Page 90 - DLIS104_MANAGEMENT OF LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION CENTRES

Unit 14: Library Building and Equipments

14.1 Planning Notes

The Central Library is one of the central support services of IIT Madras which caters to the
information needs of over 6200 members comprising faculty, students, staff, industrial associates,
self financial colleges, corporate, alumni, retired faculty and research scholars from different parts
of the country. It is the first major library of India which has implemented ISO-9001:2000 standard
in the library system, services, procedures and measuring the customer’s satisfaction. The Central
Library is well equipped with all modern facilities, international library management software
and rich information resources in the forms of CD-ROMs, on-line databases, e-journals, e-books,
e-standards, e-patents and various other printed information materials on Applied Science,
Engineering, Technology, Humanities, Management, Social Science and other new emerging areas.
The Central Library holds 4,04,446 collections, 1208 current journals, catering to the information
needs of 6,242 members through providing various value added services with the help of modern
information handling tools and techniques.

14.2 Responsibilities

Cultivating the public’s awareness of the need to treat library materials with careful handling may
be one of the most difficult tasks faced by library personnel. Everyone approaches the library with
a personal need and usually behaves in a way that satisfies that need. So if that need is the
photocopying of several pages, for example, that person is probably not concerned with possible
damage that might be done to the binding. Similarly, if highlighting aids the student in reviewing
or summarizing content, or if earing takes less effort than using a bookmark, or if a patron finds
it easier to tear a recipe out of the magazine than to copy it, that person will often follow the course
that is easiest and most personally beneficial. It is a tough problem for the librarian to solve
because it is an attitudinal problem.

14.3 Education of Library Staff
Respect for community property needs to begin with library staff members who see the places
where they work as public trusts, not as library. They teach both directly and by example, how to
use and how to handle materials with respect. A library administration and staff member is the
key to successful preservation education for library staff and users. The administration must
actively support the importance of preservation education for the staff, such as allowing release
time for training, funding for proper book repair materials, and improved containers for interlibrary
loans or branch-to-branch transport. Library staff must learn new ways of working and must be
educated to the extent that they buy into the library’s preservation effort and choose to participate.

Caution When considering preservation education, one must think of the entire library
environment, from its physical appearance and comfort level to its public services
and collections.
Explaining to users from a preservation standpoint, why the temperature is set cooler, why the air
circulation is strong, why the blinds are pulled down on sunny windows shows in a visible way
that the library staff and administration take action to care for the collections. Likewise, instructional
graphics over photocopy machines can visually show the kindest and gentlest way to copy books.
“No food/drink” posters can depict the damage done by spills on library materials and the lure of
food in the building for insects and rodents. The community of customers can relate to all of these
examples when they are presented positively and supported by further explanation by informed
staff members.

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