Page 206 - DLIS007_LIBRARY AUTOMATION

Unit 10: Library Automation in Periodicals Section

Library Housekeeping Operations Notes
A library will have to perform minimum number of basic operations. There operations
are conventionally referred to as “Housekeeping operations”.
The basic modules of automated system are:
1. Acquisition

2. Circulation
3. Cataloguing

4. Serial control
5. OPAC
Acquisition

The purpose of acquisition is to manage and control the expenditure of funds for materials
that meet the collection development criteria of the library and the needs of its clientele.
This means that acquisition process must be accurate, efficient and responsive to the
demands of library users.

Circulation Module
In libraries the circulation system conventionally managed consists of charges, discharges,
overdue control, reservation, renewal and appropriate records maintenance. These
operations are quite amenable to automation. An automated circulation system acts as in
interface between the user and the information system with other backup services like
acquisition, cataloguing serial control and housekeeping chores. The circulation module
performs the task, involved in the circulation function, such as material check-in, check-
out, inventory, overdue notices, holds, and reserves, fines, and statistical reports. The use
of technological devices such as computers, barcode, scanners and its software in circulation
helps in performing these routine operators easily and quickly.

Cataloguing Module
One of the major tasks in libraries is cataloguing In manual cataloguing say card catalogue
requires multiple entries author, title,subject series, etc. This means repetitive work. The
module performs various cataloguing tasks such as original cataloguing using the Machine
Readable Catalogue (MARC) protocol, editing, copying, saving and retrieving catalogues
records. When a record is saved in the cataloguing database, the record automatically
appears in the OPAC, and a brief copy of the record is also generated automatically for the
circulation module.

Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)
Module because cataloguing module is the OPAC is what users consult to find and retrieve
information of interest. Generally, the OPAC is equivalent to the card catalogue, but it
provides advanced search features. The OPAC function allows searching by author, title,
subject or keyword; search using Boolean operators [AND, RO, NOT] hyperlink searching,
wild character searching and combined search strategy options. The OPAC module is the
only one that is inseparable from cataloguing. A library cannot have the OPAC without
the cataloguing heart of the automated systems.

Contd...

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