ACADEMIC JOURNAL OF GLOBAL WHO IS WHO IN

ACADEMIA, VOL4 NO1, APRIL 2022. NEW YORK CITY. Owen L. CLETUS, Ph.D

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF TRADITIONAL AND MODERN LIBRARIES

Owen L. CLETUS, Ph.D

Faculty of Education
University of Birmingham
United Kingdom

ABSTRACT
People use the library for various reasons and to satisfy different needs. Some use the virtual
library specifically to read; others use it for research; and still others use it to communicate and
share information. The 21st century library, therefore, emphasizes access rather than
ownership. In this vein, the library user needs to take more responsibility in locating and
retrieving information from the library's collections than they have done in the traditional library
enterprise. It was discovered in this paper that the traditional library has been replaced with an
expanded vision of itself, one that encompasses traditional values and features but extends
outward to include the vastness of free and licensed digital resources as well as spaces and
services that are entirely people-focused. It is universally agreed that every individual, whether
literate or not, has an information need. It was generally concluded in this paper that no matter
what people use the library for, the fundamental truth is that it is information-related. The
modern library saves the time of the library professional and the end user and makes the library
service smooth and effective. But without a traditional library, there would be no modern library,
no concise phrase that captures our past, and no thumbnail of our future. One of the
recommendations made in this paper was that in this our 21st century it pertinent to create
replace the traditional libraries with the modern ones where an application of ICTs in libraries is
made paramount because it facilitates effective control in libraries over the collection, in-house
work flow and delivery of user services through Integrated Library Management System (ILM's).
KEYWORDS: Library, Modern Library and Library Users.

Introduction
Man‟s quest for knowledge has led to the creation and accumulation of tremendous
amount of information. This search for knowledge knows no bounds and limits, and is never
satisfied. It has continued since the dawn of civilization to the modern age. This hard-earned
knowledge and information is valuable for the entire mankind and therefore liable to be
preserved. With the invention of paper man has been able to convey this knowledge to others by
writing books. Thousands of manuscripts have been written by the wise men of the earlier times
but many of them were destroyed due to lack of proper means of preservation. With the
invention of printing press, it became easier to preserve the knowledge in the form of printed
documents. This led to the generation of a large number of books. The need for the preservation
and dissemination of information led to the establishment of libraries. Knowledge can be
recorded for posterity. It is recorded in different formats – books (an improvement from scroll,
vellum, parchment, tablet, etc.), Compact Disc Read-Only-Memory (CD-ROM), Cassettes (Video
and Audio), Films, Graphs, Drawings, Maps, Atlases, USB Drive, Internet, etc. It is these media

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ACADEMIA, VOL4 NO1, APRIL 2022. NEW YORK CITY. Owen L. CLETUS, Ph.D

of information that need to be organized for easy accessibility by intending users. Thus libraries
acquired a great importance in the civilized society for education and research.
Libraries play a vital role in the development of any society by enhancing the cause of
education and academic research. They cater to the information needs of thousands of people
(Osarome, 2011). People who seek and use the information provided in a library to meet their
information needs are library users. The 21st century has virtually turned everything virtual,
hence the modern library users. The application of computers and other technologies to the
acquisition, organization, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information have made it
much easier. The computers are used to process and store data, while telecommunications
technology provides information communication tools, which make it possible for users to
access databases and link them to other computer networks at different locations. With such
development, library modern users no longer need to visit a traditional library in order to have
access to books, but information could be accessed over the internet through
telecommunications gadgets. Application of ICTs in libraries is beneficial because it facilitates
effective control in libraries over the collection, in-house work flow and delivery of user services
through Integrated Library Management System (ILM's). It also provides speedy, round the
clock and easy access to information in digital formats to users.
Concept of Library
Library has been defined variously, taking its root from Latin word “liberarium” meaning „book‟.
The library means different things to different people and institutions. To some it is a place
where books and non-book materials are preserved for the purpose of dissemination of
information and knowledge and for the benefit of the society it is meant to serve. To others, the
library is an institution where books and other information resources are collected, processed,
stored, retrieved and disseminated.
Library is a collection of resources, sources, and services or the structure in which the
collections is housed. Libraries are agencies through which sources of information of
accumulated knowledge and experiences are selected, acquired, organized, preserved and
disseminated to those who need them. A Library consists of books, brains and a building which
means stock, staff/user and accommodation. A library is a collection of materials organized to
provide physical bibliographical and intellectual access to group with a staff that is trained to
provide services and program related to information needs of the target group. (American
Library Association (ALA)
UNESCO also defines Library as, “any organized collection of printed books and periodical or
any other graphic or audio-visual materials with a staff to provide and facilitate the use of such
materials as are required to meet the informational research, educational and recreational
needs of users.” Harrods librarian‟s glossary and reference book define Library as:
A collection of books and other literary material kept for reading, study
and consultation; a place, building, rooms, set apart for the keeping
and use of a collection of books etc.
A learned institution equipped with treasures of knowledge maintained, organized, and
managed by trained personnel to educate the children, men and women continuously and

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assist in their self-improvement through an effective and prompt dissemination of information

embodied in the resources. An enabling factor to obtain spiritual, inspirational, and
recreational activities through reading, and therefore the opportunity of interacting with the
society‟s wealth and accumulated knowledge.
An instrument of self-education; a means of knowledge and factual information, a centre of
intellectual recreation, and a beacon of enlightenment that provides accumulated preserved
knowledge of civilization which consequently enriches one‟s mental vision, and dignifies his
habit behaviour, character, taste, attitude, conduct, and outlook on life.
A place in which literary and artistic materials, such as books, periodicals newspapers,
pamphlets, prints, records, and tapes, are kept for reading, reference, or lending. In a digital
sense, a library may be more than a building that houses a collection of books and other
materials as the Internet has opened up an avalanche of online and electronic resources for
accessing documents on various fields of interest. A collection of texts, images, etc, encoded so
as to be stored, retrieved, and read by computer denotes a library.
Concept of Library Resources
Library resources are those materials, both print and non-print, found in school libraries which
support curricular and personal information needs. Print items include books, magazines,
newspapers, pamphlets, microfiche or microfilm. Non-print items include films, disc records,
filmstrips, slides, prints, audiotapes, videotapes, compact discs, and computer software.
Library resources could also be referred to as information resources as it seeks to meet the
information need of its users. According to Olowu (2004), library and information resources
include such materials as books, periodicals and audio visual materials that are provided for
use by the people. These materials are usually housed in a building systematically arranged for
easy retrieval. Libraries all over the world regardless of type, public, academic and special are
considered to be store house of knowledge of published and unpublished information
resources that are basic to continued survival, development and progress of mankind. Example
of published information resources include books, journals, magazines and newspapers, while
the unpublished materials include project, thesis, conference papers, workshop papers and
seminar papers.
There is hardly any possible development of knowledge in the field of human endeavor today
without library books and various types of information materials, which exist in the libraries as
information resources. The objective of a library is to utilize and maximize the exposure of the
user to the library resources. The library should also be organized to utilize the effort required by
users to access the needed information as soon as possible when the need arises. Public
libraries should be involved in the provision of all kinds of information resources for the use of
their client because they play a vital role in transmission of knowledge that could be impacted
because it is a way of providing the users with a total information environment with the
development of science and technology. The record of man‟s achievement come in a wide
varieties of forms each equally varied, each capable of giving information in its own unique way
and even complementing the other. Normally, it is information that the library client looks for
and not the library building.

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Concept of Library User

Nwalo (2003) defined a library user as anybody who visits the library with the purpose of
exploiting its resources to satisfy his information need. The word "visits" as used in the 21st
century, include remote access to the library portal or website. Aina (2004) sees the term
"user" to include all those who avail themselves of the services offered by a library. The term
encompasses various terms such as patrons, clients, information users, information seekers,
consumers, readers, etc. these terms can be used interchangeably, because they all apply to
those seeking the services of a library. In other words, they are the different category of people
that come to use library resources in order to satisfy their quest for different types of
information. These individuals constitute a significant percentage within the library. They are
people who make use of the services offered by the library, they include, researchers, academic
staff, and the support services staff.
Like the traditional library, users have also evolved as have the ingredients for defining who a
library user is. In the traditional library setting, library users are easily identifiable because they
appear in the library physically most of the times. A physically-challenged user is seen. Child
and adult users are identified. In online environment, it is not easy to identify these things.
However, people are identifiable by their ICT skills irrespective of their age or physical
challenges. Traditionally, library users have been classified into groups. Whitakers (1993)
classified them into general readers, subject readers, special readers, and nonreading users.
Similarly, Nwalo (2003) grouped them into specialists, students, disadvantaged majority, and
the indisposed. In addition, Aina (2004) grouped users into children, pupils, students, adults,
professionals, researchers, policy-makers, artisans, hearing and visually handicapped, and
physically handicapped.
Concept of Traditional Library
The traditional library is a physical library: a building constructed first and foremost to house
print collections; people are secondary. This characterization of the traditional library has
become a touchstone against which librarians at every point in our ongoing journey into
electronic media can evaluate, assess, and use to reassure themselves that they are, indeed,
moving the field forward into the future. traditional library‟ is one that selects, collects, and
gives access to all the forms of recorded knowledge and information that are relevant to its
mission and to the needs of the community it serves, and assists and instructs in the use of
those resources (Farkas, 2013). Librarians make frequent reference to “the traditional library”
yet there is no accepted definition of the term. The “traditional library” is so deeply rooted a
concept that even those who object to it can‟t avoid using the term. It is a baseline against
which we compare our progress, the tick marks on the wall against which we measure our
growth. Without a traditional library there can be no modern library, no concise phrase that
captures our past, and no thumbnail of our future.
The Features of Traditional Library
A traditional library is an institution with the following traits: Emphasis on storage and
preservation of physical items, particularly books and periodicals. Cataloguing at a high level
rather than one of detail, e.g., author and subject indexes as opposed to full text. The traditional

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ACADEMIA, VOL4 NO1, APRIL 2022. NEW YORK CITY. Owen L. CLETUS, Ph.D

library has been replaced with an expanded vision of itself, one that encompasses traditional
values and features but extends outward to include the vastness of free and licensed digital
resources as well as spaces and services that are entirely people-focused. Traditional library
has also been used as a counterpoint to discussion of the “digital” or “online” library. While
traditional libraries are limited by storage space. Traditionally, pattern of library service was
based on a relative immobility of users and of materials and on a political system that looked to
local sources of support for social services of all kinds.
According to this perspective, the traditional library is equivalent to the physical library: it is
driven by a focus on physical items and physical spaces. The priority in such a library, as
reflected in traditional library building design, is the housing and protection of the current and
future print collection. “Most library buildings were, and still are, large, intimidating, and
frequently unwelcoming” (Latimer & Niegaard, 2008). Traditionally, libraries were collections of
books, manuscripts, journals, and other sources of recorded information. In a traditional library,
the catalogue is used to find traditional library materials (Ogunsola, 2011).
Concept of Modern Library
Unlike the traditional libraries, where user cannot easily locate a piece of information and have
to spend more time in searching information. The modern library in this age of Information
Communication Technology (ICT), makes use of computers for day to day housekeeping
activities of the libraries, to read and download of texts of articles, reports and other materials.
Thus, it saves the time of the library professional and end user and makes the library service
smooth and effective. The 21st century library (which is virtual) is defined by Reitz (2005) as a
"library without walls" in which the collections do not exist on paper, microform, or other
tangible form at a physical location, but are electronically accessible in digital format via
computer networks. From the definition above, the library users require 21st century
technologies to access library collections, as access is no longer restricted to the user paying a
visit to the library (building) physically. The 21st century library therefore, emphasizes access
rather than ownership. In this vein, the library user needs to take more responsibility in locating
and retrieving information from the library's collections more than they have done in the
traditional library enterprise. Modern libraries have a social function in making knowledge
publicly available. They play two pivotal roles, firstly, to serve as a local centre of information
and knowledge and secondly, to be a local gateway to national and global knowledge. They also
serve as gateways to the world of knowledge for children by offering a wide spectrum of books to
ignite their minds. They endeavour to cultivate reading habits among the children at an early
age. The contemporary library, in contrast to the traditional library, resides online, teaches,
reaches out and asserts its value across its community.
The Features of Modern Library
Modern library:
• selects, procures, organizes and delivers the widest possible range of current and
quality information resources to its heterogeneous user population as and when it
needs it.

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• is a member of some regional or national network in order to cater to the

information needs of its users, as, at times, information resources available with it
may be inadequate to meet users‟ needs.
• maintains an accessible website and relies upon technologies for enhancing its
services.
• makes concerted efforts to provide services as and when users need, besides
providing place based services.
• provides reference and user education programmes on a regular basis. It also
conducts information literacy programmes for its users.
• communicates and connects with the users on a regular basis, telling about its
resources in order to attract them and ensure maximum usage of the resources.
• offers free Internet access, high speed broadband, Wi-Fi facilities which are required
by students, and research scholars for writing term paper, research activities,
searching jobs, etc.
• provides space to students and users for organizing exhibitions and community
meetings. It offers “quiet zones” and spaces for group discussions.
• is accessible and friendly to users with physical disabilities. It has an Assistive
Technology Centre to enable visually- challenged users to access computer and
Internet resources. It also provides information resources in alternate formats in
order to help the users with print disabilities.
Conclusion
The traditional library has been replaced with an expanded vision of itself, one that
encompasses traditional values and features but extends outward to include the vastness of
free and licensed digital resources as well as spaces and services that are entirely people-
focused. It is universally agreed that every individual whether literate or not, has information
need. No matter what people use the library for, the fundamental truth is that it is information
related. The modern library saves the time of the library professional and end user and makes
the library service smooth and effective. But without a traditional library there can be no modern
library, no concise phrase that captures our past, and no thumbnail of our future.
Recommendations
1. In this our 21st century it pertinent to create replace the traditional libraries with
the modern ones where an application of ICTs in libraries is made paramount
because it facilitates effective control in libraries over the collection, in-house
work flow and delivery of user services through Integrated Library Management
System (ILM's).
2. The library should be well organized to utilize the effort required by users to
access the needed information as soon as possible when the need arises.

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ACADEMIA, VOL4 NO1, APRIL 2022. NEW YORK CITY. Owen L. CLETUS, Ph.D

REFERENCES

Aina, L. O. (2004). Library and information science text for Africa. Ibadan: Third World
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Nwalo, K. I.N. (2003). Fundamentals of library practice: A manual on library routines. Ibadan:
Sterling-Horden Publishers Ltd.
Ogunsola, L. A. (2004). Nigeria University and the challenges of globalization: the way forward.
Nigerian University Libraries, 5(2-3), 10–15.
Olowu, K. (2004). Access to information: Myths and reality. Nigerian Libraries, 38(1), 48-55
Osarome, O. (2011). Library resources and their role in education. Retrieved from: http://www.
ucd.ie/library/ student/informationskills /education/resources.html
Reitz, J. (2005). Dictionary of library and information science. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Whitaker, R. (1993). Challenges in information technology management in the 21st century.
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and the academy. In the Library with the Lead Pipe.
Farkas, M. (2013). DIY vs. startup. or false dichotomies and labels [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2013/04/24/diy-vs-startup-or-false-
dichotomies-and-labels/.