Unity University Libraries

Libraries of all types whether they are small or large, regardless of their user type, have common functions to perform. Unity university Library service as an academic library acquires library materials through purchase donation and downloads both hard and electronic format and organize them to be retrievable, avail them to users and manage the collection properly. Faculty members, Students, non-Academic staff and other users who have permission to use the libraries enjoy to use library materials for spot reading, over night and long term loans.

Unity University Libraries are located in Addis Ababa Al-Amoudi Campus (Gerji) and Keranyo Campus. There are also libraries located at Adama, Dessie (Rukya) and Burayu campuses organized to support the teaching learning activities.

All the libraries are aimed to at supporting students of all faculties of the undergraduate and postgraduate programs; faculty of Business and Economics, faculty of Engineering and Computational Sciences, faculty of health sciences and faculty Distance Education. Moreover the libraries at Gerji and Adama campuses provide services for the postgraduate programs in the field of Development Economics, Accounting and Finance, Organizational Leadership, Project Management, Business Administration (MBA), MBA Specialization in Marketing and Public Health (MPH).

Objective of the Library Service

The Primary objective of Unity University Libraries is to provide a well-organized information resources, services and facilities for Academic and Research to support the teaching learning and research programs the university undertakes.

Circulation Service

Circulation Service is a ready point of contact that connects the users and the collection. It is the busiest service point that deals with issuing and receiving library materials to and from users.  Library officers at the circulation desk assist users to check out the information sources receive them on return and re shelve to maintain the service environment in a suitable mode for study and research.

The Libraries have open stack collection to give patrons complete access to the materials on shelves to browse and choose their own materials. There are also closed stack collections which are not open to the general public or only on a selective basis to protect rare or valuable materials.

Circulation Service area is responsible for  Keeping the orderly movement of the collection and facilitates and monitors the circulation of library materials and accurately shelving them after they are returned so that books/materials can be retrieved by the next user. As part of activities, checkpoint is a place where checkpoint offers check the eligibility of users coming in to the library and the eligibility of those checking out library materials.

Inter-Library Loan /ILL/

Unity University offers inter-library loans through different campus libraries of the university. On the other hand the university linked different open libraries on the E-library system. The library also offers open E-book collections for others to use. 

Unity University E-Library System (Online Catalogue)

Internet-based library system is provided for the students and faculty of the university to search for items in the library’s circulation, renew items they have checked, reserve and request items using any device. It allows users to search for the bibliographic records contained within the library’s collection.

This E- library system is a convenient, easy-to-use, Internet-based application for Librarians to track and manage the circulation of library resources at Unity University.

The open source automated system is accessible at any place using any platform through http://opals.uu.edu.et/ as a domain path. The acronym OPALS stands for open source automated library system.

Reserves

Library materials are organized as library reserves which are placed at reserve desks. These materials provide instructors to access and manage course resources. Instructors build, maintain and share reading lists that include all material types such as books, articles and PDF files from the library collection and instructor personal copies for a semester or academic year. Unity University provides a reserve section in all libraries. These sections have all importantly selected and needed books for the instructors to access when ever wanted. The collection we have in the reserve section is only available for a spot reading and overnight loan.  

Teacher center

The Libraries provide staff reading rooms for the teachers and other staff. The knowledge center library provides three different staff reading rooms with complete infrastructures fixed to them including the internet connection.

Computers work station

This is an area which serves two important service points. It helps users to search and locate library materials from the catalogue of their interest and submit their query to circulation officers to get the materials and make decisions of their own.

The other is server room to provide free access to check the availability of library materials and enables users to search related materials from Google.

The knowledge center library offered three floors of computer workstations with internet connection fixed to each computer. The library also has a progressing E-book reading area to be installed with more than 40 computers. Other libraries of the university also provide enough computers for the users.

Students with Disabilities

The University knowledge center library access ramp service with wheelchairs for users with disabilities.  Ramps in the library serves as an essential accessibility feature allowing students with mobility impairments such as those using wheelchairs and walkers, to access the library facilities easily. Ramps provide a gradual incline to connect different levels of the library replacing stairs for those who have difficulties. By incorporating ramps, libraries insure that all patrons, regardless of their physical disabilities can fully utilize and enjoy the resources and services available to them. Additionally ramp also benefit other library users such as parents with strollers, travelers with luggage or individuals with temporary injuries. Overall, ramps play crucial role in promoting inclusivity and ensuring equitable access for all individuals with in the library environment.        

Reading and study                                                               

Unity university libraries provided a wide open reading area for spot readers and instructors. In knowledge center library reading and study areas are available at ground, first and second floor furnished with study carrels and comfortable tables and chairs. All libraries in every campus are well equipped with chairs and tables.

Reference sources

Unity University library has a reference shelves provided for the users. These are Library Materials that help to locate and obtain specific piece of information from different sources such as reference books, catalogues, encyclopedia, directives, periodicals, and Database.