Page 249 - DLIS002_KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION CLASSIFICATION AND CATALOGUING THEORY

Knowledge Organization: Classification and Cataloguing Theory

Notes The gradual spread of the concept of democracy of socialist pattern of society, the extension of
education, the intensification of research activities, the rapid increase in the production of recorded
knowledge both in print and non-print forms, and vast innovations in information and
communication technology have led to the expression of libraries, information centres and
systems as well as development of their services.”
Libraries of government departments provide information to policymakers, to government
staff and employees and, sometimes, to the general public.

Did u know? It is essential that libraries of government departments are organised and
managed so as to collect and provide the information most needed by government decision
makers, government workers, and the public at large.

Libraries of Government Departments are any libraries that are established and fully supported
by government to serve government. (While their primary audience is government, the actual
audience served may be broader than government.) Under this definition a public or university
library, though it might have been created by government or provide services to government
employees or the public, would not be defined as a “government library” because the primary
audience would not be defined as a government department but the general public or the
student and faculty population.
These libraries have a key role to play in their organisations and should be at their core.
They may also have an important role to play in a country’s national information structure.
The primary function of government libraries is to serve government at different levels by
making available all kinds of information published by government and non-government
bodies and individuals. Their clientele are elected representatives, ministers, administrators,
scientists and other specialists, researchers, and, in some cases, the general public. The number
of libraries may be considerable, and they can differ widely in size and scope. Libraries have a
responsibility to contribute to and support the goals of the parent organisation and to support
the basic functions of their parent bodies such as: the formulation of programmes and policies;
administrative and regulatory actions; advisory functions; and research programmes.

Management tasks for government libraries are not very different from the management tasks
for other libraries. Many government libraries are small, and they work within a larger
organisation. The strategic direction of the library is set by the government organisation, and
the customers are defined by the organisation. Most government libraries will serve the staff of
the organisation, although some government libraries will also work directly for the public.
In this information age, there are always improvements to be considered about the provision of
library services. There are a number of ways for staff to keep up with trends by reading library
journals or articles on the internet, attending conferences and other professional events, or
visiting other libraries to see what they are doing. This benchmarking process allows staff to
borrow ideas from other organisations and see what has worked well for other libraries. Ideas
may also be borrowed from other industries outside the library and information sector. Making
better use of technology is a good way to make library services more effective and to allow for
the provision of services to more customers at a reduced cost.
The lifespan of different governments will vary and departmental priorities can change radically
along with the underlying philosophy of the political party or regime in power. Government
libraries are long term entities and must, by their very nature, span many shifts in power. The
major problem is that government libraries thus compete for limited resources with many
other shorter term pressing issues in a department. Building alliances with core users is, therefore,
critical to the success and indeed the survival of the library. Key to building these alliances is the
identification and fulfilment of the needs of users. Many government libraries were created

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