Introducing Bibliotheraphy in public libraries

Introducing Bibliotheraphy in public libraries for the development of health and social condition of post war community in Jaffna district- An exploratory study

Arulanantham, S and Navaneethakrishnan, S

Bibliotherapy refers simply to the use of reading materials for help in solving personal problems or for psychiatric therapy. We are living in an age when the concepts of development and rehabilitation of people are based upon the idea of a team working together with one goal. Bibliotherapy is not a costly or invasive intervention, but would require a partnership between government, libraries, healthcare services, and volunteer and community organisations. Developmental bibliotherapy is the approach most often used by public librarians and the one that can be utilized as part of consciousness- raising or sensitivity training programs for professionals, or offered as a public program to satisfy the demand for self-actualization activities in a post war community.

Jaffna district is one of 4 districts in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the largest in Northern Province by population (622,589), but smallest by land area (1,023 square km). Jaffna peninsula is divided into 14 divisional secretariat divisions. For the last 02 decades of long-lasting warfare had caused severe impede in the economy, infrastructure and the population subjected to series of loses and in some way or other traumatized in this district. As result more than 82359 (13% of the total population) people seeking for help in solving personal problems or for psychiatric therapy are on the increase. This includes Psychiatric patients (40,936), Orphans (9571), Widows (29,447), Disabled Children (919), mentally affected children (329), Affected by Child abuse(1157).

The objective of this research study is to identify and investigate the attitudes of public libraries and librarians of local government authority of Jaffna peninsula towards providing bibliotherapy as one of their services.  The current study employed a survey research method, which utilized a questionnaire in order to collect data from a random sample of Administrators and Professionals related to Public libraries in Jaffna. (n=53) Questionnaire was designed to elicit information concerning reasons and reflection on this topic. Using the statistical technique the data was analysed to find out the awareness, acceptance, and existence, suitability of bibliotheraphy in public libraries and the attitudes and behaviors of the librarians to be as a bibliotheraphist.

Results of the study made on administrators and professionals related to Public libraries in Jaffna showed that most of them have familiarity with bibliotherapy and awareness of the concept of bibliotherapy. 51.7% of them fully agreed with Bibliotheraphy has to been considered as a type of library services in post war areas. Suitability and availability of resources to start bibliotheraphy as a service is felt to be improved by 13% of them and more than 96% of the responses to questions about the attitudes and behaviors of the librarian to be as a bibliotheraphist indicated most of them (96%) have positive confidents on it. Of the overall sample,   83 % reported that  the current existence of a service merely related to "Bibliotherapy".

The study suggests that no better time is there than now to take the initiative to implement bibliotheraphy.  With the support of Health department, Public Libraries are well positioned to provide bibliotheraphy programs that will allow Libraries to make a major contribution not only to Jaffna district, but also to improving the nation’s health and wellbeing.

Keywords: Bibliotheraphy, Library services, Treatment, Reading

Digital Image Library for Cultural Heritage of Sri Lankan Tamils - A first step towards preserving the living heritage of Tamils in Sri Lanka

Digital Image Library for Cultural Heritage of Sri Lankan Tamils - A first step towards preserving the living heritage of Tamils in Sri Lanka

(Annual Research Session of University Librarians Association of Sri Lanka - 2013) 

The investment in cultural preservation of a war torn society is a contribution to the restoration of the civil society. Cultural heritage preservation has traditionally been dominated by the preservation of tangible forms of culture that represent communities' histories. Libraries can play a role in physically preserving some tangible aspects of different cultures in the world. Sri Lanka has a rich and diverse multi-cultural and linguistic heritage. In recent decades alternative approaches led to a re-thinking of the priorities and processes of cultural  preservation of this nation particularly cultural, ethnical, linguistic and religious diversity of its people.

Image collections  are an essential component of the print and artifact collections of Foundation for Library Awareness (FOLA) both of their artistic and documentary value which have been collected over a period of time since its inception.  Digital Image Library (DIL) is one of the pilot project of FOLA and this research is  a step forward to preserve the Living Heritage of  Sri Lankan Tamils through designing a DIL.

The objective of this research is to design a DIL in a constructive user friendly way with the support of dspace, open source digital library software, to preserve the cultural heritage of Sri Lankan Tamils and to describe a selective approach to cultural heritage conservation and protection.

The images were collected from various sources. The presently existing  tangible and intangible heritage have been produced by taking photographs. The heritage replaced by modern way of life and lost their existence were collected by scanning the pictures available from print resources such as books, journals, newspapers,  paintings, and collecting from websites.

Based on descriptive analysis of topic of these images, they were classified as different communities. At present 250 images were added into DIL under different communities and collections. The DIL is bilingual in nature which enable the user to search  through Author, Title and subject search.  The searching of the images can be made bilingual in Tamil and English where Title is searchable with Tamil and Author & subject are searchable with English. But the browsing can be used irrespective of language to approach the collection.

The DIL has not yet networked online. Networking the DIL through internet will satisfy the second objective of the work further to share the records of living heritage in effective manner.

Finally, this paper emphasizes of designing and updating this kind of digital image libraries  and for this purpose explores some selective ways to upgrade the DIL by encouraging the members of Tamil society to preserve their cultural heritage through their active participation.

Key words: Digital Image Library; Living heritage-Sri Lankan Tamils;  Cultural Heritage- Sri Lanka; Digitization-Images

Challenges in classifying Humanities and Social science materials of the Library University of Jaffna

Challenges in classifying Humanities and Social science materials of the Library University of Jaffna

Arulanantham, S and Navaneethakrishnan, S

The phenomenal aspects of universe of subjects and their increasing complexity has created tremendous challenges for researchers as well as the library staff dealing with organization of materials. Dewey decimal classification of Melvil Dewey shortly named as DDC is very popular among libraries for its wide usage worldwide. Commonly University libraries in Sri Lanka adopt DDC for organizing their materials. University libraries in which faceted scheme is more suitable than enumerative one for locating  interdisciplinary subject in its proper place, face much problem in organizing materials using this scheme.  

Having been situated in a war torn area, the Library of the University of Jaffna is isolated with limited opportunities for national and international links and collaborations with higher educational institutions due to political, economic and social crisis and unrest in the past 25 years. Library has a major collection of materials for the readers of the Faculty of Arts the largest Faculty of the University of Jaffna includes 17 academic departments and provides study programmes in 24 disciplines on social sciences, humanities and aesthetic studies

The objective of this research study is to identify the specific challenges faced in organizing Humanities and Social science materials in the library of the University of Jaffna using 22^nd edition of Dewey decimal classification.  Based on the descriptive analysis of the problems encountered in the last three years during the organization of humanities and social science materials at the library of University of Jaffna, this research paper provide a basic understanding to a classifier who is interested in depth classification in organizing complicated materials and formulate guiding principles for classifiers when dealing with interdisciplinary subjects.

Identifying the subject of a document, Finding the class number of new subjects and incorporating them in their proper location, inconsistency in number building and the lengthy notations are identified as the major challenges in this study in organizing Humanities and Social science materials using 22^nd edition of DDC. Applying Facet analytical approach for the document dealing with more than one subjects or discipline introduced in the colon scheme DDC may be of useful to the classifier to solve the problems in classifying complicated materials without violating the basic structure of DDC. It was also suggested to maintain a subject authority file which would indeed help to identify the relevant subject.

keywords -  Organization of Knowledge, Dewey decimal classification-practical aspects

Library Development: a practical approach

Library Development: a practical approach 

(Text in tamil) 

Colombo: Semamadu, 2010.

This is a concisely written guide book or companion to librarians from community to academic libraries, helping them to be effective managers.

It covers library functions comprehensively from management to delivering services; be it selection, ordering, how correspondence have to be carried out, to how the materials are delivered and accessioned.

In cataloguing, how different categories are catalogued is explained with examples of critical cases.

Classifying is explained with some guidance and techniques to improve classification.

In staffing the fundamentals are given starting with job specifications and deciding cadre strengths for different functions.

Planning is discussed, explaining basic organizational needs such as reading and discussion rooms to organizing exhibitions.

Information Resources and Services

Information Resources and Services

Colombo:

Kumaran, 2010.

The information explosion of the latter part of the 20th Century, which is an important aspect of the environment we live in, would have been an impenetrable cloud, if not for the information resources developed to meet the needs of the users in this present information era.

 When talking about resources the information media in the present era must also be taken into account. The present volume is an attempt to meet the pressing need of explaining the information resources for all who use libraries with an inquiring mind for various purposes, such as to learn, to teach, for leisure and to evaluate their ideas or for factual reference.

 The book has been written with these aims in mind, from  basic resources for research needs to any ready references that gives information, to queries such as to who, where, what  and when, keeping a diversity of users in mind. It also guides users in differentiating the usefulness of information resources from primary sources to ready references and media from ola leaves to the internet.

 These sixteen chapters take away the myth that books are the principal library media, but other information resources could be profitably utilized.

 The present era marked by information explosion is one that has left the generality of people facing bewilderment. The present volume seeks to offer essential guidance to user who turns to the library to find out what is happening in the world around us, to learn, to teach, to communicate, for leisure, to inquire, for research, to fulfill a vocational need, and to assess; to use basic resources from ola leaves to the internet and find answers to questions of who, what, where, when, how and why.   

 This again will be like a text book for students doing a course in library science, taking the reader from the meaning of information to what the current resources and media are like and how the information is organized as ready reference to attain information from within the library, besides to other resources.

How resources are catergorised is explained, from primary sources to the present media, and all kinds of reference sources from ready references to guide books and abstracts, are explained in detail with examples and illustrations.

 Human resources, resource organizations which give tailor made references from abstracts & indexes or full sources to serials & links to others are detailed. Library services from basic to the advancement of IT are also incorporated, with special emphasis on resources & services available in Sri Lanka.

A glossary is also given for user reference.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Library and Information Science

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Library and Information Science

Colombo:Kumaran,2010

This Encyclopedic Dictionary, in the fast growing area of Library and Information Science, is a pioneering work that helps the Tamil knowing students.  This fact is kept in mind while compiling this dictionary,  since most of the public and educational libraries are not able to free themselves from the traditional methods and  the knowledge of these traditional methods, some of them obsolete, is necessary to understand the present activities of these institutions.  The inclusion of old terms in abundance is justified for their institutional value. All Information media from archaic cave painting to the latest internet are covered in selecting the vocabulary. Besides, having in mind the necessity of approaching worldwide knowledge and arranging information resources on a sound theoretical basis, the author has included a considerable amount of the vocabulary needed for information processing. Not only the terms connected with Library and Information Sciences but also those necessary for their connected subjects like Publishing, Printing, Binding, Media Science, Information Technology are also included. This may look out of place at first sight but an essential embellishment- a special feature of this compilation.

In the field of lexicography, individual efforts are very rare. It is the worldwide practice for a group of authors to put their maximum joint effort to produce commendable dictionaries. But Dictionaries or encyclopedias are produced in considerable numbers by individual effort. As an easy source of reference, a dictionary should be as handy as possible. It should be easily used by the average reader. This concept is well kept in mind by the author.

Such publications shall be of great use in the future for language teaching and education through mother tongue. Japan is the best example of a country that educates its citizens in their mother tongue and makes enormous strides on the road to development. Her contribution may be a grain. But the impetus came from her observation as she puts in her forword, “Our Tamil society, realizing the importance of education through mother tongue, has taken in hand all educational activities in Tamil. Those students who enter the new field of Library and Information Science and want to establish themselves as good Librarians are struggling hard with the works written in English. This prompted me to produce a work of this kind in Tamil and publish it within a short time for its utility”. Simplicity and perfection are the keynotes of success of her work. This is really a timely publication which has all the basic qualities of a very good subject dictionary as a standard work of reference.

Alphabetico-classed glossary of technical terms in Library and Information Science

Alphabetico-classed glossary of technical terms in Library and Information Science

English – Tamil

Colombo: Kumaran, 2006.

Library information services today have expanded from documenting materials to information storage and retrieval utilising modern technological advances. In any growing subject area, in order for the field to develop and be accessible, having a glossary of technical terms is one important facility.

 In the fast growing area of Library and Information Science this is a pioneering work that helps the Tamil knowing students.  The terms in English and Tamil are tabulated in alphabetical order. The Classified part of this glossary contains a sub section of related terms of key terms in an organised manner, to make it more usable.  A glossary of terms forms an appropriate base to understand the subject in depth. In this sense this may be cited as a pioneering work. In order to understand perfectly a subject it will not be sufficient to know its vocabulary merely in alphabetical order. The volume includes all commonly used technical terms from the information media such as cave structure to information networks. Besides, having in mind the necessity of approaching worldwide knowledge and arranging information resources on a sound theoretical basis, a considerable amount of the vocabulary needed for information processing have been included. Not only the terms connected with Library and Information Sciences but also those necessary for their connected subjects like Publishing, Printing, Binding, Media Science, Information Technology are also included.