MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

NAME:

ADM NO:

CAT
 1. Discuss the following:

a. Various types of libraries. (10 marks)

Answer:

There are four major types of libraries:

1. Academic libraries serve colleges and universities, their students, staff and faculty.

Larger institutions may have several libraries on their campuses dedicated to

serving particular schools such as law and science libraries.

2. Public libraries serve communities of all sizes and types. Public libraries often have

departments that focus on areas of service, such as youth, teens and adults.

3. School libraries are usually part of a school system, and serve students between

Kindergarten and grade 12.

4. Special libraries offer unique opportunities to work in a specialized environment

of interest, such as corporations, hospitals, the military, museums, private

businesses, and the government.

b. Different types of information sources in a library

Answer:

1. Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based, including:

 original written works – poems, diaries, court records, interviews,

surveys, and original research/fieldwork, and

 research published in scholarly/academic journals.

 2. Secondary sources are those that describe or analyze primary sources, including:

 reference materials – dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, and

 books and articles that interpret, review, or synthesize original

research/fieldwork.

3. Tertiary sources are those used to organize and locate secondary and primary

sources.

 Indexes – provide citations that fully identify a work with information such

as author, titles of a book, artile, and/or journal, publisher and publication

date, volume and issue number and page numbers.

 Abstracts – summarize the primary or secondary sources,

 Databases – are online indexes that usually include abstracts for each

primary or secondary resource, and may also include a digital copy of the

resource.

c. Organization in the library

Answer:

Libraries are often divided into departments staffed by both paraprofessionals and

professional librarians.

a. Circulation (or Access Services) – Handles user accounts and the loaning/returning

and shelving of materials.

b. Collection Development – Orders materials and maintains materials budgets.

 c. Reference – Staffs a reference desk answering questions from users (using

structured reference interviews), instructing users, and developing library

programming.

d. Technical Services – Works behind the scenes cataloging and processing new

materials and deaccessioning weeded materials.

e. Stacks Maintenance – Re-shelves materials that have been returned to the library

after patron use and shelves materials that have been processed by Technical

Services.

d. Classification in the library

Answer:

a. Universal schemes- Covers all subjects.

b. Specific classification schemes- Covers particular subjects or types of materials.

c. National schemes- Specially created for certain countries

e. Types of catalogues

Answer:

a. Author catalog: a formal catalog, sorted alphabetically according to the names of

authors, editors, illustrators, etc.

b. Subject catalog: a catalog that sorted based on the Subject.

c. Title catalog: a formal catalog, sorted alphabetically according to the article of the

entries.

d. Dictionary catalog: a catalog in which all entries (author, title, subject, series) are

interfiled in a single alphabetical order.

 e. Keyword catalog: a subject catalog, sorted alphabetically according to some system

of keywords.

f. Mixed alphabetic catalog forms: sometimes, one finds a mixed author / title, or an

author / title / keyword catalog.

g. Systematic catalog: a subject catalog, sorted according to some systematic

subdivision of subjects. Also called a classified catalog.

h. Shelf list catalog: a formal catalog with entries sorted in the same order as

bibliographic items are shelved. This catalog may also serve as the primary

inventory for the library.

2. Discuss the different ways in which modern technology has affected

communication today (10 marks)

Answer:

a. The Web

The Web is at the heart of many ways in which technology has affected

communication. It enables us to instantly communicate across the world for the

price of a broadband subscription, which has had a dramatic impact on how we can

keep in touch with family or do business with colleagues working remotely. While

this has made it easier to make contact with others, it has also made it more difficult

to switch off. Communicating with those we know is now much simpler and more

convenient than it ever has been, at the risk of making our lives ever more hurried

and busy.
b. Cell Phones

Cell phones and other mobile devices such as tablets have accentuated the impact of

the Web. Not only are we accessible every time we sit down at a computer, we are

now accessible from wherever we are. Our mobile phones enable us to

communicate with hundreds or even thousands of contacts across a myriad of

services and platforms with a few taps on the screen. It is no longer necessary to use

face-to-face contact and speech to communicate – we can use short SMS messages,

or leave a voicemail, or send a tweet from our phones. Again, the convenience

offered by all of these extra channels is counterbalanced by the additional effort

required to monitor them all.

c. Email

Emailing is the letter-writing of the 21st century, but it's so much more besides. It

enables us to send short ideas or thoughts as well as lengthy missives, it enables us

to send the same message to dozens of people at the same time, and it enables us to

accompany our words with images, links and other files. Email, working on top of

the Web, has made communication more varied and more flexible, giving us a range

of new ways to spread information, flirt with prospective partners, make new

acquaintances or apologize for wrongdoing. If we don't want to meet in person, or

we can't, it's no longer necessary.

d. Social Networking

Social networking is all about sharing. It has transformed the way we share our

photos, thoughts, videos and more. It has opened up new ways of communicating

with our friends and family that in the past would have required setting up our own
 radio, TV station or newspaper. As with email and the Web in general, sites such as

Facebook and Twitter (together with the associated mobile apps) enable us to

communicate more quickly, more easily and more often. Technology has made

communicating with others so straightforward and natural that it is often necessary

to try and limit the use of these platforms and tools to avoid overload.

3. Discuss the reasons as to why all university students should learn

“communication skills” as a unit regardless of the different careers they are

pursuing (10 marks).

Answer:

a. Communication skills help to learn more from teachers: 

Students need practical and deeper knowledge about the subject they are learning in

school and college. For better learning from teachers, they need to ask the question and

they have to discuss their subjective and objective doubts. When teachers understand

where they are confused about the subject then they can teach in their style, it will help

students get high marks.

b. The quality of being friendly with others: 

It’s important to be friendly with others in school and college. Controlled verbal

communication and physical expression help them to make new friends. Studying with

good friends relieve stress. And it’s really important in a competitive environment and

situation.
Good communication skills build strong friendships. It will give confidence. And students

get interested in visiting school and college daily. But all is possible when someone respects

others, communicate when it is important, and show positive expression in a certain

situation.  That’s how communication skills enhance the ability to understand and share

the feelings of each other. It will build a strong friendly relationship and that can often be

converted into business partnerships and love later in life.

c. Communication skills help in career development: 

Clear communication about the skills and knowledge, objective vocabulary in words while

communicating with interviewers, confident physical expressions help students to get a job

after the completion of the degree. That’s how effective communication makes a difference

in the personality of students. Many students face communication problems in the

interview that’s why learning and improved communication help them to build a career in

their respective fields.

d. Enhancement in teamwork and collaborative attitude: 

Positive behaviors, the gratitude of others, a collaborative effort in solving the problem

with other team members are a great example of effective communication in the

workplace. Effective communication increases productivity in business. It will improve the

chances of promotion, earn other members’ respect. That’s how communication skills

enhance teamwork and collaborative attitude and it gives long term benefits.

In the future students will communicate with clients by text, audio, and video conferencing

in the job. If they are not effective in emails, tweets, and social engagement then it will
negatively impact their career progress. That’s why listening, writing, and verbal

communication by using the Internet of things plays a big positive and negative role in

students’ personal and career development.

That’s why students need to improve their communication skills while they are in school

and college. So later in their career and life communication will not become the wall in

their success.

e. Communication skills develop professionalism in the students: 

Students in the future will become doctors then they need to communicate effectively with

patients. They need empathy, friendliness, professionalism in their speaking, and attitude

while interacting with patients.

Learning and practicing communication skills help students in the future to handle such

kinds of professional and social tensions. Following effective communication and avoiding

the bad example of communication will make them great leaders, professionals, and

socially impactful.

f. Communication skills are important for students in social networking: 

Communication in group activities, debates, and family functions helps students to analyze

their communication skills level and standard. In conversation listen to other people’s

opinions is very important to reach new conclusions about the subject. And it’s not possible

without communicating effectively with positive expression.

It’s really important to learn that, while communicating, students have to respect the

feelings of others. Many times we talk with parents, friends, and in meetings and with
employers very rudely. It’s really important to communicate without causing distress to

someone’s feelings.

That’s why communication skills are especially more important for students to learn

because they are more energetic, enthusiastic, passionate, and open-minded. It’s not bad

but the overuse of such things can impact badly their personality in society. Not only offline

but online.

g. Improvement in presence of mind and memory enhancement: 

When we communicate, listen, express, and understand what we’re talking about, it will

improve our presence of mind. While communicating when we focus on listeners not on

the mobile phone then it will help to enhance our brainpower and memory.

Students need brainpower and sharp memory to become successful in everything they

want to do, to achieve their dreams. The uses of communication skills increase their focus

and they are ready for an answer because of the presence of mind. The presence of mind

improves their vocabulary, communication skills, and enhances memory like a genius.

REFERENCES

1. Mattson, K. (2010). "The librarian as secular minister to democracy: The life and

ideas of John Cotton Dana". Libraries & Culture. 35 (4): 514–34.

2. Robinson, T.E. (2016). "Information literacy: Adapting to the media

age". Alki. 22 (1): 10–12.

3. Sloan, B; White, M.S.B. (2012). "Online public access catalogs". Academic and Library

Computing. 9 (2): 9–13. doi:10.1108/EUM0000000003734.
4.  Pantzar, Katja (September 2010). "The humble Number One: Finland". This is

Finland. Retrieved 17 March 2012.

5.  Applegate, Rachel. "Whose Decline? Which Academic Libraries are "Deserted" in

Terms of Reference Transactions?" Reference & User Services Quarterly; 2nd ser. 48

(2018): 176–89. Print.