Existing book collection and discarding policies, and delegation of financial power often limit the librarians from keeping the library resources up-to-date, said the experts at a Policy Forum in Dhaka.
While the discarding policy for library books require the libraries to keep the resources up-to-date based on users’ demand, the ambiguity of some clauses prohibit the librarians from properly discarding the obsolete and unusable resources, and limits the space for the collection of new books.
The participants at the policy forum also highlighted that the book collection policy needs to accommodate a formal process for undertaking public demand while selecting and collecting book and non-book resources. Also, the delegation of financial power that is applicable for all resources, including furniture and machineries, is not enough to properly maintain an effective ceiling for discarding books.
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The Policy forum on stock collection and stock management for libraries was held on December 7, 2017 at the Department of Public Libraries Conference Hall, Shahabagh, Dhaka. The forum was organized under the Libraries Unlimited project of the British Council and IID as its policy partner. The forum, moderated by Syeed Ahamed of IID, focused on the challenges that public libraries face in stock management and stock collection.
Personnel from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Department of Public Libraries, Directorate of Archives and Libraries, National Library, National Book Center, local publishing houses and associations attended the discussion.