A Survey Of Library Automation In College Libraries In Goa State ...
Library Philosophy and Practice 2008
ISSN 1522-0222
A Survey of Library Automation in College Libraries in Goa State,
India
Sadanand Y. Bansode
Lecturer
Miss. Shamin Periera
Researcher
Department of Library and Information Science
Shivaji University, Kolhapur
416004 Maharashtra India
Introduction
We live in an information age, and libraries are expected to use Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) to provide information more expeditiously and exhaustively than before.
Computerization of library “housekeeping” operations is an important activity in this context. “Automation,”
when used in a library or similar environment, refers to the computerization or mechanization of activities
(Kumar, 1987; Harinarayana, 1991)
Background to the Study
Goa University is the sole university in the Goa state, and is located in Taleigao. There are three
engineering colleges and one medical college in the state. The Goa Engineering College and Goa
Medical College are run by the state, whereas the other two engineering colleges are run by private
organisations. The private engineering colleges are Shree Rayeshwar Institute of Engineering and
Information Technology, Shiroda, and Padre Conceicao College of Engineering, Verna. There are also
colleges offering pharmacy, architecture, and dentistry, along with numerous private colleges offering law,
arts, commerce, and science.
Library automation began in the late 1970s in a few special libraries and has now reached most
of the university libraries. It has yet to take off in college libraries in India owing to various problems. Many
studies on library automation have been undertaken in the West, but few have been undertaken in India.
This paper tries to identify the status of library automation in college libraries of Goa State.
Objectives of the Study:
1. To find out how many libraries have undertaken automation.
2. To find out which areas are automated.
3. To find out whether sufficient staff is available to carry out automation.
4. To find out the barriers to automation faced by libraries.
1
“A Survey of Library Automation in College Libraries in Goa State, India,” Sadanand Y. Bansode, Miss. Shamin Periera. Library
Philosophy and Practice 2008 (September)
Methodology
The present study is a survey using a structured questionnaire as a tool. The address of
institutions in the area were collected through formal and informal sources. A short structured
questionnaire was sent to these institutions.
Analysis
Forty-three questionnaires were sent to college libraries affiliated with Goa University. Thirty-six
libraries responded, a response rate of 83.7%.
Designation of Librarians
Twenty-eight (77.8%) of the college libraries are headed by a Librarian, while the remaining 8
(22.2%) are either headed by Assistant Librarians or by Non-professionals. This is generally owing the
post of Librarian remaining unfilled by college administration.
Qualification of the Librarian
Twenty-three (63.9%) college librarians have a master's degree in library and information
science; seven (19.4%) have a bachelor's of library and information science, and two (5.6%) have
completed a certificate course in library science. Two (5.6%) have an M.Phil degree in another field, while
one (2.8%) has a doctorate in library science, and one has no professional qualification in library science.
Out of these 36 librarians only 6 (16.6%) have cleared their NET/SLET (National Elegibility Test/State
Level Eligibility Test).
Total Collection of the Library
Figure No. 1. Total Collection of the Library
Twenty-two college libraries have a total collection below 15, 000, while 14 have developed a
total collection above 16,000, 3 have a total collection above 45,000.
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“A Survey of Library Automation in College Libraries in Goa State, India,” Sadanand Y. Bansode, Miss. Shamin Periera. Library
Philosophy and Practice 2008 (September)
Library Automation
The data shows that 23 college libraries are automated. The 13 other libraries carry out their
library operations manually and provide services to their users in a traditional way.
Status of Automation
Figure No. 2. Status of Automation
The bar chart shows the status of library automation in the 23 college libraries that have
undertaken automation. Of these, 14 are at the initial stage, 5 are partially automated, while only 4 are
fully automated.
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“A Survey of Library Automation in College Libraries in Goa State, India,” Sadanand Y. Bansode, Miss. Shamin Periera. Library
Philosophy and Practice 2008 (September)
Software Used for Automation
Figure No. 3. Software used for Automation
The majority of college libraries in Goa state use NEWGENLIB, perhaps because Goa University
Library uses it. NEWGENLIB supports all automation functions, and its cost is comparatively low. The
Central Library of Goa University has installed the Networking/Consortium version of NEWGENLIB on its
server. The plan is to build an Academic Library Network of the University and College libraries in Goa
state.
Retrospective Conversion
Only 8 college libraries have completed retrospective conversion in the range of 95% to 100% of
their total collection; followed by 4 college libraries completing this work in the range of 80% to 90%, while
the remaining 11 libraries have completed their retrospective conversion in the range of 10% to 40%.
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“A Survey of Library Automation in College Libraries in Goa State, India,” Sadanand Y. Bansode, Miss. Shamin Periera. Library
Philosophy and Practice 2008 (September)
Areas for Automation
Table 1. Areas of automation
Areas
Neither Selected Nor Initiated Selected Initiated Completed Total
Acquisition 23
NIL NIL NIL
23
Cataloguing NIL
6
8
9
23
Circulation 8
1
5
9
23
Serial Control 16
2
5
NIL
23
Budget 23
NIL
NIL
NIL 23
Administration NIL
7
15
1
23
SDI 23
NIL
NIL
NIL
23
CAS 12
3
8
NIL
23
OPAC 2
4 15
2 23
The focus of the college libraries is on completion of retrospective conversion on computerized
circulation. Nine college libraries have completed automation in cataloguing and circulation. Among the
housekeeping operations, acquisitions is the least automated, perhaps because the acquisitions module
of the software is complicated.
Outsourcing
None of the libraries surveyed are outsourcing their automation work to other agencies. They are
trying to complete the work of automation with in the available resources in the library. Budgets can be
one of the reasons that libraries are not outsourcing jobs such as data entry, generation of barcode
labels, maintenance of hardware, etc.
Staffing
Sufficient staffing is essential. The required number of staff depends on the number of documents
in the library and the number of library users. The following table shows the opinions of the librarians in
the libraries that have automated on the sufficiency of staff.
Table 2. Sufficiency of Staff
Sufficient staff Insufficient staff
4 19
Only four libraries out of 23 which have undertaken automation have sufficient staff.
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“A Survey of Library Automation in College Libraries in Goa State, India,” Sadanand Y. Bansode, Miss. Shamin Periera. Library
Philosophy and Practice 2008 (September)
Specialized Staff and Training
The following table shows the number of libraries which have recruited specialized ICT staff.
Table 3. ICT Specialized Staff
Specialized Staff No Specialized Staff
1 22
Of the 23 libraries with automation, only one has specialized staff in ICT. These remaining 22
must depend on experts within or outside their college. A majority of the libraries surveyed do not send
their staff to ICT training courses.
Intranet Services
Only 8 libraries have a LAN in the library to provide automated services in the library, and the
services provided by these libraries are tabulated in the following table.
Table 4. Services provided
OPAC CD-ROM Search Internet Online Database Search CAS SDI
07 04
08 07
01
02
Barriers Faced by the Library
Barriers to automation are tabulated in the following table.
Table 5. Barriers
Barrier
No. of Libraries
Insufficient funds
11
Inadequate staff training
22
Lack of staff coordination
06
Lack of user IT knowledge
10
Problems from higher authorities 02
Lack of space
12
Traditional barriers like insufficient funds, lack of space, and lack of training are the problems
faced by many libraries.
Summary of Findings
• A majority of the college libraries do not possess qualified librarians as per the guidelines given
by the UGC and the state government. Only 25% of the librarians are qualified for the librarian's
position.
• Twenty-three college libraries have undertaken automation of the library.
• A m ajority of the libraries initiated their automation process in the year 2005 and 2006.
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“A Survey of Library Automation in College Libraries in Goa State, India,” Sadanand Y. Bansode, Miss. Shamin Periera. Library
Philosophy and Practice 2008 (September)
• Retrospective conversion of documents is a crucial activity in the process of automation. Very few
college libraries have completed their retrospective activity.
• Libraries have focused on cataloguing and circulation.
• No libraries in the survey have done outsourcing of the work of automation.
• A majority of the libraries lack the staff required for automation.
• Goa state college libraries generally use the same library software used in Goa University, i.e.,
NEWGENLIB
• Traditional barriers such as insufficient funds, lack of trained staff, and lack of space are faced by
a majority of the libraries.
Suggestions
• Colleges without qualified librarians should recruit them.
• Few college libraries are fully automated. The libraries in which automation has been initiated
should try to become fully automated and the libraries in which automation is yet to start begin as
soon as possible.
• Retrospective conversion of the documents and well as the other jobs related to automation may
be outsourced to complete the automation of the library.
• Parent institutions should provide sufficient funds as per the norms given by Dr. S.R.
Ranganathan (1965) or by Kothari commission (Gupta, 1992).
• Staff of the library should be sent to training courses to upgrade their IT Skills.
Conclusion
The status of automation in the colleges of Goa is similar to that of college libraries throughout
India. Libraries, librarians, and college administrations must initiate automation in order to provide
effective and efficient services to users. Library professionals must upgrade their skills in order to meet
the growing expectations of users from libraries.
References
Gupta, O.P. (1992). Development of university libraries in India after independence. New Delhi: Concept
Publishing Company.
Ranganathan, S.R. (1965). Academic library system: Fourth plan period, Library Science with a slant
Documentation 2(4): 293-347.
Kumar, P.S.G. (1987). Computerization of Indian libraries. New Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation.
Harinarayana, N.S. (1991). Concept of library automation. Herald of Library Science 30 (3-4): 176-177
.http://www.kiikm.org/Newgenlib_Installations.htm accessed on 5/08/2007
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“A Survey of Library Automation in College Libraries in Goa State, India,” Sadanand Y. Bansode, Miss. Shamin Periera. Library
Philosophy and Practice 2008 (September)
