Current Status of Organizing and Preserving Document Capital at the Information Center

1.2.1.2. The significance of document storage organization

Document capital is of great significance to an Information-Library agency, it maintains all activities of the agency and is the driving force for the existence and development of each library. Therefore, any library must organize document capital in a scientific and reasonable manner.

Organizing a warehouse is both a professional activity and an art. Because it is a series of consecutive professional activities: receiving and registering documents, processing documents, arranging documents so that they can be stored in large quantities, are easy to store, easy to preserve, and the ultimate goal is that readers can make the most use of the documents that the library has.

Organizing a scientific book warehouse has a decisive meaning for the following issues: Saving space, time, and human resources for the library; Meeting users' needs as quickly as possible; Preserving the book warehouse, increasing the lifespan of books.

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Besides, the work of organizing document capital is closely related to other works, especially:

The active use of library resources depends on the catalog system: When the registered document collection is complete, accurately represented in the catalog system, the information collection structure is good. Orderly arrangement will quickly meet the needs of information users.

Organizing the document warehouse is closely linked to the work of supplementing documents: Supplementing documents makes the warehouse increase in quantity and quality, reaching users depends on the work of organizing the warehouse. The information-library work can complete its tasks entirely based on determining the documents to be supplemented for the warehouse. Valuable documents are documents that are used. On the contrary, if they are not valuable, they will waste the budget, take up warehouse space, and require effort to preserve... Supplementing documents is determining the method of organizing the warehouse (closed, open) and has a direct impact on the organization of the document warehouse.

 Realizing the significance and role of organizing document capital and its position as one of the specialized centers of science and technology serving the school in training leading engineers in the field of science and technology.

The Center for Information and Communications of the University of Transport always focuses on perfecting the organization of the warehouse in a reasonable way, so the purpose of organizing the documents of the Center is set out very specifically: to create order for the book warehouse, improve the efficiency of using document capital, preserve long-term, avoid loss and damage, and at the same time use long-term and save costs. However, the measures for organizing the warehouse must be suitable to the professional level of the Center.

1.2.2. Document preservation work

1.2.2.1. Concept of document preservation work

Libraries are places that contain a large amount of human knowledge accumulated over many generations, collected and organized into document repositories. But in order for the next generation to be able to absorb that document comprehensively, there must be measures to preserve that knowledge well.

Document preservation is an activity that contributes to the preservation of documents. Document preservation is the measures to ensure the integrity and normal condition of documents in the warehouse.

Preservation is divided into two types: preventive preservation and restorative preservation. Preventive preservation focuses on preventing the deterioration of all documents in general, while restorative preservation aims to correct the physical or chemical deterioration of documents. It requires a large number of workers, often highly specialized experts, and is very expensive.

In terminology, preservation is all the activities that contribute to the preservation of documents.

Preservation is any activity aimed at slowing down or preventing deterioration of documents by providing a suitable environment for document storage, policies on repair, restoration, and restoration of damaged documents. When documents cannot be preserved, they must be transformed to preserve the content of the document.

1.2.2.2. The significance of document preservation

Preservation is one of the core and extremely important activities of libraries and information centers. It contributes to the existence and development of libraries, effectively meeting the needs of the elderly.

Preserving document capital, in general, is just one step in the professional process of a library information agency. The larger a library is, the more diverse its document capital is, the more rare documents it has, the more scientific the organization of preservation must be, and the stricter the management process must be. Therefore, the work of preserving document capital has a very important meaning for society in general and library activities in particular as follows: Preserving library document capital, preserving the cultural heritage of the nation; Strengthening information resources, the ability to meet the needs of the elderly, making full use of document capital, reducing unnecessary costs; Saving budget for the library.

Preservation is a relatively new field that has undergone a period of rapid development and increasing specialization over the past 10 years, especially in the field of library and archive preservation. However, the reality is that this field has not yet had a formal education system, professional assessment process or national standards. For this reason, it is sometimes difficult to find and select a professional staff to train. Therefore, if the preservation and organization of documents is to be well organized, the issue of training staff in this stage is very important. Besides, it also requires many other factors such as: equipment, facilities of each information agency - library.

 For the Library Information Center system in general and the University of Transport Information Center in particular, documents are one of the four factors affecting the existence and development of the library, but they are products that are easily damaged and destroyed. No matter what material they are made of, objective factors such as light, ultraviolet rays, temperature and humidity, insect invasion, mold, natural disasters, and chemical agents can all cause damage to documents.

With that reality, the preservation of documents has truly become the top concern of librarians. And being aware of that problem, the Information and Library Center of the University of Transport regularly carries out periodic inventory, repair, and restoration of damaged documents. Library staff check to eliminate social, chemical, biological, and physical factors that damage documents. In particular, the Center has invested in modern equipment: fans, air conditioners, new shelving systems, ... preservation work is of interest, so it has ensured that the documents are always in a restored state.

1.3. Current status of organization and preservation of document capital at the Information Center - Library of the University of Transport

1.3.1. Document storage organization

1.3.1.1. Warehouse organization process at the Information Center - Library of the University of Transport

Organizing a document warehouse is a series of successive operations to make the document capital have a certain order on the shelves to serve readers and have the most reasonable preservation method. These are the following operations:

 Phase 1: Receive and register documents

+ Receive documents

For the University of Transport and Communications Information Center, most of the imported documents are printed by the University's Publishing House, a small portion is donated by projects and purchased from other Publishing Houses such as: Construction Publishing House, Education Publishing House, ...

Every year, the Center receives investment from the School in supplementing its document fund. Books are usually supplemented at the beginning of each semester; theses and dissertations are often received by the library regularly because the number of topics defended is almost continuous during the week.

When documents are imported to the Center, the staff in charge clearly receives invoices and documents about the quantity, name of the documents, etc. Therefore, it helps the library staff to know the total number of documents imported, which books are there, the quantity of each type,

Additional resources and prices, so when documents are imported, registering document capital is a mandatory technical step for libraries in general and the University of Transport Information and Library Center in particular.

+ Document registration:

When imported to the University of Transport Information and Communications Center, documents are registered in batches on the Ilib4.0 library management software. Each type of document (Vietnamese books, foreign books, reference books, theses and dissertations, ...) is registered with a separate registration number. As for daily newspapers and magazines, there will be a slip recording the name of the newspaper, quantity, price ... attached by the supplier.

 Phase 2: Document processing process

Through research and survey, it can be seen that the processing procedure is carried out by the library staff at the Center for Transport and Communications according to the following steps:

Step 1: Stamp (DKCB): each type of document has a different type of stamp: For example: Thesis (LV); Vietnamese book (DV); Foreign book (DN), ...

Step 2: Define keywords, classify according to DDC 14 classification framework, define topics. Step 3: Catalog according to each type of document: Single books, theses, dissertations, ...

Enter the fields in the Worksheet. The University of Transport Information Center uses international standards to organize and manage information resources such as: cataloging according to Anglo-American rules and machine-readable cataloging MARC21.

Step 4: Make an opening stamp; Write the individual registration number on the book title page and page 17, stamp then stick the opening stamp, stick the RFID chip (for open warehouse documents) on top of the School logo.

Step 5: Input the machine on ilib4.0 software according to each type of document in the receipt in the additional module. Each book after being imported to the TT-TV library is read by the cataloging department using MARC21 machine and then entered into the database on the computer to create a computer catalog system for readers to look up.

Finally, scan the chip to integrate with Ilib software before handing over to the service rooms.

Thus, any type of document when imported to the Library is professionally processed in terms of form and content before being sent to the departments serving readers.

 Phase 3: Transfer and arrange documents

After processing the content and form of the documents, they will be arranged and organized to serve readers. Arranging documents is the final step in the document path cycle because it directly affects the effectiveness of serving readers. It is the bridge between the professional department and the service department. Good service means good arrangement, good arrangement will certainly serve well, and preserve the library's documents well.

When arranging documents, you must base on the type of documents in the warehouse and the available shelf conditions of the library to choose an arrangement method that is suitable for the conditions of your library.

Documents in the library are arranged from inside to outside, from top to bottom, from left to right in a scientific order to ensure the requirements: easy to find, easy to get, easy to see, easy to preserve.

In fact, at the University of Transport Information and Communications Center, we see that the majority of documents in the warehouse are specialized documents, information sources serving learning and research. Every year, the Center has served a large number of users and to make it easy and convenient for readers to access the library, the library arranges its document capital in the following two forms: Arrange by classification and arrange by individual registration number.

Arranging documents by individual registration numbers has helped the Center save warehouse space and find documents quickly, documents with the same content will be arranged next to each other. However, it is difficult for librarians to grasp the content of the book warehouse, the aesthetics of the warehouse is not good, documents of different sizes are arranged together.

Unlike arranging documents by individual registration numbers, the classification arrangement takes up space in the Center, and there must always be space to receive new documents. However, documents arranged by this knowledge sector help librarians grasp the content.

The use of document storage should serve readers better and more effectively. On the other hand, in the open storage, readers can find documents quickly and easily, and the work of adding and filtering documents is easier for the Center.

For the textbook binding warehouse, the Center also applies the arrangement form by Department including: Basic Department, Economics Department, Electronics Department, Engineering Department to help librarians find documents to serve users quickly, but requires them to work in the department for a long time to be able to quickly grasp the location of each book.

1.3.1.2. Form of warehouse organization at the Information Center - Library of the University of Transport

Some people think that: Libraries are a science, an art of arranging and preserving documents. Libraries must organize documents so that readers can make the most of the documents that the library has. Therefore, organizing a reasonable warehouse is an issue that has been and is being concerned by libraries in order to improve operational efficiency.

The organization of document storage depends on the following factors : size, type of library; functions and tasks of the information-library agency; service objects; composition of document capital; facilities; number and qualifications of library information staff. Each type of document storage must be suitable to the characteristics of the document capital.

However, currently, most of the Information and Library Centers have been organizing a combination of two types of document storage, including the Information and Library Center of the University of Transport. These are closed and open storage depending on the type of document. These two forms of organization will overcome each other's disadvantages to serve users most effectively and the Center has organized this form relatively well, suitable for its facilities and equipment.

Based on the material conditions; characteristics and composition of the document capital, the University of Transport Information and Communications Center has organized the warehouse in 2 forms: closed warehouse and open warehouse according to the following diagram:

Warehouse organization method

at the University of Transport Information and Communications Center

Closed warehouse

Open warehouse

4th floor borrowing room:

Textbooks, Reference books

Vietnamese reading room on 5th floor

Reading room on 6th floor:

Book

foreign language; Thesis, Dissertation;

Research

Electronic reading room

7th floor

Figure 4 : Warehouse organization chart at the University of Transport Information and Communications Center

 Closed warehouse organization

Organizing documents in a closed warehouse is a type of document that is organized into an independent warehouse, separate from readers. When users come to borrow documents, they must consult the traditional catalog system or the machine-readable catalog, write a request form and borrow through the librarian, especially saving warehouse space and preserving documents well.

For the University of Transport and Communications Information Center, the document capital is relatively large and the same as the genre (books, newspapers, magazines, theses, dissertations, scientific research topics, ...) but the document division is mainly in the closed warehouse form with textbooks and a small proportion of reference books in the lending room.

Current Status of Organizing and Preserving Document Capital at the Information Center - Library of the University of Transport

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