Page 45 - DLIS101_LIBRARY_AND_INFORMATION_SOCIETY

Library and Information Society

Notes Special librarians have become adept at “reading the runes” of the environment in which their
business operates, and scan information sources to find material that they know will be of interest
to the people working in their company (etc). They also need to be on top of all the information
technology that is available to them, and at ways of collecting and presenting information that will
save the time of busy people. They may also organize the institution’s own information resources in
ways that best suit local needs, maybe through a company intranet. The title “librarian” has been
questioned in some quarters, and many people in this sector prefer to be known as “information
scientists”.
The threats to this sector of librarianship are obvious, especially where company bottom lines take
priority over virtually everything else. It is not easy to gauge the true value of a library to a business,
and, to many accountants, anything that cannot be valued in purely monetary terms has no value.
I was myself the victim of this sort of thinking, as I had to watch the library system (of four libraries)
that I managed for a major UK industrial company being dismantled bit by bit, and eventually
disappearing altogether, taking me with it.

Libraries can be divided into categories by several methods

By the entity (institution, municipality, or corporate body) that supports or perpetuates them
• academic libraries
• corporate libraries
• government libraries, such as national libraries
• historical society libraries
• private libraries
• public libraries
• school libraries
• special libraries

By the type of documents or materials they hold
• data libraries

• digital libraries
• map libraries or collections
• picture (photograph) libraries
• slide libraries
• tool libraries
By the subject matter of documents they hold
• architecture libraries
• fine arts libraries
• law libraries
• medical libraries
• aquatic science libraries
• theological libraries
By the users they serve
• military communities

40 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY