| dc.description.abstract | The library is central to the effectiveness of an academic
institution. This proposition is usually accepted in principle but is
rarely fully applied. Effectiveness must be assessed by reference to the
needs, expressed and unexpressed, of the community of users. These needs
and the use of libraries have been investigated in British universities,
e.g., Leeds, Southampton and Durham. These enquiries have shown that:
a) Most users regard immediate availability of
material as crucial delay amounts to
failure;
·b) Readers tend to go straight to the shelves
for books rather than use catalogues first;
c) Consumer research in the library provides a
sound basis for assessing library performance.
Investigations at the Queen1s University of Belfast and the New.University
of Ulster show that:
i) Effective deployment and use of staff and
efficiency of service are significantly
affected by the geographical distribution of
service points and the degree of
decentralization in administration;
ii) Undergraduate collections fulfil an
obviously useful function but do not provide
the student with a sufficiently comprehensive
stock or adequate service;
iii) Arrangements for staffing, administration and
use of departmental libraries are such that
it is not possible to achieve high standards of
service;
iv) Factors of internal library environment have a
significant influence on users.
Improvement and development of library services are dependent on the two
unlversities providing more money for the purpose. Book selection an (1
instruction in library use at N.U.U. involve close co-operation between
academic and library staff, but these operations and reader services are
less well organised and co-ordinated at Q.U.B • | |
