Best Practices of Libraries and Information Centers as Guidelines in the Development of Policies

Presented at the Philippine Association of Academic and Research Librarians (PAARL) National Summer Conference on “Emerging Trends in Libraries and Information Services at Covelandia du Labrador on April 25-27, 2007

What is a Best Practice? An activity or procedure that has

produced outstanding result A best practice is a technique or

procedure or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to reliably lead to a desired result.

Note: For more information go to:www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

What is a Policy?

A definite course of action adopted for the sake of expediency, facility, etc.

Example: Only 10% of any material may be photocopied.

Library Application

Where in the library are “best practices” and/or policies applicable?

Acquisition?

Cataloguing?

Circulation?

Reference?

Reminder

Best practices and policies rely on the mission, vision and goals of the library and the parent institution.

Example: For example if the parent institution would like to be globally competitive, the library must also be globally competitive.

Reminder (2) All library policies, regulations, and

procedures should be carefully examined to determine if they may result in denying, restricting or creating barriers to access

Libraries should only impose restrictions on the access to, or use of library resources, services or facilities when those restrictions are necessary to achieve the library's mission and objectives

Reminder (3) All policies must be communicated

clearly and made available in an effective manner to all library users

Libraries should, if reasonably possible, provide adequate alternative means of access to information for those whose behavior results in the denial or restriction of access to any library resource, service or facility.

Components of a Library

Library

Collection

Service

Staff

Users

Administration

Librarians

Support staff

Print

Digital

Acquisition

Cataloguing

Circulation

Reference

StudentsFaculty

InternetOPAC

Audio-Visual

Best Practices/Policies in Acquisitions General Practice: All library materials

enter and leave the library at the Acquisitions Section.

General Policy: Only the Acquisitions Section may process materials for acquisition either through purchase, gift or exchange; and for binding or discard.

Advantage: There is a focal point for entry/exit of materials into the sytem.

Acquiring Purchased Materials Best Practice: The Chair/Dean signs the

order slip for materials recommended by faculty and sends it to the Acquisitions Section. Policy: All library materials recommended by the faculty for acquisition must be approved by the Chair/Dean.

Advantage: This practice ensures that only materials that support the teaching, research and extension activities of the institution are puchased.

Approving Requests for Acquisition Best Practice: Checking request against

catalog to find out if the book requested is already in the collection.

Policy: Only one copy of any book is purchased/acquired by the library except if the book is to be placed at the Reserve Section where one copy of the book is allowed for every 20 students who will use the book.

Advantage: The allotment of the library is used for many titles instead of a few because of duplication of holdings.

Binding Best practice: All books for binding are

sent to the Acquisitions Section for releasing and receiving after binding.

Policy: Only the Acquisitions Section may accredit binders and authorize payment to accredited binders.

Advantage: There is quality control because only one unit checks the quality of the binding.

Discard Best Practice: All books for discard are

sent to the Acquisitions Section for recording and examination by faculty.

Policy: Only the Acquisitions Section may discard books and other library materials.

Advantage: The books could be examined by faculty at a central location and all discards could be recorded against the accessions list and forwarded to cataloguing.

Electronic Information The following slides are the policies of

the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) statement of current perspective and preferred practices for the selection and purchase of electronic information: Update No. 1. New developments in E-journal licensing (December 2001 update to March 1998 statement) http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia/statement/html

1. Pricing and purchasing models Move From “Print Plus” to

“Electronic Plus” Purchase Model Selective Purchase Model  Eliminate No-Cancellation Clauses Do Not Repackage Content Change the Roles of Intermediaries Usage Statistics Flexible Models To Accommodate Global

Needs

2. Improving the usability of electronic journals

Complete and Consistent Content  Fair Use Open Linking Non-English Content 

3. Long term access and archiving

ICOLC-Publisher Partnerships to Secure Permanent Access

Archiving Costs  Archiving Models

Cataloguing: Best Practices Bibliographic Records Minimum Record Standard Overall Record Quality Tools used Subject Headings (Unique rules) Serials Records Electronic Resources Records Authority Control Holdings Data Others

Circulation Best Practices Borrowing policy: who, how many,

how long, fines Students—graduate, undergraduate,

honors list, non-credit Faculty—fulltime, part time, researcher

Interlibrary Loan—Mode of delivery, loan periods, photocopying

Patron Record Students Faculty

Reference

Best practice: Only reference materials (dictionaries, encyclopedia, handbooks, etc) are place in this section so that the materials are easy to locate when needed.

Policy. No borrowing Advantage. Materials may be found

in one place when needed.

Fees for Service Best Practice: Charge non-bonafide

members fees for access since they do not pay library fees like the students.

Policy: All non-members of the community are charged access fee when they use the facilites of the library

Advantage: The fees are used to pay for utilities and purchse of materials.

Cooperation with other libraries

Interlibrary Loan Reciprocal Use Document Delivery Services Access to full text Sharing of expertise

Emergencies In the event of an emergency such as

fire or earthquake the library must have staff and procedures to follow to eleminate losses of life and property.

Practice: A disaster and recovery team is in place

Policy: All members of the team must take charge in the event of fire and other disasters.

Staff The key to a successful library is

customer oriented staff who keep pace with developments in librarianship.

Best practice: Recruit only the best staff for the position

Policy: Only licensed librarians who pass the interview and examination of the personnel committee of the library may be interviewed by the Board for final screening. Only those highly recommended by the Board may be hired.

Internet Access Internet access must be

provided by every library. Policies on access depend on the nature of the parent institution.

Issues: Intellectual property rights,

copyright, fair use Cybercrimes Civil liberties

Intellectual Property Rights

Librarians have an ethical responsibility to keep abreast of copyright and fair use rights. This responsibility applies to: 1. the library's own online publications, 2. contractual obligations with authors

and publishers, 3. informing library users of copyright

laws which apply to their use of electronic information.

Plagiarism – using somebody else’s work and claiming it as your own

Copyright law – protection of the author’s original work

Fair use – reproduction of materials for educational and research purposes

Software piracy – theft and illegal reproduction of software

Intellectual Property Rights

Citing Results

Citation styles vary. What is important is the consistency in what is used.

Two popular methods are:o Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association (APA)o MLA Handbook for Writers of

Research Papers

Issues regarding the rights of an individual Freedom of speech Personal privacy and records

confidentiality Censorship

Civil Liberties

Computer-facilitated crimes Hacking / Cracking Denial of service Internet Fraud Spamming Flaming Identity theft Child prostitution /pornography

Cybercrimes

Challenge: Use of filters

The use of filters implies a promise to protect the user from objectionable material. The filters available would place the library in a position of restricting access to information.

This task is impossible given current technology and the inability to define absolutely the information to be blocked.

Challenge: Preservation

The online electronic medium is ephemeral.

Information may disappear without efforts to save it. Libraries have the responsibility to preserve and archive information if it meets the libraries mission.

Challenge: Gaming

Libraries sometimes seek to prohibit the playing of computer games because the demand for terminals exceeds the supply. Therefore, the libraries impose time, place or manner restrictions to the use of electronic equipment and resources.

Providing links: Evaluate before Linking

Source: Is the domain authoritative? Authority: Is the author or issuing body

credible? Purpose of the resource: Is the material for

academic use, entertainment, economic gain? References: Are the cited references credible? Timeliness: Is the information current? Style: Is the style of the author clear and

understandable? Reliability/stability: Is the material/site readily

available at all times?

Conclusion

Best practices and policies vary from library to library depending on the mission, vision and goals of the parent institution.

The library must adhere to the mission, vision and goals of its parent institution in developing its best practices and policies.

Salamat Po!

Lourdes T.DavidDirector

Rizal Library Ateneo de Manila

University Tel/Fax (632)426-5961 E-Mail:

ltdavid@ateneo.edu