without being processed in the technical department of the
library.
This
is so, because, the reference unit, circulation unit and the rest cannot
perform or make any impact in the library without the cataloguing and
classification unit operation.
Also,
it is also deduced that no users of university of Ilorin, library can locate,
access and make use of any materials in any departments without the operation
and work of classification and cataloguing unit under technical department of
the library.
ACQUISITION
Acquisition
is another unit under technical department of university of Ilorin, library. This unit is under close door i.e the
officials or Librarians here work behind scene and dictate the pace of the
library operations and functions.
Acquisition librarian most be professional, highly experienced with at
least masters degree in library and information sciences who arm to teeth in
the profession.
More
importantly, the acquisition unit dictate the wheel of library because, the
unit responsible for the acquiring of any information materials (resources) be
it books or non-books material and printed or non-printed materials.
According
to Clarks, (1999) He said “Acquisition generally applies to the function of
obtaining the library materials which make up a library collection. Moreover,
Mark Stone (2006) defined Acquisition as a process of securing materials for
the library’s collection, this may be through purchase, gifts, exchange
endowment and legal deposit the process of acquisition has to do with obtaining
these materials subsequent to their selection.
More
importantly, there are 6 methods according to Aliyu M.B, (2003) in her article
called collection development in libraries, which include:
·
Direct purchase
·
Exchange
·
Gift/ donations
·
Legal deposit
·
Subscription
All
the aforementioned methods of acquiring materials to the library is very
technical indeed because, in the market there are publication explosion where by the acquisition librarian need to
very aware in procuring the needed information materials into the library. So, the technicality in gift acceptance of
method of acquiring materials to the library, the acquisition librarian should
make careful selection when taking gifts so as to eliminate dead woods, i.e
materials not relevant to the needs of the library.
In
addition, acquisition activities which must handle and carefully done in order
to bring about the needed information materials to the door step of users. This activities include ordering for
materials, checking for ordering slip, coalition of selected materials for purchase, which at are
all pre-acquisition process is the post acquisition process include checking
for fault materials through scanning of the materials checking for the volume,
the number of copies order for and the amount of the materials. It’s important that, these materials must be
process so as make it available for use i.e stamping given of accession number,
preparing it for classification and cataloguing e.t.c.
In
conclusion, Issa, (2012) in his lesson not presented for students of library
and information science boo level at university of Ilorin, he said technicality
begins in acquisition” i.e the technical service department in the university
of Ilorin, library.
SERIAL
UNIT
This is another unit in
technical departmental that central to the operation of the day to day
activities of the university of Ilorin library.
In acquiring serials materials to the library, subscription is major way
through which serials materials could be gotten and this serials resources like
dailies, research paper, memories, conference preceding journals, newsletter,
all the serials are very sensitive to the library in such a way that, serials
librarian need to be knowledge on and how to make this materials available for
any patrons that need it especially the academics professional who attaches
important to the serials resource for research work.
Therefore, serials and
periodicals are always use interchangeably to refer to materials in print (monographs)
or non-print (microforms) formats that are produced serially or periodically: According
to Adedeji (1984) serial is used inter-changeably in every day conversation to
means magazines, journals, or any publication of that nature. Serials in essence include journals,
magazines, newspapers, bulletins news-letters, memoirs, proceedings of learn
societies and professional bodies. The
serials published daily weakly monthly, quarterly, annually usually with volume
number, issue number including month and year of publication.
In addition, serials unit of university
of Ilorin, library performs tedious work known as technicality which makes it central
in the operation of the day to day of activities of the library.
In conclusion, the following are
reasons while serials unit is a central operation under technical department
- It
costs lesser than books.
- They
provide the text in a discipline
- They
have archival value
It
can be deduced from the above that the serials unit is an important unit under
technical department because, librarian in serial unit deal with professional
and specialized various discipline who are to using the serials materials for
their professional activities.
BINDING
UNIT
This
is a unit under technical department of university of Ilorin, library where the
wear and tear material are bend i.e the unit design for conservation and
preservation of newly acquire resources and the resources that need to be
conserve for further years. Thought the
unit needs professional hands that can make materials durable for use and
repackaging already mutilated one.
Therefore, Issa (2012) in a
Technical Service lecture to 300 level students of the University of Ilorin
opined that weeding is part of technical department of any library with view
that, weeding is tedious work that need expert, highly skill profession and
experience librarian who have knowledge of what library entails and know why library
must always remain a living organism rather than dead soul. So, weeding is highly technical because,
librarian must put in place and mind all the necessary reason for weeding and
this can be done by experience librarian therefore, with all and done if can
justify that technical department is truly
a central operation of the day to day of the activities of the
University of Ilorin library.
In summary the Technical
Service Department is therefore central to the day today activities of any
library because:
1. It strengthens other
departments in the library to perform expected functions of information
delivery services. This is because it’s from the technical department that
decision of what materials to acquired, how materials would be acquired and why
materials should be acquired are taken.
2. Even though both the
Technical departments and other departments in the library work towards
achieving the same goal of providing information service to the community it
serves, the technical department serves as the bedrock of the information to be
provided to users as these information materials require processing before they
are forwarded to other departments for proper provision for their clients.
3. For the fact that
whatever requires technicality demands skillful minded people, the technical
service department is therefore central to the day to day activities of every
library as it brings together pull of professional skilled librarians to
achieve its aim of making these required information materials ready for
dissemination and use.
4. The Technical
department as a result of its indispensable functions in the library system, it
therefore dictates the pace of performance of the other departments function.
What we mean in this sense is that it’s this department that takes charges of
selection, order, acquisition, shelving, weeding, record keeping and filing of
catalogue cards. Therefore, all these processes have to be taken before other
departments can take up their own functions. With this the technical service
dictates the space at which other departments function.
·
The technical department contributes to the
profiles of other library departments. This is because whatever achievement
other departments are able to make would be as a result of the perfect preparation
of technical department. Thus the technical department becomes the
·
It facilitates the growing nature of an
organism as opined by Raganatan in the law of the library that “the Library is
a growing organism”.
In conclusion, the technical department of the
library is therefore central to the day to day activities of any library
because for any library to function well in any community it has to take proper
care of its Technical Department in ensuring that the required professionals’
minds that are needed to drive activities of the department are provided. The Technical
Department is just like a tool in the hands of a farmer who devoted to feeding
its nation.
REFERENCE
Adedeji (1984) “Serials and
Library”, E. Mathus, Jide Publisher, pg. 66.
Aliyu, M. B. (2003) “Collection
Development in Libraries”, Dee Root Publisher, Offa, pg. 23.
Clarks, D (1999) “Acquisition,
the Role of Library”, London, Kinth Publisher.
Issa, A. O. (2003) “Beginners
Text in Librarianship”, Wumi Publishers, Offa, pg. 62
Mark Stone (2006) “Education
in Librarianship Berlin”, Thermolen Publishing Limited pg. 18.
Olanipekun and Ifabiyi (2003) “Organization
of Library”, Dee Root Publishers, Offa, pg. 2
Salman, A. A (2006) “The
Basis in Library and Information Science”, Dee Root, Publisher, Offa, Pg.
34
Wynar, E. (1967) “The
Management of Library Resources”, Chicago, Eden Publishers, pg. 38
