School Library Provision and Services in Sierra Leone

Introduction

Harrod's (2000), defined college library as an organized collection of books located in a faculty for the use of teachers and pupils, however generally for scholars. It may also comprise books of reference and or books for domestic reading and inside the care of a expert librarian, or instructor-librarian. It is variously call "Instructional Materials Centre", "Learning Centre or Media centre."

The School library serves as a carrier employer which supports the schools' targets and offers materials for all subjects and all hobby of scholars and teachers. The school library is a supportive useful resource of the college curriculum, its provisions, offerings, and improvement is directed at assisting college programmes (Kinnel, 1994).

Libraries typically have as their most important cause obtaining, processing, storing and disseminating facts to which school library isn't always an exception. The faculty library has a important role to play inside the records service. They offer materials relevant to the curricular wishes of all people with the faculty network. The significance of supplying such resources cannot be overemphasized if the college library is to be an instigator of and support for useful resource based gaining knowledge of inside the faculty.

Also, on the subject of facts talents, the library and its librarian, make available substances and services in distinct sorts to allow each scholars and the college community to use those talents in finding the information they want.

The reason and philosophy of school library service are hastily being understood and usual by way of college directors and instructors. The truth necessitates that the college librarian be very well familiar with the ones functions along with guidance, the reading programme and the enrichment programme for pupils and instructors. However, Albert Academy library has no trained and certified librarian, who is aware and performs the ones purposes so as to make certain that the carrier provision is fully attained.

Albert Academy School Library

The Albert Academy changed into inaugurated at the 4th October 1904. It turned into until 1975 while the Albert Academy Alumni Association in their assembly idea it clever that such a reputable institution must now not cross with out a library as the development of faculty libraries become at its maximum height at that point. An concept to erect a library constructing was born with the collaboration of the alumni association and the owners of the school that is the United Methodist Church. The library changed into installed with the goal of having a place where pupils should pass and explore new thoughts to similarly enhance their school curriculum sports and entertainment as well.

The library turned into formally opened to the entire college community via His Excellency the late Dr. Siaka P. Stevens on 4th October 1976, then President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and additionally a member of the Albert Academy Alumni Association elegance of 1922. The library was named after him following the tremendous contribution he made in the direction of organising the library for the college network. The Albert Academy Library has a mission to "Support school curriculum sports by way of supplying substances of relevance within the college system and to introduce new and stepped forward information resources to help make the college to be consistent with current requirements of training."

The objectives of the Albert Academy school library are as follows:

I. To offer scholars with library materials and services maximum appropriate and most meaningful of their growth and improvement;

ii. To take part absolutely in college programmes because it strikes to satisfy the wishes of pupils, teachers, parents and others network contributors;

iii. To stimulate and guide scholars in all stages in their studying that they may locate growing leisure and delight and may develop in essential judgment and appreciation;

iv. To make to be had new improvement and keep pupils abreast of modern traits in education understand reader's desires and retaining them well informed to be able to create a nicely dynamic academic surroundings;

v. To work with the instructor in the selection and manufacturing of tutorial materials that meet the aims of the curriculum, provide steerage within the use of series, assessment of education programmes and materials, facilitates the place, enterprise and maintenance of substances effectively; and

vi. To help students to end up professional users of libraries and of published and audio-visual substances.

Library Provision at Albert Academy School Library

A important function within the statistics provider provided via cutting-edge faculty library is inside the provision of substances relevant to the curricular desires of pupils and teachers. In current years, the curriculum activities have moved to every other degree, wherein the faculty being supportive resource of this movement, need to enterprise to house an expansion of print and non-print substances and feature get admission to in which feasible to digital resources of records which might be also part of the information resources inside the library.

Given the demands of the contemporary faculty curriculum, the college library must now residence a wide variety of print and non-print materials and have get admission to, wherein feasible, to electronic sources of facts. The Albert Academy School gives revealed materials, e book, fiction and non-fiction in addition to pamphlets, newspapers, chart, photographs, monographs, manuals, handbooks, textbooks and other reference books the library also offers non-books materials which consist of audio and audio-visible substances, slides, tape-slides, video cassettes, and CD ROM's. Although those aren't materials within the traditional feel, they still constitute sources for use by way of scholars and instructors. Use of digital sources assist school libraries to give pupils and instructors with a idea of a School Information Centre which isn't always persevered to the faculty however is a link to an endless supply of information (Herring, 1988).

Albert Academy School Library Services

The reason of establishing Albert Academy School Library is to offer offerings for each scholars and teachers in a bid to meet one of its fundamental functions, which is to useful resource curriculum goals by means of supplying services which are indispensably linked to the achievement of this motive.

One of the important services of the Albert Academy School library is to act as lower back-up to the under resourced college programme. Even superior international locations cannot without problems inventory materials ranging from five thousand (five,000) to 20 thousand (20,000) in a small room to offer help to highschool programmes. Therefore, they see the need for important inventory of substances which can be borrowed for differing lengths of time (lending service) and also for analyzing and consultation offerings. This is finished so as to increase the college curriculum on the Albert Academy that is inclusive of the Basic Sciences and Technology, Social Sciences, Humanities and the Fine Arts.

Albert Academy School library additionally offers inter-library mortgage offerings requests. This is especially valuable to senior students analyzing topics across topics offered in depth. Pupils who cannot have the funds for to buy or get right of entry to such highly-priced substances gain from this form of library provider. Through inter-library loan services, materials are sourced from other faculties libraries for the advantage of both pupils and teachers.

A reference carrier is also provided at Albert Academy School library. The School Librarians spend a widespread proportion of their time imparting what in other libraries term might be termed as reference carrier. In offering a reference service, faculty Librarians carry out a comparable position to that of other librarians. In a reference interview in college, every student is handled as essential as the other and given the Librarian's complete attention. This is finished by means of personal assistance given to the scholars and teachers in locating specific facts whether or not direct or indirect. Some of the reference materials at the Albert Academy School Library are dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, yearbooks, biographies newspapers, maps and charts, and the academic and administrative calendar of events or the operation of the college.

One of the maximum valuable offerings furnished by Albert Academy School library is that of statistics provision. The Albert Academy School library continues the teachers and scholars knowledgeable approximately new instructional assets and development inside the fields of hobby to them with the aid of showing the jackets of books that simply arrived. The Albert Academy School library makes use of Current Awareness Services (CAS) to obtain this goal. This is finished with the aid of figuring out the facts needs of each teachers and scholars and assembly those desires. Linked to the CAS is the Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) and this is more specific with instructors. This levels from preserving character teachers knowledgeable approximately new assets inside the library or approximately newly posted substances, to alerting teachers to conferences and course needs or occasion connected to their curricular hobby.

Challenges of Library Provision and Services on the Albert Academy School Library

No rely what an organization has to depend as achievement, is bound to stand sure difficulties that stand earlier than it as demanding situations to its success. School Libraries in Sierra Leone, in particular Albert Academy School Library are not with out demanding situations.

To begin with the library and its assets had been left out by way of the scholars and instructors. Despite their all-critical nature of carrier provision in aid to them they do not see it as a treasured part of their activities. This is because most instructors and students do not get ok deliver of textbooks and other materials without delay linked to the curriculum programme and most instructors put together pamphlets for sale to pupils from which there coaching is based. This has precipitated most of the scholars to heavily rely on the ones resources instead of the library sources.

The School Library has a staffing assignment. For instance the Albert Academy School Library has no expert library staff to handle an statistics carrier for over two thousand scholars and teachers.

Furthermore, the library has a task with area. The space provided for the library from inception is no longer sufficient for the faculty. The school populace in phrases of instructors and students has grown relatively excessive to over  thousand (2000) scholars and team of workers as compared to the distance furnished for a touch over Five hundred (500) scholars and workforce approximately 40 years ago. It has grow to be hard to access the library and its assets.

In addition, there may be a funding problem. The Albert Academy School Library is confronted with the difficultly of securing funds from the faculties government for an powerful series improvement. The library relies upon closely on donations and gifts to stock its collection and maximum of these materials given on this guise are not reflective of the publications offered in the faculty curriculum. Often, the faculty management has to unfold meager monetary assets throughout a wide spectrum of faculty desires.

The status quo of the laptop laboratory with mild internet facilities independent of the school library has additionally created a hassle for the Albert Academy School Library. The teachers and scholars could favor to visit the Computer centre for Internet offerings lots greater that journeying the library. The separation of the Internet facilities from the library offerings has posed a severe hazard to the library provision and services.

Also, it's far quite tested that the Albert Academy School Library lacks the capability to offer for the visually impaired or handicapped. The absence of school library substances within the Braille format prevents blind and the partially sighted scholars to make use of the to be had library resources of their faculties libraries.

Final, the issue of upkeep of library materials isn't a common practice for the Albert Academy School. This upkeep is meant to make sure that the materials last long because of their common use. It has turn out to be difficult to access funds to maintain substances that are under chance of carrying out through continuous use.

Despite a few gloomy predictions on the destiny investment of training and possible regulations at the availability of resources at the Albert Academy School Library, the destiny of the school library appears assured. It can be argued that because of cutting-edge educational and technological tendencies, there has never been a greater want for properly-resourced and professionally staffed faculty library than it's miles now. The emphasis at the person's-the kid's and the grownup's-capability to discover and use data efficiently is possibly to keep in schools, at paintings and for spare time activities. A future society depending on digital data for its prosperity will need an data curriculum in its colleges. Hence the provision of precise college library provision and offerings inside the college curriculum can not be overemphasised (Kargbo, 2000).