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Librarians Proficiency in English: more questions
by Vyasamoorthy＠icicikp.com 25 Feb '05

25 Feb '05

Dear Friends Within two days of sending my message on the above topic there have been 25+ responses -- some directly and privately sent to me. That shows the great concern all of us have for this topic. I shall try to summarize the opinions after giving some more time. Meanwhile, I feel that the discussions would become meaningful if persons from all affected sections take part. LIS teachers have been silent. Can they react? Is it their responsibility to improve the language skills of their products? Are they equipped? Should they take this responsibility? Are they satisfied/happy with the obtaining situation? Are there alternate ways of achieving same results? Who will bell the cat? Who will foot the bill - extra cost of teaching English? Some forty years ago when I did my graduation, many students faced the familiar problem: migrating from vernacular medium to English Medium. Suddenly there is a vacuum, bewilderment and difficulty in adjusting. But the College authorities very thoughtfully provided 'bridge' courses of 2-3 months duration, after college hours, at no extra cost to those who wanted to learn English. Very many students benefited. Again, there is no representation from our customers, readers, users, patrons, clients whatever you call them. Can some of you informally raise this issue with your customers and obtain their viewpoints and disseminate it here? Dispassionate discussions would lead to fruitful pointers for further action. Dr.P.Vyasamoorthy, Advisor, Virtual Information Centre, ICICI Knowledge Park, Genome Valley, Turkapally, Shameerpet Mandal, RR District, Hyderabad 500078 INDIA Email: vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com Phone - Office: +91(40)23480053 Fax: +91(40)23480007 Phone Residence: +91(40)27846631

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Fwd: FW: UNDP-APDIP Survey on Internet Policy
by Smita Chandra 25 Feb '05

25 Feb '05

Cross posted with apologies. Please invite participation from colleagues at your organization for this very important policy making initiative by the UN, which was also mentioned by Dr.N.Hothi at the ICIM2005. Regards, Smita Chandra Librarian Indian Institute of Geomagnetism New Mumbai Subbiah Arunachalam <subbiah_a(a)yahoo.com> wrote: Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 07:24:53 +0000 (GMT) From: Subbiah Arunachalam Subject: FW: UNDP-APDIP Survey on Internet Policy --- Shahid Akhtar wrote: > From: "Shahid Akhtar" > To: > Subject: FW: UNDP-APDIP Survey on Internet Policy > Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 15:37:13 +0800 > > > Dear Subbiah, > > Last week we rolled-out a major regional survey on > Internet governance > priorities in the Asia-Pacific region (covering over > 40 countries) and, > to-date, we already have over 300 responses from > most countries. > However, there have been only 37 responses to-date > from your country. > > While I am aware that the demands upon your precious > time are many, > please do take a few minutes to take a look at it at > http://survey.igov.apdip.net > > Maximum outreach is key to the success of the > survey, so we have made > the online questionnaire available in twelve major > languages of the > region. However, in order to reach all stakeholder > groups and countries, > we very much depend on your help to get the word > out. May I therefore > request you to broadcast the announcement below to > your electronic > mailing list(s) and those that are relevant > nationally. And if you find > a few moments to complete the questionnaire > yourself, that would be much > appreciated. > > Thanks in advance for all your help. > > Warmest regards, > > Shahid > ----------------------------------------------- > > UNDP-APDIP Survey on Internet Policy Issues in the > Asia-Pacific Region > ________________________________________________________ > > As a complement to UNDP Asia Pacific Development > Information Programme's > (UNDP-APDIP) on-line discussion Forum on Internet > Governance Priorities > in the Asia-Pacific Region, which has a very lively > debate on-going at > present on Internet governance (-please visit > http://igov.apdip.net/opening_discussion/subscribe > in order to subscribe > or view the archives), UNDP-APDIP in cooperation > with UN-ESCAP and APNIC > and IDRC, > is conducting a major survey on Internet policy > issues in the entire > Asia-Pacific region. > > The survey intends to reach out to all stakeholder > groups, public and private sector, Internet > developers and industry, as > well as civil society and normal Internet users in > the Asia-Pacific > region. By aiming at such a > diverse target audience the findings should provide > important insights > into the priorities in Internet policy in your own > country and also how > these preferences vary for different stakeholders > and across countries. > > The results of the survey will also be conveyed to > the U.N. Working > Group on Internet Governance and the identified > priorities will help us > focus our own research efforts on the most pressing > topics. > > All information provided, will be treated in strict > confidentiality. It > will > only be used in anonymous form by UNDP-APDIP and it > will not be passed > on to any > third party. > > It would be most helpful, if interested parties can > complete the > questionnaire in the > next few days. It will not take more than a few > minutes to complete. > > In order to participate, simply visit > http://survey.igov.apdip.net , > which is > the English version of the survey and which comes > with a brief > introductory note > as well as links to all other language versions of > the survey > questionnaire. > > Thankyou. > > Shahid Akhtar > Programme Co-ordinator, > UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme > Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia > www.apdip.net ___________________________________________________________ ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com Dgroups is a joint initiative of Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, ICA, IICD, OneWorld, UNAIDS --- You are currently subscribed to c3net as: smitac_in(a)yahoo.com To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-c3net-110020V(a)dgroups.org ********************************************************************************** Ms.Smita Chandra Librarian, Indian Institute of Geomagnetism Kalamboli Highway, New Panvel, New Mumbai 410 218 Maharashtra, INDIA Ph.: 91-022-27484137 (9.30AM-6.00PM, excluding Sat/Sun) Fax: 91-022-27480763 Email : iiglib(a)iigs.iigm.res.in (official) smitac_in(a)yahoo.com (personal) ********************************************************************************** --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. Cross posted with apologies. Please invite participation from colleagues at your organization for this very important policy making initiative by the UN, which was also mentioned by Dr.N.Hothi at the ICIM2005. � Regards, � Smita Chandra Librarian Indian Institute of Geomagnetism New Mumbai Subbiah Arunachalam <subbiah_a(a)yahoo.com> wrote: Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 07:24:53 +0000 (GMT) From: Subbiah Arunachalam Subject:�FW: UNDP-APDIP Survey on Internet Policy --- Shahid Akhtar wrote: > From: "Shahid Akhtar" > To: > Subject: FW: UNDP-APDIP Survey on Internet Policy > Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 15:37:13 +0800 > > > Dear Subbiah, > > Last week we rolled-out a major regional survey on > Internet governance > priorities in the Asia-Pacific region (covering over > 40 countries) and, > to-date, we already have over 300 responses from > most countries. > However, there have been only 37 responses to-date > from your country. > > While I am aware that the demands upon your precious > time are many, > please do take a few minutes to take a look at it at > http://survey.igov.apdip.net > > Maximum outreach is key to the success of the > survey, so we have made > the online questionnaire available in twelve major > languages of the > region. However, in order to reach all stakeholder > groups and countries, > we very much depend on your help to get the word > out. May I therefore > request you to broadcast the announcement below to > your electronic > mailing list(s) and those that are relevant > nationally. And if you find > a few moments to complete the questionnaire > yourself, that would be much > appreciated. > > Thanks in advance for all your help. > > Warmest regards, > > Shahid > ----------------------------------------------- > > UNDP-APDIP Survey on Internet Policy Issues in the > Asia-Pacific Region > ________________________________________________________ > > As a complement to UNDP Asia Pacific Development > Information Programme's > (UNDP-APDIP) on-line discussion Forum on Internet > Governance Priorities > in the Asia-Pacific Region, which has a very lively > debate on-going at > present on Internet governance (-please visit > http://igov.apdip.net/opening_discussion/subscribe > in order to subscribe > or view the archives), UNDP-APDIP in cooperation > with UN-ESCAP and APNIC > and IDRC, > is conducting a major survey on Internet policy > issues in the entire > Asia-Pacific region. > > The survey intends to reach out to all stakeholder > groups, public and private sector, Internet > developers and industry, as > well as civil society and normal Internet users in > the Asia-Pacific > region. By aiming at such a > diverse target audience the findings should provide > important insights > into the priorities in Internet policy in your own > country and also how > these preferences vary for different stakeholders > and across countries. > > The results of the survey will also be conveyed to > the U.N. Working > Group on Internet Governance and the identified > priorities will help us > focus our own research efforts on the most pressing > topics. > > All information provided, will be treated in strict > confidentiality. It > will > only be used in anonymous form by UNDP-APDIP and it > will not be passed > on to any > third party. > > It would be most helpful, if interested parties can > complete the > questionnaire in the > next few days. It will not take more than a few > minutes to complete. > > In order to participate, simply visit > http://survey.igov.apdip.net , > which is > the English version of the survey and which comes > with a brief > introductory note > as well as links to all other language versions of > the survey > questionnaire. > > Thankyou. > > Shahid Akhtar > Programme Co-ordinator, > UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme > Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia > www.apdip.net ___________________________________________________________ ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com Dgroups is a joint initiative of Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, ICA, IICD, OneWorld, UNAIDS --- You are currently subscribed to c3net as: smitac_in(a)yahoo.com To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-c3net-110020V(a)dgroups.org **********************************************************************************� Ms.Smita Chandra Librarian, Indian Institute of Geomagnetism Kalamboli Highway, New Panvel, New Mumbai 410 218 Maharashtra, INDIA Ph .: 91-022-27484137 (9.30AM-6.00PM, excluding Sat/Sun) Fax : 91-022-27480763 Email : mailto:iiglib@iigs.iigm.res.in iiglib(a)iigs.iigm.res.in �(official) �� mailto:smitac_in@yahoo.com smitac_in(a)yahoo.com �(personal) ********************************************************************************** Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=29916/*http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250 Learn more.

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Fw: [BOAI] Re: Open-Access Eprint Archive Registry
by Subbiah Arunachalam 25 Feb '05

25 Feb '05

Friends: Here is a brief report from Prof. Stevan Harnad on the status of OA archives around the world. In India we have been talking about OA archiving and digital libraries and their advantages for a few years now, but Prof. Harnad could find only six archives from India! Brazil has 14 and China 6. We have conducted several workshops (at MSSRF, IISc and other institutions) and at least 150 people have been trained to set up such archives. INSA devoted a whole day at their Annual Meeting at Pune (December 2003) to a brainstorming session on open access. Both Prof. Valiathan and Dr mashelkar (the immediate past and the present Presidents of INSA) are great supporters of open access. We have world class experts (to name only a few, Rajashekar at NCSI and Prasad at DRTC) who are willing to help anyone who wants to set up an archive. Chennai-based The Hindu and Frontline have carried well-researched articles and an editorial on open access. And yet we have not established more than half a dozen archives. Both researchers and librarians in India need to introspect. Before the end of the year we should have at least a hundred archives in India. Even in physics and astronomy, where there is a central international archive (arXiv) with a mirror site at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai, only a small fraction of Indian physicists deposit their papers. It is difficult to understand why. A few days ago Churchill Brothers' prolific striker Ghanaian Yakubu Yusufi was interviewed in The Times of India about the sad state of football in India. When asked about facilities, he asked "What facilities? There are none." The grounds are aweful and maintenance very poor. He went on to say that at least half a dozen players could play in the Second Division Leagues in Europe or UK and gain valuable experience, but either they were happy with the money they got here or THEY LACKED GUTS. Are we in science and information profession in India content with status quo or do we lack guts to do something new? We can certainly not complain about lack of facilities. The top few hundred higher education and research institutions have the necessary equipment, connectivity and human resources. On the OA journals front the situation is somewhat better. All journals of both the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy are open access. MedKnow Publications in Bombay brings out more than twenty open access journals in the area of medicine, and their production quality and web presence are comparable to the best in the world. NIC provides open access to about 30 journals. And the ICMR jounal is open access. I am told that NMJI will soon go open access. There may be others. But we need to strengthen OAA in India and other developing countries. I have tried hard to bring together leading researchers, policy makers and Academies of India, China and Brazil to talk about OAA. The meeting is yet to take place. We could invite representatives of the Inter-Academy Council, the Inter-Academy Panel and the Wellcome Trust as well as experts such as Stevan Harnad, Peter Suber, Leslie Chan and Melissa Hagemann to such a meeting. If these three leading countries take to OAA in a big way, then the rest of the developing world will adopt OAA readily. Best wishes. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stevan Harnad" <harnad(a)ecs.soton.ac.uk> Newsgroups: bionet.journals.note Sent: Friday, February 25, 2005 8:20 AM Subject: [BOAI] Re: Open-Access Eprint Archive Registry > Here are some recent data on the state of Open Access Eprint Archives > Worldwide (Registry created and maintained by Tim Brody, Southampton > University): > > (1) The Institutional Archives Registry > http://archives.eprints.org/ > recently updated, now indexes 388 archives in 39 countries. > (OAIster harvests from 405 archives, but some of those are not OA > Archives.) > > (2) For most OA Archives the Registry tracks their monthly growth in > number of articles. There are also summary analyses by categories: > * Research Institutional or Departmental (169) > * Research Cross-Institution (49) > * e-Theses (55) > * e-Journal/Publication (32) > * Database (8) > * Demonstration (39) > * Other (36) > > (3) The top 10 countries (10 tied for 10th place) are: > 1 United States (114) > 2 United Kingdom (51) > 3 Germany (28) > 4 Canada (26) > 5 Sweden (17) > 5 France (17) > 6 Australia (16) > 6 Netherlands (16) > 7 Brazil (14) > 8 Italy (13) > 9 India (6) > 10 Spain (4) > 10 Japan (4) > 10 Denmark (4) > 10 Hungary (4) > 10 Finland (4) > 10 Belgium (4) > 10 China (4) > > (4) The most widely used OAI-creating software packages: > * GNU EPrints v2 & v2 (161) > * DSpace (65) > * CDSWare (3) > * ARNO (2) > * Fedora (1) > * DiVA (1) > * other (various) (155) > > Time-plots of the growth in the number of archives: > http://archives.eprints.org/eprints.php?action=analysis > > Time-plots of the growth in the number of articles in > each archive (if an archive's data is missing, it means it > is not yet celestial-compliant: please contact the archive > administrator to urge them to correct this so their progress > can be tracked): > http://archives.eprints.org/eprints.php?page=all > > If your institution has -- or you know of -- OAI-compliant > OA archives, please register them at: > http://archives.eprints.org/index.php?action=add > > If your institution has an OA self-archiving policy, > please register it at: > http://www.eprints.org/signup/fulllist.php > > For further information on institutional OA self-archiving, > see: > http://www.eprints.org/jan2005/presentations.html > and > http://www.eprints.org/berlin3/program.html > > Stevan Harnad > > AMERICAN SCIENTIST OPEN ACCESS FORUM: > A complete Hypermail archive of the ongoing discussion of providing > open access to the peer-reviewed research literature online (1998-2004) > is available at: > http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/Hypermail/Amsci/ > To join or leave the Forum or change your subscription address: > http://amsci-forum.amsci.org/archives/American-Scientist-Open-Access-Forum.… > Post discussion to: > american-scientist-open-access-forum(a)amsci.org > > UNIVERSITIES: If you have adopted or plan to adopt an institutional > policy of providing Open Access to your own research article output, > please describe your policy at: > http://www.eprints.org/signup/sign.php > > UNIFIED DUAL OPEN-ACCESS-PROVISION POLICY: > BOAI-2 ("gold"): Publish your article in a suitable open-access > journal whenever one exists. > http://www.doaj.org/ > BOAI-1 ("green"): Otherwise, publish your article in a suitable > toll-access journal and also self-archive it. > http://www.eprints.org/self-faq/ > http://romeo.eprints.org/ > http://archives.eprints.org/ >

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(Fwd) [IFLA-L] DigiCULT: Technology Watch Report 3 - Now Avail
by Prafulla Chandra 25 Feb '05

25 Feb '05

<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>------- Forwarded message follows ------- </color>Date sent: <color><param>0000,0000,8000</param>Thu, 24 Feb 2005 14:15:26 +0100</color> From: <color><param>0000,0000,8000</param>digicult-forum <<digicult-forum(a)digicult.info></color> To: <color><param>0000,0000,8000</param>IFLA_L <<ifla-l(a)infoserv.inist.fr></color> <bold>Subject: <color><param>0000,0000,8000</param>[IFLA-L] DigiCULT: Technology Watch Report 3 - Now Available</bold></color> <underline><color><param>0000,8000,0000</param>[ Double-click this line for list subscription options ]</underline></color> DigiCULT: Technology Watch Report 3 - Now Available "Core Technologies for the Cultural and Scientific Heritage Sector", January 2005 As in previous TWRs, this volume examines six core technologies. Those covered here underlie a wide range of future applications, and include: Open Source Software, Natural Language Processing, Information Retrieval technologies, Location Based Systems (especially GIS and GPS), Visualisation of Data, and Telepresence, Haptics and Robotics. This report builds on our earlier two reports: TWR1 (2003) examined Customer Relationship Management Systems, Digital Asset Management Systems, Virtual Reality, Human Computer Interface technologies, Smart Tags and Labels, and Games. TWR2 (2004) examined Application Service Models, the XML family of technologies, Cultural Agents and Avatars, Mobile Access technologies, Rights Management and Payment technologies, and Collaborative Mechanisms and Technologies. Download Technology Watch Report 3: Hi-Res (30 MB) http://www.digicult.info/downloads/TWR3-highres.pdf Lo-Res (6 MB) http://www.digicult.info/downloads/TWR3-lowres.pdf DigiCULT Publications offer a valuable resource of mission-critical information in the selection and use of digital technologies for Europe's heritage organisations: - Thematic Issues: results of expert forums http://www.digicult.info/pages/themiss.php - DigiCULT Technology Watch Reports: in-depth technology evaluation http://www.digicult.info/pages/techwatch.php - DigiCULT.Info Newsletter: articles about services, studies, technologies, and activities http://www.digicult.info/pages/newsletter.php Subscribe to the Newsletter DigiCULT.Info http://www.digicult.info/pages/subscribe.php (c) DigiCULT Forum 2002-2004 <color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>------- End of forwarded message ------- <nofill> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NISC Export Services Pvt. Ltd. (an affiliate of NISC International, Inc. USA) S-1 Ballad Estates, St.Ann's School Road, Tarnaka, Hyderabad 500 017 Andhra Pradesh, India - Tel:+91 40 27001517 Tel/Fax:+91 40 27002538 WWW.NISC.COM A company in service to NISC worldwide. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Re: Librarian's proficiency in English - Dr Vyasamoorthy's lament
by Jai Haravu 24 Feb '05

24 Feb '05

Friends I would like to expand on Dr Vyasamoorthy's lament somewhat with due apologies to the poet T S Elliot. I think the lack of proficiency in English is only the tip of the iceberg and hence my lament below. Where are the books we have lost in our 'digital libraries'? Where are the users we have lost in our 'library science'? Where is the service we have lost in our 'automation'? Where are the library networks we have lost in 'cyberspace'? Where are the leaders we have lost in our 'library schools'? Where are the scholars we have lost in our 'Ph Ds'? Where is the professionalism we have lost in our 'profession'? Where is the substance we have lost in 'hype'? L J Haravu Trustee, Kesavan Institute of Information and Knowledge Management [http://www.kiikm.org/] 69 Krishnapuri Colony West Marredpally Sedcunderabad 500 026 Tel: 91-40-27803947 -------Original Message------- From: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Date: 02/23/05 17:40:52 To: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 23, Issue 30 Send LIS-Forum mailing list submissions to lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to lis-forum-request(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in You can reach the person managing the list at lis-forum-owner(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest..." Today's Topics: 1. MSN Search Helpful to Net User (Farooque Shaheen) 2. FW: Special lecture at DRTC (Dr. T.B. Rajashekar) 3. Librarians' proficiency in English (Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com) 4. RE: Librarians' proficiency in English (Aman Jha) 5. Basic English (shantha venkatesan) 6. Communication skills (gayathri sen) 7. Why do we need high proficiency in English language ? (Jayadev P Hiremath) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 11:03:09 +0530 From: Farooque Shaheen <Farooque.Shaheen(a)caritor.com> Subject: [LIS-Forum] MSN Search Helpful to Net User To: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: <OFB6070F6A.8B1FE410-ON65256FB1.001DA55F-65256FB1.001F83C2(a)notes.caritor com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The Hindu, The next time you have a query such as "what is seven times 20" or "how high is Mt. Everest" or a complex arithmetic or algebra calculation,simply type the question in the window of MSN Search, Microsoft's latest innovation. A one-line answer would appear in microseconds on the web page, along with the other MSN search results. "How many inches in a mile?" Launched last fortnight in the country, this feature of MSN Search draws its results from the database of 1.5 million answers provided by Microsoft Encarta, the leading encyclopaedia brand. You could ask any question on geographical locations, historical and popular figures, definitions, facts, calculations, conversions, and solutions to equations. Till now, Internet browsers had to type out the key words in the search window and click on the search results to look out for precise definitions. But the one-line Encarta answer is only part of the long list of features offered by the new MSN Search, built from the ground up by Microsoft in about 16 months. Now available in 25 countries and 10 languages, the search service offers a collection of tools to Net users, giving them greater control in targeting and refining searches to get instant,accurate answers to specific questions. http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/23/stories/2005022315510300.htm Thanks & Regards, Farooque Shaheen, Caritor India Pvt Ltd. Tel. 080-26678388 # 4105 Mobile-9342507449 -------------- next part -------------- The Hindu, The next time you have a query such as "what is seven times 20" or "how high is Mt. Everest" or a complex arithmetic or algebra calculation,simply type the question in the window of MSN Search, Microsoft's latest innovation. A one-line answer would appear in microseconds on the web page, along with the other MSN search results. "How many inches in a mile?" Launched last fortnight in the country, this feature of MSN Search draws its results from the database of 1.5 million answers provided by Microsoft Encarta, the leading encyclopaedia brand. You could ask any question on geographical locations, historical and popular figures, definitions, facts, calculations, conversions, and solutions to equations. Till now, Internet browsers had to type out the key words in the search window and click on the search results to look out for precise definitions. But the one-line Encarta answer is only part of the long list of features offered by the new MSN Search, built from the ground up by Microsoft in about 16 months. Now available in 25 countries and 10 languages, the search service offers a collection of tools to Net users, giving them greater control in targeting and refining searches to get instant,accurate answers to specific questions. http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/23/stories/2005022315510300.htm Thanks & Regards, Farooque Shaheen, Caritor India Pvt Ltd. Tel. 080-26678388 # 4105 Mobile-9342507449 ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 12:03:49 +0530 From: "Dr. T.B. Rajashekar" <raja(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> Subject: [LIS-Forum] FW: Special lecture at DRTC To: <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> Message-ID: <002101c51971$a2f80810$bd481090@Rajashekar> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" -----Original Message----- From: DRTC General [mailto:drtc@ns.isibang.ac.in] Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005 10:42 AM To: raja(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Cc: ikrrao(a)yahoo.co.in Subject: Special lecture at DRTC Dear Dr. Rajashekar, Kindly send this circular through lisforum. With regards, I.K. Ravichandra Rao Head, DRTC ======================================================== INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE Documentation Research and Training Centre 8th Mile, Mysore Road, Bangalore - 59 Cordially invites you to attend a Special Seminar On "Finding Scholarly Information through the Internet and the WWW" By Prof. Paul Nieuwenhuysen Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussel Belgium On Monday, 28th February 2005, at 2 pm. At Documentation Research and Training Centre Indian Statistical Institute 8th Mile Mysore Road Bangalore 560059 Professor and Head, DRTC ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 12:36:38 +0530 From: <Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com> Subject: [LIS-Forum] Librarians' proficiency in English To: <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> Message-ID: <DBF3A0D52B21954A91869AF702D1A32C083BCF(a)ikpex01.ikp.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Dear Friends, I am sure that some of you were expecting this. I am really appalled at the lack of any semblance of proficiency in the use of English language among many librarians. I wonder how one could pass through some 17 years of schooling and even after that manage not to learn basics of English Language It is regrettable that our present system of Education does not emphasize the importance of Language abilities. Because of selfish politicians promoting their own agendas at the cost of the nation and because of a tendency to promote or put up with mediocrity everywhere -- the necessity for striving for excellence is once in a way heard from our president, though -- students do not look at Lannguage skills with any concern. Recently we had to recruit an Information Officer for our VIC. Out of about fifteen persons we considered, hardly two or three could measure up as far as basic English Language skills are concerned. On one hand we find the Indian librarians community in India to be prolific writers - even an entry level resume mentions two or three 'papers' published and on the other hand we find that their presentation and communication skills at horribly very low levels. What are reasons? How can this be changed? Who should take action? Is it OK to be where & how we are? What do LIS teachers have to say? In this lamentation I am not bothered about typing errors (may be you are just lazy - not that you do not know), spelling mistakes (heavy dependence on spell checkers), occasional slippages (it happens to everyone), unheard of abbreviations being thrust on everyone by cell phone (or email?) culture and the like. I am concerned with basic English Language skills expected of a tenth class student. Kindly do not take recourse to "It is the same everywhere - in all other preofessions too" type of argument. Dr.P.Vyasamoorthy, Advisor, Virtual Information Centre, ICICI Knowledge Park, Genome Valley, Turkapally, Shameerpet Mandal, RR District, Hyderabad 500078 INDIA Email: vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com Phone - Office: +91(40)23480053 Fax: +91(40)23480007 Phone Residence: +91(40)27846631 ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 14:39:27 +0530 From: "Aman Jha" <aman.jha(a)ciionline.org> Subject: RE: [LIS-Forum] Librarians' proficiency in English To: <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> Cc: Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com Message-ID: <677A2BDC87B41F4C9059053630B29736050A7061@ciimail> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Dear Dr Vyasamoorthy I too feel that English Language proficiency is a problem for many library professionals. This is basically for those who belong to BIMARU states. I myself belong to one of such states where English language is taught from 6th standards onwards and in 10th standard, it is not mandatory to pass in English. This is the case of many state boards. I somehow managed to fill this gap after 10th, may be due to my primary education took place in Delhi. Even in Delhi during 1980s, English was taught not before 6th standard in Govt schools. PROBLEMS: Education systems: State Boards: There is a general practice in many states where passing in English is not mandatory in the State Board examinations. Universities: Many universities allow Hindi speaking students, whose medium of instruction till Bachelor have been in Hindi, to get admission in BLIS course where BLIS is taught in Hindi. There are many other LIS departments where medium of instruction is mentioned English in Prospectus but Hinglish is practised. Attitude: In my case, since I was very weak in English till 10th, I took it very seriously for higher education and started studying basic English books even primary levels, grammar and translation with lot of self-practice at home which boosted my confidence of English language. WHAT TO BE DONE? I think British Council has taken a good lead in developing English language skills in the country. Professionals who feel are weak in English may join a short term course. As an interface between books and users, librarian must have good communication skills in English and should be primary requisite for the recruitment of the post. Employers should also enhance their employees' communication skills by organising an internal training/workshop program. Library associations should come forward, if not, library network centres in India can join hands with the primary employers to organise such programs. There are many other avenues where professionals may try for upgrading their English language skills. I had compiled a comprehensive list of English Language Training Schools/Centres in India last year. I will be happy to share that list. Best regards, Aman Jha Librarian Confederation of Indian Industry Plot No 249-F, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV Sector 18, Gurgaon 122015 (Haryana) Tel: 0124-5014060-67 * Fax: 0124-5014080 -----Original Message----- From: Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com [mailto:Vyasamoorthy@icicikp.com] Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005 7:07 AM To: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: [LIS-Forum] Librarians' proficiency in English Dear Friends, I am sure that some of you were expecting this. I am really appalled at the lack of any semblance of proficiency in the use of English language among many librarians. I wonder how one could pass through some 17 years of schooling and even after that manage not to learn basics of English Language It is regrettable that our present system of Education does not emphasize the importance of Language abilities. Because of selfish politicians promoting their own agendas at the cost of the nation and because of a tendency to promote or put up with mediocrity everywhere -- the necessity for striving for excellence is once in a way heard from our president, though -- students do not look at Lannguage skills with any concern. Recently we had to recruit an Information Officer for our VIC. Out of about fifteen persons we considered, hardly two or three could measure up as far as basic English Language skills are concerned. On one hand we find the Indian librarians community in India to be prolific writers - even an entry level resume mentions two or three 'papers' published and on the other hand we find that their presentation and communication skills at horribly very low levels. What are reasons? How can this be changed? Who should take action? Is it OK to be where & how we are? What do LIS teachers have to say? In this lamentation I am not bothered about typing errors (may be you are just lazy - not that you do not know), spelling mistakes (heavy dependence on spell checkers), occasional slippages (it happens to everyone), unheard of abbreviations being thrust on everyone by cell phone (or email?) culture and the like. I am concerned with basic English Language skills expected of a tenth class student. Kindly do not take recourse to "It is the same everywhere - in all other preofessions too" type of argument. Dr.P.Vyasamoorthy, Advisor, Virtual Information Centre, ICICI Knowledge Park, Genome Valley, Turkapally, Shameerpet Mandal, RR District, Hyderabad 500078 INDIA Email: vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com Phone - Office: +91(40)23480053 Fax: +91(40)23480007 Phone Residence: +91(40)27846631 _______________________________________________ LIS-Forum mailing list LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 14:17:06 +0530 (IST) From: "shantha venkatesan" <mmslib(a)udct.org> Subject: [LIS-Forum] Basic English To: LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: <1225.192.16.4.247.1109148426.squirrel(a)proxy.uict> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1 Kudos to Dr.Vyasamoorthy! Certainly the real culprits are the education system & selfish politicians. You will agree this is an exciting topic. We speak of national integration. We accept or do not accept that English language brings all castes & communities together. Ridiculous indeed! How many universities are conducting interviews for B.L.I.Sc in regional language to see that the mediocrity thrives everywhere. Are the teachers of LIS not responsible for this appalling state? Do the teachers of LIS identify & motivate the would-be prolific writers? Do the teachers speak correct English in the class? Are the teachers simply cynical of students who are better than the teachers? Are the teachers aware of difference between healthy criticism & cynicism? I believe the teachers are right in the centre of the field to mould the academic society. It is just like blaming the government for all ills not knowing that the govt. is of the people, by the people and for the people. As Dr.Radhakrishnan said " a teacher commands respect and not demands respect. Learning is directed both ways teacher-students and students-teachers. Now who is responsible for the poor communication skill : the system of education, the floating politicians or the sacred teachers? This is a food for thought. A proper analysis would bring in the answer. -- Shantha Venkatesan. Senior Librarian Prof.M.M.Sharma Library U.I.C.T.Matunga (East) Mumbai400 019 ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 01:24:43 -0800 (PST) From: gayathri sen <gayatsen(a)yahoo.com> Subject: [LIS-Forum] Communication skills To: LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: <20050223092443.12145.qmail(a)web52907.mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Dear friends, I strongly endorse the views of Dr. Vysamoorthy regarding the present day out comes of Libray Schools. I have even spoken about this to some professors teaching in library schools. Librarian or Information Officers position involves dealing with users, managements, government bodies etc. etc. When the library staff or the librarian himself cannot present himself well what respect can you expect in organizations? To improve the situation, like how english classes are introduced in technical courses like B.E., even in library courses english should be made compulsory. This may solve the problem to a small extent. I take english classes for few staff members in my library whenever I have some time, so that they can present themselves better in front of users. Many come from rural back ground and hence this drawback. Gayathri Sen PESIT --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. -------------- next part -------------- Dear friends, I strongly endorse the views of Dr. Vysamoorthy regarding the present day out comes of Libray Schools. I have even spoken about this to some professors teaching in library schools. Librarian or Information Officers position involves dealing with users, managements, government bodies etc. etc. When the library staff or the librarian himself cannot present himself well what respect can you expect in organizations? To improve the situation, like how english classes are introduced in technical courses like B.E., even in library courses english should be made compulsory. This may solve the problem to a small extent. I take english classes for few staff members in my library whenever I have some time, so that they can present themselves better in front of users. Many come from rural back ground and hence this drawback. Gayathri Sen PESIT Do you Yahoo!? http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/virus/*http://promotions.yahoo com/new_mail/static/protection.html Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 12:50:38 +0300 From: Jayadev P Hiremath <jayadevph(a)gmail.com> Subject: [LIS-Forum] Why do we need high proficiency in English language ? To: "Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com" <Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com> Cc: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: <f6d4da1f050223015059a3fc56(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII How many Librarians in East Europe, Japan, France, China and Russia and many other countries know English. Haven't these countries progressed ? If the Librarian has studied in Vernacular upto high school, is it his fault ? Library Science teacher's are there to teach Library Science and not English Language skills. When you were recruiting an Information Officer, what was the basic requirement ? Was it his skills in Information Management or English language ? You have a done a great disservice by writing highly unwarranted mail. This will dissuade many Librarians from writing to this forum. They all will develop inferiotity complex. Itis a national shame that when two Indians...Librarians.... from different parts of the country meet they have to communicate in English language. Have you ever thought about conversing in Hindi ? I jolly well know the importance of English language in the world. But that doesn't mean that we have to look down upon our fellow professionals who are not proficient in English. We have all become slaves to English language and take great pride in being so. I as a customer, have received many e-mails from your Organization and I don't think ICICI as such attaches much importance to English language skills and rightly so. Why is it that only you are so keen about it when it is not an Institutional policy. Working knowledge of the languages is more that sufficient for providing the services. Unless ofcourse you are going to write a treatise. Jayadev P Hiremath On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 12:36:38 +0530, Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com <Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com> wrote: > Dear Friends, > > I am sure that some of you were expecting this. I am really appalled at the lack of any semblance of proficiency in the use of English language among many librarians. I wonder how one could pass through some 17 years of schooling and even after that manage not to learn basics of English Language It is regrettable that our present system of Education does not emphasize the importance of Language abilities. Because of selfish politicians promoting their own agendas at the cost of the nation and because of a tendency to promote or put up with mediocrity everywhere -- the necessity for striving for excellence is once in a way heard from our president, though -- students do not look at Lannguage skills with any concern. > > Recently we had to recruit an Information Officer for our VIC. Out of about fifteen persons we considered, hardly two or three could measure up as far as basic English Language skills are concerned. > > On one hand we find the Indian librarians community in India to be prolific writers - even an entry level resume mentions two or three 'papers' published and on the other hand we find that their presentation and communication skills at horribly very low levels. What are reasons? How can this be changed? Who should take action? Is it OK to be where & how we are? What do LIS teachers have to say? > > In this lamentation I am not bothered about typing errors (may be you are just lazy - not that you do not know), spelling mistakes (heavy dependence on spell checkers), occasional slippages (it happens to everyone), unheard of abbreviations being thrust on everyone by cell phone (or email?) culture and the like. I am concerned with basic English Language skills expected of a tenth class student. Kindly do not take recourse to "It is the same everywhere - in all other preofessions too" type of argument. > > Dr.P.Vyasamoorthy, Advisor, Virtual Information Centre, > ICICI Knowledge Park, Genome Valley, Turkapally, Shameerpet Mandal, > RR District, Hyderabad 500078 INDIA > Email: vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com > Phone - Office: +91(40)23480053 Fax: +91(40)23480007 Phone Residence: +91(40)27846631 > > _______________________________________________ > LIS-Forum mailing list > LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ LIS-Forum mailing list LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum End of LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 23, Issue 30 ***************************************** Friends I would like to expand on Dr Vyasamoorthy's lament somewhat with due apologies to the poet T S Elliot. I think the lack of proficiency in English is only the tip of the iceberg and hence my lament below. Where are the books we have lost in our 'digital libraries'? Where are the users we have lost in our 'library science'? Where is the service we have lost in our 'automation'? Where are the library networks we have lost in 'cyberspace'? Where are the leaders we have lost in our 'library schools'? Where are the scholars we have lost in our 'Ph Ds'? Where is the professionalism we have lost in our 'profession'? Where is the substance we have lost in 'hype'? L J Haravu Trustee, Kesavan Institute of Information and Knowledge Management [http://www.kiikm.org/] 69 Krishnapuri Colony West Marredpally Sedcunderabad 500 026 Tel: 91-40-27803947 -------Original Message------- From: mailto:lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Date: 02/23/05 17:40:52 To: mailto:lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 23, Issue 30 Send LIS-Forum mailing list submissions to mailto:lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to mailto:lis-forum-request@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in lis-forum-request(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in You can reach the person managing the list at mailto:lis-forum-owner@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in lis-forum-owner(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest..." Today's Topics: 1. MSN Search Helpful to Net User (Farooque Shaheen) 2. FW: Special lecture at DRTC (Dr. T.B. Rajashekar) 3. Librarians' proficiency in English ( mailto:Vyasamoorthy@icicikp.com Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com ) 4. RE: Librarians' proficiency in English (Aman Jha) 5. Basic English (shantha venkatesan) 6. Communication skills (gayathri sen) 7. Why do we need high proficiency in English language ? (Jayadev P Hiremath) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 11:03:09 +0530 From: Farooque Shaheen < mailto:Farooque.Shaheen@caritor.com Farooque.Shaheen(a)caritor.com > Subject: [LIS-Forum] MSN Search Helpful to Net User To: mailto:lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: < mailto:OFB6070F6A.8B1FE410-ON65256FB1.001DA55F-65256FB1.001F83C2@notes.caritor.com OFB6070F6A.8B1FE410-ON65256FB1.001DA55F-65256FB1.001F83C2(a)notes.caritor.com > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The Hindu, The next time you have a query such as "what is seven times 20" or "how high is Mt. Everest" or a complex arithmetic or algebra calculation,simply type the question in the window of MSN Search, Microsoft's latest innovation. A one-line answer would appear in microseconds on the web page, along with the other MSN search results. "How many inches in a mile?" Launched last fortnight in the country, this feature of MSN Search draws its results from the database of 1.5 million answers provided by Microsoft Encarta, the leading encyclopaedia brand. You could ask any question on geographical locations, historical and popular figures, definitions, facts, calculations, conversions, and solutions to equations. Till now, Internet browsers had to type out the key words in the search window and click on the search results to look out for precise definitions. But the one-line Encarta answer is only part of the long list of features offered by the new MSN Search, built from the ground up by Microsoft in about 16 months. Now available in 25 countries and 10 languages, the search service offers a collection of tools to Net users, giving them greater control in targeting and refining searches to get instant,accurate answers to specific questions. http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/23/stories/2005022315510300.htm http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/23/stories/2005022315510300.htm Thanks & Regards, Farooque Shaheen, Caritor India Pvt Ltd. Tel. 080-26678388 # 4105 Mobile-9342507449

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Proficiency in English
by Prabhash Narayana Rath 24 Feb '05

24 Feb '05

Dear friends What sort of proficiency are we talking about? Is it English as a means of communication or as a literary language? My personal feeling is that (please excuse me if I am incorrect) while selecting librarians, the selectors put more emphasis on communication skills in English (I mean spoken English). We belong to a profession which needs proficiency at least to a certain level, in both spoken as well as written English. Also, we need a fair knowledge of the local vernacular language. I disagree with Mr Jha that LIS schools should teach the course as a professional course and not as an academic discipline. I think this attitude has contributed a lot towards the downfall of the subject as an academic discipline in the country. There has been no basic research in LIS after Dr Ranganathan. Anyway, that is totally a different matter. So knowledge of English is, though an important one, but should not be the sole criterion for judging a better Library professional. Regards.. Prabhash N. Rath, Ph.D. Documentation Officer Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics Pune - 411004 Tel: 91+20-25650287 (O.) 91+20-25678311 (R.) E-mail: prabhashrath(a)yahoo.com

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high proficiency in English language
by ganeshtk 24 Feb '05

24 Feb '05

Dear All, Being an information professional who has to gather information for the user one should not limit himself to any language, which definitely limit his career to a particular geographical area are culture. Today we are living in a world which has Global Village concept hence a professional need not limit himself to any language or geographical area. Always the user requirement varies and it has no limit of language are geographical area English being a widely used language and much of the literature are available in it. It is better one should learn English and be proficient user and interact in it whenever it is required. From the day one British came to India we have learning resources of English language, let us make better use of it and let us take it as a positive step. I would even go one step further by saying that we should not only limit ourselves to English if it is possible we should try to learn as many languages as possible which are widely used through out the world. It not only improves the efficiency of an individual but also access to information, which is very important for the information professional. This being a positive point in the career development of an Individual let us take this as a postive initiation and let us try to be open and retain our values rather limiting ourselves to any language or confining to a limited area While learning any language we should keep in mind the quote given by our Nations Father Shri. M K Gandhi that �I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and windows to be stuffed. I want the culture of all lands to be blow about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blow off my feet by any of them� Thanking you all, GANESHA T.K. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250

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Article requested
by Yashwant G Kanade 24 Feb '05

24 Feb '05

Respected Lis members, May I request to send the soft/hard copy of the following research paper for our researher? With Warm Regards Yashwant G Kanade CES, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore-12. CENTURY ecosystem model application for quantifying vegetation dynamics in shifting cultivation areas: A case study from Rampa Forests, Eastern Ghats (India) V. Krishna Prasad, Yogesh Kant and K. V. S. Badarinath* Ecological Research Volume 16 Issue 3 Page 497 - September 2001 doi:10.1046/j.1440-1703.2001.00412.x

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English?
by Mrs. Vaishnav 24 Feb '05

24 Feb '05

Dear All, I can only add that in some of the mails, all these "Mistakes" could have been avoided with simple spellchecker facility..even that has not been done. I am from Vernacular medium where Eng. Started at 8th std., was put to a convent by STD. 5th, where Eng. was introduced from K.G.. I had tough time getting through, was not knowing what teachers were asking in the Eng. period, if majority of the class got up, I would do the same,..etc...by 2nd Sem.I picked up to the level of standing First,did my B.A. with Eng.with first class, then M.A. in Eng. & after 13 yrs of it, did my B.Lib. in Mumbai.All through English was & is needed, the kind of info.level material one can get in Eng. is not available in Vernacular, b'cuz everything does not get translated It is matter of being meticulous or casual about the presentation. This is the case with all , not only with Librarians, I would fully agree with Ms. Vasumathi. With regards, Mrs. Vaishnav (Consulting Librarian-Godrej) ======================================================================= Godrej is now just a call away. Dial our 24 hour toll free number, 1600225511* for all your queries about our products, prices, dealers and service. We will be glad to be of assistance to you. * Toll free number available in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. " Visit our website - http://www.godrej.com " ======================================================================= Dear All, I can only add that in some of the mails, all these "Mistakes" could have been avoided with simple spellchecker facility..even that has not been done. I am from Vernacular medium where Eng. Started at 8th std., was put to a convent by STD. 5th, where Eng. was introduced from K.G.. I had tough time getting through, was not knowing what teachers were asking in the Eng. period, if majority of the class got up, I would do the same,..etc...by 2nd Sem.I picked up to the level of standing First,did my B.A. with Eng.with first class, then M.A. in Eng. & after 13 yrs of it, did my B.Lib. in Mumbai.All through English was & is needed, the kind of info.level material one can get in Eng. is not available in Vernacular, b'cuz everything does not get translated It is matter of being meticulous or casual about the presentation. This is the case with all , not only with Librarians, I would fully agree with Ms. Vasumathi. With regards, Mrs. Vaishnav (Consulting Librarian-Godrej) ======================================================================= Godrej is now just a call away. Dial our 24 hour toll free number, 1600225511* for all your queries about our products, prices, dealers and service. We will be glad to be of assistance to you. * Toll free number available in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. " Visit our website - http://www.godrej.com " =======================================================================

1 0

Librarians' proficiency in English
by Vyasamoorthy＠icicikp.com 24 Feb '05

24 Feb '05

Dear Friends, I am sure that some of you were expecting this. I am really appalled at the lack of any semblance of proficiency in the use of English language among many librarians. I wonder how one could pass through some 17 years of schooling and even after that manage not to learn basics of English Language. It is regrettable that our present system of Education does not emphasize the importance of Language abilities. Because of selfish politicians promoting their own agendas at the cost of the nation and because of a tendency to promote or put up with mediocrity everywhere -- the necessity for striving for excellence is once in a way heard from our president, though -- students do not look at Language skills with any concern. Recently we had to recruit an Information Officer for our VIC. Out of about fifteen persons we considered, hardly two or three could measure up as far as basic English Language skills are concerned. On one hand we find the Indian librarians community in India to be prolific writers - even an entry level resume mentions two or three 'papers' published and on the other hand we find that their presentation and communication skills at horribly very low levels. What are reasons? How can this be changed? Who should take action? Is it OK to be where & how we are? What do LIS teachers have to say? In this lamentation I am not bothered about typing errors (may be you are just lazy - not that you do not know), spelling mistakes (heavy dependence on spell checkers), occasional slippages (it happens to everyone), unheard of abbreviations being thrust on everyone by cell phone (or email?) culture and the like. I am concerned with basic English Language skills expected of a tenth class student. Kindly do not take recourse to "It is the same everywhere - in all other preofessions too" type of argument. Dr.P.Vyasamoorthy, Advisor, Virtual Information Centre, ICICI Knowledge Park, Genome Valley, Turkapally, Shameerpet Mandal, RR District, Hyderabad 500078 INDIA Email: vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com Phone - Office: +91(40)23480053 Fax: +91(40)23480007 Phone Residence: +91(40)27846631

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