The Allama Igbal Open University library

ht.

Libr.

Rev.

(1984) 16,4557

The Allama Library MAHMUD

Iqbal

Open University

UL-HASSAN*

The Open University is quite different from the existing conventional pattern of the University system in Pakistan. It places a higher value upon stimulating the desire and capacity for independent learning, and its application to working and national life. It was established under an Act of 1974 to provide educational facilities through correspondence courses, tutorials, seminars, workshops, laboratories, television, radio broadcasts, and other mass communication media. The University’s total programme envisages: (a) to counter-balance the favourable position of urban classes as compared with rural masses, and to expand educational facilities for economically and educationally handicapped in urban, industrial and rural areas; (b) to introduce innovative techniques of teaching and help bring about a progressive change in the system of higher education and to promote professional competence of teachers in the application of new techniques of teaching, giving priority to elementary school teachers, adult education workers and literacy workers; (c) to help the massive shift to scientific and technical education by gradually developing courses in the basic sciences, mathematics and technology up to graduate level; (d) to undertake post-graduate research work; (e) to promote national solidarity by offering common courses, stimulating common objectives and promoting an active consciousness of national ideals and universal understanding. The University’s educational approach is not confined to a campus but extends to teaching directly to students, at a distance, at the country-wide level. The courses are generally semester-based, April and October; supported by radio and television for reinforcing the learning and teaching process. The tutorials and the recently introduced guidance and counselling service are organized by the 10 Regional Offices of the University, located at Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Mirpur (AJK), Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, * Allama

Iqbal

00267837/84/010045+

Open

University, 13 $03.00/O

Islamabad,

Pakistan. 0

1984 Academic

Press Inc.

(London)

Limited

46

M. UL-HASSAN

Hyderabad and Gilgit. The number of study centres, tutors and students (enrolled in April 1982) attached to these 10 regions are shown in the following table to demonstrate the size and nature of the user populace of the institution. TABLEI Region-wise student enrolment (April 82), tutors and study centres No. of students (all subjects)

No. of study centres

Region Pesbawar Quetta Karachi Multan Labore Mirpur (AJK) Islamabad/ Rawalpindi Faisalabad Hyderabad Gilgit

10

No. of tutors

7

39

Male

901

Female

Total

4 9 15 14 19

7 54 57 127 27

166 1197 1640 2747 644

243 25 316 916 1007 173

1144 191 1513 2556 3754 817

19 14 23

182 90 41

3708 1721 978 108

1251 520 78 14

4959

124

624

LIBRARY

13810

4543

2241 1056 122 18353

PROGRAMME

Established in April 1974, the University library’s programme and service were conceived in a mould somewhat different from that commonly encountered in other Universities. Since the total programme of the Open University is unique in its aims and features, extending from the freshman level to the postgraduate research work, the purpose of the library was identified to offer resources and services of a comparable range and standard. The major emphasis has been on the acquisition of basic reference and research materials in order to help the faculties produce courses and lesson-units of their subject-curricular studies, designed for teaching and learning at a distance. This factor will remain operative in governing the library collection development policy, more appreciably so, when a face-to-face communication system (lecture method) does not exist. Thus, a very intensive as well as extensive use of the library is anticipated, in view ofits importance as the major

multimedia

For the faculties

resource

and

information

centre

of the

and courses of all levels, professional

University.

as well as

ALLAMA

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47

vocational, the library will continue providing services and materials of sufficient quality, quantity and diversity to support course-construction work in the related subject fields. It will continue providing resources for the programmes of adult education, functional literacy and teacher training, Women’s Studies, Home Economics, etc. It will also serve as a depository and repository of the University’s publications. PRIMARY

OBJECTIVE

The primary objective of the Library is to acquire, store and make available, to the full-time employees and postgraduate students of the University, all forms of recorded information in fields pertinent to the objects of the University; to support the writing of courses and pursuit of research, and to co-operate with other libraries in promoting the educational well-being of the community. Since the on-campus student population will always be very small, the function has remained mainly confined to providing materials to teachers, course teams and course writers. FUNCTIONAL The library

has been organized

ORGANIZATION into the following

major divisions:

(a) Library Technical Operations. Includes sections for Acquisitions; Serials; Govt. Publications; Classification and Reclassifications; Cataloguing and recataloguing; and Bindery. (b) Reader Services. Includes Circulation; Reference and Information including referrals; inter-library loan; Seminar collections; photocopying; Library architecture and physical facilities; faculty liaison and course team co-ordination. (c) Non-Print Media. Th e audiovisuals and related material need separate organizing, care and treatment, and include films, tapes, slides, microforms, kits, maps, charts and realia with a provision of listening equipment. (d) Iqbal Cell Collection. Includes print and non-print materials for the Department of Iqbaliat. Founded December 1977. (e) Campus Branch L E‘braries. Include the existing library of the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies created in 1980. It is expected that two other Institutes, i.e. Institute of Educational Technology and Institute of Education, will be independent service points. (f) Regional (Branch) Libraries. These have been approved in the year 1981-82 and are being organized at Regional Offices at

48

M. UL-HASSAN Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Hyderabad and Gilgit. (g) Library Administration, Planning and Policies.

Mirpur

(AK),

On academic-related matters, the library is advised by an ad hoc standing library committee. Its membership is broad based; all Heads/Chairmen of teaching Departments, Directors of Institutes, and of Regional Services and all professors are represented, including the Treasurer or his nominee. The Deputy Librarian acts as Secretary to the committee, but he is otherwise responsible to the Vice-Chancellor. By 1982 no students were on the campus, and the teaching staff did not exceed 70, but non-teaching staff exceeded 200. There was a stage in earlier years when the collection was not capable of satisfying one out of ten members/queries for documents or information. Formal co-operative arrangements with other libraries are not available (officially) or at the national level. These were developed informally at the local level on the basis of personal friendships.

THE

COLLECTION

The collection of the library includes: (a) general and specialized monographs, including most recent editions; (b) general and specialized reference, curricular and research material; (c) manuscripts ofradio and TV programmes, and earlier texts of courses developed by the departments; (d) newspapers and periodicals in Urdu, English and Sindhi, Arabic, etc.; (e) Publications of federal, provincial and local and foreign governments and UN general publications; (f) Special materials like clippings, visual and audio-visuals, theses, dissertations etc.; (g) Diverse materials such as 16 mm films, audiotapes, slides, charts, illustrations, maps, stamps, coins, diaries, calendars and listening apparatus. The collection is specialized in Iqbaliat, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Pakistan Studies, Education, Industrial and vocational subjects, educational technology and mass communication, and is selected to serve specific areas and subject interests of the teaching departments. The collection comprised in June 1982 25 308 books, 159 (16-mm) films, 201 pre-recorded audiotapes, a number of internal programme cassettes and reels, slides, multimedia kits, programmed instruction, 60 current subscriptions to periodicals in Urdu and English plus over 90 titles received on a donation/free basis. The average rate of daily additions to the collection is 8.4 books; monthly average has been 259.24, and the yearly average comes to 3 098.938. These figures are being utilized for determining the work-

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load formula both for the professional and non-professional functional activities in the library. Table II below gives a year-wise analysis of donations and purchases: 59.555% of the collection is acquired by donations, and 40.445% books are held by purchases. TABLE

II

Collection analysis by donations and purchases Additions

Year 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982

(April)

1730 5 693 1880 1819 4881 3 546 2 954 2 164 641

(June)

25 308

Donations

% 70.982 87.265 50.265 37.438 66.584 66.92 1 24.847 75.000 18.877

1228 4 968 645 681 3 250 1522 734 1623 121 15072

59.555

Purchases

%

502 725 935 1138 1631 2 024 2 220 541 520

29.018 12.735 49.735 62.562 33.416 57.079 75.153 25.000 81.123

10236

40.445

Table III analyses the collection by language: 72.799% of the collection is in English and only 27.201% of books are in Oriental languages, i.e. Urdu, Persian, Punjabi, Pushto, Baluchi, Saraiki, Kashmiri, Gujrati, Hindi, etc. TABLE

III

Collection development by language Year

Additions

Oriental languages

1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982

1730 5 693 1880 1819 4881 3 546 2 954 2 164 641

700 406 586 520 2 023 1038 1007 373 231

40.463 7.132 31.171 28.587 41.446 29.272 34.089 17.237 36.038

25 308

6 884

27.201

y0

English 1030 5 287 1294 1299 2858 2 508 1947 1791 410 18424

% 59,537 92.868 68.829 71.413 58.554 70.728 65.911 82.763 63.962 72.799

50

M.

UL-HASSAN

IV

TABLE

Collection development by Vice-Chancellors Additions

Years Apr. 74July 76 July 76July 80 July 8& Nov. 80 Nov. 8& to date

Daily average

Tenure days

8 533

10.134

842

33.717

Dr W.

13 596

9.305

1461

53.723

Dr S. M.

372

2.929

127

1.469

2 807

4.798

585

11.091

Total

THE

BUDGET

Vice-Chancellor

%

Prof.

M.

Abdul

Dr Ahmed

Zaki Zaman Ali

Khan

Mohiuddin

(DEVELOPMENT)

Budget provision and expenditure for library books and newspapers is given in Table V. These indicate 1978-79 and 1979-80 as the two record years for library development.

STAFFING

The library staff at the Open University (as of June 1982) was approximately 14, excluding two Naib Qasids. The Deputy Librarian, in addition to his involvement with day to day administration and management of the library services, is also engaged on the controlling and co-ordination of subject analysis of special collections such as Iqbaliat, etc. One Assistant Librarian is provided. Of the two Classifiers and two Cataloguers, the senior is in charge of technical processes besides oriental-language classification, but combines this with analytical indexing of Iqbaliat literature for bibliographical control. One Cataloguer (oriental languages) is in charge of reader services, AV Collections and Iqbal Cell Collections. One Classifier is deployed on classification and subject analysis of English materials and also combines cataloguing of Branch libraries at the campus and 10 regional offices of the University. The Institute of Arabic and Islamic studies Assistant Librarian is ipso facto responsible for her all-embracing field. With the introduction of branch libraries at the Regional level in 1981-82 our objective has been to work towards the gradual enlargement of the cataloguing team of assistants who will take over most of the

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UNIVERSITY

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V

(a) Book b udg etp revision and expenditures (in million rupees) Provision Pak Rs

Year

Expenditure

FA/FEC

Total

Pak Rs

0.300 0.125 0.250 0.250

0,125 0.075 0.500 0,525 0.750 0.750 O-350 0.350

FA/FEC

Total

-

1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82

0.125 0.075 0.200 0.400 0.500 0.500 0.350 0.150

0.200

0.024 0.026 0.037 0.092 0.244 0.153 0.138

0.125 0.060 0.003

0.024 0.026 0.162 0.152 0.247 0.153 0.138

-

(b) Newspapers and magazines budget provision and expenditure Year

Provision

(Pak Rs)

Expenditure

0.010 0.012 0.010 0.018 O*OlO 0.012 0.020 0.020

1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 197677 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-8 1 1981-82

TABLE

(Pak Rs)

0.005 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.012 0.018 0.020

VI

Average book price Year April 1974 1974-75 1975-76 1977 1978 1979 1980 Uune 1982)

Total expenditure Not available Not available Rs 24 000 Rs 26 000 Rs 162000 Rs 152000 Rs 247 000 Rs 138 000

Books purchased

Average price

502 725 935 1138 1631 2 024 541 520

Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs

25.67 22.85 99.33 75.10 282.81 265.39

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M. UL-HASSAN

routine descriptive work from the Assistant Librarians, thus allowing them more scope for information work. Table VII gives yearwise comparisons of the ratios and percentages between the professional and non-professional staff. Non-professionals include the binder and the stenotypist. TABLE VII

Libra9 staff through theyears 1974-82 Year

Total

1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982

4 6 8 12 11 10 13 13 14

9

91

Professional

33

Non-professional

58

Ratio

%

1:l 1:l 1:3 1:3 1 : 1.7 1 : 1.5 112.2 1: 1.6 1 : 1.3

50 50 33 33 57.1 66.7 44.5 62.5 75.0

1 : 1.8

57.0

The ratio between the professionals and non-professionals has been most favourable (1 : 2 approximately). Table VIII gives a comparative analysis of the collection increase rate and the increase in professional staff of all levels. As illustrated in Table VIII (column 3) there was a 329.075% increase in collections in 1975, but only one professional member of staff was added ( + 50%). The collection could not be completely processed because all the three professionals are not deployed on processing work. Thus the backlogs persisted throughout the years but additional staff did not grow commensurately as shown in the last column (+33% to + 20%). On the average, professional staff growth of 16-l 1% is far below the average increase in collection growth (5 1.92%). The need for recuiting more staff is obvious to meet with the collection growth every year at the rate of 2.15 % on average. In spite of the above problems ofstaffing and financial nature, 80% of the material is made available on the shelves for our users. LIBRARY SERVICES: USERS, TECHNICAL AND REFERENCE The range of services to be provided by a library, of any type or level, is always, of necessity, governed by its users and their needs. As mentioned

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LIBRARY

VIII

Collection growth versus staff growth

Year

End total of collection

% increase

1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982

1730 7 423 9 303 11122 16003 19 549 22 503 24 667 25 308

17.300 329.075 25.327 19.553 43.886 22.158 15.110 9.616 2.599

9

25 308

51.92

Prof. staff no.

3.67

Items per Prof. staff

Annual workCumulative load o/0 workload increase per year

Staff % increase

865 2 475.33 4651.50 3 707.33 4000.75 4 887.25 5 625.75 4 933.40 4218.00

8.65 2.86 1.88 0.80 1.08 1.22 1.15 0.88 0.85

8.65 11.51 13.39 14.19 15.27 16.49 17.64 18.52 19.37

(+I (i-1 t-1 (+) (+I (5) (+I

20

3 930.37

2.15

15.00

(+)

16.111

50 33 50 53 25

Note: In calculating the average percentage increase ofbook intakes and professional staffing, the base year (1974) is not counted.

our student community is located on a country-wide campus, only postgraduate students attending the end-of-course workshops on group training come to the University campus. So we treat them as “outside users”. But our teachers have formed the core class of users, normally understood as “in-house users”. We had, up to 1982, not provided for our student users, for whom the library services are now established through our 10 regional libraries, in order to provide an easy access to “specified” as well as “unspecified” learning materials, to increase their ability to locate and retrieve information, to provide equipment associated with the software (films, tapes, cassettes, etc). The needs ofour teachers have been most demanding and extensive in terms of improving their ability to design effective learning packages suited to the system of distance education techniques. They are also in need of the opportunity to update their knowledge of teaching/learning theory and practice, but in a non-formal or distance education situation no formal or regular current awareness service was launched. Yet again regularly, though informally, the library staff have been informing the individual teacher about the occurrence of relevant information in the periodic literature. Some of the problems that may have worried our counterparts are briefly mentioned:

earlier,

(a) How to reduce the time gap between the acquisitions library and the cataloguing of such materials;

by the

54

M. UL-HASSAN (b) How to improve the techniques for description, organization and maintenance of reference and special research collections in multimedia formats; (c) How to provide quicker bibliographical access to the everincreasing and vast quantities ofmultimedia materials needed for courses and their development by the University; and (d) How to make more effective the co-operative sharing of library resources when other libraries are not even inclined to join any inter-library programme at all. DEPARTMENTAL

LIBRARIES

For a variety of reasons, almost all university libraries in Pakistan have a number of departmental libraries, college or institute libraries. Such libraries have varied considerably in size and the resources provided, but the University librarian (who is also not provided in more than four or five universities) is usually, though not invariably, held responsible for their administration, and the library committee normally has some say in how they are to be maintained and used. In spite of the diversity of views (librarians as well as academic library users) about the departmental or branch libraries in terms of their being the most vital links in the chain of service points or as a useless extravagance or as being expensive to run in terms of book resources and staff to man them, their main justification for the institute and the regional office lies in the potential saving of time of the staff and the students and in the more efficient exploitation of books and information service. I would personally never favour establishing libraries as such in the university departments (comprising never more than 10 teaching staff with no students, and when the departments are at a stone’s throw from the main library). These may enjoy the right to house a “seminar” collection, quite handy as a resource collection for developing the course materials rather than making a “library” for reasons of departmental prestige. (a) On-campus Branch Libraries As conceived, branch libraries may emerge at the Institute level, the precedent being available from the library of the Institute ofArabic and Islamic studies. Thus, we may have an Institute of Education Library, and an Institute of Educational Technology library, and the newly established “Womens’ studies centre”. At present, the library of the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies (IAIS) has a library established in 1980 to serve six teaching and four general staff. Out of six teaching

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members, three are Arab teachers for the promotion of Arabic through the distance teaching system of the University. The library is in the charge of one Assistant Librarian who is directly responsible to the Director of the Institute; and it follows independent acquisitions and technical services policies for maintaining the so-called specialized collection. As on 18 July 1982, the collection figures in Table IX show:

TABLE IX IAIS Library Collection Transferred in from Central Library

Books 5 794

* Indicates

Purchases

1329 1464* unaccessioned

books sent from

884

the Central

Donations 2117

Library.

The library currently subscribes to nine periodicals, and it also receives a number of Arabic newspapers through Arab Missions in the country. Storage facilities include 10 almirahs (glazed), five open racks of shelves, and one 60-drawer card cabinet (steel). It maintains 12 individual study tables for users. It has also two wooden newspaper stands. The periodical holdings have not been counted at the time of the report. The library uses the Dewey Decimal Classification scheme (19th edition), and has no authority list of subject headings or other cataloguing tools. (b) Regional Libraries As mentioned earlier, with particular reference to Table I, the University has established 10 regional offices and about 124 study centres are attached to them for arranging tutorial services for the students. The necessary facilities are being provided to start with a core collection of University course books, audiotapes, and general reference material for use by the students and tutors. The need for establishing the regional libraries has been recognized in view of the dearth of a well-knit public library system and inter-library co-operative as well as resource sharing schemes at the national level. The main justification has been found in the geographical remoteness of the students from the central library of the university and the latter’s inability to transmit library books through mail or post.

56

M. UL-HASSAN LIBRARY

BUILDING

The Open University is as yet passing through its developmental phase. So is the library attached to it. In April 1974 it was accommodated in a dining room of the two hired bungalows near the Polyclinic, with a collection of over hundred books; in May 1974 in a primary school building; in 1975 in the newly constructed Federal Government Hostels. The University Central Library Collection has expanded to about 26 000 volumes with a five to six thousand Arabic collection separately housed in the Institute ofArabic and Islamic Studies. The present small premises became rapidly filled with the material at an average rate of 3 000 items per year. We could hardly provide reading spaces for the faculties and the students attending end-of-the-course training workshops at the campus. The storage facilities also soon filled up, which necessitated allocating priority to the construction of library building in the campus construction project. The new library building construction started in August 1982. The building is 144’ x 80’, planned on two floors to accommodate the professional and non-professional staff and about 50000 items. The ground floor has been assigned to house the Reference, Bibliography, Serials and the Main catalogue for public use, and also the offices of the Librarian, Deputy Librarian, Technical services, Committee Room and a large open display/Exhibition area with a central, single door entrance and exit control. A group study room, for use by a maximum of 10 students in a group at a time, has been provided. Four Faculty Studies, and four carrels have also been provided on the first floor for the individual reading/project/research work by members of the faculties. The library building is not airconditioned. The audiovisual material premises will have to be provided with airconditioners to maintain the required temperature. For inter-floor transportation, a lift has been provided for moving material to the stack areas on the first floor.

LIBRARY

PUBLICATIONS

The following publications have been prepared and circulated the years under review, i.e. April 1974 to June 1982: Sr. No. (1) ii; (4)

Title Library Information and Documentation List (Monthly), 1975. Bibliography on Iqbal, December 1977. Bibliography on Education, 1977. Bibliography on Iqbal, April 1978.

during

Services: Accessions

ALLAMA

(5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12)

(13) (14) (15) (16)

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Content-Analytical index to Iqbal literature, vol. I (Urdu) August 1978. Content-Analytical index to Iqbal literature, vol. II (English), September 1978. Content-Analytical index to Iqbal literature (Urdu), vol. III, October 1978. Bibliography on Iqbal (revised edition), November 1978. Bibliography on typewriting, office management and shorthand, 1978. Content-Analytical index to Iqbaliat literature, vol. IV (periodical literature), February 1978. Subject guide to Reference sources held in the AIOU, 1978. List of subject headings on Iqbal, 1980. Subject guide to books in Islam and related subjects, 198 1. List of subject headings on Islam, 1981. An annotated “mediagraphy” of 16 mm films, audiotapes, and course books of the UK Open University held in the AI, Open University, 1982. “School Library”, A course unit offered in the fifth cycle of Primary Teachers Orientation Course.