Abstract:
The main purpose of this thesis is to study the Operation Problems of State Enterprise Libraries Under the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Interior in view of objective, establishment, resources, personnel, operation, administration and services in order to find out their problems and to compare the libraries to the Special Library Standard of Thai Library Association. Also it is hope that this thesis would lead to the improvement of these libraries. The research method used is documentary research through books, periodicals and printed materials. The survey method was used through the distribution of questionaires to librarians and users of the eight State Enterprise Libraries as follows : National Housing Authority Library, Library of Port of Thailand, Library of Metropolitan Electricity Authority, Library of Provincial Electricity Authority, Library of Railway Training Centre, Library of the Communication Authority of Thailand, Telecommunication Training Centre Library and Club Library of Transportation Organization of Thailand. Results of the research revealed that the objectives of most libraries to focus on academic services agreed with the standards except for Club Library of Express Transportation Organization of Thailand which was set up for recreational services. Resources, i.e. books and periodicals, housed in the majority of libraries were up to the standards in quantity, but academic texts and publications were still to few. Only Telecommunication Training Centre Library owned a substantial collection suitable to the users' needs. A bigger number of the libraries adopted widely recognized classification schemes except the Library of Provincial Electricity Authority. With the exception of two libraries : Library of Provincial Electricity Authority and Club Library of Express Transportation Organization of Thailand, all libraries did the cataloging. However, catalog cards were not used as much as should be due to the users' usual practice of browsing around the shelves looking for books or asked librarians for help. As for the library personnel it was found that only one, Library of Provincial Electricity Authority, had a non-professional librarian. All were in serious needs for more clerical staff. Almost all libraries owned very limited building space which was below the standards with the exception of Library of Railway Training Centre and Telecommunication Training Centre Library. Morever, common complaints were of the insufficient number of book stacks. Library services were not enough according to the standards. The usual services the libraries offered were circulation, references, and indexing. The users wanted new accession lists, book reviews and the use of library handbook. Annual budget was regulated to each library to be handled by librarians, but the budget is very small because the parent institution did not allow much for library use. Recommendations 1. A state enterprise library should be an independent unit working directly with the top administration, and should have the status of a division in order to acquire more budget and the library staff increment which will enable the library to effectively operate. 2. Adequate budget should be provided for the libraries to be able to fulfil the objectives. 3. The library staff should be professional librarians with subject specialization and are adequate in numbers. They should be encouraged to further their study or to have in-service training in the field of library science. 4. A library council should be set up in each unit to perform the responsibility of library consultants. 5. The library should be in a suitable location, library facilities should be amply provided. 6. State enterprise libraries should cooperate among them¬selves to improve their services and other technical processes, and to save expenditures. They should cooperate in the following services : union cataloging, indexing and inter-library loans. 7. A state enterprise library association should be set up as the coordinated center for all state enterprise libraries and other special libraries. 8. Further research should concerti the comparison of problems in the organization and operations of state enterprise libraries in other ministries to find out about their similarities and their differences.