Information Technology in Libraries
What the exam tests
This domain tests practical IT use in libraries: automation modules, OPAC searching, barcode and RFID, digital libraries, metadata and basic database searching.
Core rules and concepts
- Library automation: using software for acquisition, cataloguing, circulation, serials control, OPAC and reporting.
- OPAC: online public access catalogue; it shows a library's holdings and location, and may allow reservation.
- Barcode: needs line of sight and is read one item at a time. RFID: uses radio waves, can read multiple items and supports security gates.
- Library software: KOHA is open source; SOUL is used in many university libraries; LibSys is commercial. DSpace and Greenstone are digital library or repository platforms.
- Metadata: structured description of digital objects, often using MARC or Dublin Core.
- Search logic: Boolean AND narrows, OR broadens, NOT excludes; phrase search uses quotation marks.
- Digitisation: scanning, OCR, metadata creation, storage, backup and access.
Worked example
A user wants articles on 'library automation in India'. An OPAC search for library automation AND India is better than searching only library. Reasoning: AND requires both concepts, reducing irrelevant records. If too few results, add synonyms with OR, such as automation OR computerisation. Check the record's location and status before guiding the user to the shelf.
Traps
OPAC is not the same as the internet or a full-text database. RFID is not a barcode - it does not need line of sight. Digitisation supports access and preservation but does not by itself conserve the original. Metadata is not the scanned image; it describes it.