Arts and Social Science Collection

The Arts and Social Sciences Collection contains materials on three major disciplines: Humanities and Social Sciences; Education; and Commerce and (Business) Management. It is the largest collection in the library that consists of monographs, reports, and serials in these three disciplines.

Physically, the Collection is divided into 2 sections:

• An open access section consisting of monographs which can be openly accessed and borrowed, and
• A closed section which houses serials and a small sub-collection of core materials which are in great demand by the undergraduate students in these three disciplines.

This sub-collection is known as the Special Reserve Collection, and is closed access. The serials are open access but again must be read only in the closed section. Special considerations can be made for teaching staff. Each of the sections has a large reading area in addition to the shelved monographs and serials.

The Collection offers the following services:

Information to Readers

There is a formal Orientation Programme offered to First year students (Fresher) at the beginning of each academic year. This programme introduces the students to the Collection and registers them so that they can avail themselves of the services. Further information services are offered as requested by the users.

Online Public Access Catalogue (OPACs)

Access to the materials in the Collection is through OPACs, which were introduced in the academic year 2000/2001. The OPACs cover both monographs and serials including details of the holdings.

Loans of Materials

Loans are available for books on open access. The normal loan period is three weeks for students and Faculty. The number of loans per user varies, ranging from 5 books for undergraduates, 10 for post-graduate students, and 20 for faculty members. A fully computerized circulation system was introduced in the academic year 2001/2002.

Issue of Special Reserve Materials

Materials from the Special Reserve section are issued on short loan periods of two to four hours and must be read within the Collection. This service is extremely valued by the faculty and the users because it makes core reading materials available to a wider section of the students in the three disciplines in an environment where such materials are too expensive to be purchased individually.

Production of Accession Bulletins

Since its formation in 2000, the Collection regularly produces an Accessions Bulletin to inform faculty and students about new materials that have been added to the Collection. Some of the Accessions Bulletins have a supplement on the most recent serial titles on a selected topic.

Online Databases

Electronic databases specifically on the three main disciplines, namely, Social Sciences & Humanities, Education, and Commerce and (Business) Management are available and can be accessed via wireless laptop connections in the Collection or computers in the Reference Department. This is a temporary arrangement and will be modified when the Collection gets the relevant electronic hardware and software.

Photocopying of Serial and Special Reserve Materials

This service is provided through the use of the central photocopying services of the Library.