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This book is a compendium of knowledge on the study of the use of library. It is meant for
the student of library and information science and all the students in tertiary institutions of
learning in acquitting themselves and mastering the art of knowing the use of library for
knowledge development.
The book is written or designed for those offering librarianship and information science in
The subject matter of Librarianship and information science is very wide that a book alone
cannot adequately treat the subject matter. This book will provide sound basis for the subject
and develop necessary ground for further specialized reading needed self actualized
The book “Essentials of the Use of Library” is a publication in the right knowledge for
students, adequate guide for lecturers and vital resources for librarians in practice. The book
contains five chapters and written in accordance with the prescribed stipulated curriculum
guide lines for tertiary institutions of higher learning. It is arranged sequentially to enhance
integrated learning processes with the topics to adequately suit the title, Essentials of the Use
of Library.
The last chapter is very useful and drills students on how to search for information for their
projects, term papers or research reports and on proper methods of bibliographical citation all
aimed at helping the students in preparation for term papers, projects, thesis and dissertation
In this first edition, we look forward to genuine advices, suggestions as well as constructive
criticisms from friends, colleagues and well wishers. We hope these will no doubt assist us to
This book “Elements of Library Operations” is a good piece for students’ solid foundation
and understanding in the user of library in tertiary institutions of learning. I feel highly
delighted, honoured and privileged to have requested to contribute to the fore word of this
book.
The book covers a wide range of librarianship and Library Information Science which
contains six chapters sequentially arranged in the following order: Evolution of Libraries and
and functions, Art of book making, Anatomy of book, Organization of knowledge, Reference
Sources, Serials, Literature Searching, Project writing and References and Bibliographic
citation.
On assessment, the book is useful not only for students but to professionals in Librarianship
and Library Information Science. The author Adegbite Badmus T.A. have through long years
of teaching experience in the use of library course and have been able to put together this
book as a vital source of information to professional and practitioner Librarians, a living and
vibrant text for active learning and knowledge impartation to students and lecturers.
One of the most impressive aspect of the book is the way the authors dealt with the topic, the
I therefore, do not have any reservation in recommending the text book to those who are
interested in having a good grasp of using the Library either as students, professionals,
Federal Polytechnic,
This book is specifically written for students and practitioners of Librarianship, Library and
The motives of the authors is to develop the interest of the readers in the subjects of
Librarianship, Library and Information Science with the aim of encouraging them to study it
The book is arranged into five chapters with explicit enumerated objectives of each chapter.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Preface
Forward
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
Evolution of Libraries
CHAPTER 2
Types of Libraries
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
Anatomy of book
Organization of knowledge
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
Literature Searching
Project writing
Reference/Bibliography
Index
CHAPTER 1
EVOLUTOIN OF LIBRARIES
ORIGIN OF LIBRARIES
Library development is linked with civilization and largely depended on it. The history of
libraries followed in step the history of civilization in Egypt and Mesopotamia through the
development in Greece, Rome and the Middle Ages to libraries in the modern world.
The librarians in the ancient world consist of temple libraries, royal libraries and private
libraries. The ancient man’s earliest attempt to communicate his ideas was perhaps through
cries, grunts and gestures which led to the development of a spoken language. In order to
bring permanency into his communication means, the early man started to keep records.
The first attempt of man at writing was in form of drawings (pictographs) which were
mnemonic in purpose. They convey suggestions rather than precise indications of what they
represented and graduated to the stage when he began to identify certain symbols with certain
objects or ideas.
The earliest writing material is the baked clay tablets of Mesopotamia called cuneiform. The
Egyptians wrote on papyrus. The use of paper was introduced by the Chinese, it was later
spread to Europe in the 18th century A.D. Codex is the progenitor of modern book, it was
The Greeks obtained an alphabet from the Phoenicians and adapted it to their languages. The
first libraries in Rome were private collections. These were made by Generals returning from
battles with spoils of war. The first libraries in Roman libraries were educated slaves but later
scholars took over their duties. Their collections were either in Latin or Greek which covered
a wide range of subjects. The monastic and cathedral libraries came up in 4 th and 14th
centuries A.D.
The immediate effect of printing on library development was the reduction in the prices of
books. Books became more easily and more quickly produced, Library collections grew from
few hundredths to many book collection with several private Library development. These
private collections later formed the nucleus of today’s great national and state libraries.
The origins and development of libraries have been traced to the early civilization, therefore
the library is as old as the civilization. The development of libraries in Nigeria, had passed
The formation of the Lagos Book Club in the late 1920’a marked the beginning of Library
Services development in Nigeria. The book club was formed by a group of expatriates Civil
Servants and few Nigerians. In 1932, the Carnage Corporation of New York gave the Book
Club a grant of $6,000 which helped to start the first public library in Lagos in June, 1932
while Book formally owned by the Lagos Book Club formed the nucleus of the Lagos
Library.
Henry Carr, a prominent Nigeria established a private library of about 18, 000 volumes of
book. At his demise in 1945, the Nigeria government acquired his Library and when the
University college Ibadan was established in 1948, the late Henry Carr’s collections formed
the heart of the new University Library which John Harris was the first University Librarian.
In 1943, the British Council library was opened in Lagos to meet the new requirements of
war-period publicity services in the Colonist. The British council later established its
Eastern Region Library Board Law was enacted in 1955 to provide Library Services in the
region. The Northern regional library came into existence in 1952. In the 1950’s public
library services was in embryo and up till mid 1960’s there was no proper Central Regional
library building until when the Library Board was later created which took charge of Library
development.
The National Library Act made provision for the establishment of National Library of
Nigeria which was passed in 1964. More public libraries were established in 1967 with the
Other individuals who contributed to the library developments in Nigeria are Herbert
Macaulay, a nationalist leader and Tom Jones a very rich merchant. The latter made a lot of
money and instructed in his will that a library should be provided from his Estate for the
people of Lagos. Herbert Macaulay had a rich collection which was donated to the
There were several Special (Research) libraries established before and after Independence
which included the Central Medical Research Library, Lagos in 1946, The Federal Office of
Statistics Library, Lagos in 1948. Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria
Institute for Oil Palm Research, Benin City, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
Library, Ibadan, Nigeria Institute for Social and Economic Research Library, Ibadan, Nigeria
Limited, have established libraries. The same is applicable to Oil companies and Banks with
established libraries.
Presently, libraries have been established all over the country. Many of the libraries are
affected by inadequate funding particularly the School and Public libraries. The hard biting
economic problem its taking its toll on the library services development. It is hoped that
Nigeria libraries will be in short distance endowed with adequate and efficient library
services.
CHAPTER 2
TYPES OF LIBRARIES
The development of libraries all over the world gave rise to various types of libraries with
varying interest, their characteristics and traits are distinguished due to their historical
development. This chapter discuses the various types of libraries, differences and similarities,
Public libraries are unarguably the most welcoming, friendly and unrestricted centres of
Public libraries had from the beginning been regarded as a free library established to provide
service to every indigene of a particular community hence; they are always referred to as a
layman’s university. The doors are open all and sundry. Public libraries are service-oriented
institutions with set goals to be achieved within the available resources to them by the parent
institution usually Government. They provide the informational, educational and recreational
However, the services of the libraries are provided on the basis of equally of access for all
regardless of age, religion, nationality, or social status. All age groups must find relevance of
their needs. Collections and services have to include types of appropriate media and mode of
NATIONAL LIBRARIES
National Library of Nigeria (NLN) was established by 1964 Act, repealed and replaced by
The National Libraries are conceived to be the bedrock of national development of this
country. It is an institution that influences all library activities in the country namely:
Provide assistant to other persons in the organization of libraries and in respect to the
Provide necessary support for intellectual effort in all activities directed at progress
and development.
Therefore, the National Library of Nigeria as the apex library in the country, has the mandate
One of the statutory imperatives reposed in the National Library of Nigeria is the
establishment of a branch library in every states of the Federation. This was designed to bring
In pursuance of the state branch services objectives, all the states of the federation have a
branch of National library in Nigeria, this have been designed by the Board for library
Hence, the National libraries of Nigeria have the following functions to perform to the nation:
To establish and maintain a branch of the National library in each state of the
federation.
To give advice on library development or organization to any agencies of the federal,
bibliographic services.
Public libraries in Nigeria imbibed the development pattern of the United States. Of America.
These libraries evolved from the private libraries of notable individuals to subscription ones.
The very notable individuals to subscription ones. The very notable and first subscription
library to Lagos was founded from the Estate of Tom Jones as provided for in his Will. As
subscription libraries depend on hits member for survival, because of the insufficient funds
and the zeal from such members the library became moribund.
Hence the role of the British Council, notable individual and Government to resuscitate
To provide opportunity and encouragement for children, young people, men and
In addition to books, the public libraries select and provide pamphlets, documents and other
non-books sources in printed form, films, tapes and other non-print recording of knowledge
- To enrich and further develop the subjects on which individuals are undertaking
formal education.
- To support the educational, civic and cultural activities of groups and organizations
and
ACADEMIC LIBRARIES
The establishments and development of academic libraries in all parts of the world is in
complete agreement of their parent institutions like the Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges
of Education etc.
The libraries started in the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe and America with the founding of
Universities in those continents. The far Eastern University libraries followed much later.
Nigeria had the first academic library with the founding of the University of Ibadan in 1948.
University of Nigeria, Nzukka (UNN) came into existence after the independence in year
1960, the University of Ile Ife now Obafemi Awolowo (OAU) was established in 1961, while
Ahmady Bello and Lagos University came up in 1963. Now there are many Universities with
their libraries in response to the yearning of the people for higher education.
Academic libraries are libraries attached to higher education institution which serve two
complementary purpose to support the institution curriculum and to support the research of
the institution facilities and students. The support for teaching and learning requires materials
for class reading and for students’ paper. In the past, the material for class readings, intended
Academic libraries must determine a focus for collection development service since
comprehensive collections are not feasible. Librarians do this by identifying the needs of not
of the faculty and student body as well as the mission and academic programme of the
institution. When there are particular areas of specialization in academic libraries, these are
often referred to as “niche collections”. These collections are often the basis of a special
collection department and may include original papers, artworks and artifacts written or
With the aforementioned functions to be fully performed, the academic libraries should
provide standard information resources. Today, academic libraries are struggling to keep their
place as the major sources of inquiry, they no longer restrict themselves to print services such
current awareness, selective dissemination and other bibliographic services but have extended
their efforts to interdisciplinary concept and computer software and hardware and
libraries in Nigeria.
SCHOOL LIBRARIES
The developmental pattern of the school libraries is very similar to that of the public libraries.
The centres of action are Europe and America. The development started very early in such
countries. As early as 1578 an ordinance was passed in Shrewsbury in England which stated
among other things that schools since include “library and a galleries to be furnished with all
types of books, maps, instruments of learning which can either be given to schools or
In Nigeria, school libraries are not known until when the Federal School Library Service to
serve the Federal Territory of Lagos in 1964. This has resulted in a lot of efforts and progress
being made by the Lagos state school Library Services. However, there are school library
Boards in almost all the states of Nigeria now which are functioning well.
School library services were set up in the states of the Federation to achieve the following
objectives:
School library should provide background materials which would supplement class
teaching
They should get the pupils acquainted with book so as broaden their ideas and
The library should prepare the pupils to work independently so that when they leave
school they can carry on with their education without depending solely on teachers.
The library should aid the students in making proper use of their leisure.
The leaders of the library profession have played a noteworthy role in developing school
libraries, both here and abroad. In particular, librarians in academia and the public library
services have taken pains to nurture school libraries in the area in the part years.
SPECIAL LIBRARIES
Special collections are found within public libraries, in corporate entities, government
social societies.
Special libraries are information collections where the entire collection is a single, or several
special collections. This is a library setting other than school or public libraries. They are
often called information centers for special group of researcher for instance; law firms,
hospitals, business, museums, government agencies and many other groups have their own
libraries with special material and librarians. The main purpose of these libraries and
information centres are to serve the information needs of the organization that houses the
library. Therefore, special libraries collect, organize materials focused on those subjects. The
Law libraries help lawyers, law students, judges, law clerk locates and organize legal
resources.
Medical libraries help health professionals, patients and researchers find health and
science information. They may provide information about new clinical trials and
medical treatments and procedures; teach medical students how to locate medical
library specifically for the entertainment and leisure of patients rather than education,
public libraries though their collections may be weighted towards medically related
to themed works.
Military libraries are designed to support the needs of members of a nation’s armed
forces and other personnel attached to the unit or base that the library is a part of the
maintain information on the history of the base, units assigned there and notable
personnel. Other military libraries are tasked with directly supporting military
Transportation libraries are designed to support the study, research and dissemination
Transportation libraries are located at the Federal, State and Local levels of
organization for its own benefit. They often support areas in the company relating to
are often very large and most library department employ less than five full time staff.
They information services provided by corporate libraries save employee’s time and
can aid competitive intelligent work. Examples of special libraries are stated below”
(a) Nigeria Institute of Social Economic Research Library (NISER), Ibadan Oyo,
State.
Private libraries are libraries under the care of private ownership, as compared to that of
public institution as is usually only established for the use of a small number of people, or
even a single person. As with public libraries, some people use book plates, stamps, sticker or
embossing to show ownership of the items some people sell their private libraries to establish
institutions such as the library of Congress or as it often the case bequeath them there to offer
death through a will. Examples of private libraries owned by renowned Nigerians are:
(2) Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s library (Sopolu library which though has been
systematic and consistent manner to allow for easy access to and location of individual items
In general, the aim of the library would mean the purpose the library intends to achieve. This
is different from the function of the mode of achieving such purpose. Therefore, the purpose
or aim of the library should be to provide information resources for readers’ use, educate
readers in the use of such resources, preserve the resources, encourage research and provide
for recreation.
1. INFORMATION: The Librarian should study the users of his services, know their actual
or potential needs and acquired materials that will satisfy such needs. Its acquisition
should strive to satisfy the very reading need of his every user.
2. EDUCATOIN: The Librarian must teach his readers how to drive maximum benefits
from available resources to teach library resources. Library users must be educated on
book handling techniques, how to use the book catalogue, how to borrow books, how to
preservation of library resources, they have to be carefully preserved if they must remain
in use for long. This is why suitable buildings, decent shelves and suitable atmosphere
condition must be available to ensure a long life for library resources. Library buildings
must be well ventilated, well illuminated, books must be kept upright on the shelves and
4. RESEARCH: Only few libraries can support research in the academic sense of word.
But when research is limited to making a careful search or enquiry, most libraries could
5. RECREATION: Newspapers, Magazines, Journals etc. that takes the boredom out of a
tired reader and enlivening a dispirited mind should be part of a library stock. Many
libraries now provide Television Set, Musical gadgets. Other make television viewing
Most libraries other than private libraries are still organized along the traditional functional
lines thus:
selection of relevant resources, their acquisition are through purchase, gift, exchange,
donations and/or legal deposit. It is in this Unit that the initial or primary processing start
(collating, stamping with ownership stamp and accession). The accession is the serial
number given to a book or document as it received and/or processed. This number
by sorting and classifying the materials according to the classification system adopted, for
instance. The Federal Polytechnic Library, Ilaro uses Library of Congress Classification
Polytechnic Library, Abeokuta, The Federal Polytechnic Library, Ado Ekiti, and Lagos
State Polytechnic Library (Ikorodu), while Yaba College of Technology Library uses
Dewey-Decimal Classification Scheme and other public libraries. The unit also prepares
Catalogue entries (Authors, Titles, and Subject Series etc) and make materials ready for
the shelves by pasting and inserting the Book pockets/Book cards, Data due labels and
the general books collection and reserved books physically accessible to users, through
open shelves, for lending and/or reference. This Unit maintains the collection through
continuous shelving of consulted books and other special services and ensures library
decorum within the libraries. It is usually the first point of contact when users come to the
library. Since its operations are public or users oriented, most of the library rules and
regulations centre around the operations and services of the units. In most libraries, the
circulation sections handles reprographics (photocopy) services and arranges inter library
loans and also provides basic guides to using the library. This unit also sends reminders to
users who keep their borrowed materials beyond a stipulated time i.e. overdue notices.
references services by answering readers’ enquiries and assisting readers get whatever
information (But sometimes outside) the library. In this section there are going to be what
they call Reference materials. Reference materials are those referred to or consulted for a
definite piece of information. They do not tend themselves to continuous reading from
back to back because they contain variety of information often times unrelated.
CHAPTER 3
or information, the activity of making information available to the general public. In some
cases, authors may be their own publishers, meaning: originators and developers of content
also provide media to deliver and display the content for the same. Also, the word publisher
can refer to the individual who leads a publisher can refer to the individual who leads a
Traditionally, the term refers to the distribution of printed works such as books (the “book
trade”) and newspapers. With the advent of digital information systems and the internet, the
scope of publishing has expanded to include electronic resources, such as the electronic
versions of books and periodicals, as well as micro-publishing, websites, blogs, videos game
Publishing includes the stages of the development, acquisition, copy-editing, graphic design,
production, printing (and its electronic equivalents), and marketing and distribution of
newspapers, magazines, books, literary works, musical works, software and other works
1. As the process of giving formal notice to the world of a significant intention, for
2. As the essential precondition of being able to claim defamation; that is, the alleged
3. For copyright purposes, where there is a difference in the protection of published and
unpublished works.
There are three different categories in which publication house can be divided
1. Non-Paid publishers: The term non-paid publisher refers to those publications
2. Semi-Paid publishers: Publication houses that charge partially the author in order
to meet the expenses of the book. Author has full right to claim 50% of the total
3. Paid publishers: These days paid publications has become very common, here the
author has to meet with the total expense to get the book published and author has
Book and magazines, publishers spend a lot of their time buying or commissioning copy,
newspaper publishers, by contrast, usually hire their own staff to produce copy, although they
may also employ freelance journalists, called stringer. At a small press, it is possible to
survive by relying entirely on commissioned material. But as activity increases, the need for
For works written independently of the publisher, writers often first submit a query letter or
a referred to as unsolicited submissions, and the majority come from previously unpublished
authors. If the publisher accepts unsolicited manuscripts, then the manuscripts is placed in the
slush price, which publisher’s reader sift through to identify manuscripts of sufficient quality
or revenue potential to be referred to acquisitions editors for review. The acquisitions editors
send their choices to the editorial staff. The time and number of people involved in the
process is dependent on the size of the publishing company, with larger companies having
submissions have a very low rate of acceptance, with some sources estimating that publisher
ultimately choose about three out of every ten thousand unsolicited manuscripts they receive.
Many book publishing companies around the world maintain a strict “no unsolicited
submissions” policy and will only accept submissions via a literary agent. This shift the
burden of assessing and developing writers out of the publishing company and only the
literary agents. At these companies, unsolicited manuscripts are thrown out, or sometimes
Established authors are often represented by a literary agent to market their work to
publishers and negotiate contracts. Literary agents take a percentage of author earning
Some writers follow a non-standard route to publication. For example, this may include
bloggers who have attracted large readerships producing a book based on their websites,
books based on internet memes, instant “celebrities” such as Joe the plumber, retiring sports
figures and in general anyone whom a publisher feels could produce a marketable book. Such
must work to convince other staff of the need to publish a particular title. An editor who
discovers or champions a book that subsequently become a best-seller may find their own
The authors of traditional printed materials typically sell exclusive territorial intellectual
property rights that match the list of countries in which distribution is proposed (i.e. the rights
match the legal systems under which copyright protections can be enforced). In the case of
books, the publisher and writer must also agree on the intended formats of publication – mass
markets paperback, “trade” paperback and hardback are the most common options.
distribution is to be by CD-ROM or other physical media, there is no reason to treat this form
differently from a paper format, and a national copyright is an acceptable approach. But the
possibility of internet download without the ability to restrict physical distribution within
national boundaries presents legal problems that are usually solved by selling language or
translation right rather than national rights. Thus, internet access across the European Union
is relatively open because of the laws forbidding discrimination based on nationality, but the
fact of publication in, say, France, limits the target market to those who read French.
Having agreed on the scope of the publication and the formats, the parties in a book
agreement then agree on royalty rates, the percentage of the gross retail price that will be paid
to the author, and the advance payment. This is difficult because the publisher must estimate
the potential sales in each market and balance projected revenue against production costs.
usually 1/3 of first print run total royalties. For example, if a book has a print run of 5000
copies and will be sold at $14.95 and the author is to receive 10% royalties, the total sum
payable to the author if all copies are sold is $7475 (10% x $14.95 x 5000). The advance in
this instance would roughly be $2490. Advances vary greatly between books, with
PRE-PRODUCTION STAGES
Although listed as distinct stages, part of these occur concurrently. As editing of text
progresses, front cover design and initial layout take places and sales and marketing of the
book begins.
EDITORIAL STAGE
A decision is taken to publish a work, and the technical legal issues resolved, the author may
be asked to improve the quality of work through rewriting or smaller changes, and the staff
will edit the work. Publishers may maintain a house style, and staff will copy edit to ensure
that the work matches the style and grammatical requirements of each market. Editors often
choose or refine titles and headlines. Editing may also involve structural changes and request
for more information. Some publishers employ fact checkers, particularly regarding non-
fiction works.
DESIGN STAGE
When a final text is agreed upon, the next phase is design. This may include artwork being
may also be licensed from photo libraries. For those works that are particularly rich in
illustrations the publisher may contact a picture researcher to find and license the
photographs required for the work. The design process prepares the work for printing through
processes such as typesetting, dust jacket composition, specification of paper quality, binding
The type of book being produced determines the amount of design required. For standard
fictions titles, design is usually restricted to typography and cover design. For books
containing illustrations or images, design takes on a much larger role in laying out how the
page looks, how chapters begin and end, colours, typography, cover design and ancillary
materials such as posters, catalogue images and other sales materials. Non-fiction illustrated,
captions, typography and a deep involvement and consideration of the reader experience.
The activities of typesetting, page layout, the production of negatives, plates from the
negatives and, for hardbacks, the preparation of brasses for the spine legend and imprint are
now all computerized. Prepress computerization evolved mainly in about the last twenty
years of the 20th century. If the work is to be distributed electronically, the final files are
saved as formats appropriate to the target operating systems of the hardware used for reading.
The sales and marketing stage is closely intertwined with the editorial process. As front cover
images are produced or chapters are edited, sales people may start talking about the book
with their customers to build early interest. Publishing companies often produce advanced
information sheets that may be sent to customers or overseas publishers to gauge possible
sales. As early interest is measured, this information feeds back through the editorial process
and may affect the formatting of the book and the strategy employed to sell it. For example, if
interest from foreign publishers is high, co-publishing deals may be established whereby
publishers share printing costs in producing large print runs thereby lowering the per-unit
cost of the books. Conversely, if initial feedback is not strong, the print-run of the book may
be reduced, the marketing budget cut or, in some cases, the book is dropped from publication
altogether.
PRINTING
After the end of editing and design work the printing phase begins. The first step involves the
production of a pre-press proof, which the printers send for final checking and sign off by the
publisher. This proof shows the book precisely as it will appear once printed and represents
the final opportunity for the publisher to find and correct any errors. Some printing
companies use electronic proofs rather than printed proofs. Once the publisher has approved
the proofs, printing – the physical production of the printed work begins.
A new printing process has emerged as printing on demand. The book is written, edited, and
designed as usual. This procedure ensures low costs for storage, and reduces the likelihood of
BINDING
In the case of books, binding follows upon the printing process. It involves folding the
printed sheets, “securing them together, affixing boards or sides thereto, and covering the
DISTRIBUTION
The final stage in publication involves making the product available to the public, usually by
offering it for sale. In previous, centuries, authors frequently also acted as their own editor,
printer, and bookseller, but these functions have generally become separated. Once a book,
newspaper, or other publications is printed, the publisher may use a variety of channels to
distribute it. Books are most commonly sold through booksellers and through other retailers.
Newspaper and magazines are typically sold in advance directly by the publisher to
subscribers and then distributed either through the postal system or by newspaper carriers.
Periodicals are also frequency sold through newsagents and vending machines.
Within the book industry, printers often fly some copies of the finished book to publishers as
sample copies to aid sales or to be sent out for pre-release reviews. The remaining books
often travel from the printing facility via sea freight. Accordingly, the delay between the
approval of the pre-press proof and the arrival of books in a warehouse, much less in a retail
store, can take some months. For books that tie into movie release-dates (particularly for
children’s films), publishers will arrange books to arrive in store up to two months prior to
ANATOMY OF BOOK
ANATOMY OF BOOK
The New Encyclopedia Britannica asserted that there is no wholly satisfactory definition of a
book as the word covers variety of publications, for example, some publications that appear
periodically such as the world Almanac and Bok of facts may be regarded as books.
But the Encyclopedia gives the UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural
The world non-periodic distinguishes a book from other publications like Newspapers,
Journals, Magazines, etc. The dictionary definition of book is – a written or printed message
of considerable length, meant for public circulation and recorded on materials that are light,
The primary purpose of a book is to carry message between people depending on the twin
The book transcends time and space to announce expound, preserve and transmit knowledge.
The book has been proved to stand the test of acquisition, reservation, storage and
dissemination of information.
A book does not contain just anything but a message that is meant to inform and preserve
ANATOMY OF BOOK
Like the human features, the book has its anatomy. Book can be broadly divided into two
parts.
a. The cover
The cover which otherwise can be called the case is the cloth, or paper or strawboard at the
front and the back of a book fastened together with the spine. It could either be hard back or
soft back (hard or paper cover). It contains the title of the book and the publisher.
Spine: This is the back bone of the book. It is a place where all the leaves of the book are
held together and help the book to stand erect on the shelf. Where the spine is wide enough to
be written on, it bears the authors, titles and sometimes the publishers of the books this will
In between the cover and text book is a hallow, this allows a book to open properly. When a
book is opened the sheet that is pasted down to the cover is called paste down. The sheet
after, it is called fly leaf, they are there to protect the book. There also exist a gauze strength
to the book and most books without gauze easily break off into pieces.
1. Preliminaries
2. The text
3. Auxiliaries
Any materials that worth the name “book” must have the three parts enumerated above while
The preliminary parts of a book gives full information about the author, his view about the
book, his opinion on the environment and the purpose of the book. It also gives information
It is to be noted that not all books would have all these sub-divisions of the Preliminary
pages.
These are the blank sheets of papers immediately after that cover page. The purpose is to
keep the dust away from the title page and for the placement of ownership stamp or
identification.
The half title page precedes the fly leaves pages. The half title page has only the title and the
author’s name.
This page consists of the full title of the book. The page states the author’s full names;
credentials and some other items that make the reader recognize the author. The page also
gives the names of the publishers, place and date of publication, the year of publication and
the edition of the book. This page is used to extract the facts for cataloguing purposes.
entries. The International Standard Book Number is also found on the Title Page in most
book.
(iv) The Dedication Page
This page indicates the emotional attachment of the author. It shows who and what the author
respect. This may arise as a result of one of the following religion inclination, tribal
This is a short introduction to a book at the beginning and usually written by a person other
than the author. The foreword shows the experience, knowledge and credibility of the author
of the book.
The first page of a book giving a general idea of what the book contained. It is usually written
This gives details of what the book contained, with the corresponding page.
This page makes a list of materials, items that will facilitate the understanding of a book. It
indicates the page in which photographs, maps, drawing, diagram etc. appear in the book.
2. The Text
This is the main body of the work that shows the intellectual content of the work of the
author. It is the real message which the author wants put across to the readers. It is usually
3. Auxiliaries: Auxiliaries is further sub-divided into three (3) namely (a) The Alphabets (b)
a. The Appendix: Contains note that re too long to be inserted in the main text.
dialectical phrases which deserves further explanation is found in the Glossary page.
c. Index: This is an alphabetical list of topics, places, and names mentioned or discussed
in the text. The index gives the exact page or position these can be found in the book.
ORGANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE
In the process of becoming an educated person, there exists a certain hierarchy in the world
of learning. It begins with the gathering of data; continues with the organization and synthesis
Libraries provide access to the tools of leaving, critical thinking and analysis requires the
active participation of the librarians, the lecturer. Libraries represent a slice of the collective
body of human experiences, knowledge, and wisdom. By using these materials librarians
participate in the process of becoming educated by contact with the works of making people
become educated by contact with the works of the words profound thinkers, brilliant
scientists and compassionate leaders throughout the whole of human history, in order to
cultivate the quest for understanding and the desire for truth.
CLASSIFICATION
In order to make information available to people it must be organized in a useful way. The
difficulty in organizing information is due to the fact that describing the content of sources is
a subjective act. Someone must determine how a specific resources fits within the whole of
In order to make resources as accessible as possible librarians try to anticipate the different
ways people might search for them. It often proves difficult to focus a person’s information
request in such a way to match the request to a book, periodical, web page or other form of
published resource. The next section will begin to address the ways in which librarians are
In order to make materials accessible in some sort of locating tool like an on-line catalog and
to facilitate browsing of the library shelves, libraries attempt to organize and shelve materials
about the same subject matter together. Resources all often about move them one idea or
subject. Most cover a number of different subject and some cover two or three subjects in
equal depth. Deciding which subject into which the resources will be classified will have
The two major classification systems used in America Libraries to organize library materials
are the “Dewey Decimal Classification System (DDC)” and the Library of Congress System.
Both systems organized resources into subject categories and allow libraries to shelve similar
items together. Dewey is the older of the two classification systems and is mostly used by
public libraries and small academic libraries. The library of congress classification system is
used predominantly by academic libraries and other libraries that have large research
collections.
The library of congress classification system was developed by the library of congress in
Washington D.C. in the early 1900’s to organize the collections of the library. The library of
congress chose to develop its own classification system rather than the use Dewey Decimal
Classification system because of the large size of its collection. The Dewey Decimal
classification system was not considered flexible enough to meet the needs of the LC
collections. Most research and academic libraries have adopted the library of congress
classification system.
The library of congress classification system organizes knowledge into twenty one broad
categories. The first letter of a library of congress call number indicates the general subject
area. The second letter indicates the specific subject sections within the general category.
Library of congress classification scheme allows for greater precision in most fields and more
Each library of congress classification in represented by a set of capital letters and number.
The first letter in the set indicates one of 21 major areas of knowledge.
A - General works
J - Political Science
K - Law
L - Education
M - Music
N - Fine arts
Q - Sciences
R - Medicine
S - Agriculture
U - Military Science
V - Naval Science
Since most resources contain information on a number of different subjects, library users
used more comprehensive subject access information that can be provided by the broad
Consistent vocabulary is also needed to describe what a book or article is about. Online
catalogs use subject headings for books. Periodical, indexes use index terms for article.
Unfortunately, these are not always in agreement. Both subject headings and index terms are
topics.
Not only has the library of congress developed a classification system to organize its books
by subject on the library shelves, it also developed a subject heading to describe what a book
is about.
Library of Congress subject heading has its own listing and includes similar, broader and
narrower headings which may also be applicable to any search. A library of congress subject
heading is part of an interconnect list of related subject headings, sometimes like a family
tree. Infact, the phrase, “subject” tree is used to describe these related subject headings. To
Because a book has been assigned subject headings, patrons can use those same subject
headings to search the library catalogue to find other books about the same subject. This
effective technique of using subject important and productive skills library users learning use.
THE MERITS OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION SCHEME AND
(2) It is published separately, each subject or main class has its own schedule
(3) It is possible for a library to buy only one volume and use it e.g. 11TA Library uses only
(4) It has a very good financial banking. Thus it is very thoroughly revised or reviewed.
(5) The scheme is said to be stable by many librarians. It does not change rapidly or always.
(7) It is fairly easy for readers to use the scheme because the notation is psychologically easy
DRAWBACKS
(4) No official instruction manuals because the order is illogical and unnatural
(6) Does not put the bibliography of a subject with the subject.
Online catalog are used to find books and periodicals own by a particular library. To find
magazines and journal article citations, a finding resource called an index is used. Companies
that index magazine and journals article tend not to use the library of congress subject
Headings, rather they create subject heading used to describe the subject matter of individual
The index terms used to efficiently search in a periodical index or database are often made
subject terms used in a particular periodical index or data. It also lists synonyms for each
A database thesaurus often includes definitions, or notes explaining the use of a term in the
particular database. When a term is not used in the database, there are often suggestions for
terms that ewe. Using controlled vocabulary in any search will help ensure that one retrieves
This classification scheme, designed by Melville Dewey in 1876, is used by most of the
libraries on campus, Dewey divides knowledge into ten main classes with further sub
divisions accompanied by decimal notation. This notation repeats patterns, develops subjects
with parallel, construction, and repeats standard sub division so that it is easy to browse the
CATALOGUING
In library and information science, cataloguing is the process of creating meta data
representing information resources, such as books, sound recording, moving images etc.
cataloguing provides information such as creator names titles, and subject terms that describe
resources, typically through the creation of bibliography records. The records serve as
surrogates for the stored information resources. Since the 1970s these metadata are in
machine-readable form and are indexed by information retrieval tools, such as bibliographical
databases or search engines. While typically the cataloguing process results in the production
of library catalogs. It also produces other types of discovery tools for documents and
collections.
Bibliographic control provides the philosophical basis of cataloguing defining the rules for
sufficiency describing information resources to enable users to find and select the most
Catalogues serves as the “foundation of all library services as they are the ones who organize
TYPES OF CATALOGUING
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUING
“Descriptive cataloguing” is well established concept in the tradition of library cataloguing in
which a distinction is made between descriptive cataloguing and subject cataloguing, each
applying a set of standards, different qualifications and often also different kinds of
representing) have mostly been used to cover both “descriptive” and “subject” representation
descriptive cataloguing has been defined as “the part of cataloguing concerned with
describing the physical details of a book, such as the form and choice of entries and the title
page transcription.
SUBJECT CATALOGUING
Subject cataloging may take the form of classification or (subject) indexing. Classification
Dewey decimal classification or the library of congress subject heading. Indexing is the
CATALOGUING STANDARDS
Cataloguing rules have been define to allow for consistence cataloguing of various libraries
The English speaking libraries have shared cataloguing standards since the early 1800s, the
first such standards is attributed to Anthony Panizzi, the keeper of the printed books of the
British Museum library. His AZ rules published in 1821, form the basis for cataloguing
library, which at the time was positioned to become the national library of the United States.
Jewett used stereotype plates to produce the library’s catalogue in book forms, and proposed
the sharing of cataloguing among libraries. His rules were published in 1853. Jewett was
followed by Charles Ammi Cutterian American Librarian whose “rules for a dictionary
catalog” were published in 1876, cutter championed the concept of “ease of use” for library
patrons.
In the 20th century, library cataloguing was forced to address new formats for materials,
including sound reading, movies, and photographs. Seynour Lubertsky, once an employer of
the library of congress and later a professor at UCLA, was asked to do extensive studies of
the current cataloguing rules over the time period from 1946. His analysis shaped the
The published American and Anglo-American cataloguing rules in 20th century were;
The 21st century brought renewed thinking about library cataloguing in great part based on
the increase in the number of digital formats, but also because of a new consciousness of the
nature of the “work”. In the bibliographical context, often attributed to the principle
developed by Lubetzky. This was supported by the work of the international federation of
library association work on the functional requirements for bibliographic records (FRBR)
which emphasized the role of the work in the bibliographic entry from work to item.
The view was incorporated into the cataloguing rules subsequent to AACR2 – R, known as
CATALOGUING CODES
entry and how this information is presented for the user. It may also be aid to sort the entries
Currently, most cataloguing codes are similar to, even based on, the international standard
library Association and institutions. (IFLA) to describe a wide range of library materials.
These rules organize the bibliographic description of an item in the following eight areas title
and statement of responsibility (author or editor) edition, material specific details (for
example, the scale of a map). Publication and distribution, physical description (for example,
number of pages). Series, notes, and standard number (ISBN). The most commonly used
cataloguing code in the English-speaking world are the Anglo-American cataloguing rules,
2nd edition (AACR2) provides rules for descriptive cataloguing only and does not touch upon
subject cataloguing. AACR2 has been translated into many languages, for use around the
world.
CATALOGUING TERMS
Main entry or access point generally refers to the first author named on the item.
Additional authors are added as “added entries” in case where no clear author is named,
authority control prevents a user having to search for multiple variations of a title, author
or term.