INTRODUCTION
The word library was originally coined from the Latin word liber which means the inner back of a tree. The library has survived through many civilizations with unprecedented changes and innovations.
(okiy 1998). The word library has been given a wide range of definitions. It can be seen as a busy workshop were people of all ages can seek knowledge, making it possible for us to share the experience of many other persons by reading about their thoughts and achievements. With the books and facts that man have collected for thousands of years.
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The library is sometimes called the memory of the human race. It is like a giant brain that remembers all that scientist, historians, poets, philosopher and other have thought and learned. It is a great meeting place for the ideas and words of persons who have influenced the world. It has also been seen as the place where the experience of the past can meet the needs of the present and prepare it for the future. The library can also be seen as a collection of books and other information materials kept for consultation by the patrons. It is generally regarded as a house of wisdom, the people university, a recreational center and the preserver of the culture heritage with the specific aim of information consciousness. (Clarke 1999).
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DEFINITION OF A LIBRARY
Based on what a library symbolizes, there are as varied definitions of the word as there are librarians. To a layman, the library is a place for storing books, which makes it more or less a store house. This gives credence to the traditional definition of a library as a "collection books organized for use ".
But over the years libraries have grown and developed above that definition. Books are no longer the only carriers of information. Information is recorded in other devices. Therefore the modern library is defined as a collection of information resources which include books and non books materials organize in a systematic Way for easy retrieval and effective use.
Another broader definition of the library goes further to include not just the forms information appear but the organization and most importantly the library is defined as a collection of written, printed and or other graphic materials housed, organized and interpreted to meet broad and varying needs of people for information, knowledge, recreation and aesthetics. This means that the library is a public warehouse of knowledge which is archive, a center for research and academic activities, a foyer for the development of human mind. The end purpose of a library is that the information and information resources are for use. This calls for proper organization of information and information resources especially in this era of information explosion as a result of the growth of knowledge and technological advancement in the world over.
MODERN LIBRARY
During the 21st century libraries especially in the developed countries experienced series of changes that affected their traditional roles and functions. The Modern Library is the library that has adopted modern information communication technologies (ICT) in her activities and services. Most academic libraries now provide ICT infrastructures to perform library operations that used to be done manually, e.g. purchasing of library materials, cataloguing etc.
I will let you know more about library in DIGITAL AND VIRTUAL LIBRARIES in my next post.