Notes from Fytton Roland 1998
books are for the teaching library, journals for the research library

Library Roles

The traditional roles of the librarian in the era of print can be defined as follows.

• Collection development and acquisition: to select and purchase material - printed journals, abstracts and indexes, monographs, etc.
• Cataloguing and classification: to organise and provide access to information - physically and via lists and catalogues.
• Circulation: to reserve materials for and lend materials to users, and recover materials from them.
• Reference work: to advise library users and to provide and facilitate quick and easy access to information.
• Preservation, conservation and archiving: to archive, preserve and conserve information in perpetuit.