ABSTRACT
This
is a study of manual and electronic cataloguing in academic libraries, a case
of Ambrose Alli
University and University
of Benin Libraries both in Edo state. The specific objectives include, to find out
and compare the state of manual and electronic cataloguing in academic
libraries, determine the relevance of manual and electronic cataloguing,
identify the differences between manual and electronic cataloguing, investigate
the problems that militate against manual and electronic cataloguing and profer
solutions to the problems facing manual and electronic cataloguing. A descriptive
survey method was adopted for the study; the population comprises of 29
professionals and 115 para-professional librarians from Ambrose
Alli University
and University of
Benin Libraries
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background
of the Study
Libraries are charged with the
responsibilities of collecting, processing and preserving information
materials, such materials must be arranged in an orderly manner, so that users
can retrieve them without necessarily
wasting much energy and time. Cataloguing of library materials play a very
vital role towards ensuring appropriate organization, according to their
subject area. A library having a million volumes that are not organized for
easy retrieval will be judged as having nothing; therefore, to ensure effective
and efficient retrieval, resources must be catalogue. A building filled with
books is not necessary a library unless those books have been organized for
easy access and made available for use (Ilo, 2008). Reitz (2004), sees
cataloguing as the process of creating entries for a catalog in libraries, this
usually includes bibliographic description, subject analysis, assignment of
classification, notations and all the activities involved in physically
preparing of the items for the shelf. Such tasks are usually performed under
the supervision of trained librarian as a cataloguer.
Seriki (2011) defines cataloguing as the
listing of the entire collection in a definite order for the purpose of
identification when searching is conducted. A cataloguer is a librarian
primarily responsible for preparing bibliographic records to represent the
items acquired by a library, including bibliographic description, subject
analysis and classification. The cataloguer is also referred to as the
librarian who is also responsible for supervising a cataloguing department
(Reitz, 2004) According to Aidenojie and Osawele (2014). Cataloguing is define
as the process of listing something for inclusion in a catalog and the process
involved the description of books in order to point out all the important
features such as author, title, imprint collation, edition and subject of each
book. Cataloguers are responsible for the processes of authority control of
library materials. As a result of this bibliographic control, it can be said
that cataloguers serve as the foundation of all library services, as they are
the ones who organize information in such a way as to make it easily
accessible. The cataloguers provide a complete and analytical bibliographic
description of every item in a library collection which can be accessed through
the author, title and the subject or any other access point. They therefore recommended
cataloguers should actively participate in development, reform and fair
application of cataloguing rules, standard and classifications as well as
information storage and retrieval system.(Aidenojie and Osawele 2014), a
librarian is a professionally trained person responsible for the care of a
library and its contents which include the selection, processing and
organization of materials as well as the delivery of information, instruction
and loan service to meet the needs of its users. In an electronic environment
the role of the librarian is to manage and mediate access to information that
may exist in electronic format. A librarian is also refers to as a person
responsible for the overall administration of a library or library system.
(Reitz, 2004). Electronic resources librarian manages the databases that
libraries license from third-party vendors. Technical service librarians work
behind the scene ordering library materials and database subscription,
computers and other equipment, supervise the cataloguing and physical
processing of new materials. Collection development librarians monitor the
selection of books and electronic resources. Reference or research librarians
help people doing research to find the information they need through a
structured conversation called a reference interview (Tiwari, 2014).
Before the advent of computerized
cataloguing, the manual system has been in existence. It therefore becomes
imperative to stand on the practice of manual cataloguing as a practice of
manual cataloguing as a premise for building an understanding of the use of ICT
in cataloguing. At inception, cataloguing was not a tedious task and this is
attributed to the fact that there was no information explosion prior to the
adoption of ICT for cataloguing purpose. Books were organized using length,
colour, size and shape (Ilo,2008). Furthermore, Bair (2005), defined manual
cataloguing as a hand written subject card where information has be created by
hand in library and information science. Prior to the emergence of information
and communication technology (ICT), the manual cataloguers engaged in
activities ranging from bibliographic searching and description to assigning of
subject class to materials in different subject areas. In a manual context, the
cataloguer tries to find out if the materials to be catalogued exist in the
library collection. This is done by cross-checking existing cards filed in the
author, title and subject catalogue cabinet. For books already in existence,
their bibliographic details are copied to the materials while those not found
are catalogue originally, this method is cumbersome and slow. (Ilo,2012).
The emergence of electronic cataloguing
has brought a turn-around to cataloguing as a core library process for example,
in electronic cataloguing there is no delay because bibliographic details are
not copied manually, which is usually tedious and time-consuming. Even Library
Oriented Software Packages (LOSP) such as the Strategic Library Automated
Management (SLAM) packages, has provision for bibliographic searching and
entries of books, the library staff make the entries directly into the computer
system thereby saving the time and energy that would have been used for coping
on the worksheets, erasing, re-coping and typing on the catalogue cards (Omekwu,2007).
The 21st century has witnessed a tremendous growth in technology. It
is therefore normal to expect it to affect manual cataloguing processes. The
work of the cataloguers has shifted from manual bibliographic description to
electronic cataloguing using the internet where necessary which is faster. Ilo(2012).With the above perception, this
study will examine the state of manual and electronic cataloguing in two
academic libraries in Edo state.
1.2
Statement
of the Problem
The responsibility of the library as a
growing organism is to select, acquire, process, preserve, organize, manage and
disseminate information materials to meet the needs of the library users. Based
on this information, materials must be effectively catalogued using either
manual or electronic method in organizing these materials for easy retrieval.
Manual cataloguing is a difficult task in organizing information materials in
academic library as it involves using hand to write out the bibliographic
details of the material on the 3 by 5 cards, which makes it slower than using
electronic method in cataloguing information materials. Many libraries in the
world, especially in developed countries have adopted the use of ICT in
carrying out library functions and processes and this has gone a long way to
satisfy the users as they are able to access and use library materials with
ease. But as regards the use of ICT in carrying out library functions in
developing countries, the situation is different even as many university libraries
in Edo state are yet to fully adopt the use of
ICT in cataloguing operations. It is against this background that this study is
set out to investigate the state of manual and electronic cataloguing in Ambrose Alli
University library Ekpoma and University of Benin
library, Benin City
1.3
Objectives
of the study
The
main objectives of this research is to carry out a study on manual and
electronic cataloguing in academic libraries, the specific objectives are:
i.
Find out the state of manual and
electronic cataloguing in both academic libraries.
ii. Determine
the relevance of manual and electronic cataloguing in academic libraries.
iii. Identify
the differences between manual and electronic cataloguing in academic libraries
iv. Investigate
the problems that militate against manual and electronic cataloguing in
academic libraries.
v.
Solutions to the problems facing manual
and electronic cataloguing in academic libraries.
1.4
Research
Questions
The following Research questions will be
used to guide the study.
i.
What is the state of manual and electronic
cataloguing in academic Libraries?
ii.
What is the relevance manual and
electronic cataloguing in academic Libraries?
iii.
What are the differences between manual
and electronic cataloguing?
iv.
What are the problems that militate
against manual and electronic cataloguing?
v.
What are the solutions to the problems
facing manual and electronic cataloguing?
1.5
Scope
of the Study
This study
focuses on manual and electronic cataloguing in Ambrose
Alli University Library Ekpoma and John Harris Library, University of Benin , Benin Ambrose Alli
University and University of Benin
1.6
Significance
of the Study
The study will be useful to all
Librarians particularly those librarians in Ambrose
Alli University
and University of
Benin
Secondly, this will also be useful to
University Management as it will create awareness of the importance of Manual
and Electronic Cataloguing in libraries. Thirdly, researcher and students will
find it useful as it will enrich the library and provide them with research
materials to supplement their studies. Lastly the study will add to the
existing body of literature on the of study of manual and Electronic
Cataloguing in Ambrose Alli University and University of Benin libraries,
thereby serving as a reference point to researchers who are interested in
investigating related problems.
1.7 Limitations of the
Study
During the conduct of this research
work, the researcher encountered problems which affected the quantity and
quality of data collected such as respondent misplacement of questionnaires and
given them new one to fill, ideally I would have love to study all University
in Edo State, but because of time and financial constraints I only study
Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma and University of Benin, Libraries in Edo
State.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
Some technical term used in the course
of the research need clarification through definition for the purpose of good
understanding of this work. These definitions are only limited to the context
of this study
Cataloguer:
A cataloguer is a trained librarian whose primarily responsibility is to
prepare bibliographic records of items acquired by the library, including
bibliographic description, subject analysis and classification. Cataloguer no
longer catalogue books only but also electronic materials like CD ROM.
Cataloguing:
This is the process of creating entries for a catalog in libraries; this
usually includes bibliographic description, subject analysis and assignment of
Classification, notation and all activities involved in physically preparing
the item for the shelf.
Manual Cataloguing:
This is refered to as a hand written subject cards where information has been
created by hand in library and information science.
Electronic
Cataloguing: This refer to as the
process of using bibliographic information to catalog materials through the use
of the computer system and it usually consists of a collection of bibliographic
records in a machine readable format maintained in a Computer database
accessible to other attached Computer such as open access catalog(OPAC)
Librarian:
A librarian is a professionally trained person who is responsible for the care
and management of library and all its content which include the selection,
processing and organization of materials and the delivery of information,
instruction and loan service to meet the needs of its users
Library:
This is refer to as an institution which is charged with the responsibility of
collecting, processing and preserving information materials and such materials
must be arranged in an orderly manner, so that users can retrieve them without
necessarily wasting much energy and time.
Information and communication
technologies (ICTS) are the application of computer and
other technologies towards the acquisition, organization, storage, retrieval
and dissemination of information resources in an organization, such as the
library.
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