LIBRARY SKILLS

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. DEFINE A LIBRARY
2. DISCUSS FIVE TYPES OF A LIBRARY
3. DESCRIBE SECTIONS IN A LIBRARY
What is library?
1. A library is a collection of well documented books, journals, newspapers and other forms of information that is
printed and none printed.
A university student is required to be self reliant .Your desire for knowledge cannot be satisfied by your teachers alone,
the teachers cannot have all the answers to the questions you have, therefore the student has to do a lot of searching,
the searching will take the form of debating with people, observing what exists in the world and finding what others
have done or written. You therefore need to learn how to use the library.
2. A library is a collection of selected information resources which are organized and preserved for reading, studying and
consultation.

A) Selected: most university libraries select their materials using internationally accepted principles of selection and correct
selection tools.
All materials acquired through gifts and donations should be selected and only relevant and useful ones are put on the shelves.

B) Organized: it is only possible to use the collection in the library if it is properly organized. Materials are organised by means
of classifying and catalogueing, by classifying, library materials are grouped together according to subject similarity and it is
assigned a call number that enables users locate materials. By catalogueing, the users are informed of what is available in the
library stock.

C) Preserved: preservation is the maintenance of library materials in their original condition through retention and proper care.
If materials are damaged, they can be preserved through restoration (this is the procedure that improves the condition of damaged
objects and the attempt to reclaim it as close as possible to original condition. )

D) Reading,studying and consultation: library materials are meant for leisure reading e.g. recreationasl, for study e.g.
textbooks, for consultation e.g. reference materials

IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING LIBRARY SKILLS

1.) Most of the students in Kenya have not had an opportunity to use well organized libraries. This is because at
both primary and secondary levels in Kenya, libraries hardly exist and where they exist they are poorly
organized with a small collection of materials. Therefore students joining universities need to be taught
information handling skills which will help them not only to maximize the use of their respective libraries but
also to enable them to make use of any other library other than university library.
2.) Currently more emphasis is put on student oriented learning where the lecturer’s role is to provide skeleton
notes and the students required to fill notes through information acquired in the library. Therefore, the
students need to acquire some library skills in order to use the resources effectively.
3.) The growth of seminar and tutorial teaching especially in project work in undergraduate courses has provided
the need for the use of the library

AIMS OF A LIBRARY
1.) To store a wide range of academic materials in order to facilitate independent academic pursuit by both students and
staff
2.) To foster and create interest among students and staff to interact with the material available in the library.
3.) To assist students to become more effective in independent research and locating appropriate materials for various
tasks
4.) To encourage students and staff to explore new things as well as learn more of the familiar ones.

TYPES OF LIBRARIES
There are at least five types of libraries in Kenya
1.) National library
2.) Public
3.) Academic
4.) Private
5.) Special
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
These are libraries provided from the public funds through the local authority or the ministry of local government. The use of any
of these libraries is not restricted to any class of persons. They are freely available to all the members of the public.
Functions of a public library
1.) They promote reading among grown ups, adolescents, children, youth e.t.c. regardless of age. It’s expected to
encourage continuing education.
2.) It provides a wide range of loan services based on systems of individual libraries i.e. you can borrow reading materials
from them.
3.) They strive to serve the whole community by:
a) being supplemented by mobile and traveling libraries
b) providing special facilities for special categories of people e.g. the old
c) they organize provision of services for hospitals and jails and other disadvantaged groups of people in the
society

This means that public libraries built up their collection that relate to the interests of the local community. Public libraries
generally consider their role to be more than passive lending of materials to those who walk in. Many public libraries provide
other facilities like;
I. meeting rooms for community groups
II. they sponsor lectures and other forums to show educational motion pictures
III. they actively participate in adult education programmes

The ideal public library should provide access to knowledge for all people in the country or community regardless of race, creed,
color, tribe etc.

NATIONAL LIBRARIES
Also called a reference library.
Usually books in such libraries are for reference only. The reference library is a copyright library since its main function is to
collect and preserve books, periodicals, newspapers published in the country for posterity or prosperity. This is achieved through
a law requiring publishers to deposit copies of all publications issued by them and by purchasing books published in other
countries.
A copyright act has a penalty clause to enforce this law.

SPECIAL LIBRARIES
They contain a collection of books and other materials dealing with a limited field of knowledge which are provided by a learned
society, research organizations, industrial or commercial undertakings, government departments or educational institutions. It
may also be a special branch of a public library serving certain interests or occupational groups e.g. a technical library or subject
library which meets the needs of users in a given subject area e.g.
KEMRI- medical
UNEP- environmental
KARI- agricultural
A special library is intended to serve the needs of specific users who require detailed information in a limited subject area. Users
usually require up- to- date information promptly and their requests may be for information rather than for a book or journal etc.
They are established to meet highly specialized requirements of professionals and businesses; therefore they are usually attached
to official institutions and government departments.
A library may be considered special in a variety of ways
i. by the types of users e.g. a special category of people like
 research scientists
 prisoners
 physically challenged
 children
 the old
 the sick
ii. by the subject
Are library which stock resources on a particular subject like;
 medical
 environment
 agriculture
  law etc
iii. by the type of material and resources
Include a special format of resources for example;
 video library
 Braille library[for the blind]
 KBC library
These libraries communicate information to specialists in response to their requests and needs

PRIVATE LIBRARIES
These are libraries owned by individuals, clubs and societies to which members of the public have no right to access. A private
collection may contain varying information depending on individual interest. The private collector may be able to collect in depth
information to a subject, to a level usually impossible for a public library.
For example: professor Author Obel is renown in the cure for HIV(AIDS) and this private collector will have materials that are
detailed in terms of formulas used to move through various stages of inventions of the medicines which he has so far discovered.
His collection will have inventions of other scientists in the same subjects in details.

ACADEMIC LIBRARIES
These are libraries associated with educational institutions e.g.
 Universities
 Colleges
 Schools.
They are established to serve the needs of those in the institution.
Functions and Services of Academic Libraries
Enhancing Education:
The library assists both the lectures and the students to achieve their educational objectives.
For the lecturers the library provides information which will enable them to keep up-to-date in their subject areas.
This is necessitated by the fact that information is dynamic and thus the teacher needs to keep abreast of new
developments as well as refresh and enrich his knowledge all the time.
For students the library helps in various ways:

For the slow-learner, a library offers opportunity to catch up with other students by offering books that deal with
same information as offered in the lecture halls. For the fast-learner, the library offers facilities to learn and expand
on what was taught in the course of learning. For all students the library offers different resources dealing with
various subjects, and thus opportunity to learn the subjects from various perspectives. A library also offers
opportunity to learn other things that might not be offered in the lecture halls.

Enhancing Reading as a Habit

A library in the university exposes students and lecturers to a wide variety of reading materials. The students will
create a habit of reading for pleasure.

Conducive Study Atmosphere

The library is one place set aside in the university complex mainly for the purpose of quite study.
The conducive atmosphere is created by among other things:
- appropriate lighting system
- suitable reference collection
Suitable furniture –specially designed chairs and tables for study.

Reference Services:
Are offered which include the provision of quick reference
Books such as encyclopedias, yearbooks, dictionaries and
Directories, which are not allowed out of the library and most of
Which are too expensive for most individuals to purchase?

Lending Services
Enable students and lecturers to have access to a large variety of books which they can borrow and read at their own
time and pace. The users are allowed renewal or extension of the loan period if they still need the books and dif no
other user requires it.

Discipline:
Is instilled among the library users is several ways. The
 University library has rules and regulations which are intended
To guide students in knowing the accepted and expected
Behavior while using both library resources and facilities.

Inter Library Lending Services & Referral Services.

A library in the university links with other libraries. This makes
The students and lecturers aware of other libraries and enables
Them to have access to the information in these libraries
Through inter-library lending and library cooperation.

Recreation:
A part from providing resources and facilities for education the university library also offers resources for recreation
such as novels and magazines for leisure reading. The library can also offer facilities to foster personal interest and
hobbies by providing information on study.

Short-loan Services:
The library puts in the reserve collection books which are in high demand and yet the library has only very few
copies. Books in this collection are loaned out only for one hour. Also within this collection are lecture notes, past
examination papers etc.

Reservation Services:
Students are allowed to reserve books which they know the library has, but which for one reason or the other are not
on the shelves (mainly because they have been borrowed). Students reserving books should fill reservation forms at
the issue counter to ensure that when books is returned it is kept for them and not put on the open shelves for any
other user to pick.
Once the book is returned the student who made the reservation is notified and asked to come and collect the item. If
the item is not collected within the indicated dates, the reservation is cancelled.

Other usefulness of a library include offering equal

Opportunities to all students and lecturers without discrimination is services offered as well as offering opportunity
for socialization and enhancement of cultural values.

General Year Book:

Some general yearbooks updates & the information covered by the general encyclopedias and are published as annual
supplements.

Other yearbooks rather general in scope but are not supplements to encyclopedias and not necessarily limited to the
developments of a single year.

General yearbooks include such titles are Compton yearbook, Readers Digest Almanac, the Europe yearbook, Guinness
Book of Records. The yearbook of World Affairs. The information given in these sources are factual, statistical and
quite recent. The coverage is international and all subjects are dealt with.

Special Year Books:

The specific or special yearbooks deal with specific field of knowledge or issues of a given country.
Special year books include such titles as Yearbooks of the United Nations; this source provides an annual concise
account of the United Nations work and its effect on almost all human activities. “The writers and artists book” on the
other hand is a directory of writers only in all fields of knowledge. “The statements yearbook” is a statistical and
historical annual of the state of world. “The Kenya Foot book, for executers” is a national yearbook which provides
some information such as on economy, banking, and finance in Kenya.

Almanacs
Almanacs are annual publications, containing a variety of useful facts of a miscellaneous nature and statistical
information. Information found here includes information on nations of the world, names of universities, flags of the
countries of the world, accidents and deaths. Some of the almanacs include “Whitakers Almanac” and “Almanac of
famous people”.

Handbooks and Manuals:

 These are reference instructional books providing essentials data and directories on a particular subject on how to
carry out certain operations.
They are meant to assist and guide professionals and practitioners in performing their jobs. Some titles found under
this heading are: handbook of chemistry and physics, chemicals Engineers Handbook, Riegel’s handbook of
industrial chemistry, structural engineering handbook, metals handbook and handbook of contemporary of
developments in wor

SECTIONS OF A LIBRARY
1.) short loan (reserve) section
2.) the lending section (general circulation)
3.) reference sections
4.) information technology
5.) national collection (Africana)
6.) loose periodical section
7.) bound periodical section
8.) bibliographic section
9.) children section
10.) Inter-library loaning section

Short loan (reserve section)

This section contains books and other materials that are in short supply but high on demand. The books can only be borrowed for
a short period of time like one or two hours and cannot be taken out of the library before closing hours.
Such books are borrowed over night when the library is closing and should be returned the following morning during opening.

The lending section

It contains all the books that can be borrowed for a given period of time to be read outside or inside the library. You can also pick
the books from the shelves and afterwards you are supposed to leave it on the reading desk.

Reference section
It contains books and materials meant for reference e.g. encyclopedia, maps, dictionaries, surveys, handbooks.They must be read
within the reference section and be left on the reading table.
Information Technology section
It has three sub-sections:
a) Audio-visual
b) Computer sections
E.g. flash disks, diskettes etc
c) Reprographic sections
E.g. photocopying and binding section

National collection (Africana section)

It contains a collection of works done within the country. It contains thesis, dissertations and other special publications mainly
used by lecturers and post-graduate students for their research.

Loose periodical section

It contains daily newspapers, weekly and monthly magazines or journals. These materials are usually read within the library and
returned after use.

Bound periodical section

It contains materials like magazines, newspapers of past months or years that are bound together and placed on specific shelves.

Bibliographic section
This section deals with cards and catalogues that are used for locating books within the library.

Children section
This section contains books and other materials meant for children e.g. children stories, cartoons, comedies, DVDs that have
materials for children.
Inter-library loaning section
It deals with lending and loaning books from other libraries.

SERVICES OFFERED IN A LIBRARY

1.) Lending and borrowing
2.) Photocopying
3.) Computer services- printing, typing
4.) Binding and repair
5.) Audio- visual materials