[LIS-Forum] Damning indictment of LIS profession

Sukhdev Singh esukhdev at gmail.com
Mon Apr 17 15:16:58 IST 2006


I am for the positive attitude - i.e. to allow even non-members to
visit and refer to the collection of the library. For me, a library
should be like a temple - were everyone should be welcomed.

However in the present incidence - before passing a hurried judgement
- we should here look into  two important issues:

1. Are complete facts reported?. We have read only one sided story.
Poor librarian will never be able to put his / her version. He does
not the power of the media.

2. Is it a Museum or a Library? A Museum would be more restrictive
than a library because of the non-replenish-able material it holds.
What are the rules for non-members? Should the librarian break the
institutional / organisational rules to carry out his/her professional
duties?

We should ponder over these issues as well.

But do not forget - Library is like a Temple. Hence Don't Discriminate.

--Sukhdev Singh.



On 13/04/06, K.Sankaraiah <sankariahk at dataone.in> wrote:
> Dear Moderator,
> Grateful for publishing the following in lis-forum.
>
> I wish to draw the attention of our professional colleagues to an article under the Musings, entitled "What are your bonafides?", by Mr Ranjit Lal in the Magazine section of the Hindu of 9 April, 2006. I think all of us should read this and ponder over the implications. I'm sure many of us must have already done so.
> The gist of the article is the author, obviously not a member,
> approachedthe librarian of the National Museum library in Delhi for helpand the librarian promptly asked him to prove his bonafides. Ranjit Lal contributes articles to the Hindu and probably does so to manyother renowned newspapers and journals. In any case he told the librarian that he uses the Teen Murthi library and the British Council Library in Delhi and he is working on a book for which he needs help. According to the article, this did not cut ice with the librarian.
>
> This article, I believe, is a damning indictment of the unhelpful and bureaucratic attitude of the librarian of one of the premier institutions of the country. It shouldrouse the collective conscience of the LIS profession and force ustothink if in today's competitive worldwe can afford to have this kind of unhelpful attitude. Even otherwise, isn't service to the user at the centre of our profession ?. The aurthor rightly says the public pays for librarian's salary, allowances and the innumerable cups of tea,justifiable and justrighteous indignation!!.
>
> How do we change this attitude?. I was under the impression that things have changed and we all swear by service. All the works of SRR emphasise this aspect.Because of instaces like this,( I hope they are isolated)the whole profession gets the stick. And this is why society does not give us the status that an intellectual profession like ours
>
> deserves.
>
> We need to do something here.
>
> Sankaraiah, K
> Immediate past President of the Madras Library Association (MALA)
>
>
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