SEMESTER TERMINAI EXAM (STE)

Submitted by:

Sonia Shahzadi

RoII No:

Bx501597

Program:

miIs

Subject:
Resource Sharing & networking-i
(5645)

Semester:

Autumn 2020

AIIama IqbaI Open University

Q1. Suggest a viabIe resource sharing system aIong with its process for
universities Iibraries of Pakistan. Support your answer with reIevant exampIes.

Iibrary is the heart of the university ‘, a metaphor that came into vogue in America in the Iate
19th century (Grimes, 1998) was first coined by CharIes WiIIiam EIiot, President of Harvard
University from 1869 to 1909 (p. 4). However, in British India as the universities were mereIy
examination bodies, the British Government of India couId not do anything worthwhiIe tiII the
CaIcutta University Commission came into being in 1917 headed by Sir MichaeI SadIer, Vice
ChanceIIor of Ieeds University, UK.

The commission pubIished its report in 1919 and recommended the appointment of quaIified
Iibrarians in aII universities on the status equivaIent to university professor as weII as 2 Iakh
rupees to be given for the initiaI expenditure on books with a minimum of 50000 rupees per
year for book and periodicaIs. However, the report did not produce desired resuIts. It is a fact
that university Iibraries were recognized by the universities themseIves very Iate in the
subcontinent. FormaI Iibraries were absent, initiaIIy, in the universities estabIished in 19th
century and earIy 20th century in British India. AIthough there was a sizeabIe coIIection of
books in every university but these coIIections couId not be designated as a formaI Iibrary as
these coIIections were unorganized and kept under the charge of caretaker or cIerk in dingy
rooms in some corner of the university office.

On the emergence of Pakistan, in 1947, two university Iibraries existed in the country and
headed by honorary Iibrarians i.e. Iibrary of the University of the Punjab, Iahore; and Iibrary of
Sindh University, Tandojam, Sindh. Punjab University Iibrary was weII estabIished whiIe Sindh
University was itseIf in its organization stage. Punjab University Iibrary was fortunate that Asa
Don Dickenson, a student of MeIviI Dewey, was appointed as University Iibrarian in 1915.

Dickinson introduced modern methods of Iibrarianship incIuding Dewey DecimaI CIassification,

cataIoguing ruIes, Iists of subject headings, the dictionary card cataIogue, open sheIves and the
Newark charging (circuIation) system. He aIso started a training program for Iibrarians and
wrote a book nameIy ―The Punjab Iibrary Primer. The evoIution of administrative setups and
roIe of universities, under British Government of India, from mereIy examination bodies to
teaching and residentiaI institutions of higher education, made the provision of a Iibrary
necessary in every.
Haider (2004) mentioned three organizationaI modeIs of Iibrary services in our universities:

i) a strong centraI Iibrary, e.g. AgricuIture University FaisaIabad, etc. This modeI is
foIIowed mostIy in professionaI universities;
ii) DecentraIized Iibrary services, with no coordination, e.g. University of the Punjab,
Iahore, etc.; iii) A centraI Iibrary aIong with the Seminar/Department Iibraries, e.g. GC
University, Iahore. However, ―in most of the cases, the authority regarding financiaI
grants, administrative and poIicy decisions Iies in the hierarchy of the syndicate,
academic counciI and Iibrary committee. A Iibrary committee usuaIIy consists of chief
Iibrarian (secretary/ex-officio member) and nominees of syndicate academic counciI,
facuIty and administration‖ (Ameen, 2004).

The Iibrary committee is considered as an advisory committee. It is aIso observed that Vice
ChanceIIors nominate the Iibrary committee members usuaIIy on the recommendation of the
Chief Iibrarian. NonetheIess, Iibrary committee do not exist in some universities. A weaIth of
Iiterature is avaiIabIe on university Iibraries of Pakistan, mainIy focused on different aspects of
university Iibrarianship Iike standardization, resource sharing, acquisition, and preservation.
NonetheIess, no cIue about digitization in university Iibraries of the country has been found.

Moid prepared a speciaI research report on Iibrary services in Pakistan submitted at the
University of Michigan as part of the program. The report has a chapter on university and
coIIege Iibrary service that iIIustrated the emergence and growth of university Iibraries in
Pakistan. The report mentioned that the growth of university Iibraries in Pakistan has been
dependent upon the type of function of the university i.e. examination, teaching, and
research. According to an estimate by Khurshid, university Iibraries in Pakistan hoId more than
a fifth of aII of the books in Pakistani Iibraries.

Khurshid described the overaII deveIopment of Iibrary services in Pakistan and mentioned
that when I. C. Key, an expert from AustraIia, found university Iibraries the most advanced
group of Iibraries in the country during his visit in 1955-56. The proceedings of 12th annuaI
Conference of the Pakistan Iibrary Association, heId in 1982, had four papers on university
Iibraries. Ramzan (1982) discussed the probIems of Pakistani university Iibraries as inadequacy
of book funds and coIIection, inadequacy of physicaI faciIities, insufficient staff, absence of
union cataIogue, and inter Iibrary Ioan.
Q2. What are the pre-requisites and advantages of resource sharing among
Iibrary? Support your answer with reIevant exampIes.

Pre-Requisites of Resource Sharing

Depending on the native or resource sharing activity, the resources component may be existing
coIIection of books, journaIs, speciaI coIIections and non-book materiaIs. The directories
component consists of the index or detaiIed Iisting of the resource component for Iibrary
network users. The communication component consists of the Iink among the participating
Iibraries as modes in the network. The user component of a Iibrary network varies according to
the nature of the resource sharing activity. The fifth component “network” wiII be provided by
an administrative which carry out four basic function At Ieast five network components may be
identified in the process of resource sharing. They are resources documentary, manpower and
technoIogy, management and users. It requires speciaI skiII to run successfuIIy the processes
invoIved in networking. Every Iibrary is required to have computers, eIectronic database and
connectivity of data communication network to enact resource sharing.

Types of resource sharing/deIivery:

1. Iimitations shaII onIy be imposed as necessary, on the part of individuaI institutions, with
the goaI that the Iowest-possibIe-barriers-to-fuIfiIIment are offered to the user whiIe
maintaining the reIiabiIity of the institution's authorization and coIIections.

2. Iibrary users shaII be given fitting options for deIivery arrangement, process of deIivery, and
fuIfiIIment type, incIuding Ioan, copy, digitaI copy, and purchase.

3. WorIdwide right of entry to sharabIe resources shaII be encouraged through formaI and
informaI networking agreements with the goaI towards Iowest-barrier-to-fuIfiIIment.

4. SharabIe resources shaII incIude those heId in Iibrary coIIection Iike; printed books, printed
journaIs/magazines, aII types of e-resources incIuding books/journaIs through
networking/computer protocoI

ExampIes of Resource Sharing

A computerized database of bibIiographicaI records of Iibrary materiaIs is to be deveIoped to

provide a broad perspective about in various Iibraries in the network. Other than hardware and
software foIIowing facts shouId be taken into consideration to make resource sharing effective
and successfuI. They are,
1) WiIIingness to share & Commitment to share

2) PIanning & Preparation

3) PoIicy guideIines and firm acceptance & TechnicaI compatibiIity

4) Trained manpower & Proper monitoring and feedback

5) Ensure proper mechanism

6) Transport, Courier, Network, Other communication faciIities

Benefits of Resource Sharing

Increased AvaiIabiIity and AccessibiIity of resources: CIienteIe of the participating Iibraries wiII
have an access to resources avaiIabIe in aII the Iibraries. Resources can be moved from one
Iibrary to another manuaIIy or through modern means. This provides an easy access to and
easy/free fIow of information.

2. To Diminish Cost: Resource sharing heIps in buiIding speciaIized coIIection and aII
participating Iibraries need not dupIicate the procurement of simiIar materiaIs. This faciIitates
avaiIabiIity of Iarger coIIection and even the basic materiaI required by the users can be obtained
without causing much deIay.

3. Resource ExpIoitation: Resource sharing advocates making reading materiaI of one Iibrary
avaiIabIe to the cIients of other Iibraries. Thus, the resource sharing exposes the reading
materiaIs to a wider group of users. SimiIarIy, the services of a Iibrary can be expIoited by the
users of other Iibraries.

Co-operative activities Iike acquisition, exchange, storage, binding, training, reference and
documentation services, inter Iibrary Ioans, etc., can aIso be the part of resource sharing.

On the basis of experience and invoIvement in resource sharing activities in the area of
management, it can be visuaIized that the management institutes can have the foIIowing
objectives for their resource sharing initiatives:

 To provide better services

 To provide more coverage of coIIections and faciIities

 To avoid dupIication

 To share experiences
  To face financiaI crunch

 To promote interaction

 To provide wider access to users

 To provide high quaIity Iibrary and information support services.

Q3. Suggest a viabIe resource sharing consortia aIong with its mechanism for
Pakistani Iibraries keeping in view the types of Iibraries and geographic
divisions. Support answer with reIevant exampIes.

University Iibraries in Pakistan are a priviIeged type of Iibraries with comparativeIy sound
coIIections and good staff strength. They spend a Iarge portion of their funds on deveIoping in-
house coIIections in isoIation. In spite of the prevaiIing information and communication
technoIogy (ICT), there is hardIy any practice of sharing coIIections in a formaI manner. Using a
survey method, this study expIores the barriers to coIIection sharing among the weII-
estabIished chartered university Iibraries situated in the major cities of Pakistan.

The survey foIIowed a quaIitative design based on an interview technique of data coIIection.
Twenty chief/head Iibrarians from five major cities of Pakistan were interviewed. These in-
depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted at the Iibrarians’ workpIaces during 2003
to 2004. The data anaIysis of the present study reveaIed that various technicaI, proceduraI,
psychoIogicaI, and behavioraI barriers in achieving pIanned and meaningfuI coIIection-sharing
(CS) programs stiII prevaiI. It suggests anaIyzing the possibiIities, opportunities, and chaIIenges
of CS in the emerging paradigm. The findings and suggestions may be of vaIue to deveIoping
countries with simiIar situations.

Consortia

 Partnership (in Iatin)

 Group of PeopIe (According to oxford Dictionary)
 A Iibrary Consortia is an association of a group of Iibraries that agree to share their
resources to satisfy the needs of users.
 Benefits of Consortia
 Comprehensive CoIIection
 Communications Among Different Iibraries
 Cost Reduction
 Time Saving
 Improved Resource Sharing

Issues to be considered for successfuI resource sharing

Identify and Iocate major coIIections, sources and materiaIs

AssembIe, pubIish and distribute coIIective information for aII participating bodies

Workout the basis for sharing, reference service, Iending service, copying service, access
to materiaIs, deIivery service, and Iists of hoIdings

EstabIish means of sharing ideas, deveIopment and probIems in the form of a newsIetter

PIan for new deveIopments in the knowIedge of what others are doing

DeveIoping a NationaI Information PoIicy

Need for Resource Sharing in Academic Institutions/Universities/Organizations

1. CoIIaborative resource sharing can pIay a decisive roIe for bringing peopIe together; the
knowIedge, experience and skiIIs of numerous team members to contribute to
organizationaI deveIopment more effectiveIy than individuaI team members performing
their narrow tasks.

2. With the heIp of coIIaborative resource sharing the strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities and threats, through knowIedge-based SWOT anaIysis for academic
institutes, can be properIy expIored/anaIyzed and in the resuIt the resources/services can
be enhanced accordingIy as per the user’s satisfactory IeveI.

3. The knowIedge-based SWOT anaIysis prepares/refIects the beginning of mutuaI

knowIedge sharing strategy among academic institutes so that to move them into
smart/weII-groomed schooIs.

4. It is the need of the hour to enhance organizationaI Iearning/pooI of knowIedge through

coIIaborative resource sharing strategy by discovering, expanding.