Librarians serving people, not collections - Essay Example

Librarians Serving People, not Collections Bibliographic Data Intner S 2009 Building Collections, Building Constituencies.Intner, S. (2009). Building Collections, Building Constituencies. Technicalites, 29(6), 1-11. Summary The article begins by recognizing the diverse interests of the different users of the library services. Because of the different demands by the numerous users of the library, the need to employ collection specialists becomes indispensable. Further, the importance of determining the material to purchase for library users has been mandated by the fact that the resources available are insufficient to buy all that is demanded by the many library users unlike in the prior period when financial allocation was sufficient for all that was demanded.

Consequently, librarians have had to shift from the “just in case” method of purchase to the “just in time” basis of buying library materials (Intner, 2009). Moreover, the impact of technological developments on the delivery of library services has been extensively covered. After world war II, only affluent institutions were capable of buying all that was demanded by the users (Intner, 2009). The price rise was attributed to inflation and this complicated the work of collection librarians.

Moreover, the large number of library users competing for the limited materials made customization of the library services difficult. The analogue system became inefficient making many libraries adopt digital library services without wholly migrating from the analogue system Intner (2009). Besides, the use of the combination of the two methods made budgeting difficult for the collection development librarians. The final part of the article discusses some of the possibilities that can be explored in ensuring that library users get what they require.

The internet is viewed as a major way of ensuring customization, reducing costs and enhancing the use of library servicers. The constituency based model has also been discussed with its merits of customization discussed inter alia the drawbacks of failing to serve the wider library users. The conclusion of the article however asserts that serving the final consumer of the library services should be the core objective of any model that is adopted with proposals being made on the need to apply the internet technology in establishing a boundary free library with a simple user interface.

Personal Opinion In my view, the problems facing the collection development librarians can be solved by embracing internet technology and setting priority in serving the diverse demands of the users. Use of internet technology could help in sharing information by many library users and ensure ease in passing communication to the library users. The constituency model is difficult to implement in a library with a large number of users and will not solve the problem of cost reduction or assist in the sharing of the resources demanded by the users.

In adopting the internet use, librarians must also take into account the province of users without the technical knowledge and provide analogue method to serve the interests of all. Inter library loan can also be employed to partially reduce the problem of budgeting and further sharing of resources. Personal Value Statement The article is important as it attempts to elucidate and dissect mechanisms that could be adopted in finding solutions to the numberless problems that face library users. Since the library is an important place for learning and research, collection development librarians must not tire in their attempt to ensure that the users of their libraries should have access to the materials necessary for learning and research.