Introduction
The Sierra Leone Parliamentary Library, the official repository of Parliamentary records, is responsible for the collection, organization and dissemination of bibliographic materials and information to further the work of legislation. Parliament, which houses the library, is located at the top of Tower Hill, on the second floor. It was inaugurated on the eve of the country’s Independence Day, April 26, 1961. The library’s proximity to the Chamber ensures that its existence and services are close to parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators.
The scope and complexity of government activities create the need for wide dissemination of information about those activities and for a popular interpretation of government policy. Invariably, the library’s primary objective is to provide information that enables parliamentarians, parliamentary administrators and support staff to carry out their duties effectively. Its objectives are:
o The provision of information and knowledge resources vital to parliamentarians and the parliamentary administration in carrying out their daily duties.
o To serve as archives for parliamentarians and other vital government publications.
o Acquire materials from parliaments in other countries that may be of benefit to parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators for routine operations.
Provisions and management
In keeping with these aims and objectives, the library has a small collection of funds on Philosophy, Sociology, Political Science, Economics, Law, Military Administration and History. Also included are Bills, Minutes, Order Papers and Notices, Hansard/Parliamentary Debates, State Opening Programmes, Presidential Addresses, Budget Speeches, Parliamentary Election Chronicles and Developments, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates and the Lords of Britain, dating back to the colonial period, Indian and similar parliamentary debates from Tanganyika (Tanzania), Gold Coast (Ghana), Nigeria and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Commonwealth materials. It is also a collection of reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, parliamentary manuals, yearbooks, public notices, protocols, and treaties. These materials are acquired by purchase, donation, exchange and deposit, especially by the Government Printing Office in charge of printing all government publications in the country. Materials are classified and organized according to the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme (19th Edition).
A librarian, an assistant librarian, and some administrative employees serve the library. The Librarian is accountable to the Secretary of Parliament, the Chief Administrator and Vote Controller, and the General Head of the Unit. The Librarian’s functions, in addition to managing the library, include compiling bibliographies and reading lists, searching for literature, summarizing facts and published information, and obtaining information from government departments. The Assistant Librarian performs functions such as acquisition, classification, and cataloging of materials, response to reference queries, writing correspondence, shelving, and general supervision of support staff. He also calculates the parliamentary index of all parliamentary documents and debates, the public bills index and then the international affairs index with references taken from the daily and periodical press, government notices and the Commissions of Inquiry index. These indices are cumulative and are reproduced photographically. The government mainly supports the library financially.
The Sierra Leone Parliament Library’s clientele are mainly parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators. The library also extends its services to professors and university students, public officials and visitors. It has an audience of more than five hundred (500). The library is open from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and holidays. It offers reference and loan services to its clientele as part of its book services. To allow a user to check out materials, a request form is issued for the user to complete. Up to three books can be borrowed for two weeks. Users can renew their books for two more weeks, as long as no other user requests them. However, materials such as reports, conference proceedings, parliamentary proceedings, debates and bulletins are not lent but are only consulted in the library. The library has an Author/Title and Classified catalog.
Services
Reader Service and Reference Desk staff handle all reference inquiries. Reference services are provided in three ways: individually to parliamentarians in response to a request for a “summary” on any topic related to their official duties; preparing general ‘background documents’ of previous debates, especially when a parliamentarian was absent and you need an overview of what was discussed; and ad hoc services to House Committees.
To complement the provision of library holdings, current awareness and selective information dissemination services are provided on a modest scale. The current information service involves the provision of the latest periodical articles, reports and documents corresponding to specific topics of interest to each member. A photocopying service of the desired publications such as reports from the files of recent press clippings, reports and content pages of the required materials is also carried out. There is also a telephone service for both internal and international calls. To face the challenges of ICT, computers have been installed in the library with Internet service. As a way of preserving and conserving the collection, library staff frequently fumigate the collection while the Assistant Librarian repairs damaged materials. Worn materials are taken to the Government Printing Department for repair. To help patrons use the library, user education is provided along with shelf guides.
Despite the supplies and services in the library, problems abound that serve as challenges for the staff. Inadequate personnel, poor working conditions, inadequate and obsolete collection, inadequate and extemporaneous financing, the failure to carry out a survey to assess the needs of users and the lack of a collection development policy stand out. It is no wonder why trained and qualified staff are hardly retained to run the library. However, the current Parliament is expected to revive the situation.
REFERENCE
Sierra Leone Parliament Library Handbook, 1986 (unpublished)
