Annals of Library Science and Documentation 47, 4; 2000 ...nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/17928/1... · Basic Degree with Diploma in Lib. Sci. 02 01 03 2 Basic Degree with

Annals of Library Science and Documentation 47, 4; 2000; 131-140.

PROFILE OF FIRST GRADE COLLEGE LIBRARIES IN KARNATAKA

B U Kannappanavar Librarian Sahyadri Arts College Shimoga - 577203

A survey of the First Grade College libraries in the State of Ka rna taka has been carried out. The 720 colleges in the State have been categorised into four kinds, viz. aided, government, constituent and unaided colleges. Various aspects of the 370 libraries in these colleges such as qualifications of librarian , library staff, working hours, classification schemes used, lending, references services, library building facilities, etc. , have been profiled. Concludes that the present status of college libraries in Karanataka is far from satisfactory owing to inadequate funds and staff.

INTRODUCTION

Books and libraries serve as treasures and fountains of knowledge especially in the realm of higher education. Education in higher level is no longer solely teacher oriented . A good library is a prime requirement of a college in the fulfillment of its objectives of dissemination of knowledge. A great teacher certainly influences library consciousness in the minds of his students . Adequate library facilities become imperative for student to go beyond the class room lectures and graze in the wide and bountiful pastures of written records in libraries. The college libraries act as power transformers .

Library is essentially a service institution . The traditional function of library services involves a variety of activities on the part of the library. To achieve its goal and realise its policies, a library undertakes different kinds of services. The college routine works can broadly be studied under two heads, i.e. work beyond the scene and work with readers. Libraries have to accept, to a large extent,

Vol 47 No 4 December 2000

C G Mathad Selection Grade Librarian Sahyadri Science College Shimoga - 577203

the basic objectives of their institution which are best considered under the traditional heading of teaching and research. Promotion and public relations are to be considered as the focus for communicating to the user community.

The main objective of this study is to understand how far the existing facilities of the college libraries are helping their users . Looking at the data supplied by all the colleges, it appears that the overall performance of college libraries is far from satisfactory. Many aspects of academic librarianship have to be imbibed in all these college libraries from the view of management , staff , services, finance etc. The overall picture of college libraries in the state is discouraging and it can be noticed that last preference is accorded by the authorities concerned for their development.

A survey of First Grade college libraries in the State of Karnataka provides the profile of distribution as given in Table 1. It is, in other words , a record of growth of different categories of colleges before 1920 to the present period under the study. A sample of 370 college libraries belonging to various categories was studied in depth .

CHRONOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

There are 720 colleges in Karnataka State which are run by Government, Universities and private organisations to cater to the diversifed educational needs of the population of the State. Only 25 colleges were functioning before independence. After independence the government had given more importance to education and also private organizations took interest in promoting knowledge

131

B U KANNAPPANAVAR and C G MATHAD

Table 1

Year of establishment of colleges in Karnataka

Year of No of Colleges establishment

- Aided Government Constituent unaided Total

Before 1920 01 01 1921-30 01 01 1931 -40 02 02 1941-50 15 06 1951 -60 13 02 1961 -70 110 08 1971-80 75 17 1981-90 72 62 1991 onwards - 40

Total 289 139

by establishing private colleges. After independence and before the establishment of Department of C,." Jeiate Education, the growth of colleges was very slow. During th is period 25 colleges were started . Subsequently, 120 colleges during the period 1961-70, 94 colleges during 1971-80, 171 colleges during 1981 ·:)0 and 1991 onwards 284 colleges were established by various organizations.

,.

03 -- OS 01 - - 03 02 -- 06 01 - - 22 - -- 15 - 02 120 - 02 94 01 36 171 - 244 284

08 284 720

COURSES OFFERED

A glance at Table 2 reaveals that out of 370 colleges, 79% are offering multifaculty courses like, BA and BSc, BA and BCom, BA, BCom and BSc etc. Whereas the rest of 21 % of the colleges are offering single faculty courses like BA, BSc, BCom etc .

Table 2

Oegree course offered by 370 colleges

Course Aided Govt Constituent Unaided Total

BA 14 14 - 09 31 B Sc 10 08 03 02 23 BCom 13 01 - 02 16 BA & BCom 76 57 03 08 144 BA & BSc 14 02 - 02 18 BA, BSc & BCom 105 20 01 01 127 BSc & BCom 01 - . - - 01 BCom & Manag 01 01 - 02 04

Total 234 103 07 26 370

132 Ann Lib Sci Doc


STUDENT STRENGTH

Table 3 shows that the enrollment of students is varying in nature. A total of 252(68.11 %) colleges have enrolled less than 1000 students followed by 98(26.49%) colleges enrolling students rang ing from 1001-2000, 15(4.05%) colleges ranging from 2001-3000 and 5(1.35%) colleges enrolled more than 3000 students respectively.

LIBRARY PERSONNEL

The ult imate objective of a library is to provide maximum service to its clientele. Library personnel constitute an important component of the library trinity, besides books and users. Being at the core of a college, libraries have an important role to play in the dissemination programmes of all kinds .

The present day librarianship is a high ly complex profession requ iring a thorough scholarly and technical knowledge. The varied and complicated services of a modern college library need to be organized and controlled by a competent person with expertise , having a sound knowledge of the tools and techniques of the library profession .

The college librarian occupies a pivotal position in the college. He/She works as an intermediary between the readers and the library and correlates and organ izes the various academic programmes and services of the college . The librarian who admin isters the college library is responsible for carrying out the policy decision of the governing body/library committee . As a head of the college library he/she must be fully familiar with the different facets of modern librarianship.

Table 3

Student Strength

No. of Students Aided Government

Less then 1000 146 80 1001 -2000 71 20 2001-3000 13 02 3001 & Above 04 01

Total 234 103 1

QUALIFICATIONS OF LIBRARIANS

The qualifications of the librarians are given in Table 4. Which reveals that 29.46% of the college librarians are having basic degree with degree in library science. 18.38% of the college librarians are possesing a Masters degree in a subject other then library science with bachelors degree in library sc ience. 49.46% of the college l i ~ ra r i a n s are


Constituent Unaided Total 0/0

- 26 252 68.11 07 - 98 26.49

- - 15 4.05 - - 05 1.35

07 26 370 100.00

having Masters degree in library science. Only one college librarian is possesing PhD degree in library science, and one librarian is possesing PhD in a subject other than library science.

As far as the strength of the staff is concerned, the situation is not satisfactory. In many colleges only one qualified librarian and a few other staff members are working in the libraries.

133

•


Table 4

Qualifications of Librarians

Sl.no. Qual ifications Aided Government Constituent Unaided Total

Basic Degree with Diploma in Lib . Sci. 02 01 03

2 Basic Degree with Degree in Lib. Sci . 72 26 08 106

3 Masters Degree with Degree in Lib . Sci . 53 11 03 01 68

4 Masters Degree in Library Science 128 40 03 10 181

5 PhD in Lib. Sci. 01 01

6 PhD in other then Lib. Sci . 01 01

Total 256 78 15 11 360*

' Detai ls from the rest not available

Here an attempt was made to seek information on adequacy of library sta"H. Table 5 reveals that 22% of the colleges are having adequate staff whereas 78% of the colleges have inadequate library staff. The response to the question "Number of library staff required" is presented in Table 6.

From the study it appears that 71 college libraries require two assistants followed by 69 colleges req uiring 3, 36 colleges 4, 18 colleges 5, 17 colleges 6 and 76 colleges requiring 7 and more assistants respectively.

Table 5

Adequacy of Libra'Y Staff

Adequacy Aided Govt. Constituent Unaided Total %

Yes 66 04 02 11 83 22 No 168 99 05 15 287 78

Total 234 103 07 26 370 100%

134 A nn Lib Sc i Doc


Table 6

Number of Library Staff Required

No. of Staff Aided Govt. Required

02 23 36 03 29 35 04 20 15 05 11 05 06 16 01 7 & More 69 07

Total 168 99

WORKING HOURS

The opening hours of the library have effect on the services of any library. It is usually found that college libraries are kept open about 12 hours a day. It is obvious that the longer the working hours of the library, the greater shall be the use.

In practice, the position of working hours of the libraries varies from library to library, depending

Constituent Unaided Total

12 71 03 02 69

01 36 02 18

17 76

05 15 287

upon working hours of the parent institution and availability of staff in the library. The distribution of data on working hours of the libraries received from respondents is presented in Table 7. The study reveals that the working hours of the college libraries vary in nature as 49% of college libraries are kept open for 7 hours, where as 12% are open for 8 hours, 31 % of college libraries for 6 and 2 college libraries were open for 12 hours per day respectively.

Table 7

Working Hours of the College Libraries

Sl.no. Working hours Aided Govt. Constituent Unaided Total 0/0

1. 5 Hours 14 08 07 29 7.84 2. 6 Hours 69 39 07 115 31.08 3. 7 Hours 121 50 05 05 181 48.92 4. 8 Hours 30 06 07 43 11 .62 5. 12 Hours 02 02 0.54

Total 234 103 07 26 370 100.00

Vol 47 No 4 December 2000 135


TECHNICAL SERVICES

Classification

Classification is supposed to be the most important among the different technical services carried out in the college library as class ification aims at

br inging order out of chaos and arranging documents in a helpful sequence. Table 8 reveals that in 32.70% of colleges , Colon Classification and Dewey Decimal Class ification each was followed and 34.6% colleges did not furnish the requi red information.

Table 8

Classification Schemes Adopted

Schemes Aided Govt. Constituent Unaided Total %

CC 102 14 03 02 121 32.70 DOC 92 22 04 03 121 32.70 Not Furn ished 40 67 21 128 34.60

Total 234 103 07 26 370 100.00

CATALOGUING

Catalogue is the record of holdings of a library and is a guide to the identification and location of each item on the shelves. So the library catalogues are

to be kept upto date. Table 9 reveals that 30% of the colleges under the survey foll owed CCC whereas 23% of the colleges followed AACR II . Rest of the co lleges have not fu rn ished the information.

Table 9

Catalogue Code Used

• Code Aided Govt . Constituent Unaided Total %

CCC 90 16 03 02 111 30 AACR 67 12 04 01 84 23 Not 77 75 23 175 47 Furnished

Total 234 103 07 26 370 100

136 Ann Lib Sci Doc


READER SERVICES

Lending

Each college library lends books to its readers for home reading and references , as it facilitate their conven ient use. Similarly each college library borrows books, for its readers from other libraries on inter-library loan . Thus the circulation of books and other read ing materials is a basic function of the college library. A good librarian is one that wants to see his book shelves empty, which means that the library is used to the maximum . The packed library stacks are not an indication of the

activeness of a library, but the semiful or empty stacks are a result of good reading habits of readers are the true indication of the usefulness of a library.

Almost all college libraries in Karnataka are providing readers services especially lending of books. But the number and the loan period varies from one college to another depending upon the circumstances , resources, staff etc . Table 10 reveals that students in 74 colleges (20%) got one book, followed by 225 (61 %) colleges that issued two books and 71 (19%) colleges issuing 3 and more books at a time to students respectively.

Table 10

Number of Books Issued to Students

No. of Book Aided Govt. Constituent Unaided Total 0/0

Issued

01 43 14 17 74 20 02 147 64 07 07 225 61 3 & More 44 25 02 71 19

Total 234 103 07 26 370 100

Period of Lending Books to Students majority of the colleges were lending books for 15 days, followed by 131 colleges for 7 days, 12 colleges for 10 days, 5 colleges for 30 days and 7 colleges for one academic year respectively.

The period of lending is also varying in nature from college to college . The Table 11 reveals that

Table 11

Period of lending Books to Students

Period Aided Govt. Constituent Unaided

7 Days 88 23 20 10 Days 06 02 04 15 Days 132 76 07 30 Days 03 02 One academic Year 05 02

Total 234 103 07 26


Total 0/0

131 35.41 12 3.24

215 58.11 05 1.35

07 1.87

370 100.00

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Reference and Information Services

The complexity of document, the qualitative and quantitative growth of the published literature, classified arrangement of materials in libraries, the open access system, language barrier, the necessity of saving the readers ' time etc. have neccesitated the libraries to provide reference services. The reference section is the heart of the library and it is around this department that many other library activities revolve.

Information plays a vital role in improving eductaional standard in research effects. Information also plays a key role in decision making

in industries and government. In the begining it was thought that information service was sole domain of special libraries. Gradually, the concept is spreading to college and university libraries also. The enormous development in indexing and abstracting services and the more recent and even more rapid development of computer based information services has forced the college libraries to take the responsibility of providing information services. Table 12 reveals that 60% of the colleges studied have unde rtaken the reference and information services to their users. Remaining colleges are yet to undertake such programmes.

Table 12

Reference and Information Service

Refllnf.SerV ~_ Aided Govt.

Yes 153 55 No 50 48

Not Furnished 31 • Total 234 103

Inter Library Loan

Acquisition be ing uneconomic , cumbersome, costly and diff icult has necessiated inter library loans. It has come to stay in the library world and is a necessary future of modern library activities in the form of library networks. It includes borrowing and lending books between libraries, providing photocopies of articles, books and permitting faculty and students from one college to use the library of other. Present day modern technologies are being employed and now libraries prefer to loan

• reprographed documents instead of original ones and equipments , which transfer the telefascimile

138


07 06 221 59.77 15 113 30.54

05 36 9.73

07 26 370 100.00

image of the documents in use. It has been realised by all that library co-operation through inter library loan has become an economically feasible way to improve traditional library services, a pattern which emphasizes the importance of improved access to a growing number of library materia ~s .

From the study it is revealel that (Table 13) there is no co-ordination as such in 87% of the college libraries in the State. Because of this fact , majority of the college libraries failed to adopt the inter library loan service in their libraries. The important hurdle for this service is inadequacy of Union Catalogues and co-operation among the college libraries.

A nn Lib Sc i Doc


Table 13

Inter Library Loan

Inter Lib .Loan Aided Govt.

Yes 34 07

No 200 96

Total 234 103

LIBRARY COMMITTEE

In all the colleges , responsibility for the maintenance and development of library, framing the rules for its governance, as well as making recommendation on its finance is vested in a committee , usually called library committee. This committee is supposed to share the responsibilities of the librarian and to advise the librarian in policy matters. In practice, the librarian has the executive responsibility for the day to day management of


07 48 12.97

26 322 87.03

07 26 370 100.00

the library, whereas overall policy is controlled by college library committee .

Table 14 reveals that 51 % of the colleges have constituted library committee for their day to day activities. In majority of the colleges , the librarian is working as a secretary to the library committee . The main function of the committee is to frame the rules , execute the work, administering the library etc.

Table 14

Library Committee

Lib.Committee Aided Govt.

Yes 139 33 No 95 70

Total 234 103

LIBRARY BUILDING

Library buildings house library collections of various kinds, chiefly books and other reading materials, take care of seating arrangements and other facilities for library users. Space should be give for library staff that acquires , classifies, catalogues and services the library collection and some extra space which can be assigned for other purposes later on . The growth of higher education in the country has led to the remarkable



07 08 187 51 18 183 49

07 26 370 100

development of academic libraries and among them college libraries are growing at a steady and continuous space.

Table 15 reveals that 41 % of college libraries are working in their own building, whereas 44% of the colleges are working in class rooms and remaining colleges are working in some halls or part of the college buildings . This shows that majority of the college library authorities do not show their concern for the library buildings.

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Table 15

Library Building Facilities

Library Housed in Aided Govt.

Separate Building 128 18 Class Room 81 71 Part of the College

Building 05 05 Big Hall 20 09

Total 234 103

CONCLUSION

The present situation in college libraries in Karnataka is far from satisfactory. This is mainly due to inadequete financial provisions to the college libraries. The concerned authorities and government should understand that the college library is the heart - ' . Ie educational institution and it plays a vital role in the overall development of the college in general and education and research in particular. So the authorities should provide adequete finances to improve the collection , furniture. building , services etc . There is inadequefe library staff also. In order to provide effective services to the users it require adequate number of staff. With a minimum staff we cannot expect more services, so the concerned authorities should take necessary steps to appoint required qualified staff to function effectively, then only we expect good results from the college libraries in near future .

140

Consti uent Unaided Total %

04 150 41 01 09 162 44

02 06 18 05 11 40 10

07 26 370 100

REFEBENCES

1. RANGNANATHAN (SR). Five laws of library science. 2nd ed.1957. Bombay; Asia.

2. BISHOP (WW). Theory of reference Work. Bull of Amer Lib Asson. 9; 1955.

3. KAULA (PN). Library build ing: Plann ing and deSign. 1971 .New Delhi ; Vikas .

4. TEJOMURTHY (A) . Studies in academic librarianship. 1987. Jaipur; Printer.

5. SAHAI (SN). Academic library system. 1990. New Delhi ; Allied .

6. SEWA SINGH: Hand book of college libraries. 1995. New Delhi; Beacon.

Ann Lib Sci Doc

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Annals of Library Science and Documentation 47, 4; 2000 ...nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/17928/1... · Basic Degree with Diploma in Lib. Sci. 02 01 03 2 Basic Degree with