Researcher: FE PERALTA SEGUNDO
Course: Master of Arts in Library Science
School: Philippine Women’s University
Subject Area: Current Awareness Services
Year of Graduation: 1980
Statement of the Problem
This study seek to evaluate the adequacy of the current awareness program of the Population Center Foundation Library (PCFL) through SDI approach as based on the objectives, functions and projects of the Population Center Foundation.
Methodology
The method of research used was descriptive evaluative with questionnaires as the data processing and statistical instrument for evaluation.
Findings
The highly trained PCFL ranked their standard library services “very adequate.” They did the same on the first three current specific awareness services, namely: distribution of list of new publications, routing of new periodicals received and distribution of content pages. They also believed that the rest of their specific current awareness services as well as the SDI services offered are all rated “adequate.”
Conclusions
Although the PCFL staff understandably considers the extent of the current awareness services of the PCFL adequate, the user’s “barely adequate” rating indicates some inadequacies which may be attributed to unequal emphasis on individual processes.
Reader notification/routing and content pages received a “fairly adequate” rating to prove that the institution has not put up a complete dossier of user personal profiles.
Special newsletter columns also received a “fairly adequate” profile presumably due to little attention accorded in this area.
The Working collection of the PCFL reflects considerable inadequacy in supporting the current awareness program and the SDI services.
The adequacy of the information dissemination program of the PCFL varies in the degree between the staff perception and the user perception.
The PCFL continues to cater a distinct clientele composed mainly of a policy making level group, an implementing level group, researchers of population related disciplines, students and others in order of their importance.
Recommendations
The Population Information center and Library needs an immediate re-assessment of its program of information gathering, processing transformation and dissemination in the light of the growing urgency of meeting the population problem.
To render the current awareness services of the PCFL adequate in all aspects, consideration must be made of the different neglected processes.
a) Staff expertise on the current awareness processes has to be up-dated.
b) Experimentation on the extent of use, needs of the different processes it recommended.
c) User-profiles on interests and needs require periodical chech-up
Library holdings have to be expanded two ways:
a) subject area coverage
b) volume count
The improvement of the overall dissemination program of the PCFL starts with perfecting the facilities for SDI.
The expansion of the SDI services should include users of other instruments. This would require the extension of the interview-questionnaire method to occasional users to provide the center with the necessary “user” profile to be kept for alerting services.
