Introduction
Establishing countries are characterised in just one way by shrinking economies. Sierra Leone is a single such state that even with govt and donor aid, education and learning has been a key challenge. The scenario has been worsened, because of to the truth that libraries have been neglected. According to the African Enhancement Lender (ADB) Sierra Leone State Business office (2011), the whole funds presented for schooling by the ADB/ADF funds up to 2010, was about US$ 22 million. The undertaking supported the development of Ninety 8 (98) most important educational institutions, Fifty Four (54) Junior Secondary Educational facilities (JSS), Eight (8) Vocational Skills Schooling Centres and Twelve (12) duplex housing blocks for teachers. The task also delivered training for 4 Thousand and Fifty (4,050) lecturers. Trainer manuals were being also made offered. However, absolutely nothing was ever designed readily available for library enhancement. This neglect of libraries, implies that libraries in Sierra Leone with constrained resources, have to do the job with each other in buy to satisfy the information needs of their buyers. 1 library may well not be capable to correctly and suitably meet the facts desires of all its users. Library cooperation is therefore, urgently required.
Library Scene in Sierra Leone
The nation has all the distinct varieties of libraries they vary from general public, tutorial, distinctive to school libraries. In addition to these are info and resource or documentation centres that provide library and information and facts companies. Also, there are museums, these kinds of as the National and the Peace Museums, and the Nationwide Archive which also present info solutions.
Nevertheless, the Sierra Leone Library Board (SLLB) which was recognized by an Act of Parliament in 1959 serves as the domain of the provision of library and data providers in the nation. It features as both the Nationwide and a Community library. To day it has a Central library and headquarters situated in Freetown, Regional branches in Provincial headquarter towns, and branches in all District cities, totaling 20 1 (21) libraries [One (1) central and headquarter library, three (3) regional libraries, sixteen (16) branch libraries, and two (2) sub-branches].
Libraries in Sierra Leone are thus, institutions for the storage and dissemination of information are for end users they give people with guides and other getting lists they offer suitable access to the documents or documents end users may perhaps want to seek advice from they have issue arrangement and they are price-powerful.
Library Cooperation
The expression cooperation describes the joint action of two or extra functions for mutual advantage. Library cooperation means exchanging cataloguing information, setting up complementary collections, exchanging library elements by inter-library mortgage and document supply assistance, joint obtaining of library elements or automated system, supplying companies to each and every others’ users. Library cooperation is also explained as an arrangement, combination, or team of libraries formed to undertake an business over and above the means of any one member.
There are various varieties of cooperative pursuits and some of the most well-liked actions are reciprocal borrowing, union catalogues or lists, photocopying services, cooperative reference services, supply expert services, cooperative acquisition preparations, subject specialisation in assortment enhancement, centralised cataloguing and card production, as nicely as central storage of resources.
Burgett, Harr and Phillips (2004) asserted that there is proof that cooperation among libraries to share methods goes again to a lengthy way, at the very least to the initial 50 percent of the 13th century, when monasteries formulated what we would currently recognise as union catalogs of manuscripts to aid in their scholarly things to do. Musana (1991) indicated that details resource sharing has been in existence as very long as libraries and other forms of information and facts solutions. The existence of a library is by itself a kind of cooperation. Lots of libraries arrived into existence due to the fact a group of people today with a popular need and aspiration wished to set a selection of products collectively for use by the group associates. Traditionally, the driving drive driving the evolution of source sharing idea was the desire to satisfy the felt requires of the user population. Earlier, each library was an entity, serving or trying to serve the requires of its personal people and obtaining elements to meet up with their most important requirements.
Beenham and Harrison (1990) nevertheless mentioned that a blend of situations made it increasingly hard for an person library to be self-ample. These circumstances contain:
a tremendous boost in knowledge and a corresponding advancement in publishing
the spread of instruction from principal to college degree which lead to bigger and far more numerous requires on the public library solutions by a substantially a lot more literate community
the progress of technological innovation with its impact on market and commerce and the necessity for companies and staff to produce new techniques and procedures and
increased alternatives for journey and international economic cooperation, which demand from customers up-to-date details about overseas countries.
Current Library Cooperation in Sierra Leone
There has been enhanced stress for libraries in Sierra Leone to cooperate, together with options to make networks thereby creating way for sources to be offered to customers. As this sort of what has attained is as follows:
Lending of resources – libraries lend supplies to every other officially and unofficially to help their end users
Donations – large libraries donate to lesser libraries elements generally publications for their users
Photocopying – these are offered in most libraries. The lending library will duplicate the needed materials and send out a copy to the requesting library without the need of owning to deliver the original
Trade of cataloguing facts – cataloguing info is provided to other libraries. The Sierra Leone Library Board (SLLB) supplies its facts to college libraries that can’t do this technological do the job thoroughly.
There have been some advantages with these varieties of cooperation present in the country:
Availability and entry to facts – there has been considerable attain to information by buyers, because other libraries’ sources can be tapped from
Decrease cost – money are saved because of largely to the simple fact that some highly-priced supplies are not purchased as very long as they are accessed in a different library
Working experience sharing – the exchanging of team and info gives a system for discovering from each other, especially with cataloguing details and
Assortment improvement – every library tends to establish its selection to the most position, narrowing the focus, and at the end building a strong assortment.
Notwithstanding, the authentic rewards that these types of cooperation should convey about have not been totally realised. As a result, there are selected measures that libraries should really get to make this workable.
Building the Infrastructure of Cooperation
The following are critical ways to be taken into account for an successful cooperation between libraries in Sierra Leone if substantial achievements are to be created.
Assure popular comprehending and belief. There ought to be an recognized superior operating partnership between and in between libraries the place prevalent knowledge and rely on are constructed up. A ongoing interaction and exposure of one another’s sources will have to be preserved. This can be carried out by sharing of abilities and working experience, signing of Memoranda of Comprehension, dialogue to allay fears, and to respect what each individual get together can supply. Exchange of personnel if essential will have to be accomplished.
Discover from state-of-the-art libraries. On top of that, lessons can be learnt from how other national and international cooperation is staying conducted. Cooperation is not a day occasion but some thing that should be encouraged and constructed upon. There have to be space for trial and error as very well as correction of past mistakes.
Administration will have to provide the management. Each and every library management must consider on by itself to guide the course of action productively. There must be the political will and the willingness to share resources, as perfectly as prioritising the go in direction of cooperation. Management should be ready to make constructive compromises to achieve the ideal intention.
Networking and collaboration. The go towards cooperation should really not be a one man clearly show. Cooperation can consist of voluntary agreement between libraries, or it can be imposed on libraries by Library Legislation or by liable ministries that fund libraries. It is vital that the participant libraries be prepared to operate alongside one another in the direction of widespread goals.
Provision of money. One of the advantages of cooperation is to save expense. However, just about every library must give resources for the processes involved. This is specifically so for processing and complex services capabilities. These should be taken care by person libraries. As this sort of funding really should be provided.
Point out intervention. In the context of the establishing nations condition intervention would be identified as for to permit coordination of a nation’s full library and information resources and make certain satisfactory funding. This is specially essential presented that on the full libraries in Sierra Leone do not have large more than enough funds foundation of their have to invest in this kind of tools as computer system components and software package, and telecommunications. Even so, state control must not be allowed to exceed co-ordination as this could to some extent have an effect on the zeal, initiative and the goodwill of collaborating libraries, institutions and the unique gurus.
The Difficulties in Creating the Infrastructure of Cooperation
In spite of the positive aspects accrued in cooperation, there are serious and perceived problems, which, unless of course effectively dealt with, could minimise the likelihood of even the finest conceived scheme getting off. In Sierra Leone, these are:
Conquering the culture of hoarding – the tradition of greed and selfishness that has eaten up the pretty material of society. This has affected even library exercise. Libraries are to amass information and facts for the basic superior of the culture.
Constrained collections – where participating libraries have not created up their collection to a minimal regular to enable for exchange, they are to expand their collections to some measurable position to assure fair participation.
ICTs infrastructure – the marked lack of sufficient Details and Conversation Technologies (ICTs) is a worrisome challenge for cooperation in this 21st century.
Acquiring and set up of ICTs is pretty critical, as nicely as the schooling and education of staffs for use.
Staffing – some of the taking part libraries have untrained and unqualified personnel as a significant impediment. Also, most staff members are involved about their position, efficiency, career stability, salaries, and autonomy or independence, and this has afflicted the synergy. If the fears of staff are to be dispelled as a result of right sensitisation and education, ability building also ought to be undertaken.
Administration – administration will have to get decisive measures in direction of cooperation.
In summary, information and facts to libraries is as cash to banking institutions it is an indispensable input in the enhancement system of the country. Nonetheless, to be productive it has to be optimally accessible and accessible from each individual corner if feasible. Library cooperation if adequately prepared and executed presents a option to a good deal of problems faced by libraries, librarians and other information experts in building international locations as Sierra Leone. Valls (1983) has provided the very last phrases, “cooperation concerning information centres and the co-ordination of endeavours essential to competently share sources implies the existence of an infrastructure linking the centres to 1 a different.” This library infrastructure must be created up as it would guide in fostering self-support, trade facts, alter modern society, boost efficiency and operate existence, and share methods.
