Collection Security Issues in Malaysian Academic Libraries: An Exploratory Survey

Authors

Abass Atiku Maidabino, University of MalayaFollow

Abstract

The collection is the library's most valuable asset and it needs to be protected from security breaches. Collection security is an important issue for academic libraries.This study explores the major collection security issues related to library collections in Malaysian university libraries. The study reveals the measures adopted by the Malaysian libraries to ensure effective collections security governance. The findings indicate that main breaches of collection security are book theft, damage, mutilation, or defacement; books attacked by insects or worms; and non-return of borrowed materials. The measures used to reduce and address security breaches include electronic security system; manual security approaches such as checking identity cards before access to the collections.