Francis Kim R.

Tanay LIS 152

Reaction Paper:

Subject to the appreciation of the parent institution

Institutions and different companies have been using special libraries to collect and
preserve one’s data and information that would help in stabilizing their companies in the future.
The function of the special libraries can be maximized if their parent institutions may work hand
in hand and in accordance with the needs of the special libraries. If you may imagine, this would
be a very promising idea, but then most special library-parent institution relationship isn’t like
this at all. In this paper I’m going to discuss the challenges that special libraries encounter with
their parent institution.

There are three important components that comprises a special library for it to function
well. First is to have a budget. Everything revolves around money, without money special
libraries may not function at its best, causing the company or parent institute to go down. Budget
is one of the prime elements for a special library to work since it funds the work force, resources,
and equipment for the whole parent institute. The more information to be stored, the more
resources and work force must be acquired for a company to perform well.

Without money, a special library can’t hire people that would control the gear for a
company to work. If a parent institution is lacking even just one person for a small position, this
company will experience not just a minimal failure, but it may lead to the fall of the parent
institution. Employees or the company’s work force may not be at their best when it comes to
working if their salary isn’t enough or if their salary is always late due to improper budgeting.

Another component that should be prioritized are the resources. A parent institution must
secure their resources for them to easily store every data and information that is needed in the
company. This would also make their work more efficient and accurate, since data and
information are properly stored and managed. One example of failure in equipment and
resources acquisition is the issue of special library in one of the famous banks in the Philippines,
which is the Land Bank. Based on one of the managers of Land bank that I had a chat with, there
was a problem with their archiving system that resulted in the delay of transactions and
unsystematic way of documenting important files and information. Another example is their
online banking system, which is frequently reported that their app is crashing all the time. All of
these happened because of their poor equipment and outdated resources.

Special libraries are usually found in broad range of organizations. With all the rapid
advancements in our society, our needs must be met through the development of information and
data. The parent institution must not disregard the prime factors that may affects the growth of
their company. If the factors that are stated above is incomplete, the parent institution will not
function properly. With this being said, the special library and parent institution must have a
proper communication and must work in harmony.