challenges encountered at the Margaret thatcher library (Moi university)

CHALLENEGES ENCOUNTERED AT THE MARGARET THATCHER

LIBRARY (MOI UNIVERSITY)

Name

CMIS 1001 - Introduction to Information Systems

Walden University

Introduction

This chapter covers on the personal challenges encountered during the attachment

exercise in the organization where the attaché was attached. It also covers on the

Due to lack of adequate exposure to the working environment, I was forced to take quite

a long time to adapt to the working conditions of the institution. This is where I realized

the reason behind requisition of working experience by companies and organizations

before recruitment someone fully, so as to enable efficiency and effectiveness of the

work. Since I was dealing with a number of different activities which I was not familiar

with before, for example working with the computer programs that I was not familiar

with, felt like if I had enough exposure and experience I would have done better than the

organization expected.

Financial Constraint

During the attachment period, for what most of us call it unpaid internship it was self

Some individuals from the organization could not offer me maximum cooperation I

needed to execute my duties maybe due to the fact that I was still not well conversant

with the job and hence I had a feeling of that sought. This really gave me a hard time all

day long. Some clients misplaced files and document and became relent to recover them

and finally I had to take the initiative to trace them back. This was among the hectic

challenges I experienced

Organizational Challenges

The Library institutions in Kenya that is, apart from the one mentioned in the attachment

report suffer from a number of challenges like any other organization. Firstly we should

all agree that libraries are meant to conserve information in different ways. The

following is a breakdown of challenge encountered in conservation of this knowledge by

desired attention given to the preservation and conservation of information resources by

the management of such libraries and archives.

Inadequacy of Equipment’s/Materials:

It is realized that lack of suitable or adequate equipments and materials contributes

significantly to the present poor status of preservation and conservation of information

materials in African libraries, archives and information centers. Some of the essential

materials and equipment required for setting up functional conservation and restoration

laboratories in African libraries and archives are not available locally. Most libraries use

projectors which are not very gentle particularly with materials of archival interest such

as those produced in the period 1930-1950 as they have become quite brittle, they have

For several years especially in Africa it has been notes that the economic policies of most

African governments do not favour library and archival services, so preservation and

conservation activities regarding the information are not given the priority attention they

deserve. Such economic policies include those concerning high duties and tariffs charged

The effects of tropical climate of excessive temperature, high relative humidity, dust, and

rodents that feed on paper-based materials cause rapid deterioration and decay of

information resources in the libraries and archives. These agents of rapid deterioration

pronounced in the continent than elsewhere.

Manpower and other infrastructure

For any preservation and conservation programme to succeed in libraries and archives

there must be adequate and well-trained manpower. This is because preservation and

conservation of information resources is a specialized field of knowledge that requires

information professionals who understand the physical and chemical nature of the

materials in their library and archive holdings. Some researchers advocates the need to

expose librarians and archivists to conservation and restoration practices during their

training, such that a training programme should include, operating environmental control,

storage and housing, operating environmental systems, designing new buildings or

renovation of buildings. It was also identified that lack of information (IT) skills due to

inadequate training as one of the impediments to the management of electronic records at

The low quality of paper and ink used I n the production of information materials

especially library book materials and paper-based records in archives and records offices

pose serious danger to preservation and conservation of information materials in libraries.

loss, and even under ideal conditions they are short lived relative to traditional format

materials. Although archivists have been battling acid-based papers, thermo-fax, nitrate

film, and other fragile media for decades, the threat posed by magnetic and optical media

is qualitatively different. They are the first reusable media and they can deteriorate

storing information are being replaced with new products and methods on a regular three-

to five-year cycle, driven primarily by market forces. Records created in electronic form

in the first instance and those converted retrospectively from paper or microfilm to

electronic form is equally vulnerable to technological obsolescence.

information organization and retrieval, presentation and visualization, and administration

of intellectual property rights. The critical role of digital libraries and archives in ensuring

the future accessibility of information with enduring value has taken a back seat to

enhancing access to current and actively used materials. As a consequence, electronic

records preservation remains largely experimental and replete with the risks associated

with untested methods; and electronic records preservation requirements have not been

factored into the architecture, resource allocation, or planning for digital libraries.

CONCLUION AND RECOMMANDATIONS

Introduction

This chapter covers or rather discusses the conclusions and recommendations made by

the attaché basing on the observations made during the attachment period

Conclusion

Following my attachment experience in the above mentioned institution, I have come to

realize that the presence of organizations such as libraries are of great importance to the

I have learnt that there are several problems within this organization and to my

conclusion is that some problems arising within any organization are influenced by

external forces as well as individual within the same organization. I have come to my

conclusion that problems like: lack of financial resources, unfavorable government

economic policies, inadequacy of equipments/materials: manpower and other

infrastructure, poor quality of paper and ink, the obsolescence in retrieval and playback

technologies: the absence of established standards, protocols, and proven methods for

Recommendations

heavily in IT for its strategic objectives. Evidence of this can be seen in the areas of

library services, faculty activities, central services and administration and management

operations. This paper focuses on improving information management and

communication based on the new generation of multimedia computer packages within an

academic institutional environment. It is therefore argued that a management information

system designed for Margaret Thatcher Library needs to reflect the organizational

objectives and current multimedia technologies in order to remain strategically important.