Managing the library and its staff Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing the library and its staff - Essay Example umerous types of information but still, many of them cannot be verified or has not passed critical academic review that would be valuable for the academe. The library has to cope up with these technological changes. Indexing or cataloguing of references need not be prepared only in index cards but in digital formats as well that can be accessed not only at site but also even at home. OPAC or Online Public Access Catalog enables users to access bibliographic list of a library online (Smith 2005). It is not uncommon that many hard copies of published materials are also published in digital formats. Moreover, libraries exert effort to convert hard copies into digital formats for preservation and posterity, as well as facilitate access by users. Despite the onset of alternative libraries in cyberspace or home libraries in digital formats (e.g. CD, DVD), the traditional institution of the library and librarians will remain important in the academic sphere (The three 2010). However, to maintain the importance of the library, the librarians themselves must be fully equipped to deliver the appropriate services to the users. The librarians should be instilled with the knowledge on the technological developments and skills. To have an efficient library, the staff must be properly managed. A library usually survives on a limited budget, with a larger percentage to be allotted to acquisition of materials. The budget must be considered in order to properly manage the whole system. The complement includes the administrative personnel, the frontline staff and technical services. The technical personnel work â€Å"behind the scenes† and consist of the â€Å"selection, acquisition, cataloguing, classification, typing, binding, conservation, and related services† (Nwalo 2003, cited in Oyelude & Ola 2008, para. 1). Budget cuts can result to reduction in library hours, or decrease in the number of personnel, acquisition of materials, and the needed training of personnel. An annual