MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR LIBRARY AND INFORMATION
Users Regular members who have borrowing privileges and use the library well. Visitors who are not regular but use intensively the library.Casual visitors. Analysis of data relating to their position, duties and responsibilities in their respective organisations, purpose of use and how used, frequency of use, etc. Information obtained from data analysis may provide useful indicators for extending support to intensive users, offer them special facilities and thus fix priorities for attention to different categories of users. Use What materials are heavily used, by whom, materials used within the library, and such other things. These data may be obtained from statistics kept in the circulation division and Reading and reference rooms. Use Time When is the library heavily used - During a day, during a specific period, etc. Information on this will enable staff deployment during rush hours and satisfy customers with speedy service.
- Monitoring and feedback on need for procuring additional copies of certain books based on heavy demand
- Change of policy regarding entitlement of number of books to be borrowed by customers as well as the number of days (period) for which books can be kept
- Taking a decision regarding a sudden cut or a windfall of budget for journals
Though library statistics and annual reports cannot be considered as substitutes for MIS, they serve the major purposes of providing a base for performance assessment of libraries, decision making and public' relations. They are aimed primarily at users, library authorities and taxpayers at large rather than library managers and staff. They also serve the purpose of knowing the activities of the year, comparing libraries and comparing performance over the years.
Comprehensive, accurate, well planned and up-to-date library statistics help gauging the progress of a library, formulating policy and procedure, measuring the efficiency of various sub systems, planning a new service or improving an existing service, measuring the output and performance of library staff and planning reward and salary structure. As statistics have all the potential for abuse, misuse and overuse, due care and precaution should be taken on using library statistics.
As mentioned above,properly compiled annual reports of libraries help in determining the progress, providing publicity, evaluating the library, and taking remedial measures where needed, apart from serving as a way of seeking public funds, providing feedback to top management, comparing performance with standard as well as other libraries and finally serving as historical records.
A typical MIS for library and information centres with reference to Users, Use, Use time, Collection, Services and Personnel is given below, indicating how such an MIS may be useful in decision making for library managers. This is merely illustrative and not exhaustive.
Users
Regular members who have borrowing privileges and use the library well. Visitors who are not regular but use intensively the library. Casual visitors. Analysis of data relating to their position, duties and responsibilities in their respective organisations, purpose of use and how used, frequency of use, etc. Information obtained from data analysis may provide useful indicators for extending support to intensive users, offer them special facilities and thus fix priorities for attention to different categories of users.
Use
What materials are heavily used, by whom, materials used within the library, and such other things. These data may be obtained from statistics kept in the circulation division and Reading and reference rooms.
Use Time
When is the library heavily used - During a day, during a specific period, etc. Information on this will enable staff deployment during rush hours and satisfy customers with speedy service.
Collection
Collection analysis in terms of subject distribution, types of material within a collection and such others will throw light on the quality of collection, if properly assessed. This information will be vital for collection, planning and building and thus improve usefulness and the image of the library.
Services
Services like circulation, reference service, literature search, Current Awareness Service, and Selective Dissemination of Information, etc. These services may be assessed for cost effectiveness, cost benefits, and such others to give indicators for fixing priorities, allotment of financial resources, deploying personnel, improvements in quality, etc.
Personnel
Assessment of performances, promotion to deserving persons,control deployment,upskilling capabilities, harmonious development, etc. will lead to a better organisational image and performance. This information if systematically collected, organised and stored and available for retrieval through multiple access points will be of invaluable support to decision making. An MIS can be developed, collecting all data mentioned above, which can be accessed by authorised person, providing facilities of access through LAN (Local Area Network) and also integrated appropriately so that data collected in one operation can be used for other purposes, if necessary. The characteristics of MIS, benefits, problems and pitfalls, etc., are all relevant to such an MIS for library and information centre Management.