Types of Libraries
This section provides a brief account of libraries with a focus on the later part of the 20th century, when both technological and political forces radically reshaped library development. It of few's an overview of different types of libraries and explains their important functions.1. National Libraries
A national library is a library specially established by the government of a country to serve as the per-eminent repository of information for that country.
Unlike public libraries, national libraries rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant works.Though many national and international conferences discussed the subject of national libraries, there is no one agreed definition for the concept of national library. Of course, there are wider definitions putting less emphasis to the repository character. We shall, however, examine the expositions contained in some glossaries like Harold’s Librarians Glossary and Reference Book and the ALA Glossary of Library Terms for the term.
The 6th edition of Harold’s Librarians Glossary (1987) defines a National Library as:
• A library maintained out of government funds;
• Serving the nation as a whole;
• Books in it being for reference only;
• Usually copyright libraries;
• The function of such a library is to collect and preserve for posterity , the books, periodicals, newspapers and other documents published in the country;
• This is best done by a law requiring the publishers to deposit copies of all publications issued by them; and
• Books purchased being published in other countries.
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2. Academic Libraries
The academic libraries comprise: school libraries, college libraries and the university libraries. Performance of each of these types of libraries is important in promoting the objectives of their parent organisations to which they are attached.
A) School Libraries
The librarian of the school library has responsibilities of not only maintaining the library but also getting involved in activities that would compliment and supplement classroom teaching. It is necessary for her/him to possess teaching skills. Story-telling, book talks, demonstrating the lives of birds and animals through audio-visual aids, etc. are some of other desirable skills that a school librarian should possess. Most of these activities call for imagination both in design and presentation. S/he should develop a participative approach with the teachers and play a supportive role in improving the performance of the school as a whole.
A school library should offer some of these services to its clientele:
- Lending,
- Information and reference services,
- Guidance and advisory services,
- Preparation of reading lists both on anticipatory and responsive basis,
- Service on current events, activities, personalities, etc. and
- Other routine services.
It may be pointed out that the situation relating to school libraries in India presents a dismal picture and needs considerable improvement. In this connection, it is worth pursuing the recommendations of the Secondary Education Commission and the Directorate of Extension Programme for Secondary Education of the NCERT to vitalise school libraries.
B) College Libraries
College education provides a completely different environment to students. Here, the teachers will not be in a position to provide individual attention to students. Students have to depend more on self-learning.Therefore, college library plays important role in supplementing class room teaching. In this section we shall briefly discuss the objective functions, nature of collection that needs to be built up and the services to be rendered to the dif ferent categories of users.
The major functions of a college library may be summed as under:
• Giving the young minds (boys and girls) a wider and deeper understanding of different disciplines;
• Preparing the students for advanced studies in various disciplines;
• Preparing the girls and boys for shouldering higher responsibilities in life;
• Providing adequate reading facilities; and
• Introducing special materials to faculty necessary for their research.
C) University Libraries
An enduring metaphor for the university library is that it is the heart of the university. The exact origins of this phrase are not clear. However, Grimes (1998) suggests that it was first used byWilliam Eliot (who was president of Harvard University, Chicago during the period 1869-1909). Subsequently the image was picked up in U.K. and appeared in various reports like Parry Report 1967. The metaphor implies that the academic library is of unparalleled importance. The objectives and functions of a university library are derived from the functions of a university which are:
• Learning and teaching;
• Research and generation of new knowledge;
• Dissemination and publication of research results;
• Conservation of knowledge and ideas; and
• Extension and services.
Objectives of the university libraries:
• Development of a collection in a wide range of subjects for learning, teaching, research, publication, etc.;
• Getting the stock of knowledge materials organized and maintained for use;
• Organizing and providing a variety of library , documentation and information services, both responsive and anticipatory.
The user community of university library generally falls under the following categories:
• Students at different levels of study in different subjects;
• Teachers imparting instructions and guiding students at different levels and in different subjects;
• Research students working for M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees;
• Post-doctoral research scholars working on specific projects;
• Professors and experts guiding research projects and managing research activities of the university;
• Members of various academic and executive bodies of the university;
• Scholars in general, who get special privileges of using the university library. (ads2)
3. Public Libraries
Public libraries were long perceived as places for lending and reading books, especially fiction and journals for personal education and were not identified with scientific knowledge.
Public Libraries are currently impacting on public life.They are:Education,Social Policy, Information, Cultural Entertainment and Economic Development.
Another significant event in this direction took place with the issue of UNESCO Manifesto on Public Libraries in 1995. This was issued in collaboration with IFLA. This manifesto emphasizes the following aspects:
• The public library which being the local gateway to knowledge, provides a basic condition for lifelong learning, independent decision-making and cultural development of the individual and social groups;
• A living force for education, culture and information, and essential agent for the fostering of peace and spiritual welfare through the minds of men and women;
• The local center of information, making all kinds of knowledge and information readily and freely available to its users;
• Accessible for all, regardless of age, sex, religion, nationality, language or social status;
• And lastly, the libraries which have collections and services, all types of appropriate media and modern technologies, as well as materials with high quality and have relevance to local needs and conditions. Materials must reflect current trends and the evolution of the society, as well as the memory of human endeavor and imagination.
4. Special Libraries
Special libraries the word special has to be interpreted to mean specialist to get closer to the concept. As a matter of fact, these are libraries that serve a particular institution that has a specific role to play, and they will therefore tend to be one subject oriented libraries. For example, they could serve a hospital, or an industrial organisation or a scientific institution, etc. They also vary in size depending in part of the size of the institution they serve whose information needs are defined. Special libraries, some times referred to as information centres, are located in multitude of settings including international organisations.
Functions and Services
o Special libraries organise the resources they collect in ways that best suit local needs;
o Analyse, synthesise and evaluate information and data;
o Provide critical reviews, reports and compilations;
o Provide abstracts, indexes and extracts;
o Perform literature searches and compile bibliographies;
o Disseminate current information and SDI which stimulate research; and
o Establish a monitoring system for the evaluation of performance.
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5. Digital Libraries
“Digital libraries are a set of electronic resources and associated technical capabilities for creating searching and using information. In this sense, they are an extension and enhancement of information storage and retrieval systems that manipulate digital data in any medium (text, images, sounds, statistic and dynamic images) and exist in distributed networks. The content of digital libraries includes data, metadata; they describe various aspects of the data (i.e. representation, creator, owner, reproduction rights) and metadata that consists of links or relationships to other data or metadata whether internal or external to the digital library.
• Digital Libraries are constructed – collected and organised – by [and for] a community of users and their functional capabilities support the information needs and uses of that community. They are a component of communities in which individuals and groups interact with each other, using data, information and knowledge resources and systems. In this sense, they are an extension, enhancement, and integration of a variety of information institutions as physical places where resources are selected, collected, organised, preserved, and accessed in support of a user community. These information institutions include among others, libraries, museums, archives, etc. Digital Libraries also extend and serve other community settings, including classrooms, offices, laboratories, homes and public spaces”.
The fundamental reason for building digital libraries is a belief that they will provide better delivery of information than was possible in the past with traditional libraries.Therefore, phrases like electronic library, virtual library, library without walls, and digital library have sprung up and all have been used interchangeably to describe this broad concept.
6. Virtual Libraries
According to Allan Powell “the virtual library can have many definitions, including: A library with little or no physical plant of books, periodicals, reading space, or support staff, but one that disseminates selective information directly to distributed library customers, usually electronically . A more traditional library that has transformed some significant portions of its information delivery channels into electronic format, so that many or most of its customers do not need to visit the library to obtain information. A library that operates as anexus of selected information management activities within the organisation, some of them centralised, but most of which happen through the efforts of decentralised staff, resources, systems, and even outside suppliers, who are accessible and dispersed through out the organisation”.
“The key characteristics of a true virtual library are:
• There is no corresponding physical collection,
• Documents will be available in electronic formats,
• Documents are not stored in any one location,
• Documents can be accessed from any workstation,
• Documents are retrieved and delivered as and when required, and
• Effective search and browse facilities are available”
7. Hybrid Libraries
Hybrid library is a term used by librarians to describe libraries contamination of traditional print library resources and the growing number of electronic resources. In other words hybrid libraries are a mix of traditional print materials such as books, and magazines as well as electronic based materials such as downloadable audio-books, e-books and electronic journals etc.The challenge associated with the management of hybrid library is to encourage end-user resource discovery and information use, in a variety of formats and from a number of local and remote sources, in a seamlessly integrated way.
Hybrid libraries evolved in the 1990s when electronic resources became easily available for libraries to acquire for public use. In the beginning electronic resources were typically accessed to material distributed on media such as CD-ROM or searchers of special databases. OCLC helped to push libraries towards acquiring digital resources by providing a centralised technology resource for participating libraries. Now , with the widespread availability of digital content, it includes internet resources and documents which are online, such as e-prints.
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