SCHOOL LIBRARY ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT

BY

M.M.AHMED

LIBRARIAN

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PM SHRI CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR CANTT. SHIFT 1

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LIBRARY�INTRODUCTION

• The word ‘library’ is rich in tradition, meaning, and usage. The definitions of ‘school library’ given by various library scientists and associations reflect this heritage. Throughout the world the Library of a school is considered as part and parcel of the academic set-up. It is created and maintained to serve and support the educational activities of the school. The recommendations of numerous commissions and committees established by the Government of India and various other states for the improvement of school education can bring in desired results provided the school has the full complement of library resources, personnel, and necessary infrastructure.

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“A library is not a building stacked with books - it is a repository and source of information and ideas, a place for learning and enquiry, and for the generation of thought and the creation of new knowledge.” National Knowledge Commission, 2005.

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"The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library." --- Albert Einstein

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• The school Library provides information, inculcates ideas, and develops knowledge that is so essential to functioning successfully in today’s information and knowledge based society.
• It is fundamental to school library to equip students with lifelong learning skills and develop in them creative thinking and imagination, and enabling them to live as ideal and responsible citizens.

IFLA/UNESCO states in the school library manifesto “the school library provides information and ideas that are fundamental to functioning successfully in today’s information and knowledge based society.

The school library equips student’s life-long learning skills and develops the imagination enabling them to live as responsible citizens”.

According to National Curriculum Framework (2005) of the National Council of Educational Research and Training, India, ‘The school library should be conceptualized as an intellectual space where teachers, children and members of the community can expect to find the means to deepen their knowledge and imagination’

I cannot live without books-------- Thomas Jefferson

The major objectives of a school library are to:

• Facilitate creation of new knowledge.
• Facilitate optimal use of knowledge by all staff and students.
• Encourage and foster reading habit among staff and students.
• To remain technological advanced and updated.
• Supporting and enhancing educational goals as outlined in KVS mission and curriculum.
• Be the knowledge hub of the school and disseminate knowledge as widely as possible.
• Provide a curriculum-based, flexibly scheduled, open access learning environment that
• accommodates all learners.
• Effectively participate in the teaching-learning programmes of the school.

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• Provide the students with appropriate library materials both printed as well as audio visual and services for the overall growth and development of the personality of the students as an individual.

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• Develop reading ability and interest, and inculcate love, enjoyment and pleasure of reading amongst the students.

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• Support all students in learning and practicing skills for evaluating and using information, regardless of form, format or medium, including sensitivity to the modes of communication within the community.

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• In order to achieve these objectives the School Librarians need to:

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1. Provide the students equal access to all library resources. Arrange for high quality customer service to students organized on modern lines.
2. Be familiar and aware of popular books and magazines, the students enjoy most.
3. Arrange for reading sessions of popular books and magazines and talks by the celebrity authors.
4. Make the library inviting and pleasing with comfortable furniture and involve teachers and students in making the collection up-to-date.

LIBRARY MANAGEMENT

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• Library Management is the adaptation of the principles and techniques of management to the library situation.
• It is a known fact that a well-managed library is a successful library.
• The library management means efficient and effective management of material (information sources), machinery, men (human resource), technology and money to meet the objectives of the library.
• A library system aims at serving the information needs of knowledge seekers by performing various library activities.
• Thus, librarian as manager performs all the functions of manager.

Functions of Library Management

The primary objective of any library system is to collect, store, organize, retrieve and make available the information sources to the information users. A library, as a system, is a subsystem of some super-system (an organization in any field, whether education, research or social service).

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1. Budgeting :-

Budgeting for the Library In order to ensure unhindered resource development and functioning, proper finance for the library is very important. There shall be an exclusive budget allocation for the library.

The School Library Committee should decide the percentage of allocation for each budget component.

The Library Budget is as per ceiling prescribed by KVS time to time.

2. Acquisition of library material has three main check-controls:

1) Availability of library fund

2) use of reading material

3) need of library users.

For this purpose list of required books/reading materials is obtained from the teachers and the students.

Collection Development Policy :-

School Librarians discuses in Library committee meeting with committee members and work with administrators and teachers to develop policies that guide the creation and maintenance of the library’s collection of educational materials. The policy makes it clear that collection building is a collaborative endeavour and that teachers, as subject experts with valuable knowledge about the needs of their students, have an important role to play in helping to build library collections.

3. Staffing :-

The Library staff of a school should consist of

1 . Librarian

2. Sub Staff

The librarian’s main role is to contribute to the mission and goals of the school including the evaluation procedures. As a school librarian he/she will have to select and manage information resources, teach information skills to students and make a plan for the development of Library.

The librarian should create an environment for leisure and learning which is attractive and accessible for everyone.

The role of the Sub Staff:-Every Library Should be provided a sub staff in the Libraries. The person in this position assists staff and students in the use of Library resources and equipment and performs routine clerical and maintenance duties related to the operation of the library. The Sub Staff reports to the librarian and supports him/her in their functions.

4. Technical Processing.

Accessioning of Books: All the books purchased should be checked thoroughly.

The library ownership stamp (name of the KV) should be affixed at the following places in the book.

1. On the back of the title page
2. At the bottom of the confidential (secret) page
3. At the last page of the book.

After DDC classification and Accession entries and stamping, these Books are ready to use and kept in books shelves by allotting DDC numbers on shelves also .

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Use of e-granthalaya software: - All the Accession entries are made in software which helps the further technical process of these books as circulation, cataloguing and stock verification work etc.

5. Circulation Section: -

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Issue of books for home use - Each student would be issued two books at a time for a period of two weeks. Staff members, including Principal, would be issued maximum five books at a time for a maximum period of one month.

• Books are circulated through Library Book Issue Cards for the Students and book Issue register for teachers.
• For circulation e-granthalaya software is very helpful. This Section deals with membership work, issue and return work and work related to users’ requirements.
• Books issue cards, register, reference books utilization register, multimedia register, magazines issue register and class library books issue register/file are used for circulation work.

6. School Library Committee

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• There shall be a library committee,

headed by the Principal and at least

05 teacher members who have a

genuine love for books.

• The teachers should be two from

Primary and three from Secondary

and Senior Secondary classes

(preferably from different subject areas).

• The committee would also include two student members selected together by the Principal and Librarian from Classes VII to XII.
• The Librarian would be the Member-Secretary of the Committee.

The library Committee will function with the following terms of reference:

• To develop the Annual Library Activity Plan.
• To recommend suitable budgetary provision for the library.
• To select books and other resources for the library keeping in view the natural interests and needs of the children, their age group and intelligence and To select books for teachers on various subjects apart from academics.
• To review library rules and formulate new rules and make recommendations for proper functioning of School Library.

The Library Committee can invite

other teachers /students to the

meetings for their advice/

suggestion.

This committee shall meet as

often as possible but at least

once in two months.

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7.Library Automation

Library automation may be defined as the application of computers to perform some of the traditional library housekeeping activities such as acquisition, circulation, cataloguing, stock verification, serials control, etc.

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Software E-Granthalaya (Version 3.0 or the latest) developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) shall be the uniform library software for KV Libraries all over the country.

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OPAC An Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) should be maintained for searching the library catalogue.

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8.Organizing Periodicals and Newspapers

• The accession details of the periodicals and newspapers should be entered in the Newspaper

and Periodical Accession Register.

Periodicals should be arranged in a

logical order and displayed on

periodical racks/display stands

attractively.

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Management of multimedia

After stock entry in to the Multimedia Accession Register and the software, the multimedia CD/DVDs with cases should be kept attractively in CD racks/holders with proper stamp, labels and Accession number shall be written on each disc.

• The collection should be arranged according to the subject content.

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• A list of the collection would be displayed in the library bulletin board.
• A portion of the collection shall be kept with Primary section under the charge of H.M.

as per the requirements under

the CMP for Primary Education.

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• A multimedia Accession Register

with relevant entries like

Accession Number, Title, Subject,

Producer, Language, Format, Duration,

Bill Number & Date, Signature of Librarian, Signature of

Principal, Remarks would be maintained.

• A multimedia issue register shall be maintained to issue CD/DVDs to teachers.

9.Library Period

Classes VI to XII will go to the library during this period. The arrangement for library period may differ from school to school depending on the number of sections per class.

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10. Class Libraries

For Primary classes (1 to V), class libraries should be set up. These libraries will be under the charge of class teachers. The class teacher will issue 200 books from the main library, which will be in accordance with the standard and interest of the age group of the children of the class concerned.

A Class Library Book Issue Register should be maintained in the library.

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A “Reading Corner” shall be set up in the Primary block where a newspaper and children’s magazines can be kept for anytime reading. This will be under the charge of Head Master/Mistress.

“Hanging Libraries” shall be developed for class I-III, where children’s magazines and donated books voluntarily donated by students, teachers and parents) are clipped and hanged on a thread in the class room.

11. Stock verification and weeding out

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• Stock verification should be conducted annually during the month of March with the help of teachers deputed for the purpose.
• For libraries having more than twenty thousand volumes and up to fifty thousand volumes, stock verification should be done at least once in three years.
• Sample physical verification should be done every year.
• The weeded out books shall be affixed with a stamp with the wording “weeded” and dated signature of librarian on the title and secret pages.
• These shall be auctioned to students at a nominal cost of Rs. 1/2/3 per book.

12.Maintenance of Library Registers and Files The library should invariably maintain the following registers and files for the proper up keeping of its resources.

1. Registers

1. Accession register (hard bound with thick pages
2. Newspaper and Periodical register
3. Multimedia accession register
4. Library consumable items register
5. Books and Magazines Issue Register
6. Stock taking register

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2. Files

1. Supply/subscription orders
2. Bills and receipts
3. Others (letters received, requirements submitted)etc.

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13. Annual Library Activity Plan (ALAP)

The library should have an annual activity plan.

In the beginning of the academic session, the library committee will chart out the activities/programmes with proposed dates and expected outcome.

The activities can be planned based on the local resources/facilities available.

The Librarian should prepare

and submit a quarterly report /

monthly diary entry on the

implementation of the ALAP to

the Principal and present it

in the next library committee

meeting.

14. Career Guidance and Counselling Corner

As an extension activity, separate

career guidance and counselling

corner shall be set up in the library.

There should be a collection of

related books and periodicals kept

as a separate section.

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A display board for publicizing

information related to career

opportunities and counselling

activities shall be maintained.

The library can take initiatives

to organize career guidance and

counselling activities (talks, workshops, etc )

and events in the school.

15. Reader’s Club

Developing reading habit and information literacy skills among students and teachers is the primary objective of a school library. A well organised and active Reader’s club helps to achieve this objective.

Librarian shall be the in charge of the Reader’s Club supported by a committee

of students and teachers.

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16.Library Activities

The school library should cover a wide range

of activities and should be a main role player

in achieving the mission and vision of the

school. It should aim to serve all potential

users within the school community and

meet the particular needs of different

target groups.

Some suggested library activities

are given below.

1. Exhibitions and Displays: Important days.

2. Celebrations: National Library Week,

International School Library Month, World Book and Copyright Day, World Children’s Book Day, Librarian’s Day, Reading week, Hindi Fortnight, etc.

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3. Competitions: Reading, Story telling, Book review writing, Book jacket designing, Bookmark designing, Quiz, Poster designing, Slogan writing,

4. Book Fairs: Organized in collaboration with Governmental (NBT/CBT) or external agencies.

5. Events: Meet the Author, Local Library visits, Book talks, etc

6. Awards: Best Reader Award, Reader of the Month etc.

7. Publications: Library Bulletins, user guides , brochures, posters, etc.

The librarian shall device innovative library activities/programmes and that should

be incorporated into the

Annual Library Activity

Plan

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VARIOUS ACTIVITIES PLANNED UNDER ALAP

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MADE BY M.M.AHMED