Harrod's (2000), defined faculty library as an prepared collection of books positioned in a school for using instructors and pupils, but generally for students. It might also include books of reference and or books for domestic analyzing and within the care of a professional librarian, or trainer-librarian. It is variously call "Instructional Materials Center", "Learning Center or Media center."

The School library serves as a carrier corporation which helps the faculties' goals and offers substances for all subjects and all interest of pupils and teachers. Ac Repair Service in Moti Nagar The college library is a supportive useful resource of the college curriculum, its provisions, offerings, and improvement is directed at assisting college programmes (Kinnel, 1994).

Libraries typically have as their most important reason obtaining, processing, storing and disseminating statistics to which school library isn't an exception. The college library has a vital function to play in the statistics provider. They provide materials relevant to the curricular desires of every person with the faculty community. The significance of presenting such assets can not be overemphasized if the faculty library is to be an instigator of and assist for aid primarily based mastering in the school.

Also, in terms of records abilities, the library and its librarian, make to be had substances and services in one of a kind varieties to allow both students and the school community to use these abilties in finding the statistics they want.

The purpose and philosophy of faculty library provider are swiftly being understood and popular with the aid of school administrators and teachers. The reality necessitates that the college librarian be very well familiar with those purposes such as steering, the analyzing programme and the enrichment program me for scholars and instructors. Ac Installation Service in Moti Nagar However, Albert Academy library has no educated and certified librarian, who knows and plays the ones functions so one can ensure that the carrier provision is absolutely attained.

Albert Academy School Library

The Albert Academy turned into inaugurated on the 4th October 1904. It become until 1975 while the Albert Academy Alumni Association in their meeting idea it sensible that this type of legitimate organization ought to not pass without a library as the development of faculty libraries changed into at its highest height at that point. An concept to erect a library constructing became born with the collaboration of the alumni affiliation and the owners of the school that is the United Methodist Church. The library become installed with the intention of having an area wherein students should go and discover new thoughts to in addition make stronger their school curriculum sports and leisure as nicely.

The library was officially opened to the whole faculty network with the aid of His Excellency the past due Dr. Siaka P. Stevens on 4th October 1976, then President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and also a member of the Albert Academy Alumni Association elegance of 1922. The library became named after him following the sizeable contribution he made towards setting up the library for the college community. The Albert Academy Library has a mission to "Support faculty curriculum sports by means of supplying substances of relevance inside the college method and to introduce new and progressed records resources to help make the school to be in step with cutting-edge standards of training."

The goals of the Albert Academy college library are as follows:

I. To provide students with library substances and offerings most suitable and maximum significant in their boom and improvement;

ii. To participate fully in college programmer as it strikes to fulfill the needs of students, teachers, parents and others network individuals;

iii. To stimulate and guide scholars in all phases of their reading that they'll discover growing amusement and pleasure and may grow in vital judgment and appreciation;

iv. To make available new improvement and preserve pupils abreast of modern traits in schooling apprehend reader's desires and keeping them well informed as a way to create a nicely dynamic educational environment;

v. To paintings with the instructor within the selection and manufacturing of instructional substances that meet the goals of the curriculum, offer steering within the use of series, evaluation of training programmes and substances, allows the area, enterprise and maintenance of substances effectively; and

vi. To help pupils to grow to be professional users of libraries and of printed and audio-visible substances.

Library Provision at Albert Academy School Library

A predominant function in the facts service supplied by means of modern-day college library is inside the provision of materials relevant to the curricular needs of pupils and teachers. AC Gas Refilling Service in Patel Nagar In recent years, the curriculum activities have moved to any other degree, where the faculty being supportive resource of this movement, need to undertaking to house a diffusion of print and non-print materials and have get admission to where viable to electronic resources of records which are also part of the statistics assets inside the library.

Given the demands of the current college curriculum, the faculty library should now house a wide kind of print and non-print materials and have get right of entry to, where possible, to digital resources of information. The Albert Academy School provides published materials, e-book, fiction and non-fiction as well as pamphlets, newspapers, chart, pix, monographs, manuals, handbooks, textbooks and other reference books the library additionally presents non-books materials which include audio and audio-visible materials, slides, tape-slides, video cassettes, and CD ROM's. Although these are not materials inside the conventional feel, they still represent assets for use by way of pupils and teachers. Use of electronic sources assist school libraries to provide pupils and instructors with a concept of a School Information Centre which isn't always persevered to the school however is a link to an unending deliver of records (Herring, 1988).

Albert Academy School Library Services

The purpose of organising Albert Academy School Library is to provide services for each pupils and teachers in a bid to satisfy one in every of its principal purposes, Cassette AC Repair Service in Kirti Nagar which is to resource curriculum dreams via offering offerings which might be indispensably related to the achievement of this purpose.

One of the predominant services of the Albert Academy School library is to act as lower back-as much as the under resourced school programme. Even superior international locations can't easily stock substances ranging from 5 thousand (5,000) to twenty thousand (20,000) in a small room to offer assist to highschool programmes. Therefore, they see the need for vital inventory of substances which may be borrowed for differing lengths of time (lending provider) and also for studying and consultation services. This is finished for you to augment the school curriculum on the Albert Academy that is including the Basic Sciences and Technology, Social Sciences, Humanities and the Fine Arts.

Albert Academy School library also offers inter-library mortgage offerings requests. This is specifically precious to senior scholars studying topics throughout subjects offered extensive. Pupils who can't have the funds for to purchase or get right of entry to such luxurious materials advantage from this type of library carrier. Through inter-library mortgage offerings, materials are sourced from different colleges libraries for the benefit of each scholars and teachers.

A reference provider is likewise supplied at Albert Academy School library. The School Librarians spend a massive proportion of their time presenting what in different libraries time period would be termed as reference provider. In supplying a reference provider, faculty Librarians perform a similar function to that of different librarians. Window AC Repair Service in Moti Nagar In a reference interview in school, each student is treated as essential as the opposite and given the Librarian's full interest. This is executed by way of non-public assistance given to the pupils and instructors in finding particular records whether or not direct or indirect. Some of the reference substances at the Albert Academy School Library are dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, yearbooks, biographies newspapers, maps and charts, and the academic and administrative calendar of occasions or the operation of the college.

One of the most precious services supplied by using Albert Academy School library is that of facts provision. The Albert Academy School library continues the academics and pupils knowledgeable about new instructional sources and development in the fields of hobby to them by means of displaying the jackets of books that just arrived. The Albert Academy School library makes use of Current Awareness Services (CAS) to gain this intention. This is completed by figuring out the facts wishes of both instructors and scholars and assembly those wishes. Linked to the CAS is the Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) and this is extra specific with instructors. This degrees from maintaining individual instructors knowledgeable about new assets within the library or about newly published substances, to alerting teachers to meetings and route needs or occasion linked to their curricular hobby.

Challenges of Library Provision and Services on the Albert Academy School Library

No count number what an organisation has to count as achievement, is certain to face certain difficulties that stand earlier than it as demanding situations to its fulfillment. School Libraries in Sierra Leone, specifically Albert Academy School Library aren't with out demanding situations.

To begin with the library and its resources have been not noted through the students and instructors. Despite their all-vital nature of carrier provision in support to them they do not see it as a precious part of their sports. This is due to the fact maximum instructors and pupils do now not get adequate deliver of textbooks and different substances at once linked to the curriculum programme and maximum instructors prepare pamphlets for sale to students from which there coaching is primarily based. This has precipitated most of the pupils to heavily rely upon those resources rather than the library resources.

The School Library has a staffing undertaking. For instance the Albert Academy School Library has no professional library personnel to deal with an information service for over two thousand students and teachers.

Furthermore, the library has a task with space. The area provided for the library from inception is no longer enough for the college. The faculty populace in terms of instructors and scholars has grown pretty high to over thousand (2000) pupils and group of workers in comparison to the gap supplied for a little over Five hundred (500) students and group of workers approximately forty years ago. It has grow to be hard to get admission to the library and its assets.

In addition, there's a investment problem. The Albert Academy School Library is faced with the difficultly of securing funds from the schools government for an effective series improvement. The library depends heavily on donations and presents to inventory its collection and maximum of these substances given in this guise are not reflective of the publications presented within the college curriculum. Often, the school administration has to unfold meager financial assets throughout a extensive spectrum of college desires.

The status quo of the computer laboratory with mild internet facilities unbiased of the school library has additionally created a hassle for the Albert Academy School Library. The instructors and students might opt to go to the Computer centre for Internet services a lot extra that visiting the library. The separation of the Internet centers from the library services has posed a critical risk to the library provision and offerings.

Also, it's far pretty demonstrated that the Albert Academy School Library lacks the potential to provide for the visually impaired or handicapped. The absence of college library materials within the Braille format prevents blind and the in part sighted scholars to make use of the to be had library sources in their faculties libraries.

Final, the issue of renovation of library substances isn't a common exercise for the Albert Academy School. This protection is meant to make sure that the substances ultimate long because of their common use. It has come to be difficult to get entry to finances to maintain substances that are underneath hazard of wearing out through non-stop use.

Despite a few gloomy predictions at the destiny funding of training and viable restrictions at the availability of assets on the Albert Academy School Library, the future of the faculty library seems confident. It may be argued that due to cutting-edge instructional and technological traits, there has never been a more want for nicely-resourced and professionally staffed school library than it's far now. The emphasis on the character's-the child's and the person's-ability to find and use data successfully is possibly to keep in colleges, at work and for spare time activities. A future society dependent on electronic data for its prosperity will need an facts curriculum in its colleges. Hence the supply of good school library provision and services inside the school curriculum cannot be overemphasised (Kargbo, 2000).

Reference Services in Academic Libraries in Sierra Leone

Society is turning into greater stratified and polarized, with the wealthy and the poor, the knowledgeable and uneducated, having restrained cognitive capabilities wider aside than in any time in our records. In this period of increasing stratification by using income and potential, the library in instructional institutions may acts as a bridge among the entrenched social poles.

Reference libraries have the longest records of any type of library. They existed within the days of clay tablet and from such drugs, records changed into consulted and a listing of issues is being appeared as the primitive forerunners of modern library catalogues. From their beginnings in historical instances, the capabilities of libraries have now not altered notably. However the layout, quantity and content material of the substances making up their stock and the ensuing services have gradually been converted to the factor wherein the researchers today have get entry to to a network of sophisticated records resources. The number one role of the library is academic and this has been the attitude if now not the realisation of reference librarians (Higgens, 1988).

Academic libraries are those designed to satisfy preferred research at the undergraduate and graduate degrees and which additionally assist their figure establishments in turning in their programmes for an effective teaching and implementation of realistic talents. Higgens (1988) defined an educational library as that attached to assist educational establishments above secondary degree serving the coaching and research desires of students, body of workers and researchers. According to Harrods (2000) academic libraries are those observed in universities, polytechnics, schools and all other establishments forming a part of or related to the instructional establishments.

Reference Services at the Fourah Bay College Library

Fourah Bay College library became installed in 1827. It is positioned at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone inside the Michael Jollife Building which was named after the late Mr. Michael Jollife, an expatriate who served as College librarian from 1961-1970.

The first floor of the library homes the reception table; photocopying room; problem table; Sierra Leone Collection (incorporating the United Nations Collection); the American Shelf; General Reference Collection; Cataloguing Department; Acquisition Department; Circulation Department and the College Librarian's office. The second ground holds the Textbook Collection. The 1/3 floor carries the General Lending Collection.

The decrease ground ground homes the Bindery; body of workers rooms and shops. The library has Professional, Para-professional and other assist group of workers. It uses the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme and the Triplicate Issuing System with Card catalogue.

Fourah Bay College library is one of the excellent academic libraries in Sierra Leone set up with the undertaking announcement "to build a comprehensive collection of recorded information to assist powerful teaching, studies and education in the Liberal Arts, Pure and Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Social Sciences and Law and related fields to facilitate fast get admission to to data, and to optimize using series via potential library users of Fourah Bay College and other institutions."

Reference Service is the height of library interest job. It includes the upkeep of a useful resource financial institution from which answers to queries are provided and materials needed by means of customers are made to be had.Davidson (1979) defined reference service because the provision of facts and substances to human beings entering a reference library and requesting assist from the library team of workers. Katz (1997) regarded reference service because the in the back of-the-scene activities of the reference library within the selection, acquisition and preservation of the library stock and its careful recordings and administration.

When we talk of reference carrier in instructional libraries, we suggest the ones activities undertaken by way of librarians and related types of workforce from the reference branch in academic libraries. This is carried out via the usage of collection of books, and different substances stocked inside the reference department for reference purposes awesome from series made for home analyzing or other use outside the library. The reference method in educational libraries includes the following:

• The consumer recognises his want for information;
• The consumer puts his question to the librarian;
• The librarian engages the questioner in a reference dialogue;
• The librarian refines and restates the question;
• The librarian formulates the search approach;
• The librarian identifies and exploits his very own and/or outside facts resources;
• The librarian gives his tentative findings;
• The consumer assesses the relevance of those on the subject of his necessities; and
• The user accepts an authorised answer.

Reference materials on the Fourah Bay College Library encompass:dictionaries, encyclopedias, summary journals, directories, yearbooks, biographies periodicals/serials, indexes to periodicals, newspapers, maps and charts, technical reviews, patents, fashionable specs, dissertations, theses, conference complaints and the instructional and administrative calendar of activities or the operation of the university.

In addition to these substances the library gives the following offerings:

Reference Service: This refers to the non-public help given to customers in finding specific statistics whether direct or indirect. At Fourah Bay College Library, a resource bank is maintained from which answers to questions are furnished and materials wanted via users are made to be had.

Bibliographic Service: The library prepares e book lists and bibliographies for its customers, specifically publish-graduate college students which serve as a terrific aid in their research sports mainly inside the writing in their theses and dissertation.

Photocopying Service: This provider is furnished for students who wish to photocopy their notes in addition to academics who want to breed a couple of copies of beneficial materials to make their lecture notes. Users pay a charge for this service.

Internet Service: This is the present day a number of the offerings supplied on the Fourah Bay College Library. The Library provides an opportunity for personnel and students to get entry to facts on line thru the usage of the Internet. However, to use the system, the clientele have to have a few talents inside the use computer systems and a price is likewise charged for the service.

Binding Service: Mutilated references substances are despatched to bindery to be bound. However it is not a free for all provider as some fee is charged for the services rendered mainly to college students and for personal work of team of workers members.

The reference department at the Fourah Bay College library is a special one from which substances can't be borrowed for home analyzing. It is served through unique librarians known as Reference Librarians or Information Officers, who help and advise customers of their research and different literature wishes. They provide bibliographic or highbrow get right of entry to and provide centered offerings and programmes with the mission of educating, informing and interesting an expansion of audiences and the goal of stimulating individual mastering and advancing society as a whole.

Reference Queries:are also answered within the library. These questions posed through the library shoppers to the reference librarians with the intention of getting the right facts to meet their desires. These queries are divided into:

Directional Queries: These are queries wherein the reference librarian is asked in reality for guidelines.

Ready Reference Queries: These are known as short reference questions. They are queries wherein the reference librarians need to consult only one source, and that adjacent to the enquiry factor, with a view to address the user's wishes. This is distinguished from the in basic terms directional stage of work by the reality that the librarians need to seek advice from some facts in place of clearly answer from personal expertise.

Specific Search Queries: These are described as those wherein reference librarians might also want to consult numerous resources to ensure entire the delight of consumer desires. They are the type that are really understood without too much discussion and the sources required are obvious and pretty essential.

Research Queries: These are queries that require prolonged searches, possibly over numerous days and possibly regarding a number of library team of workers simultaneously. The marshalling of data and figures from a extensive range of resources, collectively with the want to put in writing enormous heritage notes and reasons, and likely to borrow substances from different libraries and make a smartphone name to recommendation or getting assistance from other libraries could be a characteristic of this kind of question

Challenges of Reference Services at the Fourah Bay College Library

Academic Libraries in Sierra Leone, specifically Fourah Bay College Library aren't with out demanding situations. These range from scarcity of finances through loss of ok professionally professional workforce to erratic strength supply.

The library is thoroughly and totally structured upon the college management for investment. An evaluation of funding at Fourah Bay College Library exhibits that a totally low priority is given to the institution's educational nerve centre. The library is gravely underfunded. Games and Sports Division is given a higher quotation than the library. This monetary challenge has therefore confined the library within the provision of an awesome reference provider to its clients. The library also lacks the desired cutting-edge reference substances to address reference queries. This monetary constraints has restrained the library in acquiring the most current reference materials.

Further the number of professional team of workers is small in comparison to the range of para-professional and other aid workforce. The reference phase does no longer have adequate body of workers to deal with the volume of reference queries from the majority of the customers of the library in particular for the duration of top intervals.

Power outages additionally pose a extreme undertaking. The problem, though a national one, has affected the operations of the library. The twenty first century library is meant to be a virtual library which should thrive on energy supply. Sadly strength supply in Sierra Leone is erratic and this has handicapped the Fourah Bay College library substantially. As such team of workers and customers could not employ such facilities as laptop, searching the Internet for latest reference materials and statistics or photocopying materials which can not be used outdoor the library or actually have get admission to to automated reference materials.

The reference department on the library does no longer have Internet facilities to resource in answering reference queries that require modern-day reaction. Also the seating accommodation within the reference department at the library is insufficient and can't accommodate the large number of college students in the university who come in for reference offerings. The reference department also lacks Current Awareness Services (CAS), Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) all of which shape the basis for reference offerings. Moreover the reference sources and assets to be had at the reference branch are not well publicised or marketed which can serve as a strong hyperlink between the branch and the clients.

Indeed, reference provider is one of the most essential services that a library uses to satisfy its goals and targets. There is widespread ability in the use the university library of reference offerings however there also are many challenges. There have to be therefore dedication at the a part of the librarians, library administration, customers and the university administration which will attain first-rate and sustainability inside the development and improvement of reference offerings.