By NICHOLAS CHILEKATI –

•Libraries often provide quiet areas for studying, and they often offer common areas to facilitate group study and collaboration.

LIBRARIES should be regarded as the lifeblood of a nation but, unfortunately, in many developing countries like Zambia, they seem to be neglected.
Most developing countries in the world have been grappling with a poor reading culture among their populations.
Ideally, information centres and libraries should not be meant for students and researchers only but for all, young or old, to be able to access knowledge and information on both historical events and current affairs.
Libraries can also be a source of recreation. Libraries throughout the world form an essential reservoir of knowledge.
The quest for research in this digital age matches that of the essential commodities.
Practically, this means that people, especially those with various professions, cannot achieve worthwhile development in the falling economy without reliable libraries to provide them with rich and readily available information for decision-making.
University of Zambia acting librarian Christine Kanyengo said libraries provide vital information for economic development.
She gave an example of the university library which has the largest collection of materials in electronic form, which are usually accessed by students and researchers through the Internet.
Libraries are important assets to the community and the nation at large, as they are a wealth of knowledge and information.
Information is vital for the development of any nation. It is a resource and can be used in the creation of wealth by many countries today.
Information is constantly and continuously transforming the way people live in their daily lives. It is increasingly adding convenience and generally making life better.
Libraries are a custodian of information which may be political, economic, social and scientific.
The term information refers to ideas, facts, imaginative work of the mind and data that is tertiary useful in decision making processes, question answering, problem solving and it reduces uncertainty. Information is a necessity in decision making.
Library and information work involves meeting people’s information needs and providing a wide range of resources for decision making in different types setups (libraries, information and documentation centres).
Decision making is one of the most important activities in which both private organisations and the public bureaucracy engage themselves daily.
The success of an organisation is critically linked to effective decisions.
Decision-making involves the choice of an alternative from among a series of competing choices. Because decision making is so important and can have such significant effects on the operation of organisations and also the country’s economy, it has been suggested that administration is decision making.
It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that only administrators make decisions. Increasingly, important decisions are being made in organisations by non-administrative personnel. Thus, while decision-making is an important administrative process, it is fundamentally a people process.
Librarianship is a vital profession which must be appreciated. However, many organisations and firms do not appreciate services provided by librarians as a result of the poor reading culture.
Many developing countries are challenged with inadequate libraries.
Public and institutional collections and services may be intended for use by people who choose not to or cannot afford to purchase an extensive collection themselves.
Such people need material that no individual can reasonably be expected to have, or they may require professional assistance with their research.
In addition to providing materials, libraries provide the services of librarians who are experts at finding and organising information. Librarians are also experts at interpreting information needs.
Libraries often provide quiet areas for studying, and they often offer common areas to facilitate group study and collaboration.
Libraries further provide public facilities for access to electronic resources and the Internet.
Modern libraries are increasingly being redefined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources.
They are extending services beyond the physical walls of a building by providing material accessible by electronic means, and by providing the assistance of librarians in navigating and analysing very large amounts of information with a variety of digital tools.