Guidelines for preservation of information resources at Our Lady Good Counsel Senior Secondary School Library, Gayaaza

Abstract

The study aimed at developing a library preservation policy for Our Lady of Good Counsel Senior Secondary School. The objectives of the study were to; examine the threats to information resources at Our Lady of Good Counsel Senior Secondary School, find out methods for preservation of Information resources at Our Lady of Good Counsel Senior Secondary School, identify the challenges encountered by library staff when carrying out preservation at Our Lady of Good Counsel senior secondary school and propose guidelines that can be followed towards effective preservation of information resources in the OLGCL The study used a case study research design while adopting a qualitative research approach in order to study the problem in depth within a limited timescale. The researcher used purposive sampling method to select the respondents in the study. Interviews, observation and document analysis methods of data collection were used to collect both primary and secondary data of the study. The study revealed that Our Lady of Good Counsel senior secondary school library uses different preservation techniques to protect the information materials from deteriorating at a very high rate which include; cleaning of shelves and the information resources on daily basis, digitalization of some materials, covering windows, use of rat gum to trap pests, coating of shelves with acid-free paint and so on. The findings also show that the information resources are faced with a number of threats which can lead to deterioration of information resources such as; pests, and other living organisms, dust and dirt, mishandling by users, fire and water, high temperatures and humidity, poor quality of materials among others. Librarians at Our Lady of Good Counsel senior secondary school encounter different challenges in preservation of information resources. These challenges limit them from proper preservation of information resources. And these include; inadequate space for materials, inadequate finance, limited equipment and many others. Preservation of information resources at Our Lady of Good Counsel senior secondary school is carried out right from the time of receiving the information resources, processing, shelving and dissemination of the materials in the library. The study concluded that developing the preservation guidelines for OLGC senior secondary school would help the library staff preserve the information resources in the school library. The recommendations for the study were; maximum care of information resources, formulating a preservation committee, training of the library staff, ensuring availability of funds for preservation of information resources, use of acid free boxes, follow up on the use of materials among others.