2 Institutional and Social Context of Academic Libraries (Extension Work)-1

P Venkata Rao and Preeti Sharda

Introduction 

We have relations with our family members, relatives, neighbours, and fellow workers etc. We make all efforts to improve these relations and do our best to prove the usefulness of relations with them. We also extend our world of relations by making new relations with others. In almost the same way, an institution keeps relations with its customers, suppliers, etc. It also proves it’s utility as well as improves its competency.

It is obligatory on the component of any organization especially convivial organization which runs with public funds and for public service. Likewise, a library that is a gregarious institution withal keeps cognations with its users whom it gives services and other libraries whose resources are utilized by it. Libraries command respect in our societies. They are as ubiquitous as schools.

According to Adio (2004)1 information is power and libraries are places where information services are rendered to the users in different format. The library more than any other institution in the society opens to the users the treasury embodied in books and all other information resources available in the library (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1990). Library power derives primarily from repositories. According to Ighen  (1993)2   for  a  library  to  be  functional,  the  services  it  provided  should correspond in tandem with the needs of its users because the user is the reason for the existence of the library while the library should see that the services so provided are exploited to the maximum. Meanwhile, the library occupies a central and primary place serving the functions of teaching, learning and research in the creation of new knowledge, promotion of current information in professional practice and transmission to posterity of the learning and culture of the present and past ages (LawaI, 2004)3. In the view of Obajemu (2002)4 a good library is indispensable if academic excellence is to be achieved in any academic setting because it adds breath to the depth of learning. The Modern library assembles information both print and none print from countless sources and make such available and accessible to every user. It sustains individual freedom of inquiry and opinion and at the same time, it supports educational freedom.

The social role of library is highly complex and the responsibilities which society has placed upon it are  stupendous. Certainly there is no one library form that can achieve them all: there must be many types of libraries to assume this responsibility. In modern society there are different communities of clientele with different interests: public, academics, students, researchers, businessmen, workers, agriculturalists, students, etc. To meet varied demands one may recognize the following types of libraries: 1. Public Library 2. Special Library 3. National Library; and 4 Academic Library.

According to Dr.S.R.Ranganathan, public library is “a public institution or establishment charged with the care of collection of books and the duty of making them accessible to those who require the use of them.”

According to American Library Association (ALA ) glossary of library and information science- SPECIAL LIBRARY is “a library established, supported and administered by a business firm, private corporation, association, government agency, or other special interest group or agency to meet the information needs of its members or staff in pursuing the goals of the organisation. Scope of collections and services is limited to the subject interest of the host or parent organization”

A National Library keeps all documents of and about a nation under some legal provision and thus represents publications of and about the whole nation.

An Academic Library has been defined as: “a library which is associated or attached with any educational institution to support its educational programmes”.

Academic Library 

A library attached to any educational institution is known as academic library. It is an important intellectual resource of the academic community. It helps to an academic institution members for their „self development‟ to fulfil the curriculum requirements and to promote studies and research. The primary characteristic of a good academic library is to make complete identification with its own institution. The main objective of academic library is to function as an auxiliary to parent institution in carrying out its teaching programme effectively.

According to Harrod‟s Librarians‟ Glossary, academic libraries are, “those of universities, polytechnics, colleges, schools, and all other institutions forming part of or associated with, educational institutions”. According to Online Dictionary for Library & Information Science academic library is, “A library that is an integral part of a college, university, or other institution of postsecondary education, administered to meet the information & research needs of its students, faculty, and staff”.

Academic library is an integral part of formal education system which provides time bound education from primary school level to university level. An academic library works as a base for teaching, learning, research etc. Academic libraries are libraries established in tertiary institutions, they include libraries in Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges and schools. The roles of these libraries are similar and that is to effectively support institutions to attain the key functions of teaching, research and community services. These institutions are responsible for the production of middle and higher level manpower for national development (Okiy, 2012)5. The extent to which they are able to effectively accomplish that task depends largely on how well their libraries are equipped with the relevant information resources and made available to users upon demand. Moreover, Adeyemi et al (2013)6 discovered that “For today’s academic libraries to attract value to itself and stay relevant in the current dispensation, it must continue to evolve in order to meet the expectations of the users in terms of comforts and demands because library should be made accessible to students and researchers alike, anytime, any day, particularly during the academic session.

The modern academic library is not only a collection of textbooks. It includes other sources like reference materials, books relating to curriculum, general books not relating to a specific subject area, periodicals, newspapers, audiovisual materials, government publications and electronically stored and retrievable materials. These resources enable libraries to play a crucial role in the success of lifelong education of communities and society in general. It is a well known fact that education at certain levels goes beyond the normal teacher–student or classroom–student relationship. Students who really intend to acquire substantial knowledge must work independently in their search by using reference materials and other sources available in the library. Apart from being agents of educational change, libraries serve other purposes like economic, social, political and recreational changes because they contain the written history, culture and knowledge of the human race.

Types: In general the education system comprises of three divisions namely; School, College, & University. Libraries attached to these academic institutions are also divided in the same way as;

i.   School library

ii.  College library

iii. University library

A library associated or connected with a school and used by the students, teachers and staff of that school is called a SCHOOL LIBRARY.

A library attached or associated with a college and used by teachers, students and staff of the college is known as COLLEGE LIBRARY.

A library attached or associated with a university and used by students, teachers, researchers, administrative staff etc. of the university as well as by the other research workers, alumni outside the university is known as university library.

University library is expected to cater to the varied needs of graduates, post- graduates, research scholars & faculty members. As a result university library is only treated as the heart of the academic institution.

University Library:  For higher education the university library is the center of learning & intellectual activity. Each university has a central library attached to it & may have many constituent libraries attached to different teaching departments or the constituent colleges.

According to Hamlin, there are three functions of university library;

i.    Conservation of knowledge

ii.   Extension of knowledge (Research)

iii.  Transmission of knowledge (Teaching)

Thus the university library is not merely a store house of books, yet it is a dynamic agency to assists the scholars & researchers in carrying out their pursuits in the advancement of knowledge by making use of documents in libraries.

Extension Service in Library 

The first Law of Library Science “Books are for use” is firmly established if the libraries realize that their existence is justified only by the extent to which their books are used by the readers. Again, the third law of library science “Every book of its reader” also gives emphasis on the same concept. But here books cannot move to their users. Therefore, all the efforts should be on the part of library itself to bring the books at the door step of users. Dr. Ranganathan is in favour to adopt the shop analogy by the libraries to implement the laws of library science. The most suitable method is public relations and extension services of the library to reach all people of the community. Through various programmes and proper planning, the Extension Services are efforts to reach the maximum number of people; whereas Public Relation is an attempt to interact with the people by informing about the resources and services of library as well its importance to them. Therefore, this is an obligation of a library: to get the views of users about its utility and quality of services from time to time; and to expand its area by making new users and by having cooperation with new libraries. An effort of a library to increase the number of its users to make the maximize   use   of   its   resources    is    called  Extension Service. It is the provision of library materials and services outside the library’s regular service centre or outlet.

According to Dr. S. R. Ranganathan7, “Apart from such methods of pure publicity, libraries are now a day‟s developing certain new types of work which, in addition to their being directly educative or recreational, lead also to publicity as an important secondary product.” These activities are named as the extension services of libraries.

Mc Colvin8  considers it as means “to increase the number of readers and the volumes of work and later to make the library more useful to more people”. ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science 1983 defines it as “the provision by a library of  materials and services (including advisory services) to individuals and organizations outside its regular service area, especially to an area in which library service is not otherwise available.

Krishan Kumar9, “An extension service aims at converting non-readers in to readers. It creates and stimulates the desire for good reading. This is done by bringing books and readers together. This results in exploitation and promotion of collections.”

OBJECTIVES: The main objectives of Extension Services are:

• To  convert  a  library  into  a  social,  cultural  and  intellectual  centre;  which encourages reading;
• Its aim is to convert non readers in to readers and non user to user;
• To bring books and readers together.
• To inform the reader of all the facilities offered by the library this in turn maximizes the use of library resources.
• It creates and stimulates the desire for good reading and brings book and reader together;
• It is to create image of the library among the public and government.
• As  a  means  of  publicity  to  enlist  financial  support  or  otherwise  for  the libraries.

Why Extension Services in Academic Libraries 

An Academic library should extend its resources and services to other residents of the community in which it is located in addition to its primary clientele. This is more crucial in villages and communities where public libraries are not available. Not every village of India has a public library, but every village has a school and some villages have colleges also. This is why an academic library should, as much as possible; make its resources and services available to all residents of the community on equal terms regardless of occupation, creed, age, class or political inclination.

Secondly the increasing use of electronic resources off-campus has resulted in both declining circulation of print materials and reduced use of reference services in academic libraries. These trends, combined with reports of falling library gate counts, have led to numerous claims of the impending death of the traditional academic library. While some have resigned themselves to putting libraries on life support, others have responded with aggressive treatment: installing “social” spaces like cafés, museums, and theatres; creating collaborative group study spaces; and developing “information commons.” These very different responses to the plight of academic libraries are rooted in the idea that academic libraries are little more than storage facilities for printed materials.

If academic libraries do nothing more than store books, then patrons‟ increasing reliance on electronic resources accessible anywhere may indeed mean the death of the academic library as it currently exists. New models of the academic library may therefore be warranted. But the academic library has never been just a book warehouse. Historically, patrons have come to academic libraries not only for the intellectual resources they offer, but for the spaces in which to seriously engage those resources. The rise of electronic resources may mean that patrons no longer have to come to academic libraries to access the information they need, but many still come anyway. In a changing educational environment, the role of the academic library continues to evolve rapidly. Today libraries need the tools to be able to help highly mobile students, staff and researchers source content from all over the world in a multitude of formats. They also need the means to shine a light on the vital work that academic libraries contribute. Now libraries have to go out or they have to increase the length of their hands in the form of extension service to survive in the age of Information technology.

Purpose of Extension Services in the Academic Libraries 

The purpose of the extension services it to establish the contact between the librarian and the reader; it implies putting the library into the most cordial and understanding relationship with all the people of the community. Through extension programmes the librarians attempt to convert the library into a social centre, their aim is:

• To make the non users of the library as users of the library
• To create and stimulate the desire of the good reading
• To act as a link between mind and idea
• To act as an effective part in the implementation of the cultural programme of the community
• To provide library services to the areas where there are no public libraries
• To participate in adult education programmes
• For optimum utilization of library resources

Prerequisite for Extension Services 

To perform the extension services effectively the following facets in terms of infrastructure, equipments, skilled staff, etc. are needed:

1)    To execute any extension service a proper planning by considering all the concerned aspects is necessary. Inadequacy at any part may fail the whole programme;

2)    All the extension services must be to encourage the people to use the library and to make the maximum utilization of library resources for the development of the society.

3)    The library should have a good collection to support all extension activities.

4)    The library should have a lecture hall, an exhibition lobby, conference rooms etc. to organize workshops, lectures, debates, exhibitions, music concerts and other social and cultural programmes;

5)    The library should have multimedia projector, audio-visual equipments like slide and film projector, mike, recording facility etc. also required in the library;

6)    Academic libraries especially school and college libraries need to extend their timings in order to serve general public and researchers. And University libraries should allow their access to researchers even if they are not pursuing any degree from the respective university.

7)    The librarian and other library staff should be able to establish good public relations in the community so that maximum community members may participate in such programmes actively; the librarian should be a good organizer, should understand the needs of the different categories of the community and be knowledgeable about the collection of the library.

8)    The coordination and cooperation among the staff members is also an important element for successful execution of extension services.

9)    Academic libraries can take help of their students and faculty members for providing extension services. They can also involve their Ex students and group of volunteers including the students who are pursuing their library science degree to extend their library services.

The Extension Services 

Dr. Ranaganathan has given the following techniques or programmes to provide library extension services:

• Intellectual Centre;
• Library Talks and Public Lectures;
• Library Exhibitions;
• Story Hours;
• Festivals and Fairs;
• Display of New and Topical Books;
• Quiz Programmes;
• Celebration of Books Week.

Forms of Extension Services: 

The Library extension services may be of internal or external type. The internal extension service includes orientation programmes and the external extension service includes the mobile library service, publicity programmes etc. Some of the main forms of extension services are as follows:

1)  Display of Library Material 

Display of library material is most important library service to spread the news of Library belongings. It brings together the material which is separated by the scheme of classification, which are normally associated. The purpose of display it to reveal the thought content of the documents on display; hence, it is the tool for stock utilization. Display‟s brings to people‟s notice the latest additions to the libraries. A display can be topical or subject display. To command attention and to more effective displays should be neat, simple and eye catching. Display of book jackets with small review in the library shop windows definitely attracts the passers-by even after the library is closed. Colourful eye-catching displays enhance the neat and orderly appearance of the library.

2)  Exhibitions 

Exhibitions are display of library material on much more ambitious work. They are mostly arranged to publicize less-known materials, encourage reading, promote interest in a specific field or group of specific fields, call attention to particular anniversary  or the centenary of a religious place, acknowledge outstanding gifts, encourage hobbies or celebrate “Book Week” to highlight the literature and the many facilitates provide by the library. At the time of talk, festival, fair, drama, etc. a book exhibition on the relevant topic may be arranged. Exhibition on local history, local festivals, art, photograph and painting can offer great opportunity to attract the attention of the community. Periodical exhibition of books which have a bearing on topical theme enhances the chances of books finding their readers. Occasional exhibitions of unused books might prove useful for the reader in getting interested in books and using them. Each exhibit should have a specific objective. Skilful use of colour contrast, background lighting and equipments should aid considerably in attracting the interest of the readers.

3)  Adult Education 

Adult Education can be one of the important services of the academic libraries of developing countries like India. This service can help in removing poverty and illiteracy and lead to educate the illiterates. Academic libraries can provide learning opportunities for adults who were not able to get education earlier including the adults who face economic and other challenges. They can offer classes that help low-skilled adults to build their reading and math skills. This is important, because adults‟ cognitive skills continue to develop after they leave formal education (Reder, 2009)10. Academic Libraries can help adults for learning English and computer so that they can develop developing their digital literacy and other skills. Librarians help adults to find information about healthcare. For running such programs academic libraries can either make a club of their students or alumni or the volunteers who want to serve this section of the society. This kind of service can only be provided in the extended hours of the academic libraries, so that it doesn‟t disturb the routine functioning of the institution. Reading hours for adults who cannot read should be arranged by the libraries. Once they become neo-literates the library then should take upon itself to see to it that they do not lapse into illiteracy again

4)  Membership to the General Public

Students, teachers, researcher and other staff members are allowed to use the library with a minimal library security. Academic libraries can offer their membership to general public by enhancing this security. This will in turn help in maximum utilization of the library resources.

5)  Reading Circle, Study Circle: 

Students with common interest may be brought together by the academic libraries to a reading circle. Subject specialists may be brought together by the librarians to constitute a reading circle. Each reading circle should be given necessary facilities regarding the materials and a suitable place to hold the meeting, so they can discuss on various topics and exchange their ideas. Such reading circles are usually effective agencies in thoroughly utilizing the library resources for the study of respective subjects by the experts.

6)  Extension Talks and Lectures 

An academic library should organize lectures and talks by eminent persons and also by library staff. With the help of such lectures many new users can attract towards library and old users can gain more and new knowledge. In the extended hours libraries can invite local associations to hold their public lectures and about the current topics or topics of general interests. Librarians can also avail this opportunity for announcing a select-list of books on the subject matter of the talk that could be consulted in or borrowed from the library. Academic librarians can initiate new students and faculty members for such talks.

7)    Story hours for children 

Academic libraries can also arrange for story hours, talks and other attractive forms of extension services to allure children and the kindergarten students to come to the library. The purpose of such activity is to encourage in children the love of language and literature in all forms. They will listen to, observe and imitate the books and activities librarian share, building reading readiness as they grow. During the story hours, staff should read two to three stories, sing several finger plays or rhymes, have a short film and work on a themed craft. The goal of such program should be to help children develop strong early literacy skills, while also having fun with stories and songs. Such programs can be organized in the school libraries during the school hours for the school students and for the other children during the extended hours.

8)    Library Orientation / Library Tour: 

The term “orientation” means “the adjustment or alignment of oneself or ones ideas to surroundings circumstances Library orientation or user orientation towards the library has to do with adjusting the new library user to the library. Many potential library patrons do not know how to use a library effectively. This can be due to the lack of early exposure, shyness, or anxiety and fear of displaying ignorance. These problems led to the emergence of the library instruction movement, which advocated library user education. Academic Libraries do library orientations to help library users to feel at home in the library and trust the competency of the library staff. It helps to enable library users to become skilled at finding information and thus foster feelings of confidence and independence. Library orientation makes library users aware of the library and the services it offers. Library orientation educates people regarding general use of the library. The reference staff may orient the user either in formal way or informally into the library system.

9)  Celebration of Festival and Events and Arranging Cultural Programmes: 

Academic libraries can arrange popular festivals and events in the library which may also arrange a drama, a puppet show, a music concert, a film show, a magic show etc. Such cultural programmes can prove great attraction for the community or can celebrate various birth anniversaries of eminent people such as Gandhi Jayanti, S.R. Ranganathan‟s jayanti, shiv jayanti etc. On such occasions a book exhibition related to the programme should be arranged.

10)  Library Related Competitions 

Academic libraries should hold library related competitions from time to time to promote its services and products. Competitions can range from a fancy dress show casing the favourite characters of story books in a kindergarten to reference and book hunting in a college. The purpose of these competitions is to encourage students in the reading. Competitions like slogan writing, book jacket making and book marking encourage the students to read the book.

11)  The Book of the Month 

To create an atmosphere for reading in the society with the scent of books, a monthly selection of one single recommended material is nominated as the Book of the Month, and a monthly seminar featuring the nominated book is also held every month of the year. In the seminar, the author of the selected book (or other book reviewers) is invited to deliver a speech at the in the Library. Apart from the library users‟ general public may to come and attend the event.

12)  Information Literacy services 

“Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning.” (American Library Association, Introduction to the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education). Information literacy has long been a core activity for academic libraries providing access to information and knowledge and facilitating its effective use. Information literacy has changed its form over recent years to address the newer challenges and opportunities in research and learning brought about through ICT. In addition to traditional info literacy skills such as locating, evaluating and managing information, researchers and Bachelor, Master or PhD students need more streamlined guidance on communicating outputs. This includes topics such as plagiarism, copyright, information integrity and ethics, publishing, and data and online profile management.

How to Popularize the Extension Services of an Academic Library 

Advertising about the library and services provided by the library should be done through the newspaper, radio, television etc. Extension services can reach the neighbourhood through radio talks and interviews in community radio of the library. It helps to increase the use and user of the academic library.

Publication: Academic library can publish publications like annual report, reading guide, library magazine / bulletin and other similar publications. It is also a marketing tool to increase use of library.

Library Bulletin: The library bulletin should not only list fresh books and some important articles published in current issues of journals but should also give brief annotations wherever the content of new material needs. The library bulletin can take the form of indexing or abstracting service or table of content of periodicals received in the library or the list of recent publications or acquisition.

Annual Report: The annual report is the official document of the library for recording the annual library activities in totality. It is the statement of assessment and evaluation of all the departments of the library. It is the survey of works carried out during the preceding year with summarization of the activities and achievements of the library.

Social Media Tools for Extension Services 

Through the Internet, people can access information and can generate ideas more efficiently. The Internet optimizes social networking through which people get communicate with each other in minimum time and minimal cost. Media is an instrument for communication, like a newspaper or a radio, so social media would be a social instrument of communication. Social Media Tools, such as Facebook, RSS, Wikis, blogs, Myspace, Flickr,etc. are the tools on the World Wide Web which help to build social networks to interact with each other or to find people with similar interest. These tools allow people to create, share or exchange information, ideas, and pictures/videos in electric environment. Academic libraries can use social media tools to disseminate information, market its services and promote new event and activities. Academic libraries can use these tools specifically for providing extension service.

Benefits of Social Media Tools in library: 

• Helps in quick spread of information about extension services & activities.
• Helps in communication and Promotion of the extension services.
• Leads to enhanced communication between librarian & students.
• Leads  to  engagement  and  feedback  of  library  of  library  users  about  the Extension services provided by the academic libraries.

Various social media tools which can be used by academic libraries for extension services are:

SOCIAL PHOTO AND VIDEO SHARING

Tools like YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, MySpace etc. are very popular tools for Social Photo and Video Sharing. On one hand YouTube allows individuals and organizations to post original videos; on the other hand Flickr allows users to post photographs and to create discussion groups. Academic libraries can use the tools to communicate with colleagues and to answer user‟s queries about the extension serives. Academic libraries can either post videos of library tours as well as bibliographic instruction videos for students on YouTube or post photos of the library and its staff to provide a virtual tour of the library itself while simultaneously putting a human face to the building on a Flickr account. Academic libraries can also post material from special collections or pictures of the library building on Flickr to promote their extension services. Libraries can create their own library pages on Facebook to create library awareness and to function as a marketing tool. Such sites can be used to provide answers to users enquiries more efficiently. Such sites help the librarians to enhance their social visibility through profiles that shows a inform identity. They can be used to provide reference assistance and library tours and promoting services.

RSS (REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION) 

RSS (really simple syndication) is one of the tools used for the distribution of information online with cell phones, handhelds, database, etc. The information that is published through an RSS is supplied all the same way, no matter what type of technology is used. Therefore, a messages sent from a cell phone can be received from a Blog and sent automatically to an email. The ability of the RSS is to funnel through many types of technology and present the information into an easy-to-read format. They save time. The receiver is in charge of the type of information to be accepted. RSS feeds can be use to publish any announcement from the library web site on activities, exhibitions, promotions and new library resources, especially databases, in a way RSS feed can be an appropriate tool to tell the users about the extension services of the academic library. RSS feeds can be also be used for easy generation of various kinds of book lists

WIKIS 

Wiki is a website that allows anyone to add, delete, or revise content by using a web browser11. It also allows for linking among any number of pages. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring. Wikis are collaborative Web pages allowing for higher user participation. Wikis allow users to create Web pages and documents as a collaborative community.  Within  academic  libraries,  Wikis  can  be  used  for  the  creation  of collaborative subject guides with links to resources on a chosen topic or for a particular class, including information regarding relevant databases and search tips tailored to that subject. Students conducting research on a topic can use the resources provided as well as edit the Wiki to include additional information. Thus, a Wiki-based subject guide allows for collaboration between academic librarians and the students.

BLOGS AND BLOGGING 

Blog, short for Weblog, is a Web site that contains brief entries arranged in reverse chronological order. Blogs are diverse, ranging from personal diaries to news sites that monitor. Blogs encourage user interaction through their comment feature, which allows students to provide feedback regarding the information provided and the library itself. In one form, academic librarians can post news about the library as well as events occurring at the library.

Blogs allow students to comment on the information included in the blog by inviting user feedback regarding the library. Promoting the library’s services, resources, and programs online can be a lot easier with the help of a blog. Blogs can be very effective tools for reaching online audiences. Micro-blogging is a newer blog option made popular by Twitter. Twitter allows registered users to post brief messages for other users who follow the account and to comment on other user posts. Unlike traditional blogs, sites such as Twitter allow librarians to go where the students are already located. Libraries post hour changes, events, new resources available, search tips, deadlines, links to the library Web sites, responses to student comments, and news affecting students without the requirement that students visit the official library Web site. Ultimately, blogs allow libraries to provide easy-to-update information for students while also encouraging student comments and interaction.

IM MESSENGER (CHAT REFERENCE) 

Instant messaging (IM) has become a popular communication method, especially among younger generation who form a large segment of the academic libraries. Simply stated, IM is real-time online communication between two or more people. The medium enables people to “chat” via the Internet by rapidly ex changing text messages. One user chats with another user by typing a message into a specialized window, or “chat room,” generated by IM software‟s like Viber, Whatsup, Sype or IMO. The message appears almost immediately on the other user‟s screen. The recipient reads it and replies by typing a response. Only an Internet connection is required to access basic chat systems.

IM presents an alternative for librarians seeking to reshape the delivery of reference services. Because physical boundaries do not stand in the way of communication, it is possible to reach remote users across campus and around the world. In addition to immediacy, convenience, and accessibility, online reference offers other advantages. Patrons who are embarrassed by the nature of their question or their lack of knowledge can remain anonymous during IM reference. Unlike e-mail and Web forms, IM is well suited to conducting reference interviews, clarifying questions, and receiving feedback. Furthermore, it now makes telecommuting a practical alternative for busy reference librarians.

SOCIAL BOOKMARKING 

Social bookmarking Web sites have also emerged to encourage users to store their Internet bookmarks and to interact with users bookmarking similar Web sites. Social bookmarking is a form of link management that lets “users to collect and label information  resources for  both  their  own  use  and  for  sharing  with  other  users” (Gilmour & Strickland, 2009, p. 234)12. The bookmarks can be accessed from any computer or browser. After bookmarking, users tag their links with keywords that describe the Web page‟s content so that a tag cloud of related Web sites can be viewed and so that the user can view what other sources users tagged have with the same keyword.

The most popular social bookmarking Web site is Delicious. The site allows users to friend other users to see what they tag and to view other Web sites tagged with a particular keyword. Academic librarians can use social bookmarking to create resource lists and bibliographies for different departments and classes that can be viewed by students. Academic libraries can also add the content and tags from their Delicious account to the library catalogue in order to create access points for materials that are not adequately described by the existing Library of Congress Subject Headings. Another option is to create a university-based social bookmarking Web site. This illuminates how students search and categorize resources. Additionally, it gives students more input in the process of categorizing academic resources. Though social bookmarking does not include the same level of interaction as some other social networking tools, it does have potential uses within academic libraries.

Conclusion: 

No academic library can afford to close its doors to users‟ expectation especially in this day and age when information has gone beyond leaps and bounds. It is pertinent therefore that students require a quite place to study especially during the examination periods where the hours spent in the library will be a great opportunity to focus on their studies. In addition, libraries are too congested during this period due to rush hour preparation by students.

In this way we can see how extension service helps to the academic library. If it is used in effective way it helps to increase users of the library, also increases use of the available resources. It is one of the best tools of marketing about library and library services. It helps to maximize user satisfaction and to provide services to the remotely located people, who do not have facility of academic library. Extension services can also provided using social media. Social media is a new technology offering promising new outreach options for academic librarians. They provide a new platform for reaching students beyond the traditional library building and Web site by allowing students to access librarians and the library‟s resources without leaving the comfort of the Web sites they use the most. Social media are very helpful in extending library services and introducing with students. Moreover these tools can also be helpful internal staff communication. In academic Libraries training of staff about these tools can enhance their use.

References

1. Adio, G. O., 2004, The Role of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) In the Dissemination of Information: A New Challenge for Librarians. Nigerian Library and Information Science Review.11,(1 & 2):37-42

2. Ighen, M. J.,1993, Use of Selected Services in the Polytechnic Ibadan Library: Nigerian Library and Information Science Review.11, (1 & 2): 11-17

3. Lawal, 0.0., 2004, Libraries as Tools for Education Development: Paper presented at the National Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Library Association, Akure, Nigeria. Lawoe, M.A., 2005, managing information resources for distance education: University Library, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Journal of Science and Technology25 (1): 9

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Dr P Venkata Rao Librarian

Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, Punjab

Institutional Area, Sector 26, Chandigarh 160019

Cell: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Dr Preeti Sharda Librarian

Regional Institute of English

Sector 32 C, Chandigarh 160030 Email: [e-mail]