Chapter 1

Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE INTRODUCTION Rationale A library is a warehouse of information and knowledge in which materials such as books, periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, tapes and other materials are kept for reading, reference and lending to the students and teachers. The informational materials inside the library are organized and arranged on specific shelves through their respective places. Placing similar materials in one location helps the users find the particular item conveniently. The librarian will facilitate for the users the materials they need to borrow by offering all the references and information needed. A library has thousands of books in stock. It has books on various topics, subjects and events. New books are added from time to time. They are classified and indexed according to their subjects. The labeling of books helps the reader to get a particular book without any difficulty. To find out the library number of a particular book, one can take the help of the subject and author index. Most libraries keep a book display rack where new arrivals are kept. Students or readers can increase their knowledge of various subjects by reading in the library during his spare time. One can update one’s knowledge by reading regularly in a library. A reader or a student can borrow a book for home if he has a card. The books are issued for a limited period. If the reader does not return the book on the due date, he has to pay a fine as per the library rules. If a reader loses a book, he has to replace the lost book with a new one or pay the price of the book. The readers are supposed to keep the books in good condition. The researcher find modern advances in technology as the answer to the existing problems of the present library system. Through the use of computer technology, the searching for information of particular books and inquiry of its availability will become fast and more accurate, the effective processing of records of books/library materials and penalty fees of each student will be stored safely. Book collections as well as library materials that are damaged, lost, returned, or new acquires and other pertinent information can be made immediately available. In Santa Monica Institute, the librarian spent considerable time in executing every process inside the library. And the librarian cannot response directly to the library user’s inquiry. Hence, the researcher was interested to design and develop a library system for Santa Monica Institute to improve their operations as to provide for effective delivery of their services. Theoretical Background of the Study Library plays an important role in promoting the progress of knowledge and it renders the great service to the society. Many libraries today utilize electronic technology to provide far-reaching information access. Libraries are very record-intensive: Not only is each title different but, for many purposes, the records needed for library operations must necessarily be very concerned with individual copies of each title. C. N. Mooers, ” Mooers’ Law or Why Some Retrieval Systems are Used and Others Are Not,”  American Documentation 11 (1960): 204 cited that: ” An information retrieval system will tend not to be used whenever it is more painful and troublesome for a customer to have information than for him not to have it!” In the study of the use of library services, there are ambiguities concerning ” wants” and ” needs.” One can understand a user wanting (i. e., desiring) something that he or she needs (i. e., which would solve some problem). However, it is less clear why users sometimes do not seem to desire something they need at least they may not desire it enough to take action. This can be unsettling for librarians who are uniquely situated to know how the library service could be used to satisfy that need. Hence, users are occasionally believed by librarians to be ignorant or idle in the face of opportunity. Librarians are well aware that they are the stewards of private information about their patrons. The ALA Code of Ethics (American Library Association, 2004) states: “ We protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted. ” Tien (2003) states, “ Libraries have long been very protective of library patron privacy given that surveillance of reading and borrowing records chills the exercise of First Amendment rights. ” This means that you should not talk about patrons’ requests outside of the library environment. For example, you can’t tell your spouse about who dropped into the library to ask how to pick locks. You should not discuss any questions (with anyone!) that would violate a patron’s privacy. In discussing questions with your fellow employees, make sure that other patrons can’t overhear. Related Studies Information technology generation of computer system can be useful in bridging the demand for library services and the ability to provide these services. ADDU (Ateneo De Davao University Library System). The Online Library System is established to make it convenient and efficient for system of Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU). It is capable of searching titles of books, author’s name, subject and browsing of call number. The system used database program to query the list of books and server connecting to the internet. The ADDU Library System is still moving towards a more efficient and reliable Online Library System. (http://library. addu. edu. ph) Metropolitan Library System (MLS). It is one of Okiahoma County’s premier information, education and entertainment resources. It has 17 libraries mostly located in some business centers. These libraries serve approximately 600, 000 people who depend on the library for its collection of materials, enriching programs and information needs. The MLS provide services for library catalog and renewals which is supported by Cyber Mars, Database, Calendar events, Homework Center, etc. They also have services like E-notify and interlibrary loan. E-notify allows users to have notification for reserved materials ready for pick-up and overdue materials sent to the library user’s e-mail address rather than receiving them through postal services. Interlibrary loan service also lets MLS serve costumers meeting books, magazines or journal articles that the library system does not own. (http://www. mls. lib. ok. us/) University of the Philippine Diliman Library. The University Library of UP Diliman encompasses One Main Library and twenty-six College or Unit Libraries. It envisions global information exchange throughout the UP Library System. It is mandated to be the information resources center of excellence in the social sciences, humanities and basic sciences. It strives for full automation, a world class collection and a staff of thoroughly modern information professionals. The UP Diliman Library collections have been developed in aid of teaching, research and extension work in the discipline designated to Diliman Topping the list of choice collections in UP Diliman is the Filipiniana Collection, which comes in print, non-print and digital forms. (http://www. mainlib. upd. edu. ph)