Page 14 - DLIS007_LIBRARY AUTOMATION

Unit 1: Library Automation: An Overview

optimal use of automation, a number of conditions must be fulfilled. For most is a profound Notes
understanding of the new tool and a fresh look at what the information process is all about - it
does not seem to be about books, after all, even if books may always be there. Among the other
conditions is a restructuring of libraries to make a better framework for an information service
which fully exploits the potential of the new information technology.
We need library automation for the following reasons:
To cope with increasing demands for services in terms of frequency and speed
To reduce staff or prevent staff increases
To improve the efficiency of the clerical and paraprofessional staff
To provide new forms of old services (electronic access)

To improve access to existing services (remote login, etc.)
To provide new (increasingly digital) information services
Document delivery very fast, frequently online

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
4. The library …………………… to the collection forms the base for most of the library
activities.
5. Automation can …………………… staff productivity.
6. The cost of automation can be broken into …………………… categories.

1.3 Library Automation Process

The main steps in the process of library automation are:

Step 1: Preparing for Automation

Preparing for an automated library system needs system evaluation and planning before
implementation.
Appraisal of Current Status: Statistics regarding total number of stock, accession of
materials, daily issue and return, time taken for routine activities, services given, its
effectiveness, etc. were studied to find a true picture of the current status of the library and
identified the problems facing by the users.

Need Assessment: Routine library activities such as issue and return of the books take a
lion’s share of the total time of the library. The librarians were not getting enough time to
do added services. So, for acquiring required time for a functional library, automation
was necessary. Control over the stock was not adequate. Annual stock verification and
generation of monthly library statistics were not up to the standards. An automated
system will make the things better. Finding a book from the stack room was time taken.
There were no standard classifications or cataloguing schemes. Books were arranged
unscientifically. Card catalogues were absent and the users had to go through all the
collection to find the wanted one. There was no system to find whether the book was
present, issued, if yes, to whom it was issued or when will it return.
Cost Evaluation: The cost contained in every library activity was higher in the case of a
manual system. The human cost was many times greater than an automated environment.

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