Nyakundi and Mnjama -Part 6
Sources of the documents
The study sought to establish the sources of the Library collections stored in the KIPO library. The respondents indicated that most patent documents were donated by patent offices worldwide while most of the non-documents were purchased locally from various book shops in Nairobi. Some of the international patent offices which donate patent documents to KIPO library include:
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO);
- African Regional Industrial Property Organization (ARIPO);
- European Patent Office (EPO);
- Korean Patent Office (KPO); and,
- Australian Patent Office (APO).
Moreover, the study revealed that the acquisition of patent documents within KIPO is based on the expiry date. Those records that have expired (usually after 20 years) are collected from the registry and placed in the Library for public use. As regards the selection of published materials, the study revealed that JOPAL - the Journal of Patent Association Literature and price lists published by WIPO and ARIPO are used to identify patent documents published in other countries. The study further revealed that the main problems faced in the selection process are inadequate selection tools, lack of effective communication within the selection process, and inadequate funds.
The study further revealed that the actual ordering and purchase of Library materials is done by the librarians with the assistance of the supplies section. The order lists are prepared in triplicate. The originals are sent to the suppliers, a second copy is forwarded to the Chief Librarian and the third copy is filed in the supplies file at KIPO. The main problem with this procedure is the long delay due to the problem of foreign exchange and inadequate funds. Other documents are acquired directly from the inventors, through purchase or donors or the creators.
The findings of this study tally with the findings of Aina (2004) who asserts that acquisition of library materials is done through purchase, donations, exchanges and legal deposits. Like most libraries, purchase is by far the most common way of acquiring library materials. While this may be the case, the findings of this study indicate that donation is the major source of acquiring library materials rather than purchase (KIPO Annual Report, 2001-2003*. This clearly shows that KIPO Patent Library receives donations and gifts from worldwide patent offices. Sometimes the Library makes requests to individual patent offices and other organizations.
From the above analysis it is evident that the acquisition of information resources for the KIPO Library is a shared responsibility between the Library and the supplies section.