The Nihal European University in Sudan

From its beginnings the library of the Nihal European University in Sudan will like the university itself be a developing organism whose form, organization and continuation will be dependent on the university’s state of development. As a provisional entity it will begin in provisional facilities; its final size and form will remain open. When development has proceeded far enough that the size and dimensions of the university and its requirements can be projected, there will be a new library building (which should however also be flexible enough to be added onto). But space for this future library building in a central place with sufficient size on the campus has to be kept free from the start (just as its costs have to be planned in advance in the budget).

After it is established, the library as an entity directly subordinate to the central administration will be organized and administered independently but in accordance with requirements set by the university administration. It will receive its own budget in order to fulfil its roles, while the individual technical and disciplinary areas can be provided with minimal budgets in advance. This pertains in particular to their share for acquiring books and other media.

The development and expansion of the library will occur in close contact with responsible parties in the various areas of the university. For keeping optimally in touch the sections in each of the individual faculties will have at least one departmental representative, though this number can be expanded according to the degree of efficiency achieved by the library administration.

In order to make the greatest possible contribution to the optimal work of the university, the library must from the outset be guided by the following requirements and key questions:

• Its location should be in a central area of the campus so that university users will have the shortest path possible to it.
• By following the concept of a central library it should be prevented that the library is split up into several outsourced “partial libraries” according to departments or institutes. The library is a central institution for the entire university. Its holdings are to be systematically classified and organized according to fields of knowledge or content so that they afford users the greatest clarity and access.
• According to the principle of open stacks almost all books, bound journals and otherwise circulating items should be shelved in a form that is openly accessible so that users collect the books themselves, bringing them to the library exit to be checked out. New acquisitions could be displayed in a special area and be treated specially with respect to their circulation.
• Particularly important or fundamental works which have to be available at all times (such as encyclopaedias or law statutes) but also periodical issues or certain non-print media should be reference material and not circulate at all or only under certain conditions. Particularly expensive or valuable holdings such as irreplaceable items that are especially prone to being stolen must also in certain circumstances be held under lock and key, to be used only in certain secure reading areas.
• Individual instructors must have the option of setting up reserve holdings for the benefit of students in their courses. These are works that are temporarily removed from regular circulation and organized according to faculty and course.
• After a period of years, once the library has achieved a certain size, it will be necessary to sort out works which have declined in significance from the actual holdings (in a procedure to be determined periodically). These will also be placed in freely accessible stacks but ones which can be reduced in size or retracted.
• The holdings of the library will be oriented largely toward the degree programmes and specializations as well as the auxiliary sciences at the Nihal European University in Sudan. At the same time we should attempt to build up a certain basic set of holdings in the disciplines not taught and which will be oriented toward certain basic holdings that are related to Sudan. On the basis of the general difficulty in accessing foreign publications in Sudan, the acquisition policy of the library, especially in the first stages, will focus on obtaining such works, while cooperation will be sought in the starting phase with other libraries locally to collect Sudanese and older publications.
• In the area of interlibrary loan the primary focus should be on a connection to Subito and other systems which prefer electronic delivery. Whether interlibrary loan, owing to the postal situation, will be practical and sufficient in the form of copies or even from books and other originals will have to be decided upon by the library administration.
• As soon as the means are available, one of the goals should be to build up a collection of course texts. This would include works such as introductions, textbooks and dictionaries which are particularly needed in coursework. In this way students would be spared the expense of buying their own copies and / or be given the possibility to use these books in the library, which would attempt to obtain several copies of the same works.
• The ordering and classification of the books will have to be subordinated to a unified systematic, while the sub-systematics of the individual disciplines will have to be settled on by the disciplinary liaison officer in the starting phase. The classification will be in small Latin characters (a-z) and the Arabic numerals used in Europe (0-9) with additional use of punctuation marks (. : / - ,) on the basis of the English subject classifications.
• Besides classical holdings in print media (books and periodicals) the library will have to make additional materials available such as multimedia pedagogical works, CDs, DVDs and other print and sound media, in consultation with the participating faculties, departments, institutes and centres.
• Each library user should have the right and opportunity to propose materials for acquisition and to make general suggestions for improvement. The disciplinary liaison officers can at the same time use these as guidelines in formulating their policies. For this purpose users should be able to use pre-printed forms or an Internet page.
• Within the library there will have to be machines made available for using these media as well as a sufficient number of photocopiers.
• The role of computing (including hardware and software acquisition, training, administration and service) in the area of the library as well as its integration in the entire computing system of the university is very important. PC-workstations are needed for the personnel, others for library users. Computers are also needed to rationalize library administration, for the library catalogue, Internet access and research opportunities.
• Also deserving of special mention is the issue of access (often fee-dependent) to central databases (such as legal texts and commentaries, book and essay catalogues, encyclopaedias) which the library will make accessible to certain or all users (via the Internet or as a CD-ROM with updating capacity)
• A library also needs trained personnel who are able to advise and instruct users.
• Within the library there has to be enough space for work stations and seating opportunities. In a later expansion phase there will be special rooms for group work.
• Members of the university in particular have the right to use the library and check out materials. The library can also be used by persons from outside the university community although an appropriate fee should be considered. In addition we will examine the possibility of charging a security deposit in order to reduce the risk of liability and need to make claims for damage.
• The precise modalities of circulation and the means of checking out materials will be set by the library administration.
• In making the library more user-friendly it should remain open at least 12 hours per day, orienting itself on the general needs of members of the university. For Fridays and Sunday mornings special rules can be made. Special times can also be determined for winter and summer including an afternoon break in the hot months.
• The access to the library from the individual university areas will be enhanced by distributing entrances which can only be traversed from one direction. By contrast there should only be one single exit (aside from emergency exits) for a reasonable degree of security and so that circulating materials can be checked out.
• The fire-security regulations in Sudan will have to be observed. In each case plans have to include emergency lighting, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers (with a short set of instructions) and well-ordered options for escape. In the interest of fire security and preserving the book holdings a strict ban on smoking within library areas should be observed.
• Moreover the customary measures have be taken in order to preserve book holdings in light of the climate and possible pests.
• Eating and drinking will be prohibited in the library. Only drinks in closed containers (such as bottles) may be taken inside during the summer months.
• As infrastructure for the users coin-operated lockers should be set up near the main entrance to the library or there should be a manned wardrobe (due to the low personnel costs involved) as a secure place to store items. Within the library, toilets and drinking fountains should be made available.

The precise forms of organization and the modalities of running the library should be determined either by a library commission or the founding president of the university and the first four library liaison officers.