CHAPTER TWO – RESEARCH LIBRARIES IN KENYA
2.0 Introduction
Library specialization began earlier than many people imagine and each historical epoch is characterized by a definite library typology depicting the influences of the time (Ocholla 1993).
Some library specialization can be traced back to the early 18th century in Europe and North America (Shera 1966). These were libraries with special collections on specific disciplines. The first ones to emerge were owned by historical societies, theological societies and temples/mosques, legal associations and agricultural associations. Shera (1966) explains that of these, the closest to special libraries, as we know them today, were the mechanics‟ and apprentices‟ libraries of the industrial age of which the Mechanics‟ and the Working Men‟s Institutes were the most popular. Several of these institutes were established in Europe, North America and Australia to provide evening learning facilities – including a special library – for artisans (Solly 1904; Baggs 1991; Morris 2006). Besides these institutes, Shera (1966) also mentions Philadelphia Library as a good example of such libraries which kept a rich collection for young artisans to improve their technical skills and efficiency. He adds that such special libraries emerged due to the inability of the general library collections and techniques to meet the special needs of defined groups of people. Shera (1966) also alludes to the superiority and efficiencies of special libraries in breaking the barriers to scientific information flow compared to the general ones. This view was also exemplified by the early closely-knit research networks such as the Invisible College pioneered by renowned researchers like Robert Boyle20, John Wilkins21 and Robert Hooke22, among others, which facilitated seamless intellectual exchange of ideas through novel means such as “marginalia”23 and word-of-mouth techniques which the general libraries of the time had not embraced (Hunter 2004; McKeown 2004; Weissmann 2007).
20 Robert Boyle was a chemist who is well known for his law on proportions of gases. He is considered the father of Chemistry. He is reported to be the first scientist to conduct controlled experiments and publish the results in detail (Macintosh 2006).
21 John Wilkins was best known as the first leader of the Royal Society, an organization that sought to promote scientific research and knowledge development (O‟Connor and Robertson 2002).
22 Robert Hooke was a natural philosopher who is considered the father of microscopy. He is credited with coining the term “cell” to describe basic unit of life (Miles 1996).
23 These were annotations written in the margins of personal copies of books that were loaned, given, or sold from person to person (Archers Books 2008; Collins 2009).
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Some scholars also point out that some early special libraries were also owned by families. A good example of such libraries operated in the ancient Timbuktu civilization; some reportedly dating back to the pre-Islamic days. The Timbuktu libraries contained hundreds of manuscripts on diverse topics (such as religion, astronomy, botany, law, medicine, mathematics, among other subjects) which were written either in Arabic, Fulani or other North-West African languages. Though the Timbuktu libraries later expanded to universities such as Koranic Sankore University and several madrasas,24 many of them were private and basically owned by rich families and scholars in the town and were used for personal development and to preserve family secrets and traditions. Many of the Timbuktu libraries and their collections still remain the private property of individual families to date (Minicka 2006; Abraham 2007; Haidara and Taore 2008). The existence of these special libraries testifies to the fact that different circumstances and needs often catalyze the development of specialized libraries to deliver unique information services of the moment.
Ocholla (1993) distinguishes “type” from “kind” of libraries. He explains that classification of libraries has developed into hierarchical structures with vertical and horizontal categories. He clarifies that vertical hierarchies form the type whereas the horizontal ones form the kind. Types are more generic than kinds (See Fig. 2.1). He concludes that kinds are sub-sets of types. He also supports the view that library typologies have developed through the years depending on the socio- economic, political and technological environments in the society at the time. He categorizes library development periods as prehistory, middle ages, and modern period. Ocholla (1993), Babcock (1971) and Manzuch (2007) list the main library typologies of the modern period as academic, school, special, public, research, private, national and government libraries. Manzuch (2007) also points out that the different library typologies are basically determined by the services the library seeks to offer, its size and type of collections and explains that national libraries, for instance, are known as state depositories of cultural heritage; public libraries are important sources of local history and serve users on the basis of geographical criteria (such as location, place where he/she lives). On the other hand, academic, research and special libraries hold specific collections targeted at research, studies and professional activities. Low (1996) explains that libraries do not usually belong to a
“pure” typology. She adds that most of the libraries exist as hybrids of the various typologies depending on the contexts in which they operate. Though the public library, the special library, and the research library, for example, are all different in various ways, they are all united in one way or
24 The term is Arabic for “school” but is commonly used to describe Muslim education centres (Tristam, 2009).
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another in their role in acquiring, organizing, and providing effective access to recorded knowledge and other information to facilitate learning (Swanson 1979; Ocholla 1993; ACADIA25 1998).
Fig. 2.1 – Library typology hierarchy Source: Researcher
Gunasekara (2005) defines a research library as a reference library which provides specialized information facilities where exhaustive investigation on a particular field is carried out. He adds that research libraries are established under research institutes, which conduct research in various fields to fulfil their goals and objectives. Kent, Lancour and Daily (1978) agree with Gunasekara (2005) and state that research libraries should collect information on the area of research pertinent to the institutes in greater depth than any other library. Thus, a research library can be perceived as a library that contains an in-depth collection of materials to support research on a specific discipline or a combination of disciplines. To achieve this mandate, research libraries typically hold, or have established access to, both primary and secondary information resources and data which include conference proceedings, journals, technical reports, and standards, among others. Kent, Lancour and Daily (1978) also explain that research libraries can exist as 1) reference libraries; 2) lending libraries; or 3) academic research libraries.
Heaps (2005) while referring to the Raymond Burton Library for Humanities Research26 explains that apart from specialized collections that research libraries hold, the research librarians also offer
25 ACADIA stands for the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture.
Library Typology
School Academic Research Public National
Medical Agricultural Animal
Kind Type
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specialized subject services than are offered by librarians in other library typologies. She adds that research libraries also offer value-added services such as document delivery as well as an editorial room for journal editors which facilitates effective and convenient service delivery to the users.
Railiene (2005) explains that research libraries differ from other libraries in two major ways:
1) Collection policy - Research libraries collect and stock information sources that cover the areas of interest in greater depth than other libraries. Their holdings also include scientific literature and historical collections as well as special literature collections.
2) Research activity - Research libraries perform research in librarianship and other congener sciences. As the keepers of valuable collections, librarians also analyze and publish them.
Scientific activities in research libraries are either performed by special research departments, or by entire staff.
True (2009) asserts that the purpose of a research library is to enable researchers to immerse themselves in the available documentary evidence and then to make the product of their investment of time, judgment and skill available to the public through a book, article, thesis, film, television (TV) production, website or blog. Thus, a research library becomes an active partner with authors and publishers in creating the next generation of public knowledge.
Kent, Lancour and Daily (1978) also suggest that research libraries have exerted a lot of influence on the development of librarianship as a profession. They attribute the greater influence of this type of library to the immense pressure on the research libraries to offer quality services to their users.
Specifically, they suggest that research libraries have influenced the development of computerized cataloguing systems; digitization of library collections and services; and advancements of the Anglo- American Cataloguing Rules, among other developments.
Though the distinction is slim, research libraries are different from university libraries in that the former are attached to individual research institutions pursuing a single or a combination of closely related areas of study (Kent, Lancour and Daily 1978). Some scholars also draw a distinction between research libraries and curatorial centres. Research libraries support research and often focus on the latest resources. They also emphasize use rather than preservation which is the hallmark of
26 This library is at the University of York in the United Kingdom.
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curatorial centres. Curatorial centres, on the other hand, focus on historical collections (Shera 1966;
Swanson 1979).
Kent, Lancour and Daily (1978) hold the view that research libraries have been very unfriendly to the general public. They point out that research libraries ordinarily turn away the casual user whenever possible and that they have several restrictions on the age and purpose of the user which are essentially meant to ensure that undue “wear and tear” on the resources, staff and plant of the library is minimized. They also add that the libraries give priority to researchers and accord them more privileges like recalling information resources from the other users. For instance, members of the public who are perceived to have lesser research needs are restricted, to a great extent, in what collection or services they can use. Kent, Lancour and Daily (1978) also allude to preferential treatment research libraries have received in the past in which their performance is rarely questioned.
They also add that even in authoritarian regimes, research libraries have generally received support for collection development; particularly, they have been able to acquire forbidden material with much ease. They explain that even Adolf Hitler permitted German research libraries to collect books that the other libraries or individuals were not allowed to possess.
It is obvious from the foregoing that there are diverse opinions on what constitutes a research library. However, it is evident that a research library is defined by its scope and the depth of its collections (more in-depth coverage about less and less); the specialized service portfolio aimed at supporting specific research activities; attachment to a research institution; and relatively smaller size compared to the public, national or academic libraries but often bigger than school libraries. It is also evident that research libraries are often proprietary and are designed to meet the special needs of researchers in specific research institutions.