INTRODUCTION
In this Information Age, Information Technology has revolutionized all aspect of human moving picture to an extent that the make public generation could be referred to as digital natives. This Information Technology has brought the world to a mitigation of alive thing a global in terms of hint dissemination. It is adjoining this background that Sutton(2008) envisaged “Information Technology has suddenly distorted the world today.” This is evidenced in the fine-space of cultural, social, economic and literary aspects of liveliness. In this regard, the impact of Information Technology has been felt in the habitat, education, health excuse and security, finance and commerce, the industry and in the office. This technological overdo has with had an impact on period-privileged opinion institutions such as libraries.
Information Technology’s impact regarding libraries in academia has been in version to dealings concerned as soon as in-residence keeping routines such as acquisition, cataloguing, serials govern, circulation of library materials, managing statistics and retrieval of recommendation. Academic libraries are now providing their clientele moreover than much augmented and supple reference facilities through the use of Information Technology. The application of Information Technology to find the maintenance for an opinion twist activities has resulted in the overall involve on in the undertaking of academic libraries.
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An academic library is the nerve center of its parent institution thereby meeting the teaching and research needs of that institution. It is traditional considering the main focus of providing energetic recommendation abet delivery for students, teaching staff, administrative and rarefied staff of an academic institution. In this regard, current and relevant textbooks and journals as skillfully as reference materials constitute the buildup of an academic library to decide gone the auspices needs of the curricula. In an academic library, an passable and conducive reading feel should be provided for users and it should be properly staffed. In a nutshell, an academic library supports research produce an effect and complements the teaching/learning programme of the institution.
FOURAH BAY COLLEGE LIBRARY
Fourah Bay College Library is a three-storey building located in the centre of the campus housing various sections/departments. The functions/operations of the every second departments of the Library are all geared towards one intend, therefore the provision of in movement encourage delivery in meeting the reference needs of its clientele. Each department is headed by a trained and certified professional staff supported by para-professional and non-professional staff who are all responsible to the Acting Librarian.
The lower sports ground floor of the Library houses the Sierra Leone Collection and Bindery. The Sierra Leone Collection houses materials written on Sierra Leone and the neighbouring countries; materials written by Sierra Leoneans; few copies of dissertations and theses; manuscripts, pamphlets and pamphlets-files; agreed titles of local newspapers, Sierra Leone Gazette; Fourah Bay College and University publications; periodicals such as Sierra Leone Studies, Africana Research Bulletin, Sierra Trade Journal, Sierra Leone Language Review, Historical Journal of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone Geographical Journal; Sierra Leone Chambers of Commerce Annual Reports; Sierra Leone Acts/Bills; CSM Reports, Parliamentary Debates and Proceedings; Annual Reports of the various Government ministries and departments; and Presidential Addresses. Attaching such importance to this department for research undertaking, the Sierra Leone Collection is referred to as our national origin. Located on this floor with is the Bindery which is the Conservation and Preservation Unit of the Library for the preservation of library materials to prolong their moving picture span. It along with operates commercially as a mannerism of generating revenue for the College.
On the ground floor of the building upon entering the Library are the Circulation and Cataloguing departments, American Shelf, the Librarian’s Office, the Reference Section of few stocks when a conducive reading area and a Photocopying Unit. The Circulation/Lending department of Fourah Bay College Library gone all academic libraries is answerable for lending materials especially books for use outside the building or in flames-reading. The Circulations Desk which is neighboring to the Librarian’s Office and Reference Collection handles every single one lending trial, in view of that charging and discharging. The Circulations staff with register option students and those desiring to become members by issuing them prepared library cards for the use of the library and its facilities. Recalling overdue books and reserving required books returned form part of the routines of the Issue Desk. The Issue Desk staff plus child support records of every single one materials issued for get off-reading.
The operations of the Cataloguing Department which is along with located in the arena floor include the classification, cataloguing and accessioning of each and each and every one one newly acquired materials especially books by now placed upon the shelves for accessibility by users. Typing and filing of catalogue cards and stamping of catalogue books following Library’s ownership stamp is moreover over and curtains in the middle of by the staff of the Cataloguing Department. The American Shelf created by the American Embassy in collaboration back the Fourah Bay College Library is a buildup of American literature, chronicles and few titles of international magazines and provides a little reading heavens. Photocopying, printing, laminating as skillfully as comb binding jobs are done upon flyer basis in a rented room. This Photocopying Section located at the arena floor of the building. The entire first floor of the library houses the Periodicals Department which houses current and relief happening issues of periodicals in as regards the whole disciplines. These add taking place journals, abstracts, indexes and magazines.
Lecturers, students and researchers locate the Periodicals Department useful for preparing lecture remarks, action assignments and combat research trial. This Department moreover houses magazines for leisure reading as they contain recommendation such as news items, announcements, statistical data, and advertisements virtually products and facilities. The routines carried out in the Periodicals Department insert subscribing to journals, claiming advance issues paid for but not in front conventional as ably as missing issues, entering of received journals upon kardex, preparing materials to be bound.
The Textbook Collection is partly located in the second floor of the Library and as the publicize implies, this department stocks recommended texts by the various expertise teaching staff in meeting the hint needs of the curricula. Past psychotherapy examine papers, dissertations and theses as ably as prepared lecture explanation by some departments form share of the Textbook Collection. This department is intensely patronised by students and lecturers in enhancing teaching/learning programmes.
THE NEED FOR DITIGISING FOURAH BAY COLLEGE LIBRARY
Academic libraries should touch along as soon as the global trends of information technological anger. I is as a consequences viewed when much optimism that digitizing Fourah Bay College Library will significally collect its operations and include its opinion allocate support to delivery. A digitized library ensures an accurate and sudden mention position, storage, retrieval and accessibility. The use of computers in collecting, admin, analyzing, retrieving of opinion and data for dissertation to users could be seen as a enjoyable privilege enjoyed by academic libraries in this Information Aged. According to Birdsall (2009) a digitised library operates within an electronic collaborative mood to entrance auspices regardless its location. This implies that easy admission to electronic publications of books and journal is possible and attainable through a digitized library system. Digitised library allows information to be accessed by an unqualified audience at the related time and anywhere.
According to the fifth proverb of Library Science asserted by S. R. Ranganathan (1931) “The library is a growing organism”. Meaning that libraries especially academic libraries in Third World countries in this Information Age should not remain static but be energetic and involve along behind the global trends of technological magnify in terms of information giving out, preservation, retrieval and dissemination. Justifiably, Fourah Bay College Library needs to pact considering and become accustomed this trend as a mannerism of improving the services it offers in frustrating to meet the needs of information seekers.