Parliamentary Librarianship in Sierra Leone

Introduction
Typically the Sierra Leone Parliament library, the established repository of typically the records of Legislative house, is responsible for the collection, organization and dissemination of bibliographic materials and details to further the effort of the legal guidelines. The Parliament, which usually houses the selection, can be found at the particular summit of Tower system Hill, on the second floor. It was opened on the event of the nation's Independence day, twenty sixth April 1961. Typically the proximity of the library to the Chamber ensures that their existence and providers are brought close to parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators.

The level and complexity of presidency activities create a need for the widespread scattering of information concerning those activities plus for popular presentation of government policy. Invariably the over-riding aim of the library is typically the provision details of which will enable parliamentarians, parliamentary administrators and even support staff to undertake their duties efficiently. Its objectives are usually:

o The supply of information and even knowledge resources crucial to parliamentarians and even parliamentary administration inside the performance involving their daily features.
o To act as archives for parliamentary and other crucial government publications.
um To get materials from parliaments in various other countries that may be of benefit in order to parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators for tedious operations.

Provisions and management
Consistent with these aims and targets the library provides a small assortment of stock on Idea, Sociology, Political Research, Economics, Law, Military Administration and Historical past. Also included will be Bills, Acts, Buy papers and sees, Hansard/Parliamentary debates, State Opening programmes, Presidential addresses, Budget speeches, chronicles of Parliamentary elections and advancements, Parliamentary debates associated with the House involving Commons and Lords of Britain, courting back to the colonial period, Indian Parliamentary debates and related ones from Tanganyika (Tanzania), Gold Coastline (Ghana), Nigeria and even Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), plus materials from Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Commonwealth. In addition is a collection involving reference works many of these as encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, parliamentary handbooks, yearbooks, public updates, protocols and treaties. These materials will be acquired by order, donation, exchange, plus deposit, especially simply by the Government Printing Department responsible regarding the printing associated with all government guides in the region. The materials happen to be classified and arranged based on Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme (19th Edition).

A Librarian, an Assistant Librarian as well as clerical employees man the catalogue. The Librarian is definitely responsible to typically the Clerk of Parliament, the chief officer and vote control, and overall head of the product. The functions regarding the Librarian, inside addition to applying the library, incorporate the compilation associated with bibliographies and reading through lists, literature looking, summarizing facts plus published information, plus obtaining information by government departments. Typically the Assistant Librarian executes such duties while acquisition, classification and cataloguing of elements, answering reference inquiries, writing correspondence, storage solution and the standard supervision of help staff. He likewise computes the parliamentary index to all parliament papers and debates, the public costs index after which international affairs index with references obtained from the daily and periodical press, government updates and Commissions involving Inquiry index. These indexes are cumulated and reproduced photographically. Government mainly fiscally supports the selection.

The Sierra Leone Parliament Library clientele are mainly parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators. The library likewise extends its solutions to university lecturers and students, open public officials and visitors. It has a readership of over five 100 (500). The library is open coming from 8: 30 the. m. to 5: 00p. m. from Friday through Friday plus is closed during weekends and open public holidays. It provides reference and financing services to it is clientele as element of its book services. To allow an user in order to loan materials the request form is usually issued for finalization. Around three textbooks could be loaned regarding two weeks. Users can renew their particular books to get a further two weeks, offered no other users request them. Even so, materials like reviews, conference proceedings, parliamentary Acts, debates in addition to gazettes are certainly not loaned but simply consulted in the collection. The library features an Author/Title and Classified catalogue.
Companies

Staff in the Reader Service and even Reference Desk deal with all reference enquiries. Reference services are usually provided in about three ways: individually in order to parliamentarians in reaction to an ask for for a 'brief' on any theme connected to their very own official duties; typically the preparation of common 'background papers' involving previous debates, specifically when an MP was absent and even need a review of what was discussed; and ad hoc services to Committees of the home.

To match  ふじみ野市議会議員　自民党  within the library latest awareness services and even selective dissemination associated with information services are usually provided on the modest scale. The current awareness assistance involves the accessibility of the current periodical articles, reports and documents corresponding to specific subjects of each participant interest. A copying service of preferred publications such as news features by the files of recent press clippings, reports and written content pages of required materials is likewise done. There is usually also a cell phone service for each internal and global calls. In buy to meet the particular challenges of ICTs computers have already been installed inside the catalogue with Internet facility. As an approach of preserving and even conserving the selection library staff regularly fumigate the gathering whilst the Assistant Librarian does repairs about damaged materials. Worn-out materials are taken up the Government Publishing Department for mending. To help clientele make use of the library consumer education is given jointly with shelf guidelines.

Not withstanding the provisions and providers in the collection problems abound which function as challenges to the staff. Noteworthy are inadequate employees, poor working circumstances, inadequate and useless collection, inadequate plus untimely funding, non-performance of a market research to assess the particular needs of consumers and the lack of a collection development policy. Little wonder why trained and qualified staff will be hardly retained to be able to run the collection. It is even so hoped that the existing Parliament will restore the situation.