INTRODUCTION
A library is a collection of sources of information and similar resources, made
accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing.It provides physical or
digital access to material, and may be a physical building or room, or a virtual space, or
both. A library's collection can
include books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints, documents, m
icroform, CDs, cassettes,videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, e-
books, audiobooks, databases, and other formats. Libraries range in size from a few
shelves of books to several million items. In Latin and Greek, the idea of bookcase is
represented by Bibliotheca and Bibliothēkē (Greek: βιβλιοθήκη): derivatives of these
mean library in many modern languages, e.g. French bibliothèque.
The first libraries consisted of archives of the earliest form of writing—the clay
tablets in cuneiform script discovered in Sumer, some dating back to 2600 BC. Private
or personal libraries made up of written books appeared in classical Greece in the 5th
century BC. In the 6th century, at the very close of the Classical period, the great
libraries of the Mediterranean world remained those of Constantinople andAlexandria.
A library is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, a
corporation, or a private individual. Public and institutional collections and services may
be intended for use by people who choose not to—or cannot afford to—purchase an
extensive collection themselves, who need material no individual can reasonably be
expected to have, or who require professional assistance with their research. In addition
to providing materials, libraries also provide the services of librarians who are experts at
finding and organizing information and at interpreting information needs. Libraries often
provide quiet areas for studying, and they also often offer common areas to facilitate
group study and collaboration. Libraries often provide public facilities for access to their
electronic resources and the Internet. Modern libraries are increasingly being redefined
as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many
sources.
SCIENCE LIBRARY AND ITS ORGANIZATION
&
MAINTENANCE
Science library is an essential part of the equipment .Pupils must read extra books other
than text books for gaining general knowledge.The library books supplement what has
been taught in the class.The books must be such as to provoke thinking and
discussion,to develop interest in matters of science,to stimulate further reading.to help
to articulate and elucidate scientific concepts and problems,to suggest further problems
and to give insight into social implications and contributions of science.
There must be books on various branches of science,on invention and discoveries
biographies,on hobbies,reference books and books on methods.the books must be
accurate and authoritative.It is the reading habit developed in the school that enables
them to understand and appreciate scientific articles appearing in magazines and new
papers.Without an adequate library,modern methods like Dalton plan ,project
metod,supervised study and others will become almost impossible.The science library
should be attatched to the department.
Scientific teacher should select for the library suitable books covering a wide range of
topics .There may be a collection of says,5000 books both for the use of teachers and
pupils.The books may be dealing with Physics,Chemistry,Biology,Nature study,general
science.
(i)Place of Science Library in a modern school
As the famous maxim goes –“A true university of these days is a collection of
books”,library forms the heart of the educational institution.It is a place where
those,eager to learn,dig deep into inexhaustible mines of knowledge.It is a foundation of
inspiration and a sources of perpectual self education.It is a place where wisdom of
ages is accumulated and the culture of the world is containted.
“Library” literally means a store-house or collection of books kept in charge of
a clerk or any senior teacher of a high school staff.By cultivating the habits of reading
books in a well equipped library,the children can be made to increase their knowledge
and can be educated in the real sense of the term.
Library today is also regarded as one of the instruments of making learning more
effective. Modern progressive methods of teaching can only be implemented with the
help of good libraries. The Secondary Education Commission has accordingly made
recommendations for the establishment and organization of the most effective library
service in every secondary school in India. It clearly mentioned “proper use of a well
equipped school library is absolutely essential for the efficient working of every
educational institution and for encouraging literary and cultural interests in students,
even class libraries and subject libraries should be encouraged.”
(ii)Furnishing a classroom library
1. Sizable and attractive books shelves should be provided for the books
2. Open shelves invite learners to browse but a closed shelves give more
protection to books.
3. while planning the self space, through should be given to future space
requirements.
5. Inclined shelving is especially advantageous for the display of magazines and
pamphlets.
6. A special bulletin board for the library area can be used to display pertinent
clippings, small pamphlets, circulars, jackets of new acquired books.
7. A colourful bulletin board attracts pupils to the reading area.
8. Provide Internet facility in the library.
(iv)selecting and procuring Science reading materials
1. Selecting recent books.
2. Select a diversified collections of books.
3. Select books with a range of reading levels.
4. Books should be selected to meet the instincts of youth, e.g. hero worship,
adventure and collecting instruct.
5. Select some science books for vocational guidance.
6. Select some science reference book.
7. Select some occasional science books for its literacy style.
8.
IMPORTANCE OF LIBRARIES
As is said, “Reading make the a full man” ,the importance of books is quite
evident. Not only are they the vital forces of acquiring knowledge but they also
act as great friends and companions in times of need. We get pleasure, peace,
consolution, strength, courage, ready advice and knowledgefrombooks. Great
mines may exhaust, cities may perish and kingdoms may be swept away-even
man may weep at his mortal destruction, but the eternal body of throught that
lies hidden in the shape of a book will exist for all times. Good books to the
young mind are like the warm sun and to the seeds.
ADVANTAGES
Get a library card - for both you and your
child. It's an easy process!
Once a week, instead of curling up in front of a mediocre television
show, take a family excursion to the library.
Investigate the possibilities at your local library. Libraries have more
than books and magazines for children and adults. They also have
educational games, books-on-cassette, entertainment ad educational
videotapes, records, compact disks, audio cassettes, DVDs and free
computer access to the Internet.
Children usually learn library skills at school. Ask your child to help
you learn how to find things more easily in the library. If your child
has not learned library skills, learn how to get the most out of the
library together. Don't be afraid to ask the librarian to get you
started.
Talk about your library visit before you go. Decide what and how
many kinds of materials your children will be checking out and discuss
them prior to your visit.
Discuss how important it is to take good care of the books and other
materials you borrow from the library and why it is necessary to bring
them back on time.
Take advantage of the free activities and programs libraries offer for
children and families. The can include book clubs, story times, family
films and lectures and special exhibits.
If you children express an interest in something - a new puppy for
example - go to the library to learn a more about their interests.
When publicity about a new movie attracts the attention of your
children, encourage them to read the book before seeing the movie.
You can often find the book in the libraries
CONCLUSION
Libraries should inform their users of what materials are available in their collections
and how to access that information. Before the computer age, this was accomplished by
the card catalogue—a cabinet (or multiple cabinets) containing many drawers filled
with index cards that identified books and other materials. In a large library, the card
catalogue often filled a large room. The emergence of the Internet, however, has led to
the adoption of electronic catalogue databases (often referred to as "webcats" or
as online public access catalogues, OPACs), which allow users to search the library's
holdings from any location with Internet access. This style of catalogue maintenance is
compatible with new types of libraries, such as digital libraries and distributed libraries,
as well as older libraries that have been retrofitted. Electronic catalogue databases are
criticized by some who believe that the old card catalogue system was both easier to
navigate and allowed retention of information, by writing directly on the cards, that is lost
in the electronic systems. This argument is analogous to the debate over paper books
and e-books. While libraries have been accused of precipitously throwing out valuable
information in card catalogues, most modern ones have nonetheless made the move to
electronic catalogue databases. Large libraries may be scattered within multiple
buildings across a town, each having multiple floors, with multiple rooms housing the
resources across a series of shelves. Once a user has located a resource within the
catalogue, they must then use navigational guidance to retrieve the resource physically;
a process that may be assisted through signage, maps, GPS systems or RFID tagging