Automation and Information Services Delivery in Libraries

Abstract

The explosion and development in modern technologies have brought about exceptional transformation in the way we communicate, generate, process, preserve, access, store, retrieve and disseminate information to the near and remote destinations. Libraries and  information centres are witnessing a shifting of paradigm from traditional to automated library services and operations. Clients need not  to visit shelf to shelf to find out a document, they just get their documents sitting in front of a desktop. This paper explores the effects of  automation on library service delivery. Through critical analysis of literature, the paper gave an in-depth evaluation of the concepts of  automation, its needs, purposes and the benefits derive from automating library services which were highlighted thus: effectiveness in  library services; improved services to users with reduced time lag, quicker cataloguing of library items; faster and easier access to library  material; improvement in the variety, amount and quality of material that is available in the library's collection; minimizing human  involvement in routine chores of the library and making the staff available for more intellectual and humane activities etc. Different forms  of software applications packages use in automation for information services delivery and its features were discussed. The paper concludes that automating library services can provide better and innovative services to the library users and can maintain the library more properly than what a manual library can do. Recommendations were made based on the problems highlighted.