INTRODUTION
Institutional resources form the second type of information resources. They are buildings. Institution or an organization that collects or gathers process and disseminate information to end –users. They include libraries, archive electronic media center and publishing house.
LIBRARIES
Types of libraries
- Schools libraries
As school library is defined as place where books are kept reading or study center as well as information centre.
It can be a communication centre, learning laboratory or recreation centre. These are 3 main purposes:
- To meet information needs of pupils and teachers
- To encourage student to learn from the monasteries to broaden their education
- To develop the reading habit.
Documentation Centers
These are information centers where information is selected acquired, processed and disseminated to the users.
Documentation centers provide documents in one or more disciplines (a broad subject area) to researchers and other development workers. They may also prepare and distribute the bibliographic information.
The selection of materials I documentation centre is done by document lists. The document lists should regularly make visit to various organizations or departments served by documentation centre.
In order to access user needs, He should also be an active participator of the organization and he should attend the planning or review meetings of the organization. He should also study reports, manuals and company publications in an effort to determine user’s needs.
Types of Documentation Centers in Kenya
K.A.D.O. C (Kenya Agricultural Documentation Centre).
KADOC was established in 1977 as a unit of the Ministry of Agriculture at Kilimo House. It was established with the aim of acquiring documents unpublished from the fields such as research projects, conference people annual reports etc. The ministry of Agriculture sought assistance from organizations like FAO. In 1972, a mission comprising of two experts known as Mrs. Coney van Revisky come to Kenya to study the agricultural situations Information. They recommended that a documentation center be set up to process materials on agriculture.
This was to involve the tracing of documents, selection analysis and indexing, computer processing of documents as well as distributing printed users services.
Functions
- Acquisition of documents related to the Kenya agricultural from Ministries and research institutions (both published and UN published documents.)
- Preparation of bibliographic data through indexing and abstracting.
- Microfilming of documents especially those that are rare and deteriorating.
- Computerization of bibliographic data KADOC users. CD/ISIS software. KADOC stores bibliographic data on magnetic tape.
- Using this software KADOC produce KAA (Kenya Agricultural Abstracts)
- Participates in updating the Agricultural research institute and the world database, which is maintained by organization known as FAO.
This is a division of Kenya National Archives (KNA) and it was established through the public archives amendment act 1990. It was specifically established to acquire, preserve, and access all government documents produced in the service i.e. all government ministries department, parastatal bodies. It also applies to both open and classified restricted materials. However, KNA maintains their confidentiality. To ensure that NDS gets materials the following arrangement exists.
Link centers have been established in the ministries, government departments, parastatal Institutions referred to collection centers. Also the staff of NDS more acquisition missions to various places where these records are bound to exist.
Uses of NDS (Role)
- NDS ensures that government reports and document are readily available to planners and administrators for policy formation as well to researchers and scholars.
- NDS publicizes its collection through the production of the accession lists which is circulated free of charge to various libraries and institutions.
- NDS hopes to supplement its activities in the area of bibliographic control and for it to succeed government officers must recognize and support it.
District Information Documentation Centre (DIDC’S)
The establishment of DIDC’S come from the district focus for rural development strategy, which advocates for all development programmes taking place in district to be planned and executed at the district level.
DIDC’s is charged with the role and its chaired b the District Commissioner (D.C) and the secretary’s Division Officer (D.O). This strategy brought forth the need to establish information centers that would provide the DDC (Division Development Committee) with the assistance in regard to information. The 1st DIDC’s in Kenya was established in 1989 and since then over 20 centers have been established.
Users of Didc’s
The DIDC’s act as source of reference centre for development of information in the district. In this respect DIDC’s are used by Members of DIDC, also other members of the public such as researchers.
Information Resources
The DIDC’s is required to have all documents relating to developments of the district and general reference materials. The following materials are commonly kept.
- Reports and documents on development, statistics in the district of crop productions, population and trade.
- Materials on the general development of the district.
- Research reports on the district as well as district and national development plans.
Establishing Dide’s
This type of document centers were initially set up at KNLS libraries or district information offices wherever they existed. This is because government did not have enough resources to fully fledged DIDC’s. However a misunderstanding between Ministry of planning and national development and KNLS brought to an end this arrangement. Thus presently most DIDC’s exist in the district commissioners buildings.
Trained Library Assignment of the ministry concerned initially ran the DIC’s. They were to provide clerical staff that was to be sent for Library training at Kenya Polytechnic. The staffs were to be accountable to the DC for their daily transaction. There is some co-ordination with the ministry of planning and nation development.
Co-ordination of Didc’s
The rural planning development department of the ministries of planning of nation development is the one responsible for the provision of funds to the DIDC’s. It oversees the distribution of vital documents from the ministries to the DIDC’s.
Kensidoc (Kenya Nation Scientific Information Documentation Centre).
KENSIDOC was established in 1977 as a nation centre for science and technology. The main objectives of KENSIDOC are:-
- To determine the priorities areas for scientific and technology activities.
- To device a nation science policy.
- To advice on organization management for scientific activities including research council or committee.
- To carry necessary survey and investigation pertaining to science and technology.
Purposes of Kensidoc
- To collect, organize, store and disseminate information on research programs conducted in the field of science and technology.
- Operates information referrals services whereby efforts are made to collect various guides, cats, and abstracts from information centers or agencies in Kenya.
KENSIDOC acts as a focal point in science and technology and therefore co-ordinates with other information centers in this field. KENSIDOC in collaboration with KLA has produced a subject guide to information sources in Kenya. It has a listing of about 300 libraries and information centers arranged to their subject coverage.
PUBLISHER/BOOK SELLER
A publisher is the one responsible for converting an author’s text (manuscript) into the most appropriate cost effective format and to find the maximum possible market for the book.
Publishing houses are a category of information centers that select process and distribute information products with the aim of making a profit. (Profit making institutions)
They are usually produce information in large quantities usually to predetermined clientele. They are listed among information centers because they are involved in selection of suitable manuscripts, processing by editing, typesetting and printing marketing and distributing to the patrons.
Examples of publishing houses
- Longman
- Oxford University press
- McGraw-Hill publishers (specialist publishers)
- Evangel
- KLB
- Jomo Kenyatta Foundation
- Kenya Litho
- KIE
Bookseller
A bookseller provides services to both the publisher and the buyer is it an individual or a co-operate institutions. The bookseller gives the customers (readers) what they want by giving them the widest possible selection according to the specialization on one’s bookshop.
Bookshops
They choose their collection from both local and foreign publishers e.g. in Kenya textbook centers has catalogues and other bibliographic sources of the major publishers in Kenya, Africa and the world.
They allow consumers to browse through their collection. This opportunity is very important, as it has no restrictions whether buying or not. This helps the buyer to examine the stock of making commitment to purchase customers and also order items not within the store the special order services provide by the bookshops.
Booksellers play an important distributive role by exposing publishers’ products to the customers and save him the nuisance (trouble) and cost of the many small transactions. Booksellers can be either wholesaler or retailers.
GOVERNMENT LIBRARIES
These are those information centers that are run by government institutions, parastatals. They are normally housed within these organizations and are meant to offer information services for the various sectors of the government. E.g. Kenya Power and Lighting Libraries.
ELECTRONIC MEDIA CENTRES
These refer to those information centers that collect and gather information and disseminate accurate information to audience at home or through the specific institutions. They include K.T.N, K.B.C, K.I.E and K.I.M.C.
Functions of K.I.E.
- They formulation of primary and secondary school syllabus and curriculum.
- They also publish textbooks to cover the set curriculum.
- Broadcast to school through radio and TV programs.
Functions of K.I.M.C.
- Training of students in mass communication in areas such as:
- Reporting
- Broadcasting
- Journalism
- Broadcasting of radio and T.V. programs.
FACTORS TO CONSINDER IN SELECTING INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES.
They are a number of factors to be considered when choosing an institution resource. They will range from objectives/policies of an institution to;
- Design
- Topography
Major factors will be:
- Site
- Location
- Design
- Accessibility
- Policies of an organization
- Types of institution/type of information
- Site
The site is defined as a place of ground for building on. It also takes in to account the prevailing condition that surround the ground on which the information centre is to be erected or build. (Longman dictionary)
Assessment should be made to determine its suitability and such conditions include drainage, attitude, topography industries, and plants of factories surrounding the place. Information centers house materials resources e.g. journals, periodicals and non book materials like film strips computers, and all these resources are liable to deterioration if exposed to such environmental hazards e.g. floods, insects e.g. ants
It is therefore important that the site on which an institutional resource is to be situated should be free from hazards that they may damage the material.
- Location
The position of an institution resources or an information centre in relation to other information centers, publishing firms, urban centers, schools etc an information centre should be located at a strategic site so that communication and interaction between the sharing information centers do acquire their materials from publishing houses these materials must have an effective distribution system.
Transportation means should therefore be efficient. The Centre should also be located in a region well served by such services as banks, postal services, hospitals etc in general the centre should be located in a place that is accessible.
- Accessibility
Information centers are established with the major objectives of meeting the user’s needs satisfactory. The users should therefore exploit the information resources. It follows then that the information centre should be located within reach of the client. Accessibility, to the information centre would be improved through establishing the centre in a position that I sell served by roads and also should be established in a well-habited place i.e. densely populated i.e. to ensure that the resources are maximally exploited.
- Design
The information centre to be selected must have a purposeful planning with a purpose and be intentionally built to serve a specific purpose. In designing, selecting a building to act as an information centre, the following factors must be considered.
- Size
- Pertaining of the building i.e. departmentalization
- Lighting conditions
- Ventilation
The building should be sizeable enough to accommodate the material resources and must provide adequate reading space to the readers.
It is important to consider the size in relation to the number of users and the volume of stock. The building should be well lit and well ventilated for free circulation of air when designing a children’s library care should be taken on it is designed especially in its pertaining if it’s an archive. The building should be designed such that the strong room should be strong enough to prevent any act of theft or burglary.
Archival buildings should also be built in areas free from strong winds. And strong light. Exposure to building to strong light will have some effect on paper and other information materials.
- Policies
The policies of a given organization will clearly describe the nature and type of building to be established or acquired for their stock holding.
Many institutions have documented policies e.g. KPLC Kenya Power and Lighting that specify the type and nature of the building to act as an institutional resource.
There are certain standards that have been set up by such institutions e.g. IFLA, KLA etc that given information centre must meet in order to qualify as valid information centre.
- Type of institution/information
The type and the nature of the serve offered by a given institution will dictate its design. Archives e.g. will have a different design from that of a library. This is because of the nature of the service offered and materials housed.
It is therefore of great significance to know the type of institution of information required so as to select on the right building so as to meet the institutions services and goals.
