  We present near infrared spectroscopic observations of 19 molecular clouds
made using the AKARI satellite, and the data reduction pipeline written to
analyse those observations. The 2.5 --~5 $\mu$m spectra of 30 objects -- 22
field stars behind quiescent molecular clouds and eight low mass YSOs in cores
-- were successfully extracted using the pipeline. Those spectra are further
analysed to calculate the column densities of key solid phase molecular
species, including H$_2$O, CO$_2$, CO, and OCN$^-$. The profile of the H$_2$O
ice band is seen to vary across the objects observed and we suggest that the
extended red wing may be an evolutionary indicator of both dust and ice mantle
properties. The observation of 22 spectra with fluxes as low as $<$~5 mJy
towards background stars, including 15 where the column densities of H$_2$O, CO
and CO$_2$ were calculated, provides valuable data that could help to benchmark
the initial conditions in star-forming regions prior to the onset of star
formation.
