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Fatoki 2006
Fatoki 2006
and ideas
by
olayinka c. fatoki
a presentation at the
pre conference seminar of the
nigerian library association annual conference
held at the
national women development centre, abuja
on
19 june, 2006
th
automation defined
automation as “using machines to do work
previously done by people” - oxford advanced
learner’s dictionary
*machines that may be used for this purpose include
typewriter, telephone, jukebox, projector,
television, video, computer, etc.
*computer have been more prominent
library automation
library automation, first known as “library
mechanization” was encountered with the
application of computers to libraries in the 1960s.
*library automation as “the application of computer
and communication technologies to traditional
library processes and services” - bierman (1991)
*library automation is perceived to mean improved
efficiency
library automation
*earlier library automation efforts focused on
- shifting from manual to automated check-out and
check-in
- creating machine readable representations
of shelf lists through retrospective conversion.
*over the years the scope broadened to do more than
computerize manual and paper-based routines
*today, libraries must be able to access a wide array of
resources and databases in all formats and available
anywhere
overview
justification– is it necessary and why?
*strategic planning – what is our mission, vision,
strength and weakness?
*selection – hardware, software, vendors
*procurement - how do we make payment?
*implementation – where and when to start
*evaluation – how satisfied are we?
*maintenance – how do we keep it going?
issues
*decision to automate is irreversible
*standards are critical
*converted database is the most important asset
*conversion, maintenance, and training are always under
estimated.
*expandable system is desirable
*flexible and standard based library automation system
required
*network really matters
*support costs for technology becomes a significant part of
the library’s budget
lms modules
cataloguing
*acquisition
*serials
*circulation, reserve
*opac
*others: materials booking, digital assets
management
cataloging module
*marc-based, support for multiple marc formats
*provides the bibliographic information for all other modules
*import records
*export records
*enter new records
*edit records
*check headings
*link records
authority control
assist cataloger in selection of consistent headings
*provides references for the opac
*stores informational notes
*add new records
*edit records
*import records
acquisitions
includes order records, vendor records, financial
records, and a robust report module for
correspondence
*statistics, collection management
*uses marc record
*add order including vendor assignment, sending of
order, troubleshooting order, audit trail, payment
*controls messages in the opac
serials
ordering, canceling, claiming, return defective
issues, accounting, statistics
*claiming requires a predictive model
- publication patterns
drives the volumes/issues lists in the opac
*electronic resource management system (erms)
circulation, reserve
*check out: item id linked to patron id
*renew
*holds
*location information, inventory, storage
*patron data
*offline support
*self-service check out
*support for policies including calendar, fines
*ability to enter records for special items: laptops, keys,
carrels
opac
public view of the integration of all the files
*searching: author, title, journal title, numbers,
subjects, keywords, boolean
*display
*downloading/export
others
materials booking
-reserve
-reservation for media
digital assets management
-access to digitized items
-support for alternative cataloguing formats – dublin core
personnel
knowledgeable staff needed to exploit the growing
potential of information technologies
*substantial shortage of trained it people at all levels
makes libraries a training ground.
*effective system manager skills includes library
skills, library system skills, computing skills,
database management skills, networking skills and
management skills
cooperation
most of the big and working library systems are
products of cooperation e.g. online computer
learning center (oclc)
other issues
backups – regularly scheduled
*disaster plan
*security
*upgrades – systematic approach
*managing licenses – must budget and pay for the
annual software maintenance licenses
open source systems
a lot of resources and systems are available free
online.
*google is a wonderful tool http://www.google.com
*librarians index to the internet http://www.lii.org
*directory of open access journals
http://www.doaj.org
in conclusion
*libraries should work together to determine and uphold
standards
*cooperation would give libraries better deals and
negotiation powers to afford more electronic resources
*library schools, information science and/or computer
science departments should cooperate to give
professionals a leverage
*library association should play a monitoring role
*library professionals should not be “it shy”. should invest in
themselves.
thank you!!!
olayinka c. fatoki
head, systems unit
kenneth dike library
university of ibadan
email: katefatoki@yahoo.ca