CAMPUSES & CENTRES

LIBRARYMs. M.R. Mavuso - LibrarianVISIONThe vision of the University library is “Leadership throughexcellence in Information and Service delivery forEducation and Research.”MISSIONThe mission of the University Library is to efficientlyprovide services and access to quality academic informationresources, irrespective of format and location to Universitystaff, students and associates in support of the teaching,learning, research, and administrative functions of theUniversity.OBJECTIVESThe objectives of the UNISWA Library are to:Develop a collection of information resources thatare responsive to the changing needs of the users byselecting and acquiring current and relevant resourcesirrespective of format or location; to support theteaching, learning, research, and administrative needsof the users;Develop and maintain efficient and effective services tomeet user needs;Create, maintain and update user-friendly informationretrieval tools to facilitate access to the information;Train users with the necessary information retrievalskills to fully exploit and effectively utilize the range ofinformation resources and foster library research skillsfor life-long and independent learning;Collaborate and form partnership with stakeholders andother information centers in order to broaden access toa wider range of information resources;Promote Library staff development through educationand training in order to build and retain a stable team ofcompetent, motivated, and dedicated library personnel;Enhance efficient and effective information deliveryservices;Install and maintain reliable library environmentalmonitoring systems in order to preserve and conserveinformation resources and infrastructure; andContribute to the development of school libraries byequipping student teachers with the necessary skills ofrunning a school library.EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe year under review once again posed serious challengesfor the Library due to budgetary constraints. The Library,therefore, could not meet a number of its objectivesespecially with regards to acquiring information resourcesto support teaching, learning and research. This yearthe Library stock increased from 225,226 to 238,787monographs. This reflects an insignificant growth of13,561 monographs compared to the previous year’sgrowth of 120,178 monographs. The journal subscriptionhas stagnated over the years remaining at 325 journal titles.During the year 2008, the Library successfully migratedfrom URICA Library system to SIRSI Dynix. This systemhas the following modules: Acquisitions, Cataloguing,Serials and Circulation. It is also through this system thatthe Library has an Online Catalogue called OPAC. TheLibrary has remained with this initial version 3.1 yet otherinstitutions have upgraded to 3.4 version. It has becomedifficult for the Library to operate without the necessaryupgrades as the system is now failing to perform as required.On the brighter side, the Library, through UNISWAFoundation and the generous donation from NETCOMM,has set up an Apple Laboratory, commissioned on 559REPORT OF THE VICE-CHANCELLOR