Library catalog Essay Example for Free

Library catalog Essay Today, libraries are intensified and triggered by many advances and rapid inventions of science and technology that are greatly affecting the library operations as a whole. The non-stop discoveries of this new technology, particularly computers, redefined the role of libraries. A library is a collection of information, sources, resources, books, and services, and the structure in which it is housed. It is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual. In a more traditional sense, a library is a collection of books (â€Å"Library†, 2009). The library, more than any instrument of the society, is open to public use and the knowledge embodied in books are the foundation of a society to attain or develop more the potentialities of man which in return, will be a great factor in the progress of a nation. The library has the responsibility to upgrade its status through open access to these advances, to develop a plan of action in order to contribute and to become an effective partner especially in instruction, research and extension programs of an educational institute (Enem, 2002). From the statements above it is proven that the library has a big role not only to the students but also to the society and our country. Through the help of modern technology and information system, the library circulation system can improve. Library circulation or library lending comprises the activities around the lending of library books and other material to users of a lending library. A circulation or lending department is one of the key departments of a library (â€Å"LC†, 2009). Library circulation provides lending services and facilities for return of loaned items. Renewal of materials and payment of fines are also handled at the circulation desk. Circulation staff may provide basic search and reference services, though more in-depth questions are usually referred to reference librarians at the library reference desk. The circulation desk is in most cases staffed by library aides instead of professional librarians. The functions of the circulation desk staff may include the lending materials to library users, checking in materials returned, monitoring materials for damage and routing them to the appropriate staff for repair or replacement, troubleshooting circulation technology, i.e. library circulation software, scanners, printers, etc. , and collecting statistics on library use, i. e. patron transactions, material checkouts, etc. The two categories of Information System (IS) are the manual or traditional system and automatic or also known as Computer-Based Information System (CBIS). Before the use of CBIS, all the data are processed manually in a traditional system, where all the information are written and stored in different files. Sometimes, this process is called non-computerized system. Non-computerized is not efficient because it consumes a lot of time to find and update the information. To eliminate this problem, a new system was created which is known as computerized system or CBIS. Computer-Based Information Systems (CBIS) is composed of hardware, software, databases, telecommunications, people, and procedures that are configured to collect, manipulate, store, and process data into information (Abraham, 2009). The library of University of the Philippines Diliman was established in 1922 has grappled with four basic concerns: the book fund, staff development, library services and information technology. And in 1999 the university had opened an online public access catalog and launched the university library web. Another school that has a library system running in web based is the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in 1999. Each year, the school library acquires new resources and upgrades equipment for the use of students. As of august 2009, the library has a collection of over 122,000 book titles and more than 45,000 titles of electronic books. Using CBIS nowadays as a tool for development not only uplifts a company’s reputation, but also help fix things to the best. And also by using the intranet as a platform of the system can be a great help for improving the services of the library. An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet technologies to securely share any part of an organizations information or operational systems with its employees. Sometimes the term refers only to the organizations internal website, but often it is a more extensive part of the organizations computer infrastructure and private websites are an important component and focal point of internal communication and collaboration (King, 2002). Mr. A. T. Valdes, the librarian of NPCMSTI said that the library is an instrument that is used to provide data and information needed by the student in his study by collecting books that are important in their subjects as references. He added that from the books collected and selected, they are maintained in  order to be available to the students when the need it (personal communication, April 6, 2002). In addition, there are problems encountered in the manual or traditional library system of NPCMSTI based from the study conducted by the students of NPCMSTI. These include more effort and slow inventory of books, inefficient searching of books, inefficient generation of reports, and inefficient monitoring of books. The library has more than 4000 number of books and monitoring all these books require a lot of time and effort (Carreon, Delmendo, Maala, Mendoza Penequito, 2008). Considering the advantages brought by CBIS and the problems encountered in the existing library system of NPCMSTI, the researcher decided to propose a computerized library system for NPCMSTI. Company Background The vision of the NPCMSTI library is to be a functional media center for meritorious resources especially in Nautical Science or Marine Transportation, Marine Engineering, Computer Science, Criminology, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, and Technical Vocational courses towards an excellent training development of professionals, diligent seafarers and skilled workers in the community. Its mission is to seek endeavor to provide quality service and to support the school’s educational programs, planning, research and extension services and instructional needs of the academic through stipulating bits of information comprehensively in any structure, in any part of the country, and of the whole world. Quality Objectives. The school library has the following objectives: (1) to strengthen and upgrade the library resources; (2) to upgrade library facilities and equipment;(3) to train personnel to enhance their technical skills and competitiveness; and (4) to link and network with local, national and international institutions. The library has a total of 11,832 book collections from the Degree courses to Non-Degree courses. The primary function of a library system are to facilitate the loan of books to borrowers, record receipt of returned books, and keep track of the status of books that should be returned. Reference Services. The obligation of the library is to render full assistance to readers in using the library and its contents. The librarian handles library resources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, biographies, atlases, and gazetteers. Orientation. The librarian’s unique responsibility is to utilize fully his resources in making as nearly certain as possible that the best materials for the particular purpose find their way to the readers. Also, the librarian serves as the mediator between man and the graphic records that he and his previous generations have produced and that the goal of the library is to maximize the social utility of graphic records for the benefit of the society. Library Hours. The library is open with its continuous hour service, from Monday to Friday which starts from 7:30 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon. Responsibilities of the Library Staff. The Northern Philippines College for Maritime, Science and Technology Library is manned by a Librarian, Assistant Librarian, and Library assistants. The Librarian shall administer the library, direct the activities of the staff, keep financial records of the library, keep records of the replacement of books, in charge of collecting and monitoring late fees, select and purchase books, library materials and supplies, stimulate growth of library services, attend library meetings or seminars, undertake indexing, classification and cataloging books and non-book materials and maintain relations to publishers and distributors. The Assistant Librarian shall take charge in absence of the librarian, help the librarian in indexing, classifying and cataloging of books and responsible for materials like clippings, periodicals and other documents, take charge in clipping and binding press and reviews, undertake the processing of books and non-book materials from putting accession number and stamping ownership mark to shelving. The Library Assistant shall issue and retrieve books at the circulation section, do the shelving and shelf reading of books retrieved, Paste torn pages of books and periodicals, undertake filing of clippings in the vertical file, type book cards, paste pockets and date due slips in books, cover books with plastic cover, stamp on books and periodicals, and file cards in the card catalogue. Cataloging and Classification. In the cataloging and classification of the book collections, the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules is adopted and the method used to describe an item that the library acquired. Also, the Dewey Decimal Classification System, the Sears List of Subject Heading and the Cutter Number of Tables are used in the NPCMSTI library. Borrowers. The student registered in the college, faculty members, staff, administrators, alumni of the college, and scholars or researchers from other institutions or organizations with endorsement letter from their librarians can use the services of the library. Importance of the Study This study is important to the following entities: To the Community. Through the help of this study it shall uplift the community’s education of the Filipinos by improving the services of the library. To the NPCMSTI. The output of the study shall be a great aid to the people using the library in the school. By improving and implementing the computerized system, books are monitored and also the quality of service that the school renders shall be uplifted and it also helps meet the vision and mission of the school. To the Staff-in Charge. The output of the study shall help easy recording and accessing of books records. By this study, librarians can monitor the status of the book at the library if it is available or borrowed. They can easily generate book reports such as available books, borrowed books, and inventory of the books by category. From this they shall save time and effort, and they can do more output in simple way. To the Faculty. The study would be beneficial to them for faster searching of the book information. By using the computerized system, the instructor can determine the book information in which they can use as their references in their subjects that they are teaching. They can also determine the book status whether it is available or borrowed by using the search feature of the system. From this they can save more time and effort. To the Students. The study would be beneficial to them in which searching of the book information would be faster. By using the computerized system, the student can determine the book information and also the book status if it is available or borrowed by using the search feature of the system or if they know the title of the book they want to borrow, they can easily determine if that book is available at the library, from this study they can save more time and effort. To other Researchers. This shall be a reference in conducting studies related to computer on wider prospective and may also serve as a basis for further study related to computer program. To the Researcher. Through this, the researcher shall be able to determine and appreciate the impact using technology for the productivity of every individual. Statement of the Problem The main aim of the study was to design and develop a computerized library circulation system for NPCMSTI. Specifically, the project aimed to answer the following questions: 1. What are the processes involved in the existing library circulation system of NPCMSTI along the areas on: a) borrowing and returning of books and other reading materials, and b) inventory of books and other reading materials, and  report generation? 2. What system features can be incorporated in the proposed library system in terms of: a) functionalities, b) back-up and restoration facilities, and c) security and control measures? Objectives of the Study The researcher aimed to design and develop a computerized library circulation system for NPCMSTI. Specifically, the study aimed to achieve the following: 1. Identify the processes involved in the existing library circulation system of NPCMSTI along the areas on: a) borrowing and returning of books and other reading materials, and  b) inventory of books and other reading materials, and report generation. 2. To determine the system features that can be incorporated in the proposed library system in terms of: a) functionalities, b) back-up and restoration facilities, and c) security and control measures. Definition of Terms The following terms are operationally defined: Administration. This refers to the supervision of the library by full-time, professionally-trained staff under a well-defined organizational setup. Back-up. This is the capability of the system to create a copy of the database. Book Category. The classification of a books as Filipiniana or Foreign. Borrowing of books. This is the process of lending available books and reading materials at the library. Inventory of Books. The process of generating a list of books borrowed, list of books available, and list of Filipiniana books and Foreign books by course. Filipiniana. These are books and non-book materials, published in the Philippines or abroad, written by Filipinos in any dialects or in English. Foreign. These are books and non-book materials, published in the Philippines or abroad, written by foreigners in any dialects or in English. Library System Functionality Features. These are the functions that are incorporated in the system such as searching of books, and verifying of borrowed books and returned books. Library Automation. It is an innovation using the computer to enhance the operation of the library. Library Circulation. It is comprised of the activities around the lending and borrowing of library books and other material to users. Library Environment. This refers to the physical condition, site, facilities and equipment of the library. Library Resources. This refers to the library personnel, book collection, services and use of the library. Non-print. These are non-book materials in various formats and style. Readers Services. These are services provided to customer such as bibliographical instruction on the effective use of the library, abstracting, information retrieval, reader’s guidance, and indexing. Report Generation. The process of generating a report on books needed by the librarian. Restore. Capability of the system that restores backup database into the system. Returning of Books. The process of returning the borrowed book at the library by the borrower. Searching of Books. The process of searching books at the library. Security measures. These are the computer controls that the library system will adopt in-order to protect the information or data in the database. Services. These are the activities that ensures maximum access and availability of resources and satisfactory use of the Library. Staff. They are the human resource of the library that maintains the services. This includes the professionals and the non-professional staff.

Flattery in Pride and Prejudice Essay example -- Pride and Prejudice

Flattery in Pride and Prejudice Since its composition in 1797, Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice has enjoyed two centuries of literary esteem not because of its witty dialogue or its tantalizing plot, but because of its universal themes that allow modern readers to identify with early Victorian life. Although the novel focuses on the etiquette of courtship, related social rituals are also prevalent throughout the story. William Collins, a rector in Pride and Prejudice, uses excessive flattery to persuade people to look upon him favorably. He even lavishly praises himself to enhance his self-esteem. While the sycophant's peculiar behavior is comical at first glance, its emphasis in the story portends a greater social meaning that is illuminated upon evaluation of his flattery with relevance to the plot. In Pride and Prejudice, Austin suggests through Collins' mannerisms that one flatters others to enlist their future support and one flatters oneself to ensure individual prosperity. Pertaining to others, Austin endows Collins with a motive of personal gain and later removes that objective, establishing a strong correlation between flattery and selfish advantage. As the legal heir to the Bennet family's estate once its patriarch dies, Collins offers unwarranted praise along with his hand in marriage to one of the daughters. Apart from flattering the family to marry one of its girls, his profuse compliments also extend to his wealthy benefactress and also, of course, to himself. However, Collins' compliments toward the family end after he fails to marry on... ...lattery may have academic influence, she allows Collins to smother praise on anything that might prove advantageous to his affluence, from which one may surmise that flattery contributes to personal prosperity in any form. This truth becomes readily apparent upon contrasting Collins' behavior in situations wherein he may or may not have something to gain through flattery. Of course, this mundane reiteration about flattery must be particularly monotonous to a reader who has already demonstrated a profound grasp of literature by deftly maneuvering through and deliberating upon mistakes previous to this point, so it is for that intelligent and sophisticated reader that this paper ends abruptly. Work Cited Austin, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Norwalk: The Easton Press, 1997.

Heritage, Traditions and Beliefs Essay

All around us, there are different cultures, races, and ways of life that we interact with. Even with all of the differences, we still somehow manage to live in harmony with each other. If we think about it, we all live in one place; Earth. There are different perspectives and stories as to how it came about. These stories about the earth’s origin also reflect the different heritages, traditions, and beliefs that we see around us. The stories from the Native Americans, Africans, Mayan civilization, scientific origins of life and the book of genesis from the bible will be discussed in this essay. The Native Americans, called Navajo believe in the power of the Wind. They believed that life came from the wind. The breath that comes from our mouths gives us life. When the wind stops to blow, our life ends and we die. The Navajo also believes that their ancestors are always with them. The presence of wind trail on their fingertips shows them their ancestors. They believe that every living and non-living things are connected with the power of the wind. The Africans, specifically from the tribe of Yoruba, the people of Nigeria, Togo, and Benin, believe in the supreme being, Olorun and his assistants, Orishas, heavenly entities. David A. Anderson wrote this story. The story started with Oluron with orishas living in the sky in a baobab tree. Oluron being a great being allows the orishas to roam around. Obatala, a curious orisha, left the baobab tree and found a vast empty ocean below the mist. Obatala asked Olorun for permission to go down to the vast ocean and make something solid in the waters below. Olorun allowed Obatala’s request. Before starting his journey, Obatala asked for the help of Orunmila, the orisha seer. She advised Obatala to prepare the following things for his journey; a chain of gold, sand, palm nuts, maize, and a sacred egg, which carries the personalities of all the orishas. So Obatala hooked the chain of gold to the sky and climbed down to the vast empty ocean. He went down for seven days and when he reached the end, he waited for the advice of Orunmila to pour the sand into the water. A vast land was formed from the water. Obatala was still unsure of what to do. The sacred egg, which he hid inside his clothes near his heart hatched as Obatala’s heart pounded stronger. The Sankofa, a bird bearing the spirits of all the orishas, came out. As it flew around the solidified land, it formed dunes, hills, and lowlands. Eventually, Obatala released the chain and walked in the land that he named â€Å"Ife†. As Obatala explored the land, he scattered the seeds that he brought with him and so plants started to grow. Obatala made images of him out of clay and he was pleased. Olorun, being pleased with what Obatala did, made a fireball for the clay to be cooked and Olorun’s breath brought life to the figures. The Mayan civilization’s story of creation is called the Popol Vuh. The story started with Heart-of-sky, also called Maker, Modeler, Kukulkan, and Hurricane, whom they regarded as the almighty. It was only him who existed and he realized he needed someone to talk about his name and praise him. By mere speaking, earth emerged followed by mountains, trees and land. When Heart-of-sky sees that everything is going well, he created the animals to roam the land. He ordered the animals to praise him, but all they did was make animal sounds, thus he ordered that animals shall serve the people, whom he made to praise him. It took Heart-of-sky two attempts to make people, the first was made of mud and was loop-sided and spoke nonsense, and so he decided to let it dissolve away. The second was made from wood. Doll woods were mad, but did not have blood, sweat or minds. They did not respect their creator so flood was casted to the land, it destroyed the homes of the dolls and later on they are called monkeys. Thus, this explains the similar features of monkeys to humans. The scientific origin of life focuses in two main people, namely Pasteur and Darwin. With Pasteur’s experiments, he supported that God created the earth. He believed that life couldn’t arise from inanimate matter. In connection to this, Pasteur believed in the aid of the divine creator. Darwin’s theory, on the other hand, states that the first life on earth came from inanimate matter. Another theory was that the earth was an eternal entity according to Iris Fry, a historian of biology. Earth and life being eternal means that it did not come from anything, but it just existed before everything else. Lastly, the term â€Å"Panspermia†, from the Latin word â€Å"pan† meaning all states that sperms of life wanders the universe and takes root at any planet that meets its living condition. Svante Arrhenius in Sweden promoted this idea. The early idea that life and earth are eternal is outdated. People started to wonder where we came from and thus the idea was lost. Panspermia or Transpermia describes the transfer of life from planet to planet. The story of creation from the book of genesis of the holy bible depicts the seven-day creation of earth by God. Each day was described with the building of different things like, the separation of land and water, animals and humankind creation. On the seventh day, seeing that everything was perfect, God was pleased and so he had a rest that day. It was believed that God made everything on earth; He named all creatures in His power and ordered them to follow Adam. It ended when God was pleased with men and eventually gave the Garden of Eden for them to take care of. In comparison of these beliefs, the Native Americans belief with the origin of life is somehow similar with Darwin’s theory on life. Both stories pointed out that life came from non-living objects. Through the wind, everything came to life and through it people are connected with the environment. Similar with Darwin, he believed that inanimate objects are responsible for our existence. Compared to the points discussed earlier, the stories of the Africans, Mayans and the book of genesis all believe in a supreme being, who made everything. Olorun, Heart-of-sky and God, these are the names of each creator. Even with such different titles, they are the same. Their only differences are on the details on how they made life. Each stories started with the divine existence followed by their prime need to create something or someone to worship them. Their stories ended with the creation of their subordinates, people. In addition scientist Pasteur, who made one of the major contributions scientifically, supports the story of creation from the book of genesis. In conclusion, these five stories about life’s origin are somehow interconnected. Each is presented differently. The elements of the stories reflect their culture. After comparing each story with others, it only shows the importance of our beginning. By knowing the differences and similarities of each, I have come to understand that everyone deserves respect regardless of their origin. The comparison I have made will help me interact better with my future patients because of the culture reflected in each stories. We live in one place, one atmosphere, and one sky and yet each of us has our own belief in life. We came about evolution differently based on the area we live in. To preserve each race, tribe and community, we made stories of it, which reflects our culture and traditions. These stories were made so others may understand and respect our way of living.

How to Find Cheap or Free Textbooks Online

Textbooks can cost a small fortune. It seems that every year the required texts get heavier and the prices get higher. According to a study from the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, students can easily pay between $700 and $1000 for books during a single year. An undergraduate student may end up paying up to $4,000 on books before he or she receives a degree. Unfortunately, distance learners don’t always escape this fate. While some online schools offer a virtual curriculum, free of charge, the majority of online colleges still require their students to purchase traditional textbooks with hefty price tags. Books for one or two classes could total in the hundreds. However, showing a little shopping savvy could save you a significant amount of cash. Better Than Cheap The only thing that’s better than cheap is free. Before you even check the bookstore, take a look to see if you can find the material elsewhere. There are dozens of virtual libraries that offer reference material and literature with no cost to the reader. While newer texts are unlikely to be online, hundreds of older pieces with expired copyrights are all over the internet. The Internet Public Library, for example, offers links to hundreds of full-text books, magazines, and newspapers. Bartleby, a similar site, offers thousands of ebooks and reference materials free of charge. Readers can even download the books for free and view them on their desktop or handheld device. Project Gutenberg provides 16,000 e-books free for download, including classics such as Pride and Prejudice and The Odyssey. Google Scholar is offering an ever-increasing database of free academic articles and ebooks. If your curriculum consists of an over-priced packet of photocopied articles, check to see i f the material is available here before forking over the cash.br/>Another alternative is trying to find a student in your area who purchased the book during a previous semester. If your online school has message boards or other means of communicating with your peers, you may ask students who have taken the course before if they would be willing to sell the book at a discounted price. If you are near a physical college campus that offers courses similar to your online classes, scouring the campus for flyers advertising student-sold books may be your ticket to saving a few dollars. Before you begin a random search, find out what buildings house the departments that are likely to require your books. Students often post advertisements on the walls of their old classrooms.Some students are able to find their required materials in the library. While your regular public library is unlikely to carry most traditional textbooks, a local college may have the books available for limited use. Si nce you are not a student there, the librarians probably won’t let you take the books with you. But, if the books are shelved, you may be able to use them for a couple hours each day in order to get your studying done. Shop Around If you aren’t able to get your books for free, make sure you get a good price. You should be able to find almost any text for less than its suggested retail price. Websites like eBay and Half host online auctions of a variety of items, including textbooks. Sites like Alibris connect to hundreds of independent booksellers around the world, finding you some of the best prices on used and new textbooks. Want to save on shipping? Run a search to see if there’s a local bookstore that will allow you to pick up the book you’re looking for. They often offer pleasant markdowns on a variety of texts.If you want to save money, don’t wait until the last minute to buy your books. When ordering from an online source, it may take time for you to find the best deal and for your order to be processed and shipped. If you’re disciplined enough to look ahead a month or two, you may be able to save a lot by bidding during an off-time, when hordes of students arenâ€℠¢t looking for the same book. Finding your books for cheap or free will take time and energy. But, to hundreds of students, getting a good deal is worth the extra effort. Suggested Bookseller Links:www.allbookstores.comwww.gutenberg.orgscholar.google.comwww.ipl.orgwww.bartleby.com Jamie Littlefield is a writer and instructional designer. She can be reached on Twitter or through her educational coaching website: jamielittlefield.com.