Library Orientation Programs in the Graduate Schools at North Carolina Central University

Phiri, Zilole Matatiya Kalala (1980) Library Orientation Programs in the Graduate Schools at North Carolina Central University. Masters thesis, North Carolina Central University.

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Abstract

INTRODUCTION Although the early libraries were organized for archival purposes and to be used by certain classes of people such as the priests and royalty in Egyptian libraries, for instance, it would appear that even though most of the population was kept out of reach of the 1 libraries there was some form of service orientation. The scribes, for instance, were the custodians of society's values and beliefs and the libraries were developed to be used by the privileged people. In a way one would say the organization of these libraries was user-oriented although only in the narrower sense of the word. However, with the advent of printing in the fifteenth century, more books were printed and more libraries were organized which could be used by the majority of the people. Libraries and the User The proliferation of books necessitated their organization with the user in mind. The development of classification and cataloging schemes by pioneers such as Antonio Panizzi, Charles Ammi Cutter, and Melville Dewey had one major purpose in mind--to facilitate retrieval of materials by users. In other words, the different retrieval systems developed by these and other people were user-oriented. ~ser Orientation to the Library The early development of classification and cataloging schemes helped in the arrangement and retrieval of library materials. However, there seems to be no evidence that the users knew much about the relationship between the retrieval systems and the materials in the library since it appears that the librarians acted as intermediaries betwee:] the users and the materials. The librarians were the only people who seemed to know how to use the databases and how to search for the materials for the users. There seems to have been no attempt on the part of the librarians to educate the users in these areas and it is difficult to find literature which proves the contrary to be true. In the 20th century, however, there have been a lot of efforts directed towards educating the users in the effective ways of using the Iibrary. And there is sufficient literature to support the fact that libraries have been concerned with the users in the use of materials in the libraries. Institutional Libraries The importance of research and institutional education in general in this era has shown that for people to effectively use the library they need to know and understand how to use the retrieval systems and other bibliographical tools. In university libraries whel~ there is extensive use of the collection there is a need to teach the students and others how best to use the collection. Many library instruction programs have been developed by university 1 ibraries especially in the ~ndergraduate schools to facilitate use of the collections. 2 Implication of the Study This study aims at exploring the forms and adequacy of orientation programs at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) with specific reference to its graduate schools. It will be apparent in the literature reviewed later on in the paper that much has been written about the undergraduate orientation needs but very little about graduate needs. It is with this latter concern that I have taken the task of exploring the existence (or absence) of library orientation programs in graduate schools at NCCU. The implication of the study, hope, is that it may help future r~searchers in understanding the need for orientation programs in graduate schools and not leave this very important period in the student's academic growth to haphazard library use. The student needs enough library knowledge to successfully complete his/her advanced studies at the graduate level.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z665 Library Science. Information Science Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z719 Libraries (General) Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources > ZA4450 Databases
Divisions:	Africana
Depositing User:	Geoffrey Obatsa
Date Deposited:	17 Dec 2018 14:30
Last Modified:	17 Dec 2018 14:34
URI:	http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/8885

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