December 29, 2006

An Introduction to Birendra Sainik Awasiya Mahavidyalaya Library

A well-equipped and well managed library is similar to an ocean full of pearls and corals for acquiring knowledge. The presence of books in a library is not enough but the efforts and enthusiasm of readers also count much in acquiring knowledge. The significance of the library does not rest on piling of books in racks and shelves but on its utility value. A library becomes very significant when it is able to cater to the needs of the students and teachers to explore new ideas and carry on the research. A library should provide the facilities of photocopy so that the readers can get the xerox of part of the books they require. This facility can help the readers who cannot afford to buy the books. So. the library plays a vital role in learning and acquiring knowledge to a great extent.


 Introduction

Birendra Sainik Awasiya Mahavidyalaya Library was started on the 24 November, 1978 (according to Accession Register) when T.U. Suping Campus Library was established. At present the library has over 22 thousand books. There are 30 titles of periodicals and newspapers. A Junior Library was also established two years ago for classes 4 to 6. The library is also maintaining manual catalogue cards. In addition to this there are 3000 records on computer database.

Library Hours (Sunday-Friday)

Summer: 9 am to 5pm

Winter: 9 am to 4 pm

The library remains closed on Saturdays and on public holidays. The library can remain open for more hours than its usual timings depending on the urgency of the situation. Library hours during the vacations are notified prior to the vacations.

Membership

All the students, teachers, non-teachers and army staff of BSAM can become the member of the library.

 Privileges and Conditions of Loan

 S.N.     Kinds of Users                  Number of cards               Period of loan

1.         Teachers                                  3                                        15 days

2.         Staff                                        2                                        15 days

3.         Anny Staff                              2                                        15 days

4.         Students (Class 11 to 12)        3                                        15 days

5.         Students class 10                    2                                        15 days

6.         Students classes (4-9)             1                                        15 days

 Teachers can be issued any number of text books for one year by special library card.

General Rules:

  1. While entering the library, bag/brief cases etc should be left at the property counter.
  2. If an issued book is found damaged while returning the book, the book will not be considered by the library.
  3. A book can be renewed if the book is not received by other readers.
  4. Offensive and disturbing behaviour will not be permitted inside the library.
  5. Food and drinks are not allowed in the library.
  6. Books kept in the Special Collection Sections can be used only in the library.
  7. Overdue charges shall be levied at the following rates: For general books Re. 1/- per volume per day For reserved books Re. 1/- per day
  8. If a book is not available on the shelf, a member can fill out a reserved slip at the library circulation desk and will be notified when it is available.
  9. Membership cards are not transferable. The borrower in whose name the card was issued will be responsible for any misuse of the library card.
  10. The user must examine the condition of the book thoroughly at the time issue. The user will be responsible if pages of the book are found torn or damaged or with writings while returning the book to the library.
  11. If any book is lost by the user, he/she should replace the same book if available in the market or should pay the cost of replacement with 50% additional charge.
  12. If the library card is lost, the user should inform the library and he/she can have a new one by paying Rs.5
  13. An overdue charge of Re. I per volume per day shall be charged if a book is kept beyond the period of loan.

 Arrangement of Books

The books have been arranged on the shelves subject wise according to DDC (Dewey Decimal Classification) system. According to this, each title gets a classification notation number ranging from 001 to 999, indicative of the subject of the book eg. Mathematics get notation number 530. Similarly 330 is the notation number for books on Economics. These numbers are mentioned at the upper lift corner of the catalogue cards and on top of the computer catalogue. On the spine label of each book, the same number is found to help locate user's desired book. Locating a Particular Book:

 The library follows open access system except for special collection section. The catalogue is maintained in card form and the entries of the books have been filled in the alphabetical order as in a dictionary. Each book has got at least 3 catalogue cards i.e by authors, title and subject. Library users should consult the catalogue to find a particular book of their interest. The search can be made either by author or title or by subject. First of all, one should obtain its call number written at the upper left corner of the card then go to the shelves and then go to the shelves following the notation sequence numbers found printed on the spine of the books.

 

For example to get the call number of the book entitled Elementary Physics by C. L. Aron and S.P. Malhotra First of all one should look up the author card by surname as

Call No.           Authors                      Subject

530                  Arora, C.L.                Physics

ARO               Malhotra, S.P

In case of if one does not remember the author's name he should look under the subject i.e. Physics or by the title ie Elementary Physics

Loan Books and Reference Books Loan book ie, the books that can be borrowed have been kept in the general section. Readers have free access to this collection. Similarly, Reference books (R) & Nepal Collection (NC), Military Science (Mil. Se), Library Sciences (Lib. Sc) have been kept at different locations.

If a symbol a years above the call number as R. NC, Mil. Se and Lib. Se are not borrowable books. If a symbol I.T. i.c. Junior Text and children books and books without symbols are borrowable.

The library has the following types of collections

No. symbol                  General Collection

C                                 Children's Books

JT                                Junior Collection

Lib. Sc                         Library Science

Mil. Se                         Military Science

NC                                Nepal Collection

R                                 Reference Collection

 Finding a Current Periodical

The current issues of periodicals are arranged on periodical display racks. The name of the periodicals is written below.

 Services

  1.  Display of materials and information
  2.  Library Orientation of a freshman
  3. Reader's advisory services
  4. Circulation of Materials
  5. Reservation of Materials
  6. Bibliographic Instruction
  7. Assistance in the Use of Catalogue
  8. Assistance in the Search and Location of materials
  9. Assistance in the Use of Reference Books

 Activities

             Preparing library rules and regulation according to the need by the Library Committee.

·            Acquiring books, joumals, documents and other teaching learning materials.

·            Keeping the books in computerized by Win ISIS package.

·            Collecting overdue fees.

·            Distribution of library cards to borrowers .

·            Maintaining readers/reports of library activities

For further information readers are requested to contact the staff of library

 (This article was Published in Sallaghari Annual Magzine of Birendra Sainik Awasiya Mahavidyalay, Bhaktapur, 2063, Vol. 16  Page Number  91)

 


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