INTRODUCTIONAt the General Conference of UNESCO held in Paris on 19th November, 1964, it was agreed that “a publication is a periodical if it constituted one issue in a continuous series under the same title” (Norman, 2008). Supporting this notion, a periodical literature is published at regular intervals over an indefinite period, individual issues in the series being unnumbered. On this note, a periodical literature is a publication with a distinctive title which appears at stated or regular intervals without prior decision as to when the last issue shall appear. It contains more than ever articles, stories, or other writings by several contributors. Periodical literature is used in its journals sense as indicating transactions and percentages of societies, daily newspapers magazines, scholarly journals, trade narrower, evaluation journals. Like most underdeveloped and developing inadequate in the world countries funding of higher education libraries in Sierra Leone reflects on poorly developed periodical literature collection and as a outcome ineffective information service is provided to the dissatisfaction of users. In fact, Based on the value for research work in the academia, managing periodical literature in higher education libraries in Sierra Leone should be the need for a collection of standard periodical literature in academic libraries is necessary.HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN SIERRA LEONESierra Leone operates a 6-3-3-4 system of education are subdivided into six(6) years at the primary level, three(3) years at the Junior Secondary level, three(3) at the Senior Secondary level, and a minimum of four(4) years at the tertiary level. This as a matter of fact sub-division allows the implementation curriculum that takes user ID of the different pupilsofmore fully. The general . of education rule in Sierra Leone is to provide every child with an education which takes fully into an profile: character development: his interest ability and aptitude; his emotional, psychological and physical well-being; the manpower needs of the country; the equal importance of both academic and non-academic education; the need for a literature and numerate populace.; the economic resources of the state, so that his education can be of use to the country and at the same time provide opportunities for him to be successful in lifeaimHigher education is submit-secondary education given in a university, college or polytechnique and is the stage of specialisation. The objectives of higher education vary according both the institution and course of study but generally include the acquisition physical and intellectual skills necessary for the development of to the individual and his society. In Sierra Leone, higher educational institutions application the basis of educational advancement following the completion of secondary education. Higher education is the most effective means altering the outlook of people through the broadening of their horizon. Societal development to a large extent is dependent on the human resource empowerment and development. Against this background, higher educational institutions play a pivotal role in developing the human resource to contribute positively and meaningfully to the socio-economic, political and educational development of Sierra Leone.Higher educational institutions in Sierra Leone are the University of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma University and Njala University which state owned and University of Makeni and Limkonwong University which are privateareowned. The constituent colleges under the University of Sierra Leone include Fourah Bay College in modern times (FBC), Institute of Public Administration and Management(IPAM) and College of Medicine and Allied Health Science(COMAHS); Bo Campus and Njala University. It’s worth noting that The higher educational Margai of collegiate status include Milton institutions College of Education and Tech; Eastern Polytechnigue; Bonthe Polytechnique; Freetown Teacher. Itthes worth noting that Port Loko Teachers College and these offer courses leading to ’ award of diplomas and Certificate. On in modern times the contrary, the state-owned and private -owned universities offer Certificates, Diploma, Undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in various disciplines in the faculty of their respective institutions. The curricula differs from.institution to institution and curricula and programmes that require the apply of periodical literature include medicine, law, engineering, education, agriculture, arts and humanities, social sciences, pure and applied sciences, engineering, management and administration To a greater extent, the Central Government, through subventions funds for higher educational institutions to enhance their smooth-running, even though some donor agencies do render financial assistance to these institutionstoin addition internal funds generated by them.HIGHER EDUCATION LIBRARIES IN SIERRA LEONELibraries are storage of information and information is such a valuable commodity that its immense contribution to national development cannot be underestimated. Higher education libraries are the nerve centres of all academic activities. This simply implies that these libraries contribute to the teaching/learning and research programmes of the parent institutions by providing the needed information services for undergraduate and postgraduate students, teaching staff, researchers, administrative and technical staff. Effective academic work quality dependent on is information platform and the library plays a significant role in this regard. According to Frederick Ken Nicol information an essential source used by organisations toisdeliver appropriate offering or services to customers(2011 p.64). In this vein, higher education libraries manage information to satisfactorily meet the need of their clientele. It’s worth noting that Thus, information needs to be planned for in the same way that human and financial resources are planned to ensure increased productivity and efficient solution delivery. Therefore, academic libraries like all other organisations have thought out and systematic information planning process stand out to benefit morethatthose that do not. Well-planned and organised information enhances effective offering delivery.Higher education libraries in Sierra Leone support research work, community development from another perspective and complement the teaching/learning processes in their respective parent institutions. It’s worth noting that In this regard, good management of higher education libraries is the organisations and maintenance of a well-balanced and vibrant collection in ensuring that the information needs of users are satisfactorily met. The different collections stocked in these institutions include but not limited to general book collection on all disciplines to loan by users out of the library building, specialised collection, reference collection and periodical literature and the quantum of their contents depends on the size of the library and its readership. Developing and maintaining a well-stocked collection as well as recruiting and empowering competent and qualified staff is largely dependent on thestrengthfinancial of the library. Therefore academic libraries need to be prioritised by their parent bodies when it comes to annual budget approval and allocations for their effective operations.Managing academic libraries could be linked with the services they offer. Since the operations of academic libraries are gear towards the provision of effective services, this is only actualised by purchasing multiple copies of textbooks, recent journals and a good collection of recommended texts for . reading to develop and organise an academic library for effective academic work.PERIODICAL LITERATURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION LIBRARIES AND MANAGEMENTThe provision of higher education libraries is necessary in complementing the teaching/learning process and for effective research workbackground In this regard, premium should be put on the management of periodical literature in higher education libraries taking into profile their significance in providing current and researchable information.Since periodical literature forms part of the collection of an academic library, a large percentage of its budget allocated should be utilised for the procure of current and popular journals. The periodicals to be acquired should be titles recommended by faculty members in collaboration with the periodical Librarian across disciplines offered in the institution such as Library Quarterly; Journal of Sociology; Chemical, Abstracts; Soils Science Journal; International Journal of Management; Clinical Science Quarterly. Actually, It is significant to note that organising and maintaining periodicals in higher education libraries differ from institution to institution.Initially, periodicals were published to enable philosophers and Scientist to communicate their fresh ideas and thought to others interested in the same or similar subjects. Today, periodicals are principal media for the original learned papers and publishing state-of- as a matter of fact the-art reviews. They are increasingly vital as they can be useful for both current and retrospective information needed by academics.Lawson(2014) opined that the significance attached to periodical literature necessitates the development of a strong periodical literature collection as part of the library stock. The writer libraries this article, however revealed that periodicals are of great significance in higher education of in that:
recent topics new discoveries and technologies are usually introduced in articles in periodicals;

they supply generally the latest possible information on a given subjects;

they are often the purely source of materials on new from another perspective subjects;

they supplya particular article to a reader who has seen it cited in a book or another journal; and

they provide an overview of the state of a given discipline at a particular time.

Collection development in higher education libraries in Sierra Leone has faced challenges of fulfilling the demand of their clientele with an increasing scarcity of funds to cope with the high cost of periodical publications. Indeed, Before displaying and shelving them, all recorded issues are claimed with the ex libri stamp of the library in query. Capacity building of the recruited staff to a large extent is fundamental for efficient performance ensures their upward mobility which is seen as a motivational factor. Cambridge: Cambridge University .PressNicol, Frederick Ken(2011). Against this background, colleges and universities in Sierra Leone with the backing of the Ministry of Technical.and higher Education should re-defined their respective libraries so that premium could be placed on the plan of relevant journal titles as well as claiming missing issues from publishers and their agents Another challenge higher education libraries in Sierra Leone faced in from another perspective managing their periodical literature collection is that of storage space. As you may know, However, users are allowed to take them out to photocopy the required pages after signing for them. As valued sources of recent and reliable information for researchers and academics, periodicals are of great significance. Users of periodical literature in these institutions include students, lecturers and researchers. As you may know, in modern times Novel York: Prentice Hall.Findlay, Jane Rose (2011). What is more than ever a periodical and its significance for researchers? Issues of all received periodical literature are recorded on a kardex and any missing issue should be claimed from the publisher. Also periodical article may remain invaluable information sources for a generation or indeed for a longer period. Recent York: Academic Press.Norman, Betty Ann(2008). For an academic library to develop and maintain a vibrant periodical literature collection depend on how well it is funded. In fact, Periodical literature remains vital sources of information for a generational period. How collection develop and run a as it turns out periodical to in a college library? Photocopying facilities should be provided on the library, so that needed pages are photocopied by users within request. Interestingly, As the consequence of the law budget allocated to run these libraries, subscribing to the required journal title Librarian a serious problem for the Acquisition poses. The of periodicalsemployin more than ever college libraries. Taking into the considerationPeriodicalthe significance of periodical literature in higher education libraries, their selection and acquisition either by plan, donation or exchange should be a collaborative effort between the libraries and staff of the various colleges and universities. literature in higher education libraries in Sierra Leone include journals, indexes, abstracts, magazines, serials and their organisations and management differs from library to library. Some volumes are incomplete; missing issues are hard to replace and the buy of kardexes on which received journal issues are recorded is not quite feasible since the library operates within a limited financial resources.In effectively operating higher education libraries, both the human and financial factors should be balanced as these two are inseparable in achieving the desired purpose of an organisation. The apply of periodical should be closely monitored by staff so that arepagesnot mutilated and heavily used issues are not taken away by users whereby others are deprived. Most of these libraries with the exception of Fourah Bay College(FBC) library which has a separate Periodical Department, do not have enough space more than ever for newly acquired titles. The adequacy of periodical literature collection depend on journal titles selected and acquired to be added to the existing stock to meet the needs of the curriculum of the institution and those of users. more than ever Unbound, unstitched issues can be easily snatched away especially for those in heavy demand. When all the issues to complete a volume are received, they are then put together to be sent to bindery or conservation unit for either hard cover binding or stitching. to, How Actually acquire and manage periodical publications in research libraries? These libraries are inadequately funded their parent bodies to a pointbythat the smooth-running of their operations in ensuring effective information system delivery is greatly hampered. The maintenance of periodical literature is as importance as the other collections of the library.CHALLENGESThe major challenge higher education libraries in Sierra Leone face is funding. Actually, Advocating by librarians for good budget allocation is quite in place and the step in the right direction.CONCLUSIONHigher education libraries in Sierra Leone need to develop and maintained vibrant periodical literature collections but this is dependent on how adequately they are funded by their respective parent institutions. Opening hours of periodical literature collection and loan system; inadequate staff situation and capacity building for staff to effectively manage periodical literature collection which implies that recruited staff should be academically and professionally to enhance their competence and efficiency; misuse and abuse of periodicals in terms of theft mutilation of essential articles thereby depriving other users and rough handling that causes damage which simply means insecurity; digitisation of periodical literature collection as a way of modernising it in this information Age whereby information is processed, preserved and retrieve electronically in ensuring pace and accuracy; unavailability of online copies and photocopiers taking into user ID the growing number of periodical literature.Any treatment of collection development in higher education libraries cannot afford to overlook the inquirytrainedof periodicals which can be seen as a challenge. Periodical literatures are to be used within the walls of the Periodical Department. Therefore, there is a need for an increase in the budget allocation of these libraries so that they can achieve their desired goals. Each type of periodical is essential to at least a group of people in academia, relating to their work, or leisure activities; some have ephemera existence; others may be useful for many years, even indefinitely. A point-worth noting is that the appointment of qualified and competent staff in running the periodical collection of these libraries should be taken into keen consideration as both the human and financial factors should be well balanced in enhancing effective offering delivery. In subject periodical literature collections in academic libraries ensure balanced collection of current journal titles in developing areas relevant to the curriculum, librarian-faculty collaboration is crucial. The storage problems these libraries faced leads to the frequent weeding of periodical literature to develop space for subsequent issues.The cost involved in conserving and preserving periodical volumes and issues is another challenge in managing periodical literature in higher education libraries. Indeed, Completing the problems are those of heavy use of limited copies. The role play fortheythe advancement of knowledge to combat illiteracy cannot be underestimated. Periodical articles are usually fairly concise, often very reliable and frequently well-illustrated. A point to note is that periodical carry current information on most disciplines.Further significance of periodical literature in higher education libraries as asserted is that they are primary source of new information, whether it be the outcome of research, report items, statistical details, announcement, correspondence, advertisements in modern times about a products and services or whatever. As you may know, The availability of adequate funds enhances the digitisation of periodical literature collection thereby ensuring the availability of online copies which makes the management of periodical literature in higher education libraries in Sierra Leone advantageous. (2010). London: Clive in modern times Bingley. Lecturers are given conception to loan them on short term basis and loan records overdue kept to recall are issues. London: ELM Publications.Lawson, Eric J.(2014). The librarians of these institutions should endeavour to revisit the opening hours of their periodical literature collections as long hours could allow profitable use of the time of users.REFERENCESDonaldson, Frank H. In present of these challenges, the authorities of higher education libraries in Sierra should see the need to solicit adequate funds through lobbying the Government, NGOs, parastatals and philanthropists toLeonerender financial assistance for the effective cooperation of their libraries. Managing periodicals in academic libraries. Staff of the periodical literature collection should be security-conscious to avoid the misuse and abuse of periodicals. Higher education librarians may not be able to judge the intrinsic value of periodicals but should know something about their value to the institution in query and pattern of employ which are vital criteria for judging their value.Periodical literature can be of great significance in higher education libraries in Sierra Leone and so their effective management should be of concern to the librarians and university authorities.