INTRODUCTION
Private libraries is
the most uncommon type of library in existence especially in Africa, this is no
surprise because of the difficulty encountered in persuading individuals to
purchase just one book talk less of owning a private library. Economic breakdown and general lack of jobs
or for individuals can be blamed for this, but yet it is not a yardstick for
why individuals go through their lives without having a personal knowledge
reservoir - a private library.
The library institution
as a whole suffers from neglect and the private library is no exception to
this, when asked of their take on owning a private library or even visiting the
library at all they tend to shy away and give numerous excuses. However, the private library is vital to
shaping a man's understanding of his chosen field and its benefits cannot be
over emphasized.
In today's
"information jungle", there is need for every individual to acquire
and organize selected information materials on a personal level for knowledge
building in specific fields of interest. In view of these, this paper will
therefore discuss a private library and its importance, managing your own
private library through effective collection development and the challenges
expected and proffered solutions.
A PRIVATE LIBRARY
A private library is a
library that is established by a sole individual or in some cases a small group
of people with common interest in a specific field, a private library is
therefore under the care of private ownership.
As one would expect, a private library is usually small and usually
contains information materials relating to a specific field and rarely a number
of fields are included, this is because a private library is for personal use
and an individual will collect information materials to improve knowledge and
further in a chosen field.
The small nature of a
private library is however advantageous; information materials collected will
be of good quality and contain special information. The owner of a private library, who is not
burdened by the pressure of managing a large library or acquiring information
materials on various aspects on human knowledge like a public library,
therefore is in a better position to acquire rare and quality information
materials in a specific field. The Private Library Association (P.L.A.) has
described owners of private libraries has people who collect rare and fine
books, single author, special subjects and collectors of books for pleasure,
reading, ownership and I would like to add research. A private library accelerates specialization
and scholarly research.
A quick look at the
history of private libraries from the 7th century show that temples
and administrative institutions started the norm, but restricted its use to
scholars and nobility. The city of Rome is a major contributor to the
development of private libraries. Today,
firms into specialized field of study such as medical and engineering
organizations have libraries specially reserved for staff and researchers.
A private library and
special library are inter woven because a private library collects selected
materials making it automatically a special library, but a special library
becomes a private library at the same time, when its use is restricted to a
selectively limited group of people of even just one person. Private libraries which are located in homes,
where the individual collects information materials at his/her own pace and
interest, this kind of library is usually referred to as a “study”, other
private libraries located in offices focus on information matierials on a
particular field and is accessible to it’s only its owner making it different
from the former which should be open to all family members and household
guests.Major examples of private library is the Queen Elizabeth II library and
the Tianyi Pavilion which is the oldest private library in Asia.
MANAGING
YOUR PRIVATE LIBRARY
The
management of any library lies in the effective implementation of major
functions which are: selection and acquisition, organization, preservation and
conservation. To effectively manage your private library, these functions must
be carefully examined. Management does
not give desired results at once, infact, it is a slow growth through
difficulties met, but through persistent implementation of informed decisions,
postive results will be achieved.
*Selection and
Acqusition
Selection and
acquisition are the first stages in the management of your library, they are
joined together because both happen almost simultenously. They involve your
ability to spot books or serials in your field and determine its overall
relevance before you purchase. In
today’s world of information boom, books and serials exist every where
especially with the invention of the internet.
It is your duty as the information seeker to select materials that will
be relevant to you from the “information jungle” out there. These criteria will be of help to you:
-
The currency of the material: Date of
publication and printing (except in cases when the book is a classic.
-
The authority of the author.
-
Format of the mateiral: Cover page
(paper back or hard cover), legibility of the text and diagrams, pagination,
paper quality and so on.
-
Ability to eplain concepts in details
and discuss current trends in your field.
-
Price: The price of the material must
correspond to its quality i.e. you should get value for your money.
Acquistion of your
information mateirls can be through either of the following ways:
-
Purchase: The most common form of
acquiring imformation materials.
-
Gifts: Information materials given by
friends, family or body freely as a sign of good will.
-
Donation: Information materials giving
with respect to an event such as anniversaries, commissioning usually on behalf
of a person or body.
Selection and
acquisition are the first step to collection development in any library and
your private library is no exception. A
private library owner selects and acquires easier than in cases of other
libraries because of the ability to make quick personal decisions once
approched with potential information materials.
Howver, funds or money is a major obstacle as the individual has other
responsibilities that will be attended to.
*Organization
A private library in
most cases doesn’t need a classification scheme because collections are small
and less complex. Organization of a private library therefore, is based on
space and personal preferences, the owner of the library organize materials on
his/her intuition. Basically, all
materials having similar subjects should be grouped together for easy retrieval
and reference. For example, a private
library at home should be organized in such a way that children materials are
placed separately from others, so that on walking into the library they know
where their materials are and can retrieve them directly.
A private library in
the office also needs to be organized.
Information materials that are made reference to more often should be
located in a nearer and more accessible location and others which are seasonal
should be farther. In cases where a
private library will use a classification scheme, a simple one like the Dewey
Decimal Classification Scheme (D.D.C.) can be adopted.
*Preservation and
Conservation
Information materials
have a longer life span than of other libraries, this is because of the limited
number of users the private library has as compared to other libraries,
preservation methods therefore, are easily adopted and maintained by the
private library owner. Initial purchase
of hard cover paper back materials and jackets will immensely help the
preservation of the material. Private
libraries at home should be located at a reasonable distance from kitchen, food
store and dinning room to avoid insect and rodent attack on books. Your library
should be well ventilated with open windows, fans and air conditioning
systems. Rare and expensive information
materials should be kept out of the reach of children to avoid water spillage
and other damages that may occur from child play.
Private libraries in
offices and institutions should plan and implement effective preservation
techniques such as ensuring only authorized individuals have access to
information materials to prevent pilferage, purchase of hard paper back
materials, prohibiting food and drinks in the library.
Conservation of
information materials is very essential to the continuous use of information
materials in your private library.
Information materials should therefore be stored in good condition with
proper lightning and ventilation to rot to information materials.
IMPORTANCE
OF A PRIVATE LIBRARY
*Further personal
research
*Immediate reference
*Life long ownership
and transfer to offspring
*Specialization
*Up date on current
trends in your field.
