Feret and Rożniakowska, Part 3
Lidia Szczyglowska from the Main Library of the Technical University of Czestochowa presented an interesting paper on the process of the library evolution (“‘Cybrary’ is still the Library”). Her paper was an attempt to show a structural overview of the evolution of existing academic libraries and some challenges that this process brings to librarians. Library space, functions and services have been reconfigured towards the hybrid library, which by some is perceived as just a stage in natural adaptation to a changing environment, while by others is seen as only a survival strategy. Some also note that the library of the future is no longer simply a monastery full of books and journals but also an “information marketplace” competing for customers.
Social problems were also presented in a very interesting paper, “The Role of the Library in the Process of Social Exclusion and Inclusion” by Wanda Pindlowa from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. The aim of the paper was to show different groups of people who are excluded from the society, also by libraries and their regulations, due to various reasons. For example, some libraries exclude homeless or poor people who cannot pay for the lost books or for other reasons. At the same time, libraries can help people with the process of social inclusion, for example, by providing information for the unemployed, conducting distance learning, organizing training in the use of information technology, digitizing library resources to make them accessible remotely, etc. Future libraries should concentrate more on inclusion of those currently excluded from the information flow and from the society.
An interesting discussion by librarians about library specific problems was carried out by Jadwiga Woźniak–Kasperek and Małgorzata Kisilowska in the paper titled “Is there a future for cataloguing?” The text refers to cataloguing as a method of organizing knowledge and perceiving the world. It confirmed the necessity of maintaining this process in libraries and information centres. However, its optimization in regard to information needs and competencies of the users should be emphasized, because offering users individualized searching capabilities requires improvement of information retrieval tools. There is also a question of the objectiveness of library catalogues, for example, in light of the cultural differences among the users and information professionals. The paper presented the author’s views concerning the future of subject cataloguing and aimed to answer two questions: what are the pros and cons of subject headings systems? Is this the relevant time to announce the end of controlled indexing and indexing vocabularies?
Addressing problems connected with management, the paper presented by a young librarian, Bożena Jaskowska, related to participation of library staff in academic library management: “Empowerment and Partnership — Is It Possible in the Academic Library?”. As the title suggests, the paper presents the idea of empowerment and partnership in the academic library. Some differences between classical and empowerment management and a few of the most important features of leadership were also pointed out. Difficulties as well as benefits of staff participation in academic library management were also discussed in the paper. The author concludes that there are many areas in the academic library where empowerment and partnership could be successfully implemented in the management process.