Page 44 - DLIS101_LIBRARY_AND_INFORMATION_SOCIETY

Unit 4: Types of Library

The academic libraries have to be managed on the basis of constant introspection at the individual Notes
level and scientific evaluation at the institutional level in this age of knowledge management.
Academic libraries in India are called upon to play a crucial and leading role over other types of
libraries by transforming their information management skills, techniques, practices and resources.
Redefining roles and responsibilities, constructive intervention of the organization leaders in
institution building endeavors, positive involvement of information personnel in delivery system
and constant evaluation of goods and services will make the Indian academic libraries highly
appropriate and resourceful in future.

List of the largest academic libraries

The 10 largest academic libraries in North America by number of volumes, as of 2008-2009:
• 1 Harvard University 16,557,002
• 2 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 12,780,067
• 3 Yale University 12,564,157
• 4 University of Toronto 11,345,102
• 5 University of California, Berkeley 11,026,554
• 6 Columbia University 10,449,223
• 7 University of Texas at Austin 9,853,414
• 8 University of Michigan 9,575,256
• 9 University of California, Los Angeles 9,045,818
• 10 University of Chicago 8,830,151

4.1.3 Special Libraries

A special library is a term for a library that is neither an academic nor school library, nor a public
library. Special libraries include law libraries, news libraries, government libraries, corporate libraries,
museum libraries, and medical libraries and are not usually open to the public for use. Special libraries
are also sometimes known as information centers. They are generally staffed by librarians.
Special libraries often have a more specific clientele than libraries in traditional educational or public
settings, and deal with more specialized kinds of information. They are developed to support the
mission of their sponsoring organization and their collections and services are more targeted and
specific to the needs of their clientele.
Special libraries are “special” in their collection, clientle/users and service. All of them provide
pinpointed, exhaustive and expeditious service to their users. For example, in a research institute’s
library, the scientists may not be having time to visit the library for information gathering. In such
a situation the apt information and not the document should be supplied to the users. Current
Awareness Service [CAS] and Selective Dissemination of Information [SDI] are very common.
Personally, I don’t like this term, because it sounds as though these libraries see themselves as
being superior to those of other types, but that is what we are stuck with!
If you think of “special” having the meaning of “specialist”, you will get closer to the mark. These
are libraries that serve a particular institution that has a specific role to play, and they will therefore
tend to be “one subject” libraries. For example, they could serve a hospital, or a law practice, or an
industrial company. They also vary in size, depending in part on the size of the institution they
serve, but many of these libraries are run by “solos”, that is, librarians working alone or maybe with
only clerical assistance.

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