Library catalog Essay

Today, libraries are intensified and triggered by many advances and rapid inventions of science and technology that are greatly affecting the library operations as a whole. The non-stop discoveries of this new technology, particularly computers, redefined the role of libraries. A library is a collection of information, sources, resources, books, and services, and the structure in which it is housed. It is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual. In a more traditional sense, a library is a collection of books (â€Å"Library†, 2009). The library, more than any instrument of the society, is open to public use and the knowledge embodied in books are the foundation of a society to attain or develop more the potentialities of man which in return, will be a great factor in the progress of a nation. The library has the responsibility to upgrade its status through open access to these advances, to develop a plan of action in order to contribute and to become an effective partner especially in instruction, research and extension programs of an educational institute (Enem, 2002). From the statements above it is proven that the library has a big role not only to the students but also to the society and our country. Through the help of modern technology and information system, the library circulation system can improve. Library circulation or library lending comprises the activities around the lending of library books and other material to users of a lending library. A circulation or lending department is one of the key departments of a library (â€Å"LC†, 2009). Library circulation provides lending services and facilities for return of loaned items. Renewal of materials and payment of fines are also handled at the circulation desk. Circulation staff may provide basic search and reference services, though more in-depth questions are usually referred to reference librarians at the library reference desk. The circulation desk is in most cases staffed by library aides instead of professional librarians. The functions of the circulation desk staff may include the lending materials to library users, checking in materials returned, monitoring materials for damage and routing them to the appropriate staff for repair or replacement, troubleshooting circulation technology, i.e. library circulation software, scanners, printers, etc. , and collecting statistics on library use, i. e. patron transactions, material checkouts, etc. The two categories of Information System (IS) are the manual or traditional system and automatic or also known as Computer-Based Information System (CBIS). Before the use of CBIS, all the data are processed manually in a traditional system, where all the information are written and stored in different files. Sometimes, this process is called non-computerized system. Non-computerized is not efficient because it consumes a lot of time to find and update the information. To eliminate this problem, a new system was created which is known as computerized system or CBIS. Computer-Based Information Systems (CBIS) is composed of hardware, software, databases, telecommunications, people, and procedures that are configured to collect, manipulate, store, and process data into information (Abraham, 2009). The library of University of the Philippines Diliman was established in 1922 has grappled with four basic concerns: the book fund, staff development, library services and information technology. And in 1999 the university had opened an online public access catalog and launched the university library web. Another school that has a library system running in web based is the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in 1999. Each year, the school library acquires new resources and upgrades equipment for the use of students. As of august 2009, the library has a collection of over 122,000 book titles and more than 45,000 titles of electronic books. Using CBIS nowadays as a tool for development not only uplifts a company’s reputation, but also help fix things to the best. And also by using the intranet as a platform of the system can be a great help for improving the services of the library. An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet technologies to securely share any part of an organization’s information or operational systems with its employees. Sometimes the term refers only to the organization’s internal website, but often it is a more extensive part of the organization’s computer infrastructure and private websites are an important component and focal point of internal communication and collaboration (King, 2002). Mr. A. T. Valdes, the librarian of NPCMSTI said that the library is an instrument that is used to provide data and information needed by the student in his study by collecting books that are important in their subjects as references. He added that from the books collected and selected, they are maintained in  order to be available to the students when the need it (personal communication, April 6, 2002). In addition, there are problems encountered in the manual or traditional library system of NPCMSTI based from the study conducted by the students of NPCMSTI. These include more effort and slow inventory of books, inefficient searching of books, inefficient generation of reports, and inefficient monitoring of books. The library has more than 4000 number of books and monitoring all these books require a lot of time and effort (Carreon, Delmendo, Maala, Mendoza & Penequito, 2008). Considering the advantages brought by CBIS and the problems encountered in the existing library system of NPCMSTI, the researcher decided to propose a computerized library system for NPCMSTI. Company Background The vision of the NPCMSTI library is to be a functional media center for meritorious resources especially in Nautical Science or Marine Transportation, Marine Engineering, Computer Science, Criminology, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, and Technical Vocational courses towards an excellent training development of professionals, diligent seafarers and skilled workers in the community. Its mission is to seek endeavor to provide quality service and to support the school’s educational programs, planning, research and extension services and instructional needs of the academic through stipulating bits of information comprehensively in any structure, in any part of the country, and of the whole world. Quality Objectives. The school library has the following objectives: (1) to strengthen and upgrade the library resources; (2) to upgrade library facilities and equipment;(3) to train personnel to enhance their technical skills and competitiveness; and (4) to link and network with local, national and international institutions. The library has a total of 11,832 book collections from the Degree courses to Non-Degree courses. The primary function of a library system are to facilitate the loan of books to borrowers, record receipt of returned books, and keep track of the status of books that should be returned. Reference Services. The obligation of the library is to render full assistance to readers in using the library and its contents. The librarian handles library resources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, biographies, atlases, and gazetteers. Orientation. The librarian’s unique responsibility is to utilize fully his resources in making as nearly certain as possible that the best materials for the particular purpose find their way to the readers. Also, the librarian serves as the mediator between man and the graphic records that he and his previous generations have produced and that the goal of the library is to maximize the social utility of graphic records for the benefit of the society. Library Hours. The library is open with its continuous hour service, from Monday to Friday which starts from 7:30 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon. Responsibilities of the Library Staff. The Northern Philippines College for Maritime, Science and Technology Library is manned by a Librarian, Assistant Librarian, and Library assistants. The Librarian shall administer the library, direct the activities of the staff, keep financial records of the library, keep records of the replacement of books, in charge of collecting and monitoring late fees, select and purchase books, library materials and supplies, stimulate growth of library services, attend library meetings or seminars, undertake indexing, classification and cataloging books and non-book materials and maintain relations to publishers and distributors. The Assistant Librarian shall take charge in absence of the librarian, help the librarian in indexing, classifying and cataloging of books and responsible for materials like clippings, periodicals and other documents, take charge in clipping and binding press and reviews, undertake the processing of books and non-book materials from putting accession number and stamping ownership mark to shelving. The Library Assistant shall issue and retrieve books at the circulation section, do the shelving and shelf reading of books retrieved, Paste torn pages of books and periodicals, undertake filing of clippings in the vertical file, type book cards, paste pockets and date due slips in books, cover books with plastic cover, stamp on books and periodicals, and file cards in the card catalogue. Cataloging and Classification. In the cataloging and classification of the book collections, the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules is adopted and the method used to describe an item that the library acquired. Also, the Dewey Decimal Classification System, the Sears List of Subject Heading and the Cutter Number of Tables are used in the NPCMSTI library. Borrowers. The student registered in the college, faculty members, staff, administrators, alumni of the college, and scholars or researchers from other institutions or organizations with endorsement letter from their librarians can use the services of the library. Importance of the Study This study is important to the following entities: To the Community. Through the help of this study it shall uplift the community’s education of the Filipinos by improving the services of the library. To the NPCMSTI. The output of the study shall be a great aid to the people using the library in the school. By improving and implementing the computerized system, books are monitored and also the quality of service that the school renders shall be uplifted and it also helps meet the vision and mission of the school. To the Staff-in Charge. The output of the study shall help easy recording and accessing of books records. By this study, librarians can monitor the status of the book at the library if it is available or borrowed. They can easily generate book reports such as available books, borrowed books, and inventory of the books by category. From this they shall save time and effort, and they can do more output in simple way. To the Faculty. The study would be beneficial to them for faster searching of the book information. By using the computerized system, the instructor can determine the book information in which they can use as their references in their subjects that they are teaching. They can also determine the book status whether it is available or borrowed by using the search feature of the system. From this they can save more time and effort. To the Students. The study would be beneficial to them in which searching of the book information would be faster. By using the computerized system, the student can determine the book information and also the book status if it is available or borrowed by using the search feature of the system or if they know the title of the book they want to borrow, they can easily determine if that book is available at the library, from this study they can save more time and effort. To other Researchers. This shall be a reference in conducting studies related to computer on wider prospective and may also serve as a basis for further study related to computer program. To the Researcher. Through this, the researcher shall be able to determine and appreciate the impact using technology for the productivity of every individual. Statement of the Problem The main aim of the study was to design and develop a computerized library circulation system for NPCMSTI. Specifically, the project aimed to answer the following questions: 1. What are the processes involved in the existing library circulation system of NPCMSTI along the areas on: a) borrowing and returning of books and other reading materials, and b) inventory of books and other reading materials, and  report generation? 2. What system features can be incorporated in the proposed library system in terms of: a) functionalities, b) back-up and restoration facilities, and c) security and control measures? Objectives of the Study The researcher aimed to design and develop a computerized library circulation system for NPCMSTI. Specifically, the study aimed to achieve the following: 1. Identify the processes involved in the existing library circulation system of NPCMSTI along the areas on: a) borrowing and returning of books and other reading materials, and  b) inventory of books and other reading materials, and report generation. 2. To determine the system features that can be incorporated in the proposed library system in terms of: a) functionalities, b) back-up and restoration facilities, and c) security and control measures. Definition of Terms The following terms are operationally defined: Administration. This refers to the supervision of the library by full-time, professionally-trained staff under a well-defined organizational setup. Back-up. This is the capability of the system to create a copy of the database. Book Category. The classification of a books as Filipiniana or Foreign. Borrowing of books. This is the process of lending available books and reading materials at the library. Inventory of Books. The process of generating a list of books borrowed, list of books available, and list of Filipiniana books and Foreign books by course. Filipiniana. These are books and non-book materials, published in the Philippines or abroad, written by Filipinos in any dialects or in English. Foreign. These are books and non-book materials, published in the Philippines or abroad, written by foreigners in any dialects or in English. Library System Functionality Features. These are the functions that are incorporated in the system such as searching of books, and verifying of borrowed books and returned books. Library Automation. It is an innovation using the computer to enhance the operation of the library. Library Circulation. It is comprised of the activities around the lending and borrowing of library books and other material to users. Library Environment. This refers to the physical condition, site, facilities and equipment of the library. Library Resources. This refers to the library personnel, book collection, services and use of the library. Non-print. These are non-book materials in various formats and style. Readers Services. These are services provided to customer such as bibliographical instruction on the effective use of the library, abstracting, information retrieval, reader’s guidance, and indexing. Report Generation. The process of generating a report on books needed by the librarian. Restore. Capability of the system that restores backup database into the system. Returning of Books. The process of returning the borrowed book at the library by the borrower. Searching of Books. The process of searching books at the library. Security measures. These are the computer controls that the library system will adopt in-order to protect the information or data in the database. Services. These are the activities that ensures maximum access and availability of resources and satisfactory use of the Library. Staff. They are the human resource of the library that maintains the services. This includes the professionals and the non-professional staff.