Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies PDF

Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies SESSION 1 Introduction to libraries, Librarianship & Information Science Contents 1.1 Preamble 1.2 What is a library? 1.3 Library resources 1.4 Organization and Accessibility of library materials 1.5 Physical structure of libraries – the space 1.6 Lib...

Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies SESSION 1 Introduction to libraries, Librarianship & Information Science Contents 1.1 Preamble 1.2 What is a library? 1.3 Library resources 1.4 Organization and Accessibility of library materials 1.5 Physical structure of libraries – the space 1.6 Library user 1.7 Impact of libraries on the modern society 1.8 Developing the library practices into a Science 1.9 Library & Information Science (LIS) Summary Learning Outcomes References Recommended Reading 1.1 Preamble The objectives of the course are to provide the learners with a basic understanding of what is a library, explain what it contains and how the library materials are organized, how important is the user for its existence, and briefly how a library had impacted the modern society. Since this course is one of the first courses offered in the first semester and expects to provide an approach to the subject area we try to give you an understanding of the scope of the subject area in a nutshell. As newcomers to the subject area, that is the library and information science, it is important to understand the establishment of libraries and what it consists of, and what basic aspects is associated with. Libraries are institutions designed to preserve records, written material, legends, and literature. They preserve the history of time and place as well as the intellectual activity, discoveries, and innovative ideas within a culture. Libraries were inconceivable until writing was invented between 5,500 and 6,000 years ago in Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies Mesopotamia and Egypt, Minoans on Crete 5,000 years ago, and the Hittites in Anatolia (modern Turkey) about 4,000 years ago, and in China about 3,500 years ago. The first libraries consisted of archives of the earliest form of writing the clay tablets in cuneiform script discovered in Sumer, some dating back to 2600 BC. Nippur and Nineveh in Mesopotamia (Presently Iraq) and the 6th century, great libraries of the Mediterranean world remained prominent among scholars, especially in Constantinople and Alexandria. Private or personal libraries made up of written books appeared in classical Greece in the 5th century BC. Over the centuries since the renaissance period, modern libraries with modern concepts came into being. Especially in the United Kingdom, in the Americas, and in Europe great libraries started to shine as intellectual hubs and knowledge centers. We advise you at this stage to go through basically the sections written on libraries in the Encyclopedias available in the OUSL library or leading public libraries or at the National library and using Google searches on the web. You may also read the basic texts we recommend at the end of this session. Now we start with an introduction to the libraries. 1.2 What is a library? As school leavers, you must have already come across school libraries or public libraries. Some schools have bigger collections while some schools have only one or two book cupboards. Similarly, public libraries vary in the size of collections depending on the level of Pradesheeya Sabha or Municipal council it belongs to. You must have also some knowledge regarding other libraries such as pirivena and church libraries, mosque or madrasa libraries, community center or society libraries. These libraries normally are small in their collections and serve a specific purpose. Except for the National Library, all the other libraries need a membership to use the library materials. Even in the public libraries, membership is required to access and use full-fledged services provided by them. So that libraries and users are interconnected. Before defining a library we check how the term ‘library’ came up. In Latin ‘liber’ means a book. In the 14th century, English adopted the word ‘library’. A general definition of a library from the Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science (ODLIS) states: “Library -- from the Latin liber, meaning "book." In Greek and Roman languages, the corresponding term is bibliotheca. A collection or group of collections of books and/or other print or nonprint materials organized and maintained for use (reading, consultation, study, research, etc.). Institutional libraries, organized to facilitate the access by a specific clientele, are staffed by librarians and other personnel trained to provide services to meet user needs” http://products.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_l Accessed on 29th March 2022 George Eberhart(2010) offers a more comprehensive definition: "A library is a 1) collection of resources in a variety of formats that is (2) organized by information professionals or other experts who (3) provide convenient physical, digital, bibliographic, or intellectual access and (4) offer targeted services and programs (5) with the mission of educating, informing, or entertaining a variety of audiences (6) and the goal of stimulating individual learning and advancing society as a whole." Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies (in the Librarian’s Book of Lists (Chicago: ALA, 2010), p.1) Thus, the library is an organized collection of information resources that are selected by experts and made accessible to a defined community. A directory of information on world-leading libraries is available alphabetically by country in World Guide to Libraries, a serial published by K.G. Saur. Two comprehensive worldwide online directories of library homepages are Libdex and Libweb. Activity 1 Explain a Library in your words. …………………………………………………………………………….………… …………………………………………………………………….………………… …………………………………………………………….………………………… …………………………………………………….………………………………… 1.3 Library Resources Libraries have a variety of resources. In general, we call them library materials. Library resources /materials contain not only printed versions but also nonprint formats. The main types are books, periodicals, newspapers, magazines, manuscripts, maps, microforms, films, DVDs, discs in different formats, e-books, audiobooks, databases, video games, board games, etc. As you may see these materials need a different form of housing facilities. Eg: books need bookshelves or cupboards, periodicals, magazines, and newspapers need racks that display their cover pages of them, maps need drawers that keep the maps stretched out, the microforms, films, and slides need carousals, CDs DVDs are placed in special boxes while e-books, audiobooks, databases, video games, etc. need PCs with internet connectivity and high storage capacity. Pictorial view is is given in Fig. 1 of library materials. Fig. 1.0: Library materials Source: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/public_library_management Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies Libraries collect resources in a systematic manner. Librarians do not accept any material to their libraries even if those are given free of charge. This practice has been followed to maintain the specialty and the focus of the library collection to facilitate the specific needs of the user community they serve. For instance, a school library does not accept or procure any library material to their library. The focus of the school library is to support the study streams in the school and they collect study and supportive learning materials. Same as a research library collecting materials in the purview of the research streams specialized by that particular research institution. Therefore, the library materials are bought (procured) for the library by the librarian and by the subject experts of the institution. Normally a separate allocation of funds is there for library books and purchasing of the books needs to follow the same procurement procedure adopted in purchasing other capital items for the institution. So that books and other library materials are treated as capital items and need to be inventoried. In libraries, this inventorization is called ‘Acquisition’ and every library has an ‘Accession Register’ to record details of an item. You will learn extensively about the types of library materials, procurement systems, etc. in the course HSU 3305. 1.4 Organization and Accessibility You as a layperson must have come across different storehouses where different materials are being stored. The storekeepers give some sort of identification to the materials they store for easy identification of materials and systematic storing purposes. Modern storage systems use coding systems with numeric and non- numeric characters. Similarly, the librarians do a specialized task to record details of an item. This process is called ‘cataloging and classification’. Library Cataloging is the process of creating and maintaining bibliographic records (Details of a book/item) in the library catalog. The catalog help the reader to find out a brief description of the library material and its ‘Location’. You will learn extensively about library cataloging and classification in a systematic manner in separate courses designed for this program. In brief, a catalog is a list that a user can go through in searching for a book. There is another important aspect that a library science student should know. That is the “Classification number’ assigned for each item. It is a numeric identifier. The librarians need thorough practice to assign this number to books/items. Modern libraries use classification numbers and some specific alphabetical characters to assign a specific number for each material to organize them on the bookshelves, racks, etc. This number in library science is known as “Call Number”. Thus, classification number served two purposes; Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies 1. Giving a specific location to an item and 2. Giving an identification number for material for item searching. The whole material stock in a library is catalogued and classified to form a systematic, organized collection, Cataloguing and classification are fundamental processes in library science and you are going to master these processes in this degree program. Whatever the accessibility, physical or digital, or online access, cataloguing and classification is essential for the user to access library materials for reference or borrowing. Activity 2 How do you find your intended library material (Eg: a book) from a bookshelf? …………………………………………………………………………….………… …………………………………………………………………….………………… …………………………………………………………….………………………… 1.5 Physical structure of libraries – the space The early reputed library was hailed for its majestic structures and ornamental spaces. Usually, a library is maintained by a public body or an institution or by a private individual. Public and institutional library collections and related services may be intended for use by people who cannot afford to purchase an extensive collection for themselves. Therefore it is mandatory that the Libraries often provide quiet areas for reading and studying and often offer common areas to facilitate group study and knowledge collaboration. Libraries often provide public facilities to access digital and online resources. Libraries are increasingly becoming community hubs where programs are delivered, and people engage in lifelong learning. Due to this demand many libraries had tried to facelift to give more inviting entrance, dynamic appearance, comfortable seating etc. Fig.2: Cool chairs at BHC library, Arconas, USA Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies The size of these physical structures depends upon a few factors; availability of funds and the ‘average rate of user presence’(ARUP) at a given time are prominently considered. (ARUP = total no. of user visits /total no. of days open in a given duration. Source: Seneviratne, (2018) Slide no. 15) Modern libraries are increasingly being redefined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources. Many modern libraries even with higher ARUP do not maintain vast premises as user areas. Instead, the space is confined to smaller areas, but they extend library and information services beyond the physical walls of a building, by providing material accessible by electronic means. The 21st century has revolutionized the nature of information resources, their access, and utilization. Library resources are virtually available as well as their access. Its users have also been present virtually. Thus the 21st-century library is defined by Reitz (2005) as a "library without walls", in which the collections do not exist on paper, microform, or another tangible form at a physical location, but are electronically accessible in digital format via web technology. Therefore library users require the latest technologies to access library collections. The access is no longer restricted to the user paying a visit to the library (building) physically. So that massive physical spaces are no longer required for the 21st- century readership. The present century library, therefore, emphasizes access rather than ownership of materials and resources. Having connected to the Internet, the 21st-century user prefers sitting at his workstation at home or at the workplace or any place comfortable to him, rather than walking to the library space. This point also brings forth another fact. That is ‘equitable access’. Unlike the normal user, there are special users such as differently able people, patients at hospitals, remote communities, etc. The remote access ( the user can access the library from a distant place) thus provides a wide range of opportunities to these special users. So that it is evident that the whole attitude towards library space had changed tremendously. Therefore calculation of ARUP or determining user size is no longer valid in determining the library space in the 21st century. Activity 3 Explain briefly what is ‘remote access’. ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 1.6 The User A library is thus, a collection of information resources organized for the use of the user. In modern libraries, the user is prominent in library service design. Who is the ‘User’? According to Eberhart’s (2010) definition, a library should offer targeted services and programs with the mission of educating, informing, or entertaining a variety of users/audiences. According to modern library science, the most crucial component of the 21st-century library is the user. Every effort put into the establishment of a 21st-century library is wasted if the library is not meant for use. Therefore the library user is undisputedly, the most important person in any library setting. This Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies is why the mission statement of any library always reflects the determination of the other components of the library to render excellent services to library users. As such, a library service is said to be productive when the library users are satisfied. Who is a library user? Nwalo (2003) defined him as anybody who ‘visits’ the library with the purpose of exploiting its resources to satisfy his information need. The word "visits" as used in the 21st century, include remote access to the library portal or website as well. The ‘user aspect’ in library services thus is in the center of focus due to the following points; ▪ The library materials are for the readers/users to be used ▪ Without the user no library can be a growing institution ▪ Analysis of user needs is the center focus in building collections ▪ Technology and systems should be used for efficient delivery of services to the user The five laws of library science presented by S. R. Ranganathan in 1931, detailed the principles of operating a library system. Many librarians from around the world accept the laws as the foundations of library philosophy. These 5 laws will be presented, and a detailed account of Ranganathan’s contribution will be in one Session of this coursebook. 1.7 Impact of libraries on the modern society The modern library as a gateway to knowledge plays a fundamental role in society. The resources and services they offer; ▪ create opportunities for learning, ▪ support language and information literacy ▪ facilitate research, ▪ preserve past knowledge in different formats ▪ help shape the new ideas and perspectives that are central to a creative and innovative society ▪ inculcate knowledge culture ▪ provide a space to spend time in a scholarly manner Thus, libraries play an important role in modern society, especially in terms of information access. Modern libraries thrive to provide remote access to their resources online. With the needs of the millennial generation, remote access is a must. 1.8 Developing the library practices into a Science We have learned about the emergence and evolution of libraries. As you can see the gradual development of the libraries paved the way for the development of a special profession, called ‘librarianship’ as well as ‘library administratorship’. Hope you remember the great profiles of ancient librarians such as Callimachus, Hypatia, Varro, etc., and library administrators such as ‘Rekhmere’. So that you can see the LIS profession and its subject domain did not emerge all of a sudden in the 20th century. Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies In early periods the library was more or less a place to safeguard written or printed materials. For example, The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal in Assyria, and the great library of Alexandria in Egypt in the 2nd century BC was known example. According to the historical evidence ancient libraries had librarians, administrators, and technical staff to manage their collections and spaces. They had been using well-developed instruments and mechanisms for the bibliographic control of the collections. However, over time the library and library profession started to change its routine nature with more complex user requirements and the emergence of printing systems. The profession had faced more changes emphasizing its connectivity with the other subject domains following the era of industrial society. Later in the post- industrial society prominence was specifically placed on automation and using the information as a resource. Many new subject domains were developed during this era. The Library profession also had undergone many changes during this period emphasizing the retrieval of information than materials. Hence the focus had been placed on mechanized systems of information indexing using classification systems and access points. You will learn more about these systems in Level 5. Before developing into a “Science”, the library practices and its domain were closely connected with “Archival Science”. Archival science specifically deals with material acquisition, organize into storage systems with a mechanism to search when needed, and high significance placed on preservation and conservation. In archival management, user access is limited to ‘closed access’, which means users are not allowed to access the collection directly. Instead, the user is to consult a staff member assigned for the purpose. Even in Alexandrian and Pergamum libraries researchers doubt the existence of ‘direct access’. In Alexandrian library, Pergamum, House of Wisdom, etc., and in ancient Indian universities a limited number of dedicated apprentices were taught and trained in keeping libraries as a tradition. However, with the emergence of papal libraries and university/college libraries, the library practice became a scientific profession. Especially with the advanced cataloguing and classification systems, as mentioned earlier very advanced indexing systems, the library practices became a science with teaching and learning of the library science became a learned profession. In the 19th century essence of the library, science became more strengthened due to the usage of computer applications for cataloguing, classification and indexing, and information access. Written evidence for using the ‘library science’ in the world can be briefed as follows. The first textbook on library science was published in 1808 by Martin Schrettinger, followed by books by Johann Georg Seizinger and others. 20th century In the English-speaking world the term "library science" seems to have been used for the first time in a book in 1916 the "Panjab Library Primer" written by Asa Don Dickinson and published by the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. This University was the first in Asia to begin teaching 'library science'. The "Panjab Library Primer" was the first textbook on library science published in English anywhere in the world. The first textbook in the United States was the "Manual of Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies Library Economy" which was published in 1929. Much later, the term was used in the title of S. R. Ranganathan's The Five Laws of Library Science, published in 1931, and in the title of Lee Pierce Butler's 1933 book, An introduction to library science (University of Chicago Press). With these developments, library schools were also opened in the world. In 1888 Melvil Dewey had started the first library programme, ‘Course on Library economy’ at Columbia University. Chronology of development of Library Science The earliest text on library operations, ‘Advice on Establishing a Library was published in 1627 by French librarian and scholar Gabriel Naudé. The phrase “Library Science” was coined by Martin Schrettinger, who was born in 1772 in Germany. He created a catalogue of all the library's holdings divided into subjects and sub-subjects. The first American school of librarianship opened at Columbia University under the guidance of Melvil Dewey (father of the Dewey Decimal Classification system), in 1887, as the School of Library Economy. The term Library Economy was common in the U.S. until 1942. S. R. Ranganathan's The Five Laws of Library Science was published in 1931. Parallel to Ranganathan, Lee Pierce Butler's book, “An Introduction to Library Science” (University of Chicago Press) also identified librarianship as a “Science” in 1933. Librarianship, according to Butler's new definition, was the "transmission of the accumulated experience of society through the instrumentality of the book" (Butler, P. (2011). An introduction to library science. Read Books Ltd.). His idea of LS was intended to address were social problems of information exchange and communication in society, where the Library Economy had been confined to addressing the practical problems of the administration of libraries. William Stetson Merrill's “A Code for Classifiers”, released in several editions from 1914 to 1939 is another contribution to the LS domain. In 1960 some Library Science institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh started using the term “Information Science” in their programs. In the 21st century, the term LS was widely accepted. With the expansion of information technology, information access and retrieval have influenced the LS domain making it more interdisciplinary. Today. LS is mainly recognized as “Library and Information Science (LIS)” and it will evolve more in the future. Many schools, institutions, and organizations worldwide have emerged to improve the LS domain and its related professions delivering the LS education more sustainable way. 1.9 Library and Information Science (LIS) Library Science or Library and Information science is an interdisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of library management; systems used Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies for library and information management such as information technology and documentation systems; library education, and other core areas of the LIS domain such as the collection management, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources, etc. After it has become a “Science” it could not be standalone as a single subject. In more recent years, with the growth of digital technology, the field has been greatly influenced by information science concepts. Although a basic understanding is critical to both library research and practical work (for example in the use of online social networks by libraries), the area of information science has remained largely distinct both in training and in research interests. For instance, LS is mainly concerned with information organization and dissemination and instant user access. These objectives can be accomplished effectively once LS is associated with Information Technology. The user behaviours of LS are connected with Social Science and information retrieval systems are associated with Artificial Intelligence as well. Thus the LIS is connected with several subject areas such as IT, Social Sciences, and Management and we can find many sub-disciplines under the main subject domains. The LS connection with these disciplines can be varied. Another instance is Archival Science which is more connected with LS as it is considered organized preservation of library materials for future access. Certain domains such as Media Studies may connect with certain aspects such as communication, which is highly important in the case of information-seeking behaviour. Academic courses in library science typically include collection management, information systems, and technology, research methods, cataloguing and classification, preservation, reference, statistics, and management. Library science is constantly evolving, incorporating new topics like database management, information architecture, and knowledge management, among others. There is no generally agreed-upon distinction between the terms library science, librarianship, and library and information science, and to a certain extent, they are interchangeable, perhaps differing most significantly in connotation. The term library and information science (LIS) is most often used worldwide now; most librarians consider it as only a terminological variation, intended to emphasize the scientific and technical foundations of the subject and its relationship with information science. But it is important to identify these concepts. LIS should not be confused with information theory, the mathematical study of the concept of information. While it may be argued, that Information science takes effort to organize a collection of information and provide access to that information regardless of the locations of the resource and the user. In this instance, information technology and web technology play predominant roles. Thus Information Science concerns Information access, Information architecture, Information management, Information retrieval, Information seeking, and Information society. Within these scopes, Information Science gives more Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies emphasis on aspects such as HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), CMC (Computer-Mediated Communication), UX (User Experience), UI (User Interfaces), Big Data (the collection and distribution of large quantities of data), Ethics and Law surrounding technology, and so on. Information Studies on the other hand is a field of study on how information is used, reproduced, analyzed, and integrated. If you want to become a Librarian, you tend to study in this field, because the study covers how information can be searched and queried, how information can be interpreted and integrated into technology, etc. It is more concerned with how patrons use or retrieve information. Information studies may contain technological aspects but it gives more emphasis on social science aspects such as user behavior, information retrieval, information organization, ethics, policies, etc. Activity 3 Differentiate between library science and information science. 1.9.1 New subject areas incorporated into LIS Some new popular subject fields taught under LS/ LIS; Digital humanities (DH) - This is a rapidly growing field in the area of scholarly activity at the intersection of digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It will provide you with knowledge and skills in the systematic use of digital resources in the humanities and the application of cutting‐edge digital information technology and methods. Data, Information, and Technology -These areas are dominant in modern libraries and information services. This cluster encompasses the essential foundational knowledge that makes emerging professionals for careers in the continuously evolving information environment. This area gives a foundation for studies in digital technologies, organized to focus on data/ big data, information, the Internet, and information systems. Applied Data Science (ADS) - Specialization in Applied Data Science (ADS) emphasizes users, tools, and applications in the Data Science Lifecycles. The ADS pathway prepares students for a career in Data Science with practical skills to solve real-world data problems at application levels, rather than computational level or system development level. Subject related informatics such as medical Informatics, bio informatics, chemometrics, bibliometrics, cultural heritage Informatics (CHI) are emerging field of interdisciplinary research and practices concerned with the role of information and computing technologies (ICTs). Other areas carry importance in this regard such as metadata analysis, taxonomies, Ontologies, Semantic Analysis, etc. Libraries, Librarianship & Information Studies Summary This session explained basic information regarding a library and its science. It explained what is a library, its scope, the resources they are dealing with, the organization of resources received in a library, the library space, serving the user community, and the impact libraries have on society. The session intends to give the students an overall understanding of the objectives of a library and the main concepts associated with it. The gradual evolution of the library profession connecting with other disciplines has led to creating the library profession as a “Science”. With time, the routine practices of a library and profession are shaped as Library Science (LS). We can identify several disciplines merged with the LS domain. However, certain other domains such as Information Sciences and Information Studies, have significantly influenced the LS domain. However, distinguishing Information Science and Information Studies is also another important aspect as they are always falsely identified as similar subject areas. LS has now evolved up to Library and Information Science (LIS) and it has combined with several new subject areas providing more opportunities to evolve LS more professionally in the future. It should be noted that aspects that are discussed here will be given a detailed treatment throughout the course. Learning Outcomes After completing this module students will gain an understanding of the following areas. Library science and librarianship Library resources, its organization and library users Evolution of Library practices into a science Scope of Library & Information Science References Buckland, M. (2005). Information schools: a monk, library science, and the information age. Bibliothekswissenschaft–quo vadis, 19-32. Hjørland, Birger. (2017). Encyclopedia of knowledge organization. Library and information science (LIS). International Society for Knowledge Organization (ISKO). https://www.isko.org/cyclo/lis ODLIS http://products.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_l Accessed on 29th March 2022 Rayward, W. B. (1985). Library and information science: An historical perspective. Journal of Library History, 120-136. Recommended readings Library definition. https://libguides.ala.org/library-definition Libraries. https://en.wikipedia.org Libraries. https://www.britannica.com Review question Explain the evolution of library practices into a science.