Panel Discussion and Expo to Highlight Role of Special Libraries

A panel discussion and exposition, aimed at sensitising Jamaicans about the role of special libraries in the island, will be held Friday (April 27), at the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ) Oxford Road offices in Kingston.

The events, under the theme: ‘Libraries Contributing to National Development’ are organised by the Special Libraries Section of the Library and Information Association of Jamaica (LIAJA), as part of activities held every April to highlight its work.

At a recent JIS Think Tank, Immediate Past President of LIAJA,Pauline Nicolas, said that despite the growing use of digital tools librarians and libraries remain a critical component of everyday life.

"When you do a Google search of any topic you will get millions of hits with one search. It is the library and the librarians that will access the information, catalogue and index them for effective use.  It is the librarians, who will teach an individual how to do effective search,” she said.

The objectives of the exposition and panel discussion are: to educate the public on the contribution that libraries have made to national development; and to provide a forum for the discussion of issues affecting the quality of service being provided within the information field.

Librarian and Documentalist at the PIOJ, Viviene Kerr Williams, who was also at the Think Tank, noted that the panel discussion is open to the public even though space is limited.

"We're targeting the policy makers, various persons at the executive management level of companies where special libraries are found, institutions that train librarians and library assistants and the general public."

Several libraries will also mount displays showing how their libraries are contributing to national development.

By O. Rodger Hutchinson, JIS PRO